Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. All of these characters, minus the ones I create, already exist in the Buffyverse. Same can be said if I quote the original source material or any other existing IP. This is loosely inspired from the book/movie Room.
"Perfect," Buffy Summers admired. It may have taken a day off work to pull the dinner together, but she had amazed herself as the final product was nearly finished. The table was set. The cake was decorated. The presents were wrapped. Yet the chicken still cooked.
Just five more minutes.
Tonight she would be celebrating her fiancée's birthday - just the two of them. The notion brought a smile to her face. Sure they had celebrated his birthday together before, but Buffy had prepared a special surprise for her husband-to-be. She wanted to share the night with him and only him.
Just ten more minutes.
A knock on the front door caused Buffy to jump for joy. Maybe he got off work early, she thought. It didn't matter if the chicken still had four minutes to cook, him being there always brightened her days. And if something were to go horribly wrong with the meal, he was much more equipped in the kitchen than she was.
Buffy opened the door with a smile plastered on her face. It fell when her fiancée was not the man she opened the door to. He was nearing sixty or possibly already there and flashed Buffy a wicked grin. Feeling uneasy, she tried to close the door on him, but his foot stood had stopped her.
The man forceful pushed the door open, causing Buffy to fall back on her rear. He towered over her menacingly. As he reached for her, she lifted her leg up to kick him in the groin. Falling to the floor, Buffy used the man's pain to her advantage and ran for the back door off the kitchen and grabbed a knife for extra protection.
Once in her backyard, Buffy's path was stopped by a familiar woman. One she had met only in passing. Buffy cocked her head as the woman delivered the same evil smile the injured man in her foyer had given her prior.
Distracted, Buffy was taken from behind and the man's cloth-held hand covered her mouth and nose. She tried to scream and fight back, but her vision began to blur and the sun had vanished into darkness as she slumped against her attacker.
"Buffy?" Angel asked into the empty house suspiciously. When he arrived at the front door, he noticed it was slightly ajar. Upon entering, the interior of the home had a thin layer of smoke coating the place as the smoke detector went off.
Angel rushed into the kitchen to find the source of the smoke and, hopefully, Buffy. Unfortunately, all he found was an over-cooked chicken and the back door wide opened.
His cop senses were tingling. Buffy would never abandon a meal, even if it was over-cooked, which it often was when it came to her cooking in particular. That, paired with the open doors, and the unanswered phone call meant trouble for the policeman. He had called to tell Buffy that he was running late fifteen minutes ago, but she never picked up.
He walked outside onto the the porch and tried to call her cell again. The ringing came loud and clear. It didn't take long for him to find her phone lodged in a nearby bush.
Angel contacted his Captain, Rupert Giles, immediately after this new revelation.
Giles came over with others from the department to investigate. Had this been anybody else, Giles would have been skeptical to respond with such urgency. He had known Buffy through Angel and this behavior was uncharacteristic.
Under Giles' command, the police searched the house as Angel sat on the couch helpless. He was a cop. He was trained to handle situations like this. Instead, Angel sat watching as his colleagues sweep the place for evidence. They asked him questions and never once had he felt so useless to an investigation. Buffy was simply gone.
Way to kick off twenty-five, Angel thought. Today was supposed to be a good day. Buffy had teased something special for his birthday early that morning. Angel no longer cared about his birthday or the surprise Buffy had prepared. He just wanted her home safe in his arms.
"Angel," Giles spoke adjusting his glasses. Angel turned to the older man with a hollow expression. There was nothing that could be said to sooty him. He heard the empty promises before. In fact, he was in charge of delivering some of them. "Officer Finn, had found this addressed to you."
Giles handed over the small, wrapped gift labeled Angel. It was clear by the handwriting that it was from Buffy. The writing had made him brighten slightly. Oddly enough, he felt as if she was there with him.
But he couldn't open it.
The gift didn't matter to him. Why should he be celebrating his birthday when his fiancée was missing?
Angel stood up, without acknowledging his superior, and went to the kitchen to throw his present into the trash before heading outside for some fresh air.
Giles, along with many other men, stood stunned to see the officer void of any emotion. He was often a calm, level-headed man, who occasionally got stressed out over his workload. And more often than not, riled up at some of the individuals at the station who did not cooperate
Unbeknownst to everyone, inside the gift Angel tossed away was the surprise Buffy had been eager to share with Angel.
Not only was Buffy missing, but so was their baby.