March 16, 2011 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
Chapter 6:
A Reveling of sorts
It was a natural instinct or a perhaps a memory.
Angel had carried Buffy back to their house.
***
‘Their? Her house anyway. When I got to the door, I wasn’t sure if I’d need an invite or not.
I opened it easily enough and stepped through. I caught her scent and strangely enough mine but a little different..
That answered why I was able to get in the house. Buffy is extremely quiet. I suppose I can guess why.
She pointed down a short hallway and to the right, in there was a family room.
In here, I knew why my scent mixed with hers and why it was a subtle change from what I know.
She had been living with a human version of me.
There were pictures everywhere. Some drawings, but mostly photographs.
Home. Buffy had found home.’
***
“How did you get here? Are you angry with me?” She whispered in a small childlike voice, as if she knew she was going to be reprimanded.. well not from me, I want to hear the whole story.
“I’m not angry with you Buffy.” I lifted her chin gently so she would look at me. “When Dawn called me and told me you were missing…I made sure we went over everything. When they told me it was portals that you kept jumping into; Buffy if I had a beating heart, it would have stopped.” I was still holding her and squeezed her for emphasis. “Willow felt out your feelings. I guess when your emotions were at their highest she was able to open the portal as close to you as possible. She was dead on, don’t you think?” She only nodded.
“It’s your turn..why did you stay?”
~~~~~~~
***
Why did I stay?
” I couldn’t leave. I tried a few times actually. Then Liam..”
“Liam? Buffy..”
“Later, let me just get this out.” He looked at me, really looked at me then and at the pictures and he took a deep unneeded exhale as if to reaffirm what he already knew.
“He told me that there had been a magic barrier put over Sunnydale. We are in Sunnydale two thousand nine.. By all rights, I never should have ended up here, or you either. It keeps all magical things out for the most part. It’s been real quiet, occasionally I would stop some vigilante or something but hardly ever any vamps.” I took a breath and exhaled slowly.
Angel shook his head and told me that we needed to leave. He was right. I knew the highlights. I can’t stay here now. I didn’t even think about anyone else here. I didn’t leave a note or anything.
“Buffy, if you want to pack anything, anything we can carry that is, we can pack it but baby we really need to go. I’m sorry. Please?”
This was my home. My real home. A home that I was safe and loved in, a home that was cruelly ripped away from me. I didn’t even want to think about anything else. However, trickling in, like a tiny waterfall, was a thought that perhaps I was meant to come forward to go back and fix things so that …I’m not going to think about it.
“Okay. There’s a closet in the hall; if you could get that bag out and pack the photos? I’ll go get some things.”
I couldn’t stop those damn tears. I grabbed up Liam’s journals, the ones I hadn’t actually delved deeply into. I only read the things he had already talked about briefly. I knew I couldn’t stay, it didn’t make things easier. I packed comfortable clothes and clothes I specifically remember Liam liking. I had to put my three favorite shirts that he wore in too. I guess in way its weird thinking of Angel and Liam separately now. They are right now separate to me.
Anyway I walked back into the family room to see Angel standing at the mantel. I knew what was there. I took a moment to remember it.
/We were standing in front of a preacher. It wasn’t exactly a spur of the moment thing but it was just me, him and a preacher. On the grounds of the church, not actually in it. I was wearing a strapless dress, palest of greens you can imagine with my hair pulled back. He was wearing a black button up dress shirt with slacks. The sun was setting. We didn’t even think to invite Owen to take pictures. It was perfect. A few days later, Owen said a little bird told him that we got “hitched”, his word not mine. He pleaded his case. We felt bad so we let him take pictures.\
“We…you and ..Liam got married?” The wedding certificate stated that Liam Cearul Summers and Buffy Anne Summers were indeed married. I watched Angel look at me and smile ruefully. “I think I would have taken your last name too. I dunno about being Liam but definitely a Summers.” I knew at that moment why this man or vampire as the case may be, why he was able to capture my heart and soul.
Angel grabbed it quickly and said gruffly “We have to go.” And that was that. No questions, no comments. We were silent as we hurried back to the cemetery and into the closing portal.
~~~~~~~~
March 16, 2011 - Posted by admin - 0 Comments
Chapter 7:
Back In Time
This time Buffy and Angel landed on their feet. While the portal was closing and Angel was checking their surroundings; Buffy was vomiting.
“Okay, Willow seriously needs to find a fix for that.” Buffy groaned and vomited again.
Angel looked down at her. “Think you can walk inside on your own? We have to get in, sunrise is here.”
Buffy looked after Angel and realized they were standing in front of a gate. “Where are we?”
He gently grabbed her hand and made her trail along after him. “The Hyperion Hotel AKA Angel Investigations AKA My home; well it was until, well anyway, come on.”
“WOW!” INCREDIBLE!” Buffy’s voice echo slightly and she felt like twirling and singing as if she were five again. She giggled suddenly and Angel was worried that she might be on the verge of a breakdown. He sincerely hoped not.
“Come on, I’ll show you to our rooms.”
She looks a little pale. She might need some orange juice or something. Maybe she’s hungry?
“You go first, my Lady Slayer.” He joked
Buffy was impressed but as much as she wished she could pretend that everything was just dandy, she couldn’t. She sat down on the love seat near the little desk and was all business.
“Here’s the thing…Angel I ran away from this dimension because I’m stupid.” She held her hand up to stop him when it looked like her was going to say something to refute her words.
“There are reasons that I ran away, reasons I see now may have been childish.” She stood up then. ” I was lonely! Willow has Kennedy, Giles went to England for his vacation time or whatever, Faith has Robin, Xander and Dawn are… something, and I’m not sure I even want to know. I apologize for that. However…” I put my warm hand on his cool cheek and I was slightly shocked to find it so. “However, I’m seeing now that maybe your Powers That Be had a hand in this.”
I knew he wanted to say something so I removed my hand from his cheek and let him have the floor.
“After Sunnydale collapsed, you should have come to me, “cookies” be damned Buffy!”
He swept a hand through his hair, a sign that I take to mean he is agitated.
“Okay. Fair enough, but my point is, I’m gonna have to help save your ass. The PTB is not Wolfram and Hart’s Senior Partners, you got that?” He nodded so I moved on. “I’ve brought Liam’s journals. You probably know most of it but I dunno. I didn’t really read much. It was..too private. I respected your privacy.”
Buffy stopped suddenly and I saw her face get pale and perspiration appeared on her top lip. I quickly pointed her to the bathroom. I’ll be damned. Now I know what’s off about her. I went down to the kitchen and found we had some fruit…odd, I don’t remember leaving any food behind. So I took an orange upstairs hoping that an orange would be OK.
While I waited for Buffy to come out, I looked through some of the photos that were of her and the other me.
There was this really beautiful framed one of the two of them separated but somehow the frame drew them together.e
He looked at a Polaroid of them sitting on a bench together in a small frame. [Owen’s Polaroid. we became ‘suspects” for his portfolio. Most times, it was fine. That night, it wasn’t.] He couldn’t help wonder why or who Owen was or is.
He put the frames down and looked around his room. He also wondered why his stuff was still here. He’d pack some of it and take it…maybe.
I waited for my sick slayer to come out of the bathroom and as soon as she did, I asked her as gently as I could “Buffy, did you know you’re pregnant?”
She smiled sadly at me and spoke softly and miserably “I guessed it was more than nerves and stress. The vomiting.” I know I looked perplexed so that would explain her explanation. I remember Cordelia being pregnant with demon babies but I cannot recall if she threw up. I know she had some strange cravings. Darla, well she wasn’t really pregnant long enough for me to really come to terms with it. Just that my son had a soul and she was a vampire. I had picked her up and carried her to the bed. My musing silence must have worried her.
“So… This kinda changes things a little. Only a little though. And Angel, for the record, I trust you. You have to trust me too.”
Trust Buffy? Of course I trust her.
~~~~~~~~~~
While Angel sat back on the bed and skimmed the journals, I dozed on my side and looked around the room at the photos he had scattered about the room. The most surprising photo was one of me.
She spied his wallet on the table next to her head so she casually opened it and thumbed through it. Sure enough, there it was. ‘He even has it here too.’ Buffy sighed happily and then frowned. She turned over on her other side to face Angel.
~~~~~~~~~
Some of the things that Angel read had scared him and he suddenly had a need to hear Buffy.
“Buffy…talk to me, tell me what’s on your mind.”
***
I recognized the tone in her voice immediately when she told me we were going to get through this. It was her slayer tone.
“Sometimes Angel the good guys get so caught up in trying to save others that they get lost and need to be saved. Anything I read about you, everything Liam told me..I won’t let you lose your family this time. I won’t let you get lost. I’ll be your stronghold Angel.”
Then she gave me that blinding smile I loved so much and the one that anyone rarely sees. I couldn’t help myself. I put one hand on the back of her neck while the other hand touched the slight bump of her belly.
“God, Angel! I’m gonna be a mom? Ima slayer! And You! You’re gonna be a daddy again!” Then I kissed her swiftly.
“huh? Ange..” I kissed her again, though gently this time; slipping my tongue between her sweet lips and twining our tongues together. She moaned and moved closer to me and deepened our kiss. She threw her leg over my thigh and I pulled away and put my forehead against hers while she took in deep shaky breaths.
“Buffy, I realize end of the world-friends and family in peril- stuff is going on here but we really need to talk.” I tell her. I pecked a kiss on her forehead, then her cheek and then her sweet lips again.
When I pulled back, Buffy asked me,
“Angel, do you..love me? I mean are you madly, passionately, tears you up when we are apart, in love with me?” She held her breath and her eyes pleaded with me to say yes.
“Was the kiss not passionate enough? Am I losing my touch? How about the last time I told you I’d wait for you to be “cookies”?” I tucked her hair behind her ear and continued.
“Damn Buffy only you affect me this way. I smell you; I hear your heart thumping louder when I touch you, my scent is all over you and it’s taking me all the restraint I can muster not to make love to you.” I got up from the bed and paced over to the window.
***
Angel’s back was to me but I heard him murmur. “In two hundred and forty-eight years, I’ve be in love with exactly one woman.” I got up from the bed too and went over to him. He turned to me and took my hands and told me that he had some confessions that he needed to say even if I knew them, “me- Angel; vampire with a soul- I need to tell you.” I noticed he was gripping my hands a little tighter than usual but I didn’t say anything.
~~~~~~~
He pulled the frame of him holding Connor with Wes and Gunn in the Polaroid. “You know about Connor?”
I nodded and told him. “I’m not sure when but Liam told me that the spell was found by Wes. He couldn’t leave it alone. Connor’s parents will be bringing him to you, they think something is wrong with him. Angel… I’m not sure if you want Connor in your life but I will tell you that I met him once. Well I saw him from afar. Liam met him and I followed, looking back now..Maybe Connor knew Liam was sick.” I frowned but continued on. “What else did you want to tell me?”
It seemed to me that Angel was about to let go of whatever else was bothering him. However my phone rang and we smirked as I answered it. “Hello?”
“Buffy! You made it back!”
“Hey Dawnie, Yes, back and in LA.”
“Right, with Angel.” Dawn squealed with joy and told me to call soon and hung up on me.
‘Very weird.’
“Was there something you wanted to tell me?”
He shook his head then said. ” Just that I love you and it can wait. For a little bit.”
She sat down and patted the couch next to hers. As soon as he sat down she asked.” Umm, has the cyborg’s been in yet? Is Spike..is he corporeal?”
Angel groaned and replied “Yes. Why do you have to bring him up?”
Buffy laughed and pecked a kiss on his cheek. “I’m just trying to figure out where I’ve come in Angel.”
“Hold that thought.” He picked up his up phone and answered it. “Hello? Hello?” He frowned at Buffy. “Want to see my apartment at Evil Inc?” He raised an eyebrow at her. And tossed her the orange then he grabbed up their bags.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~