/
About an hour after Gunn and Fred left the Hyperion after the reading of the will, they arrived at Caritas after making a quick detour to McDonalds for a quick bite to eat. When Gunn and Fred first entered Caritas, they were met by 2 things; Lorne covering his very green ears and a mildly drunk Buffy on stage butchering "Unbreak My Heart".
Buffy was standing on the stage in the club, literally killing Toni Braxton's classic song while holding an appletini in her hand. Buffy was singing offkey to the hilt and she was brutally destroying a voice range that she barely had in the first place. Buffy was flailing her arms around the stage and trying to dance while forgetting that she had no rhythm. Buffy was slurring the words to the song and she was actually screaming at one point in the song instead of singing.
"Do you think that we should probably help her?" Fred asked sheepishly to Gunn and Lorne while watching the disaster that was currently happening on stage.
"If you have to think about it then the answer is probably yes, Fredkins." Lorne replied, while sitting at the bar and taking a sip of his seabreeze.
"How exactly did this happen?" Gunn asked, as he took a seat at the bar while keeping his eyes fixated on Buffy.
"The cupcake came in with her heart on her sleeve and was sad about our champion. I told her that singing might help her and so she did it. I am regretting that decision now." Lorne said, as he went back to covering his ears.
"Well did you pick up anything on her?" Fred asked, as she sat down at the bar.
"That one up there has endured too much pain to be so young and there's only more to come. Pumpkin up there thinks that she wants our champion to wake up but it ain't going to be sunshine and roses if he does."
"What does that mean?" Gunn asked.
"It means that heartbreak is on the horizon for our little slayer. Our favorite couple messed up their destinies when they decided to go all gung-ho when it came to their purposes. A lot has to be done before they can cut that 2nd wedding cake." Lorne replied, just as he gestured to the bartender to bring him another seabreeze.
Gunn was going to ask what exactly that meant but he was interrupted by the applause from the clubgoers that were so happy that Buffy was finally getting off of stage after finishing her song.
Once Buffy was done singing, she made her way to the bar where Gunn and Fred and Lorne were sitting and positioned herself on a stool and gestured to the bartender to bring her another appletini.
"I am cutting you off." The bartender said curtly. The bartender then handed Buffy a cup of coffee and then made his way to a backroom.
"Well that's just great!" Buffy said, sarcastically. Buffy then began sipping her coffee and then turned her attention to the group.
"What are you guys doing here?" Buffy asked, curiously.
"The better question is, are you okay?" Gunn asked, worriedly.
"I had to take the edge off after the reading of the will. I was driving around and found this place and stopped in for a drink." Buffy replied to Gunn.
"You know that Angel wouldn't want you drinking?" Fred retorted, while shooting Buffy a look.
"Well he's in a coma, so his opinion doesn't matter at the moment." Buffy said curtly, while nursing her cup of her coffee.
"You said that if I sang for you, you would tell me my future like some sort of a fortune teller. Did you pick up anything on me?" Buffy said, excitedly to Lorne.
"Its not exactly like a fortune teller, Buffykins." Lorne laughed. "The vibes that come off of you are so intense that they are damn near blinding. I can see why he loves you. You are one of a kind. You veered off course when you decided to do certain things, the powers were not fond of that."
"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked, inquisitively.
"Buffy, I think that you know exactly what I mean." Lorne said suggestively, as he shot Buffy a look.
"If you are talking about what I think that you mean, I had no choice." Buffy said defensively, as she shot a look back at Lorne. It was so obvious that Lorne knew about her dealings in Italy but she didn't need the rest of the club knowing.
"Everyone has choices, Pumpkin. You just chose the one that kept you on the self-destruction train and nobody upstairs was planning on you doing that. A champion for good going over to the dark side never looks good to the folks upstairs. You changed your destiny when you were in italy. " Lorne said, expressively.
"Did I change my destiny in a good way or a bad one?" Buffy asked nervously, just before she took another sip of her coffee.
"A bad one, sparkles. However you are in the right place to get back on track, so to speak. You keep running from your destiny. What you need is right in front of you." Lorne said sweetly, as he raised his hand and wringed his hands around and looked out at the club.
"Jesus, did Angel's crypticness rub off of you?" Buffy said, while slightly shaking her head and being highly confused by the green demon's actions.
"Speaking of the big guy, his destiny changed up within the last year too. Yours when you entered the city of contrast and started your "job" and his when he joined the suits. Nobody up-top was planning on the both of you making such questionable decisions for a lack of a better word. It ruined the order of things." Lorne said, cautiously.
"How in the world do I make things right? Please give me a clear answer on how I can fix things." Buffy pleaded.
"Peaches, the answers are never clear to me on what to do and so I can't tell you exactly what to do. Just work on fixing that destiny if you want to have that 2nd wedding cake that we both know that you want so badly." Lorne grinned, as he took another sip of his seabreeze.
"I don't want a 2nd wedding cake, Lorne. I want Angel to wake up and to get him better and then I am going to walk away from him. It doesn't matter how much I love him and I want him, we can't be together. What I did in Italy sealed that deal." Buffy empathetically said, while folding her arms.
"Pumpkin, you are a terrible liar. You are here to stay. I have a better chance of guessing tomorrow's lottery numbers that you have of walking away from Angel if he wakes up from the coma. Your destiny is intertwined with his destiny and so you can't leave and if even you tried to, there is no way in hell that Angel would let you go." Lorne said hurriedly, as he prepared to leave his bar stool.
"I still don't know how I can fix things. How do I make all of this right?" Buffy asked, with a hint of fear in her voice.
"Like I said, the answer is right in front of you." Lorne retorted.
Lorne then got up from his seat and prepared to go into the backroom of the club. However before he was able to do that, Buffy caught up with him to ask one last question.
"Before you go. Lorne, is there anything that I can do to bring him out of the coma?"
"Pumpkin, that has to be a decision that he makes on his own. Although your love for him is definitely helping the process. Don't give up kid, things are working here as they should be." Lorne said sweetly, as he lovingly patted Buffy on her shoulder and then exited to the backroom of the bar.
Buffy wasn't sure what Lorne meant by fixing her destiny but she was hellbent on finding out. Buffy was also happy to know that she was doing something right by Angel during this whole dilemma. In her heart, Buffy wanted to believe that Angel could feel her love and that was giving him the strength to fight and come back to her and well such a theory made Buffy smile.
Buffy walked back to the bar where Gunn and Fred were still seated and took her position back on her stool and gestured to the new bartender who just started his shift to bring her another coffee.
"How are you feeling, Buffy?" Fred asked, worriedly.
"Like I am beginning to sober up. Now that we are here and the reading of the will is over. It's time for us to talk about a few things." Buffy replied, with a serious tone in her voice.
"Like what?" Gunn asked, while playing dumb. The former vigilante knew exactly what Buffy wanted to talk about and he really did not want to have this conversation with her.
"How about Connor? I figure that is a good conversation starter." Buffy said, snarkily.
Gunn and Fred gave each other a look. Neither one of them wanted to approach this subject but Buffy had a right to know. However just because she had the right to know about Connor didn't mean that she had to know the full truth about him.
"Connor was a street kid that Angel took under his wing and adopted when he first arrived in Los Angeles. Connor and Angel have had their problems but he's always looked at him like a son." Fred said, as she was lying through her teeth.
Anyone with 2 eyes could see that Buffy was emotionally fragile and Fred damn sure was not about to add to her pain by telling her the actual truth about Connor, so she did a fib.
Buffy wasn't sure if she believed what the former physicist was saying but that was the only plausible explanation that made sense about Connor. Plus how else could Angel have had a child? Vampires shot blanks.
"If that is so true, then why did Angel say on the dvd that he was regretful for not being the father that Connor wanted?" Buffy questioned, while gesturing to the bartender to bring her another cup of coffee.
Fred felt like her tongue got caught in her throat. Fred knew that she had to come up with another lie and come up with one quickly.
"Angel said that because he had a rather volatile relationship with Connor and their relationship was never easy and he wished that things had turned out better for them." Fred retorted.
"Where is he? This Connor? Why wasn't he at the reading of the will?" Buffy poked further, as she took another sip of her frappuccino.
"Connor is probably still somewhere in Los Angeles. We haven't seen him since before the battle in the alley. I am sure that eventually he will pop up." Gunn interjected, while hoping that this would be the last question that the former slayer would have about Angel's very screwed up but now somewhat reformed kid.
"Now that we have answered your questions about Connor. How about answering one of ours, Buffy?" Fred asked.
"What is that, Fred?" Buffy replied.
"Why did Angel call you his wife on the dvd?"
"Because I am his wife. We are married by way of Irish tradition and also legally." Buffy trailed off. Buffy wasn't sure how she was going to explain this one but it had to come out somehow.
"Explain?" Gunn said, just as he took a sip of his budweiser.
"Shortly after I came back from being dead in 2002, me and Angel met up in Las Vegas and we got to talking and one thing led to another and we ended up at a little chapel on the strip and got married." Buffy said curtly, while looking down at her coffee and suddenly wishing that it was something stronger.
"We remember that day in particular when Angel said that he had to go meet you. We also remember him coming back extremely pissed and not wanting to talk about it, so what happened between the both of you?" Gunn asked, curiously.
"Wow, you really are someone who asks a lot of questions. The marriage was only supposed to be for a day because Angel, being the romantic that he is, wanted to know what it would be like to be married to me." Buffy said sweetly, as she thought back to her wedding day and smiled.
"Aww that's sweet" Fred said, as she dramatically placed her hand over her heart. "I am feeling that there is a but here."
"After we got married, we went back to the hotel room that we were staying in and got into an argument. Angel wanted to take me and run off to some crazy place like Brazil and I wasn't in the right mindframe to do something like that. Plus I had my baby sister at the time and I just couldn't get up and leave her." Buffy said sadly.
Buffy wondered for a small second if maybe Angel would still be around, if she had stayed with him and then immediately pushed that thought out of her head. Should haves and Would haves weren't going to change what had already transpired.
"We got an annulment the next day or so I thought. Angel was supposed to get the papers filed for the annulment once he got back here to L.A. and I guess that he just never got around to it." Buffy said, as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Wait, you didn't know that you were still married?" Fred asked, while being very confused.
"Yes, I know it's stupid but no I did NOT know that I was still married after 2 and a half years. I know in my heart why the son of a bitch didn't file the papers and I am not even mad at him for it, in fact I love him a little bit more for it." Buffy mumbled, exasperatedly.
"Why?" Fred asked.
"Because my Angel wanted to take care of me. Angel always wanted to take care of me." Buffy said softly, while looking down at her hand and tracing her claddagh ring with one of her fingers.
Buffy loved her claddagh ring almost as much as she loved the soul who had given it to her. Buffy had the ring sealed in a box for the last few years but she had been wearing it a lot more within the last year or so. Buffy never wore the ring when she was with the Immortal or with her clients, only in her quiet moments.
Buffy would put on the ring when she wanted to be reminded that she was loved by someone out there in the world and that she wasn't just a cheap washed up whore. The last time that Buffy put on the ring was when she was getting on the flight to L.A. from Rome and she planned on never taking it off again.
Buffy was pulled out of her brooding by Gunn asking yet another question. Buffy was still mildly drunk and tired of answering questions but decided to entertain Gunn again.
"I am still very confused. Why didn't any of us know that you were married to Angel?" Gunn asked, while finishing the last bit of his budweiser.
"Because we never wanted anyone to know. It was only supposed to be for one day, so we figured what would be the point of anyone knowing. Plus nobody would have understood if we had said something about it." Buffy said, quietly.
"I am still trying to figure out why you would agree to marry Angel knowing that the marriage was a 1 day deal." Fred said, as she scratched her head and then took a sip of her margarita.
"Because I wanted to make him happy. I would do anything to see that big dorky smile of his and watch those big brown eyes of his light up. Too bad I am never going to see either of those things again" Buffy said, woefully.
Fred reached across to Buffy at the bar and took her hands and placed them in her hands and said "He's coming back to us. You can't give up on him. We are going to bring him back."
"I just have one more question and I am going to leave this subject alone. How in the world did you legitimately marry Angel and he barely exists? The man doesn't even have a social security number." Gunn asked, while shrugging his shoulders.
"Have you wondered how someone who hasn't been alive for the better part of the past 250 years can own and operate a business? Much less get a business license?" Buffy replied, with a sly little smirk on her face.
"No, I have never thought about that." Gunn replied.
"Well the same way that Angel did that is how we got married. Gunn, money talks. Always remember that money talks." Buffy said, assuredly. "Sometimes palms need to be greased, as the old folks used to say." Buffy laughed.
"Are you safe to drive?" Fred asked, as she got up from her bar stool. Fred and Gunn had to get back to the hotel to check on Angel and also to start making calls to some shamans who might be able to help Angel but they didn't want to leave Buffy at Caritas in her still clearly drunken state.
"Yeah, I am not that drunk anymore. The coffee sobered me right up. I will see you guys later." Buffy murmured, while raising up her coffee cup.
"Later, Buffy." Gunn and Fred said in unison as they walked to the front door of Caritas and then exited the club.
/
Sometime after Gunn and Fred left Caritas, Buffy followed suit as well. Buffy, who was still slightly drunk, had no desire to head back to the hyperion just yet and so she decided to drive down to Santa Monica beach.
The beach was always a place where Buffy felt safe and also a place where she was able to think clearly and truly gather her thoughts in times of crisis and her life was most certainly a crisis at the moment.
As Buffy walked down the beach and had her toes ensconced in the sand, she allowed herself truly to think about her life. Buffy truly wasn't sure who she was outside of being a slayer and when she made an attempt to find out, it landed her in the lap of The Immortal and the office of an escort agency and she knew that those decisions would haunt her forever.
Buffy cringed when she thought about some of the choices that she had made within the last year and how they may have changed the whole course of her life. What Lorne said back at Caritas shook Buffy to her core. What if her dealings in Italy had cost her big time when it came to her destiny? Oh and how she was supposed to fix things? The powers that be were fickle beings that could never make the answers to life clear for her.
After walking on the beach for quite some time, Buffy sat down in the sand and pulled her knees up to her chest and peered out at the waves. An image appeared in Buffy's mind of one of the last times that she saw Angel alive and that caused a semi goofy smile to appear on her face.
Buffy knew in her heart that Angel was still the one who her heart belonged to and the man who she desired greatly. It was something that never managed to change in all the years that they were apart and it was reconfirmed on their secret wedding day and further reconfirmed on the last night in Rome when he came to her at his most vulnerable of moments.
Buffy just wanted to fix herself before she let Angel back into her life, if he ever were to wake up from the coma. Buffy was so broken from the bullshit that she had been through the last few years that she wasn't even sure if she was still worthy of Angel's love anymore. Buffy had stepped so far into the darkness with Spike and The Immortal and her clients at the escort agency that she felt like she would never get back to the light.
Buffy just wanted to make sure that she got Angel the care that he needed if he woke up from the coma and then she planned to walk away from him again, this time for good. Buffy needed to figure out who she was outside of being a slayer and being an escort and she couldn't very well do that with someone who saw her as his heart.
In her mind, Buffy knew that she would find some way to get Angel to wake up and then give him back his money and then get the annulment and then leave. The problem with her plan is that Buffy knew she wouldn't be able to leave Angel again once he did wake up and that she would have to force herself to do it. That man had a hold over her that she never could explain and she knew it wouldn't be breaking anytime soon.
Buffy was pulled out of her deep thought by the sound of the waves crashing near her feet and also by the sound of her cell phone ringing. Buffy immediately reached over to her purse and grabbed her cell phone and looked at the caller id which said the name "Willow Rosenberg" on it and immediately answered the phone.
"Hi." Buffy said, hurriedly.
"I saw you called. What's up, buttercup?" Willow replied, while sitting down on the bed in her hotel room in Portugal.
"Will, things are crazy here. It's all a big mess." Buffy said, distressed. Buffy sat up from the beach and started to walk back to her car while on the phone.
"Start at the beginning, you sound really freaked out." Willow said worriedly, as she held the cellphone closer to her ear.
"I AM freaking out. Angel isn't dead but he isn't alive either. Angel is in a coma." Buffy said, perturbed.
"Wow, that's wild."
"Oh and to make matters worse, nobody thinks that Angel is going to come out of it. Shamans have been called and demon doctors have tried to bring him out of it and nothing is working. I need your help, Will." Buffy said, softly and almost as if she was on the verge of tears.
"You want me to come to L.A. and try to bring Angel out of the coma?" Willow asked, while clearly knowing that was the whole reason for the call.
"Magic might be the only thing that helps him. His heart is still working so he's definitely in there. I just need something or someone to bring him back." Buffy pleaded, while arriving back at her car and standing in front of her car door and running her free hand through her hair.
"When I left your apartment in Rome, I went back to Portugal. I am doing an archaeological dig here in Portugal at the moment but I can come to L.A. for a few days and try to help out Angel." Willow said, assuringly.
"Will, I don't say this nearly enough but I love ya." Buffy said sweetly while smiling.
"Of course, you do. I love ya too, honey. Give me a few hours and I will be there tonight."
"Thank you, bye." Buffy said, with a happy tone in her voice.
"Bye." Willow said, just before she hung up the phone.
When the call ended, Buffy felt a surge of relief run through her body. Willow was going to be able to bring Angel out of the coma and Buffy believed that wholeheartedly.
/
When Buffy drove from the beach back to the hotel, the first thing that she did upon entering the Hyperion was run upstairs and check on Angel. The sound of beeps from monitors filled the tiny space that was Angel's hotel room and the glare of the sun bloomed throughout the room. Buffy smiled upon first noticing Angel situated in the room. To Buffy, Angel just looked as though he was sleeping and not as if he was fighting for his life.
Buffy sat down on the side of Angel's bed and lifted her fist and ran it across his chin, lovingly caressing his soft skin in the process.
"I called Will, Angel. Will is going to be here soon and she's going to help you. Hopefully this nightmare is going to be over soon." Buffy murmured assuringly to her comatose ex-lover.
"You are still here?" Wesley asked, as he opened up the door of the hotel room and walked into it.
"Where else would I be?" Buffy replied, snidely.
"After I left the will reading, I immediately went to see my lawyer. I am considering challenging the will, Buffy." Wesley said, empathetically.
"Why would you want to do something like that?" Buffy shouted, while shooting a death glare in Wesley's direction.
"You weren't in Angel's life for years. You have a marriage to him that is based on a lie. You have no real right to Angel's money. There is no way in hell that you should have control of his estate and you know it." The former watcher said curtly, as he made his feelings known.
"You don't have a legal leg to stand on here, Wesley. Plus you saw the dvd, Angel made his feelings known on who he wanted to have his money. You would be disrespecting his wishes if you go against his will. Do you think that is what he would want?"
"Angel was a great leader most of the time but he had moments where he faltered and thought with his heart. Giving you 15 million dollars while you were screwing most of Europe was one of those moments." Wesley shouted.
An unexpected rage came over Buffy at the mere mention of her life in Italy and before she knew it, she had raised her hand up and slapped Wesley so damn hard that he damn near fell over.
"You don't know a damn thing about me or my life." Buffy harshly said, with her words coming out venomous and cold.
"What is your whole agenda here, Buffy? You have made your feelings toward Angel very clear within the last year, so why are you really here?" Wesley said spitefully, as he rubbed the left side of his face that was semi red.
"Wesley, who said that I had to have an agenda? Have you managed to think in that tiny stupid ass pea brain of yours that maybe I am here because I give a damn about Angel?" Buffy said, as she tapped the side of her forehead with her finger.
"Angel wasn't thinking clearly in the last few weeks before the battle in the alley. I am sure that if he had been thinking straight, he would have left his estate and his medical decisions in the hands of someone who was capable of dealing with them." Wesley said, as he walked over to the fridge that was situated in the hotel room, opened it, and pulled out an ice pack and pressed it against his jaw.
"You saw the dvd, Wesley!" Buffy loudly screamed.
"The dvd doesn't matter. You shouldn't have any rights to Angel's money nor should you be in any position to make medical choices for him."
"I am not going to discuss legal things with you anymore until I have talked to Honest Abe. I am going to stay here until Angel wakes up, whether you like it or not. Oh and don't ever accuse me of having an agenda for being here ever again or I am going to do more than slap you." Buffy angrily said, just before she walked out onto the balcony to get some air.
"Do you want me to list off all the reasons why nobody believes that you are here because you actually give a damn about Angel anymore?" Wesley said harshly, as he walked over to the life support monitor that was situated right near Angel's bed and looked at his BPM on it.
"I am not in the mood to argue with you, Wesley. After the day that I have had, I am not in the mood for your bullshit or anyone else's. If I didn't still give a fuck about Angel, why would I have called Will?" Buffy shouted, as she stared at Wesley from her position on the balcony.
"Willow is coming here?" Wesley curiously asked. Wesley sighed at the mere thought of yet another one of the scoobies interjecting themselves into the neverending crisis that had become Angel's life. The only good thing that Wesley saw about Willow coming to the hotel was that he knew she was sensible and not incompetent like say Xander of all people or like the walking disaster that was standing only feet away from him.
"Yeah, Willow is probably going to be here really soon. I am desperate to get Angel out of this coma and so I called the one person who might be able to help us." Buffy hurriedly said, while walking back into the hotel room to retrieve her phone out of her purse which had started ringing.
Buffy looked at the caller ID and saw that it was from Xander and immediately declined the call. Buffy was not in the mood for Xander's bullshit, she already had one jackass to deal with.
"Why would you do that? Everyone that has been contacted in regards to dealing with Angel's condition has said the same thing. Angel has to come out of the coma on his own, magic won't work." Wesley retorted, while feeling his tempers beginning to further flare at the now ex-slayer.
"I don't give a damn what some shaman has said. Angel is in a fucking coma and we need to be doing everything in our power to bring him out of it, even if that means going to Will." Buffy screamed, as she threw her hands up in the air.
"Do you really think that Willow can bring him out of this?" Wesley asked, while deciding to just concede fighting with Buffy. Wesley didn't have the energy to keep arguing with her. There was no point to it in his eyes.
"I am hoping with everything in me that Will can bring Angel out of this coma, because it breaks my heart to see him like this. Angel finally got his humanity and he deserves to enjoy it and he can't do that completely bedridden for the rest of his life. Wesley, this HAS got to work." Buffy said worriedly, as she sat back on the edge of Angel's bed and took his hands in hers and looked down at him with the most fearful expression on her face.
Wesley had built up so much hatred for Buffy and her team within the last year and it was slowly beginning to dissipate watching the ex-slayer embrace her former lover. Wesley knew that Buffy was a wildcard and probably had some sort of an agenda from the stories that Angel had told him about her life in Rome, however he wasn't sure of it anymore.
The woman that was sitting in the bed and embracing her soulmate while in his most vulnerable state was not that of someone who was an opportunist or someone who had a specific narrative for why she had re-entered Angel's life at that period of time. No, the woman who was situated in that bed right next to Angel was one who was genuinely fearful for the life of her ex-lover.
Wesley felt his heart soften as he watched Buffy. Wesley knew that he shouldn't trust Buffy but she was doing everything to change that narrative. Wesley walked over to where Buffy was sitting and put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile and then walked out of the hotel room.
A short time later, Buffy made her way down to the hotel lobby and found Willow sitting down in the lobby waiting for her. Willow was drinking a cup of oolong tea that Fred prepared for her when Buffy approached her in the lobby.
"Hey stranger!" Buffy said, happily.
"Hey yourself! How are you?" Willow replied, as she put down the teacup that she had been drinking from and sat it down on the table next to the couch.
Willow stood up from the couch and greeted Buffy with a hug. The hug was warm and full of sentiment and a bit of regret. Even though their relationship had been strained for the better part of the last few years, Buffy and Willow still had great admiration for each other. Willow was glad that Buffy had reached out to her, even though it was for a crisis. Willow missed her old friend dearly.
"I am trying my best to work through this crazy mess and not doing a very good job of it." Buffy said, with a concerned tone to her voice and while slightly rolling her eyes.
"Where is he at?" Willow asked, as she ran her hands down Buffy's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.
"Upstairs." Buffy replied. Buffy proceeded to lead Willow up the hotel stairs to Angel's hotel room.
Once inside of the hotel room, the sight that befalls Willow was one that she never planned on witnessing. Angel was laying down in a bed in the center of the bedroom with wires attached to him and a breathing tube inserted inside of him and there were machines situated on each side of his bed. Willow figured that the machines must be the ones that were keeping the now ex-vampire on life support.
The sight of Angel in such a precarious position saddened the redhead. Angel was normally a man that was strong and in charge of his faculties and to see him bedbound and in a coma seemed surrealistic to the former Sunnydale resident.
Willow wasn't especially close to Angel in recent years but she still considered him to be a great friend and she was proud of the work that he was doing in terms of trying to gain his redemption. Willow was not as mad as the others in her friend group when she found out that Angel had joined Wolfram and Hart because she knew if he was doing something crazy, it was for a damn good reason.
Willow had thought once about going to Angel and pressing him for the answer as to why he had joined the infamous evil law firm but decided against it. Willow knew that she wasn't the girl that Angel had to explain such actions to.
Willow watched as Buffy moved across the semi spacious hotel room to give Angel a kiss on the forehead. Willow was deeply worried for Buffy. Willow knew that when it came to Angel, that he was Buffy's achilles heel. Willow wondered if Buffy was getting too deep into Angel's predicament and if she would be able to pull herself out of it, no matter how the outcome of his coma turned out.
Willow walked over to where Angel was situated and tangled a hand through the Irishman's hair, softly greeting his comatose form. Willow wept for her almost fallen friend, despite her own protestations.
"How did Angel end up like this, Buffy." Willow asked, while sitting down in a chair that was situated in the middle of the hotel room.
"It has a lot to do with what happened in L.A. a few months ago. You know how it was a war zone for a while? Well let's just say that my ex-honey here put all the wheels in motion for that to happen." Buffy retorted, as she walked over to the liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of jack daniels from it and then pulled out 2 shot glasses and poured the alcohol into them.
"Angel was responsible for that?" Willow said, while sounding surprised.
Buffy walked over to where Willow was sitting and handed her one of the shot glasses and Willow nodded her head as a way of saying thanks.
"Yup, this big stupid adorable irish lunk here thought that it would be a good idea to take down some group called the senior partners through some other group called the black thorn and that decision led to him and his team in an alley, fighting a bunch of demons. Oh and a very large dragon." Buffy replied, just before she went to sit down on the edge of Angel's bed and down her glass of whiskey.
"I am guessing from his present state that he didn't come out on the receiving end of that decision." Willow curtly stated.
"Will, you have no idea. I never wanted him in that place. I told him that something like this would happen." Buffy retorted, as she ran her hands through her hair.
"Buffy, this is Angel that we are talking about. The man is stubborn and he wouldn't have listened to you anyway." Willow said, as she lightly smiled.
"You know that his team wants me to cut off his machines? We had a reading of his will a few hours ago and I have the power to cut off the life support machines. I am not going to do it but Angel gave me the power to do so."
"How do you have that power?" Willow pondered.
"Because I am Angel's wife." The former slayer said, as she grew a cringe look on her face and lightly bit her thumb.
"How is that even possible?" Willow said, shocked.
"Do you remember the day that I went to see Angel after I was resurrected? Well we went to Las Vegas and after some talking, decided to get married. It was a spur of the moment thing, Will."
"You have been married for almost 3 years? Why didn't you say anything?" Willow yelled.
"Nobody would have understood why we did it and so we never told anyone. Plus it definitely wasn't supposed to last this long." Buffy said nervously.
"We are definitely going to talk about this later, buttercup. However, for right now, let's try to get down to business. What is wrong with Angel?" Willow retorted, while seriously trying to stray away from the subject of her best friend's secret nuptials as just thinking about Buffy getting married while not being by her side was making the redhead mad.
"Angel is stuck in this coma. Angel is alive and his heart is beating but he won't wake up from the coma. There's a lot of damage to his brain and some to his heart and the demon doctors along with the shamans that were brought in to assess his condition say that he might be paralyzed if he wakes up. Will, this is really bad." Buffy sorrowfully said, as she lovingly caressed Angel's chin.
"Oh honey, I am so sorry. I think that what is needed here is an awakening spell." Willow murmured, as she sat down in the middle of the floor in the hotel room and began to pull various potions out of the knapsack that she was wearing.
"You think that you can actually help him, will." Buffy asked, anxiously and with a bit of optimism in her voice.
"I will certainly try, honey." Will replied, as she continued to set up the potions in the middle of the hotel room and line the potions into a mini circle of sorts.
Buffy grabbed hold of one Angel's hands and held it tightly and then leaned down and whispered in his ear that everything was going to be okay. For a glimmer of a second, Buffy thought that she felt Angel grip her hand but brushed it off as just another one of his false reflexes.
Buffy said a silent prayer to whoever was out there in the universe to let the spell work, to let Angel wake up and let this nightmare end.
Willow enclosed herself in the mini circle that she had set up and once she had sure that the potions were completely set up, she began to perform the awakening spell. Willow started the spell off by saying a quick chant and praying to Hecate. Once that portion of the spell was over, pink and black smoke started to emit from the circle and the smoke flew from the circle and went straight over to Angel, ultimately causing his body to have a golden light of sorts surrounding it.
After about several seconds, the light went out much to Willow's surprise. Willow was confused because she knew that spell was supposed to work.
"Will, what happened? Why isn't he waking up?" Buffy asked, while being a bit frazzled.
"I don't know, Buffy. I think that something is blocking the spell from working." Willow replied, while thinking of a way to rework the spell.
"Will, please try something else. Angel has to wake up." Buffy pleaded.
Willow could see that her friend was in a bit of distress and immediately tried to perform the spell again. When Willow tried to perform the awakening spell the 2nd time around, the pink and black smoke wouldn't even emit from the circle. Willow was absolutely sure that when she tried to perform the spell for the 2nd time that something was blocking Angel from waking up and it was a higher power than even herself.
Willow was torn between trying to do the spell for a 3rd time and telling her best friend that she couldn't bring the love of her life back. Willow figured that there was some sort of a mystical reasoning for why Angel couldn't be brought back. Willow contemplated tapping darker magic than she was used to doing to bring Angel back but she knew that could backfire for a multitude of reasons.
Willow picked herself up from where she was sitting on the floor and went to where Buffy was standing near Angel's bed and pulled her into a hug and began to cry.
"Buffy, I am so sorry." Willow remorsefully said, as she was trying to regain control of her own emotions.
"What do you mean that you are sorry? The spell has to work. Try it again, Will." Buffy demanded angrily, as she began to sob and also cry onto Willow's shoulder.
"Honey, the spell isn't going to work. There is something blocking Angel from coming back. I can keep trying to do the spell but it's no use." Willow said, as her voice was breaking.
"No, I have heard that over and over again from Wesley that Angel isn't coming back and I can't hear that from you too, Will. There has got to be a way to bring Angel back." Buffy shouted, while being in disbelief and shaking her head back and forth.
"I know that you don't want to hear this but there are clearly things going on here that we don't know about and maybe the powers are keeping Angel in the coma for a good reason."
"Fuck the powers, Will. If the powers that be gave a damn about Angel, why in the hell would they give him his humanity and then put him in a position where he may never be able to enjoy it? That has got to be some sort of a cruel joke." Buffy snapped.
"Honey, I know you love him and we all love him but not facing facts is going to hurt you in the long run. I think that what is happening here is that Angel has to wake up on his own." Willow said, sheepishly
"Will, Angel has been in a coma for months. If Angel were going to come back to us, it would have happened by now. What is my alternative here now that the spell didn't work? Do I just let him die?" Buffy screamed, as she walked out to the balcony to get some air and try to regain her composure.
"Angel is not going to die. I am going to work on finding another spell to bring him out of this and in the meantime, all you can do is love and support him like you have been doing." Willow shouted in Buffy's direction, as she leaned down on the hotel floor and placed the vials and potions from the failed awakening spell in her knapsack.
"Will, it was really good to see you." Buffy replied, as she walked back into the hotel room with her arms folded and a sad smile on her face. "I just wish that it had been under better circumstances."
"It was really good to see you too, honey. I firmly believe that Angel is somewhere right now, proud of you for fighting so hard to get him out of the coma. Remember that when you feel down about all this." Willow said, as she pulled Buffy into another hug.
"I hope that you are right about that, Will. I will walk you out." Buffy sadly said, as she walked to the hotel room door with Willow.
As the ex-slayer and the powerful witch stood at the hotel room door, they looked back at the man who was situated in the bed centered in the middle of the room and felt a surge of sadness run through their bodies for their injured friend/lover.
Both girls wondered in their minds if Angel would ever leave that coma and if so, would he be the same sweet old fashioned soul that they always knew or someone else entirely? The thought of Angel waking up as a completely different person was too much for the ladies to bear.
Willow locked her arm in with Buffy's arm and they walked out of the hotel room together.
/
After the ladies left Angel's hotel room, they headed downstairs to the kitchen to have some tea and catch up before Willow had to head back to Portugal. The rest of the A.I. team was out on a case, so it was just Buffy and Willow in the hotel.
"How are things with Kennedy?" Buffy asked, as she stood by the stove in the kitchen and waited for the teapot to heat up.
"Kennedy and I are not seeing each other anymore." Willow replied, as a frown appeared on her face and she looked down at her nails. Kennedy was a sore subject for her.
"I can't say that I am not happy about that but are you okay?" Buffy quipped, as she walked over to Willow and rubbed her shoulder as a way to be comforting. Buffy found Kennedy to be annoying and a bit pushy and even though her heart was breaking for Willow, she was secretly happy that Kennedy was out of the redhead's life.
"We broke up a few months ago. I just couldn't see a future with her anymore or I guess really ever."
"Is it because you miss Tara or because you finally realize that being with Kennedy was a massive mistake?" Buffy asked, as she walked over to one of the kitchen cabinets and pulled out 2 coffee cups and picked up the teapot that was situated on the stove and started to pour tea into the cups.
"Buffy-" Willow said, exasperatedly. Willow knew that Buffy and Kennedy had no love lost between them and the last thing that Willow wanted to do was hear Buffy trash her former lover.
"Look I am the last person to give anyone advice on anything honey but you rushed into being with Kennedy. You should have waited and given yourself time to heal from what happened with Tara." Buffy said indignantly, as she sat down at the kitchen table and handed a cup of tea to Willow.
"Here I thought that we were trying to have a nice conversation." Willow said, sarcastically.
"Will, I know that you don't want to hear this but Kennedy wasn't right for you. You made the best decision by letting her go, honey. Kennedy was going to break your heart in the long run." Buffy said curtly, just before she took a sip of her cup of tea.
"Can we please get off the subject of our romantic failures?" Willow said, while beginning to get really frustrated with the conversation. Willow knew that Buffy was attempting to be comforting but she was coming across as rude and condescending and she did not want to deal with that at that moment.
"All I am saying is don't bring another person into your heart when the first person to occupy it hasn't completely left the space yet." Buffy hurriedly said, while ending her tirade on the subject of Willow's love life.
"Are you ever planning on going back to Rome? You kind of just ran off and left your apartment and all of your belongings to come here." Willow asked, sheepishly.
"Will, I haven't really had time to think about it. The last few days have been kind of insane. I am going to stay in L.A. at least for right now and until Angel wakes up. After he wakes up, I am going back home so it makes sense to keep my apartment for at least when this debacle is over." Buffy replied, while taking another sip of her tea.
"Do you really think that you can walk away from him if he does wake up?" Willow said, with a semi serious tone to her voice. Willow wasn't stupid. Willow knew that it was going to take a miracle for Buffy to walk away from Angel once he woke up and she wondered if her old friend had the strength to leave him again once he was well.
"Will, Angel IS going to wake up. Oh and when he does wake up and I make sure that his health is okay, I am going back to my life. Whatever I might feel for him doesn't change anything between us and I am not going to psych myself into thinking that it does because he is human now." Buffy retorted concisely, while getting up from the table to put her cup in the sink.
Willow shot Buffy a look and she shot a look right back at her. Willow was prepared to call Buffy out on her obvious bluff but Buffy raised up her hand as a signal to not do it.
"Its okay to admit that you still love him. The fact that you are here is proof of it, honey." Willow said, while walking over to the sink where Buffy was standing and putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to be comforting and reassuring.
"I am not walking around starry eyed, thinking that we are going to live happily ever after. I know our situation. I know our problems. I am trying to be clear headed here about all of this. I just need him to wake up so I can help him get better and get his strength back and then get this damn annulment and then go." Buffy said, as she was beginning to sob and as her voice was cracking.
"Are we ever going to talk about how the both of you are somehow married?" Willow asked, with a hint of concern in her voice.
"I will explain that in detail to you someday. All you need to know is that it was a beautiful ceremony and it happened in vegas and it was a spur of the moment thing. Oh and I was Priscilla." Buffy said, as she wiped away her tears while laughing at the memory of the event.
"Priscilla?" Willow asked, while burrowing her eyebrow.
"Do not ask, will." Buffy said, while shaking her head and then giving her a slight smile.
"I think that you should at least talk to Xander and Giles." Willow said, while beginning to walk out of the kitchen into the hotel lobby with Buffy following behind her.
"Will-" Buffy said, exasperated. Even though Buffy knew that the conversation about Giles was bound to happen at some point during Willow's visit, she wasn't mentally prepared to deal with it just yet.
"Xander and Giles messed up pretty royally but they are still like family to us. You didn't give them any real chance to make things right with you when all of us were in Italy. You can't keep freezing them out." Willow softly pleaded.
"I highly doubt that Xander and Giles were like family to me when they kicked me out of my own house." Buffy sharply said, as she plopped herself down on the couch in the front lobby.
Willow didn't know how to answer that one. Willow knew that everyone had acted irrationally during that last year in Sunnydale toward Buffy and whereas she had apologized for her actions, nobody else in their little group did and that's why she knew that Buffy was still incensed about it.
Oh and when Giles didn't stand by me when I formally retired from slaying and got fired from the council. No, me and those guys grew apart a long time ago." Buffy said, with sadness in her voice and looking down at her hands as a way to avoid eye contact with Willow.
In her heart, she had wanted to forgive Xander and Giles for their actions during the last year and even subsequently before that but she knew that too much had happened between all of them for that to ever happen. As far as Buffy was concerned, the scoobies were no more.
"I think that you should at least hear them out." Willow said, as she placed her hand under Buffy's chin and lifted it up so that she could look into her eyes.
"Will-" Buffy said, sullenly.
"You could at least call Giles. I think that he could stand to hear from you right now." Willow said, while walking to the middle of the front lobby and putting forth a pink mist to get the orbing spell completely ready.
Willow wasn't going to reveal Giles's business to Buffy but she knew from being around him that he was in a position where he currently needed family or even semi family around more than ever.
"Will, Giles and his secret deep seated hatred toward Angel is why he is in this position. If all of us had acted like adults, the outcome of what happened in that alley might have been different." Buffy said indignantly, while folding her arms.
"There's no way of knowing if the outcome had been different. For all you know, you might have died in that alley if you had helped Angel. You have to stop blaming yourself." Willow murmured, with her voice having a very serious tone to it.
"At least I would have been by his side when he went down. Oh and at least he would have went into that coma, knowing that I still gave a damn about him." Buffy shouted, as she was becoming a little incensed.
Buffy ran her hands through her head and put her head down into her hands. Tears were beginning to flow again just as she thought about Angel in that alley and what his final thoughts must have been before slipping into that coma.
The mere thought that Angel went to what he presumed would be his death thinking that Buffy didn't love him anymore shook her to the core. The man situated in that coma upstairs would always have Buffy's heart and she knew that would never change.
"Honey, he knew that you loved him. You can't ever doubt that." Willow said, reassuringly. Willow wiped Buffy's tears and peered into her very gray eyes and gave her a tiny smile and then pulled her into a tight hug.
"I guess you better be getting out of here. The last thing that I want is for Wesley to come back and dig into you for the spell not working or for even attempting the spell." Buffy said, while pulling apart from the hug and trying to compose herself.
"It's sad to know that he's still a pompous asshole." Willow said, disapprovingly.
"I guess that some things never change." Buffy said, as she scowled and then rolled her eyes.
"When it comes to the spell, I am going to keep working on it. I can't promise you Buffy that I can make a spell that is going to bring Angel out of the coma but I will try." Willow said sweetly, while walking back into her orbing circle.
"Will, I love you for trying. Thank you for coming. We'll talk soon, honey." Buffy murmured, as the pink mist within Willow's circle began to form in the center of the room.
Willow gave Buffy a wave before the pink mist completely surrounded her and she disappeared within it.
/
A week later
A week had passed since Willow's failed attempt to awaken Angel from his coma had happened and Buffy was still sad about it and she was now stuck thinking about how to go forward in spite of that development.
It was blatantly clear that Angel was NOT going to wake up soon and the matter of what to do with the remnants of his life was still at play. Buffy had done a lot of soul searching in that week and she was truly flummoxed about what to do with Angel's estate, his money, and his coma.
Before the failed attempt at Willow's spell happened, Buffy was determined to sell the hotel and try to keep the business together in some capacity but with the knowledge that Angel was staying in his current predicament, things had changed drastically.
In her heart, Buffy knew what had to be done with everything. Buffy just wasn't sure if she had the strength to pull off what needed to be done. The decision that Buffy had come to about everything that was essentially Angel's life required a level of responsibility and brainpower that Buffy was not entirely sure that she had anymore. However she knew that she had to put her own self-doubts to the side for the greater good and that's why she called the A.I. team to the hotel for a special meeting to discuss how to go forward.
It was mid evening at the Hyperion and Buffy was sitting on the stairs of the hotel with a cup of starbucks coffee planted on one side of her and her laptop seated on her lap. Buffy was in complete business mode.
The only thing that discounted her seriousness was that she was nervously toying with the cross necklace that Angel had given her so long ago, secretly hoping that she was about to do something that makes him proud.
As the group started to file into the hotel for their meeting, Buffy felt a shiver of fear go through her body but she ignored that feeling. Fear was not going to control the narrative at that moment.
."Hi, everyone." Buffy said sweetly, as she stood up from the stairs and greeted the group while smoothing out her dress.
"Good Evening, Buffy." Gunn, Fred, and Wesley said in unison.
"I called you all here because I have come to a decision about everything. However before I say what I need to say, I want to tell you that I appreciate all of your kindness over this past week. You are 3 amazing people and I can see why Angel considered you to be like family." Buffy said, sincerely.
"Angel would want us to take care of you. You are one of us now, Buffy." Fred interrupted, with a smile.
"Thank you, Fred. Before I tell you guys what I have decided to do with everything, I want to give you guys an out. Angel wants all of you to move on with your lives and I am firmly in support of that, if that is what you want to do. You are under no obligation to stay here and deal with what happens next. This is not your fight anymore." Buffy announced to the group, with her tone being serious and her arms folded.
"I am not going back to Texas, Buffy. I love my parents but I can't be near them. I am staying here in L.A." Fred said, adamantly.
Gunn then stepped forward and made his feelings about leaving known.
"My family's crazy as hell. I am not going anywhere near Chicago. I am staying here in L.A. too and oh your fight is OUR fight." The former vigilante flagrantly stated.
"What about you, Wesley? What's your feelings about leaving or staying?" Buffy asked her former watcher.
Wesley had to think about the offer for a second. Wesley did NOT want to work with Buffy because he was still mad at her over her actions toward his team within the last year. However he respected Angel immensely even in spite of that past and because of his loyalty to him, he knew that he couldn't just leave Buffy to handle everything. Wesley gritted his teeth and gave his former charge an answer to her question.
"I hate this entire situation, Buffy. However I am not going back to England. The last thing that I want to do is be stuck working with Rupert again. You are the lesser of 2 evils in that regard, so I will remain here." The brit reluctantly said, as he rolled his eyes.
Buffy knew in her mind that Wesley was going to be the reason for her going through many bottles of advil in the future but she knew that he would be more of an asset than a burden going forward.
Seeing that everyone was on board, Buffy got down to business and started to tell the team her plans going forward.
"Okay, now that we got that out of the way, we can get down to the first order of business. We are going to restart the agency."
"What?" Wesley said, baffled. Wesley figured that this was going to happen but he hoped with all his heart that it never would.
"I think that we need to continue the fight, the mission. We need to continue doing what Angel started. I wish that we weren't doing it in this creepy ass hotel but I will make do with it. However there is going to be one little change to how we go about cases." Buffy quickly said, while walking to the hotel counter and grabbing a water out of the mini fridge and taking a sip of it.
"What is it?" Gunn asked, curiously.
"Oh I am afraid to ask exactly what that is." Wesley snidely asked, while running his hands through his hair and shaking his head at this mess.
"I think that we should put more of an emphasis on cheater cases, instead of the demon ones. Guys, we are still going to do demon cases but cheaters and finding missing people are where the money is." Buffy said, anxiously.
Buffy looked at all the pointed glances in the room and then looked back down at her water bottle, secretly hoping in that moment that she had something stronger than water.
"You know that's not at all what Angel would want you to do, right?" Wesley said, disapprovingly. Wesley found Buffy's idea to basically completely destroy Angel's vision for the business out and toss her own in to be extremely stupid. Wesley was about to tell Buffy just what he thought of her idea when Fred interrupted him before he could do so.
"I think its a little different than what we usually do but I am open to it." Fred said, excitedly.
"Why do I feel like we are going to be wearing disguises?" Gunn asked, with a bit of trepidation in his voice. Gunn was perfectly fine with Buffy restarting the agency. Gunn was even fine with the idea of chasing cheaters. Gunn just didn't want to bust into hotel rooms dressed like the leatherman from the village people.
Buffy glared at Gunn and slightly laughed at his assertion that there would be disguises and then shook her head to disprove the assertion. Gunn put his hand over his chest dramatically and let out a sigh of relief.
Buffy then turned her attention toward Wesley, who was giving her what appeared to be the ultimate stare down.
Buffy walked from behind the counter to where Wesley was standing in the lobby and stood astute in front of him and prepared to make her feelings about him known.
"Wesley, I know that we have friction but you have to learn to trust my authority from now on. Until Angel wakes up, I am in charge and you need to deal with that. If you don't like it, then go team up with Giles." Buffy spouted, with the tone of her voice being serious.
"I will never understand why Angel put you in charge of anything." Wesley said, angrily.
"Because Angel wasn't stupid and knew that I could take hold of this ship." Buffy retorted.
"Buffy, what else are you planning on changing?" Fred interjected, while hoping to throw metaphorical water on the fight that was about to occur between Buffy and Wesley.
"I talked to Honest Abe a few days ago and I am setting up something where each of you can have a stake in the business. The 3 of you will be getting a 25 percent stake in O'Flannery investigations and I am getting 20 percent and 5 percent is going to Connor." Buffy stated, as she turned her attention back to the task at hand.
"O'Flannery Investigations?" Wesley said, while burrowing his eyebrow.
"We are all getting a stake in the business? That's sweet of you, Buffy." Fred said, while being a bit shocked and also flattered by the gesture.
"Why are you giving a 5 percent stake to Connor?" Gunn asked, curiously.
"Angel adopted Connor and from the little bit that all of you have told me, he loved that kid like his own son. If we ever find Connor, he is going to have the option to be apart of the business because I feel as though that would be what Angel would want." Buffy said, as she sat back down on the stairs and repositioned her laptop on her lap.
"Why the name change?" Fred asked, while being very puzzled.
"Angel's whole human name was Liam Seamus O'Flannery and since I am still legally married to him for some reason, my last name is apparently O'Flannery too. If I am here and running this place, its going to be O'Flannery Investigations as a tribute to Angel." Buffy sweetly said, as she toyed with her cross necklace.
"Aww, I think that is actually kind of nice." Fred replied.
"Thank you, Fred." Buffy said, while giving the former physicist a small smile.
"I still don't see why you would include Connor in this." Wesley interrupted, while raising his finger up.
"Wesley, I am going to say this once. Connor is essentially family and Angel told us on that dvd that he wanted me to look after Connor. Putting things in place to make sure that Connor is fine when we find him is my way of doing that." Buffy said, hurriedly.
"I think that you are making a mistake." Wesley scoffed.
"You know what? I honestly do NOT give a fuck." Buffy loudly retorted.
"Can the both of you please stop fighting for 5 minutes? Angel wouldn't want the both of you to keep arguing like the both of you do." Fred loudly interjected.
Fred truly wanted to knock some sense into both Buffy and Wesley but decided against it. Fred knew that if Angel could see them and the way they were acting, he would want to do the same thing too.
"Fred, you are absolutely right. I am sorry." Buffy said sorrowfully, as she composed herself and calmed down.
"I am sorry too." Wesley said, remorsefully.
"Wesley, we are going to have to learn how to tolerate each other if we are going to work together. This petty squabbling of ours has to end." Buffy said, dejectedly.
"I totally agree. We have to do what is for the good of the agency and that isn't being at each other's throats." Wesley said, as he nodded in agreement.
"What is the next order of business?" Gunn asked, with a look of seriousness on his face.
"I have come to a decision on what we are going to do about Angel. I am going to give him a year to wake up and if it has not happened by then, I will deeply consider cutting him off of the life support machines." Buffy said, despondently.
"That's heavy." Gunn replied, while scratching the back of his head.
"What made you come to that decision?" Fred asked, curiously.
"I know what everyone is saying about his condition and I know that Will's spell didn't work but I still feel like I need to give Angel a chance to wake up. Maybe I am being a little naive about his condition but I still believe that he's going to come back to us." Buffy replied, while looking down at her claddagh ring and toying with it.
"I am happy that you are not giving up hope, Buffy." Fred interjected, while walking toward Buffy to give her a hug.
"Fred, I will never give up hope when it comes to Angel. In the meantime though, Will has promised me that she is going to work on another spell to bring him out of the coma. I am going to do my part by bringing another specialist in at some point to assess Angel's condition. I am not going to let Angel go without a fight."
"You are a good woman, Buffy." Gunn interjected.
"Your optimism is sweet." Fred murmured, while giving her a smile.
"It looks like that seems to be the gist of everything, right?" Wesley asked, while walking over to the liquor cabinet and pouring a shot of bourbon.
"No, there is one more thing that we need to address. I am only going to keep the business for a year. If we turn a profit within that year, I am going to buy out your stakes in the business and I am going to give it to Connor if he wants it." Buffy said, empathetically and as she leaned back toward the stairs.
"What?" Wesley shouted, as he became wide-eyed and almost spit out his bourbon.
"I am assuming that we are going to find Connor within the next year. If we find Connor and he wants to take over the business, then I am giving it to him." Buffy quickly explained.
"What if he doesn't want the business?" Fred questioned.
"Then I will sell the hotel. Regardless of what happens with Connor and the hotel and the business, all of you will be well compensated for your stakes in the business at the end of the year."
"It seems like you have thought all of this out." Wesley sarcastically said, as he went to go down on the couch in the lobby.
"I have had a lot of time to think, Wesley. I am going to start doing things not only the way that Angel would want but the way that they need to go. All of you did right by ex-honey for years and I will forever be indebted to you all for that and I know that he would want me to take care of you all." Buffy said, with an enormous amount of gratitude resonating through her voice.
"You are family, Buffy. Angel would want us to take care of you too." Gunn said sweetly, as he reached out to give Buffy a hug.
"Gunn, you are very sweet. I am going to make sure that this place is something that Angel will be proud of." Buffy said, sincerely and as she broke apart from the hug.
"Do you have anything else to share with us, boss?" Fred said, warmly and with a smile on her face.
"No, that is everything. Enjoy the rest of the night because tomorrow morning, we are getting back to business as usual. We are going to do what Angel would want us to do, continue the fight." Buffy said, genuinely and as she started to pack up her laptop and head upstairs.
/
After Buffy got finished prepping the A.I. team on how things were going to proceed in the coming months, everyone had left for the evening and she retreated upstairs to Angel's hotel room. Once inside of the hotel room, Buffy began to unwind by taking off her makeup and then taking a quick shower and ultimately slipping into her favorite sushi pajamas.
After getting into her pajamas, Buffy walked over to one of the cabinets that was situated within the hotel room and pulled out a crate that consisted of old records and started to shuffle through them. It wasn't too long before Buffy found a record that not only pulled at her heartstrings but also reflected her current situation.
"Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer" by Stevie Wonder was soon placed on the victrola that was seated near the balcony in the hotel room and the sounds of the melancholy melody began bellowing throughout the hotel room.
When the matter of the music for the night was resolved, Buffy walked over to where Angel was situated and gave him a kiss on his left cheek.
"I miss you, baby. I love you, my Angel. I don't know what is going to happen next but I know that you are going to be guiding me." Buffy said softly with a bit of trepidation in her voice and while fighting some tears that were threatening to fall out.
"Good night, my love." The ex-slayer continued, as she wiped some of the now longer hair from Angel's forehead, gave him a kiss upon it, and then checked his monitors.
Buffy walked over to a linen closet and pulled out a red blanket and then stepped out onto the balcony and sat down on one of the lounge chairs on it, ultimately draping the blanket over herself.
As Buffy began to get comfy and snug in the chair, she peered out at the city and pulled the blanket tighter around her torso area because it was a bit chilly outside. An odd feeling came upon Buffy as she sat on that balcony and watched her beloved city come to life. It was a feeling that made Buffy feel as though she just did something that would dramatically change the course of her life.
The last few days had been a complete whirlwind for Buffy. In a span of a week, she had gone from a wanton party girl to taking care of her comatose sorta husband and being put in a position where she had to rebuild his business from the ground up. The thought of such responsibilities both scared and thrilled Buffy at the same time.
Buffy thought that she was done dealing with major responsibilities for a while once she retired from slaying and once Dawn decided to live in London, so her new predicament threw her for quite a loop. Buffy knew that she was unprepared for the things that came with her new reality but she knew in her heart that she had to at least make it work for Angel's sake.
In her heart, Buffy knew that Angel might not wake up from that coma. The odds against Angel waking up from the coma were too great and it seemed as though a miracle would bring him out of the coma, however she was definitely not giving up faith. Angel had never given up on her and had been there for her through some of her darkest moments, so why the hell not do the same for him? It wasn't even a question.
The great thing about taking over Angel's business was that he had a good team already and that made things a little less crazy for Buffy. The A.I. team had welcomed her with open arms and she considered that a good sign when it came to her new reality. Even though she barely knew his team, she knew that they were good people and that she could finish what Angel started with them.
Buffy was bounced out of her thoughts on the balcony by the sound of her cellphone ringing back in the hotel room. Buffy decided against answering it because she figured that it was just either Giles or Xander attempting to talk her into going to London and she didn't want to hear it. Buffy knew that her place at least for that moment was right there in L.A. and she wasn't going anywhere.
Just before she started to drift off to sleep on the balcony underneath that beautiful L.A. skyline, she lifted one of her hands that contained a claddagh ring upon it and lightly caressed the silver wedding band and smiled.
"If you want me to do this, I am going to do it. I love you my Angel, always and forever." she said to the wind, hoping that her somewhat fallen lover could hear her.
And with that, Buffy drifted off to sleep dreaming of the man that she loved immensely and hopeful about the new reality that had befallen her.
End of Part 4