Going back to the begining.: Chapter 13
by Peaches Girl
“Well it looks like Wicca girl came thru in the end.” Buffy quipped as she saw Willow approach. She was proud of her friend. She noted the bounce in her step but also that she was clutching her hand.
“Did you get hurt?”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle. I can’t take all the credit though, Illyria was a big help; couldn’t have done it without her.” Willow pulled up a crate and sat down.
Spike strode up next to Illyria and put a hand on her shoulder. “Good for you blue, knew you had it in ya.” Spike looked over to Willow and gave his usual smirk of a smile. “Red……..nice to see ya.”
Just then Dawn, Xander, and Andrew came running down the alley towards everyone. “Hey guys guess its over.”
“Hey bit, you look all grown up.”
Dawn strode calmly over to Spike with a smile on her face then viciously slapped him across the face. Everyone around began to laugh as Spike rubbed his face, “Bloody hell, what was that all about”.
Dawn heard the laughter and she too started to giggle at the look on Spike’s face. Then she flung her arms around his neck giving him a tight hug. “That’s for not calling when you came back. This is for being…….not dead.” And she reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Spike was shocked at first but then wrapped his arms around Dawn hugging her back. “Nice to know you care bit.”
“Well I’m getting all warm and fuzzy but I think we should pack it up and head back to base.” Faith got up and headed out of the alley.
“Spike, Angel, Illyria, you are welcome to come with us. We already have Gunn. He was in bad shape but the girls are fixing him up as we speak. By the way, where is Wesley?” Willow directed her question to Angel but Illyria was the one to answer.
“Wesley is dead. I am still feeling grief; I wish this emotion to stop now.”
“Spike you go with them. Illyria….take me to Wesley’s body; I think we should give him a proper burial.” Angel asked Willow where they were staying and he left with Illyria.
They headed back to the building with the rest of the Slayers. By the time they reached the main entrance to the building Buffy was steaming mad.
She walked in slamming weapons on the floor and snipping at anyone who came too close to her. Willow tried to calm Buffy as she usher the remaining girls up the stairs. “Buffy gees, the battle is over. What’s with the Drill Sergeant rant?”
“You know, he didn’t even say thank you….or…or….god what is his problem!”
“Ok, so we’re talking about Angel then?” Willow sat down on the bench next to the elevator pulling Buffy with her.
“Of course…...who else? First he yells at me for being there, and then when it’s all over he just walks away……no, thanks for saving my ass, or nice to see you again. I just don’t get him Will. Maybe it’s really over, maybe he has moved on with this new girl and he doesn’t want me. I think I made a mistake coming here. I should have just let Faith take care of this one and stayed in Rome to handle the Immortal.” Buffy rubbed her face, and leaned her head against the wall.
“No Buffy. You know what’s at stake here. You have to talk to him, tell him about his soul…..about the prophecy. He needs to know the truth, all of it, and I think you are the one that should tell him. We just got thru a huge battle, and I think he just needs to clear his head. Besides, he lost Wesley that’s got to be bothering him.”
Willow wrapped her arm around Buffy and tried to give her comfort. Buffy leaned against her and let out a sigh.
“So…you could be right. I need to talk to Spike first anyway. If anything I can take my frustration out on him.” Buffy and Willow shared a laugh.
“Yea, he went up to Faith’s room with Dawn. I’m sure Wood will be happy to see him.” They laughed again.
Buffy went strait up to Faith’s room and dragged a very reluctant Spike back to her room. After a few hard smacks she settled down enough to have the heart to heart talk she wanted.
The conversation went different than she had expected and she was surprised at his loyalty and praise of Angel though he said if she dare repeat his words he would deny every syllable. He convinced her to calmly talk to Angel and tell him how she felt and she planned to do that as soon as he arrived.
It took Angel a few hours to deal with Wesley’s remains. He found a funeral home near the Hyperion and secured the silence of the funeral director with a sizable check.
They would have a small service the next evening and bury Wesley in a marked grave in the courtyard of the Hyperion.
They went back to Faith’s place, and after talking to Giles and Willow, Angel retreated to the roof. Things had been crazy the past few days and all he wanted was some piece and quiet to reflect.
As he looked over the city his mind began to think of the people he had lost. Doyle, Cordelia, Fred, and now Wesley, their loss had left a gaping hole in his heart that he felt could never be filled. It pained him to think that all of these people lost their lives trying to help him in his fight for redemption. He became somber and a lone tear slipped down his cheek.
He sat there for hours waiting for the sun to come up thinking he should just put an end to all his suffering and let the sun turn him to ash and scatter him across the city. That would be quitting, and someone had told him long ago that being strong was fighting…….every day, so just before the first rays of the sun came up he retreated to the building.
He thought about taking the sewers out and heading back to the Hyperion to sleep in his old room but he knew that Buffy would track him down. It would cause an even bigger fight than they were already going to have so he decided it was time to face the music.
He lightly knocked on her door and when he received no answer he turned and headed down the hall. He only got a few steps when the door opened and a sleepy looking Buffy peeked out into the hallway.
“It’s about time. Come in it’s more private than the hall.” Buffy sleepily said as she opened the door wider for him to enter.
“If you’re sleeping I could come back later?” He said quietly as he inched further down the hall trying to escape the impending fight.
“No its ok I’ve been waiting for you. Don’t worry I’m not going to bite your head off….come in.”
Angel slowly made his way into her room and gently closed the door behind him. He felt uncomfortable and stood near the door not knowing what to do next. Just the thought of being alone in a room with Buffy made his skin tingle but actually being there made that tingle almost burn. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and press his cool lips to hers.
He couldn’t help but look over every inch of her body admiring the way she had grown the past few years. He always thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen but the vision standing in front of him now was no girl, she was all woman, and more radiant than he could ever imagine.
She was dressed in a small tank top and a pair of pink boxer shorts. He was glad for the darkness of the room and hoped Buffy didn’t notice the increasing bulge in the front of his pants.
Buffy motioned him over to a chair across from her bed as she took a seat, yawned, and grabbed a pillow to lie across her lap.
“I guess I should thank you for coming. I’m sorry I didn’t say that earlier it was hectic and I really needed to take care of Wesley.” Angel broke the silence that seemed to be looming.
“What ever. That’s not really important right now. I need you to know that Faith has been here for a few weeks keeping tabs on you and your people. Now before you get upset and say anything, I also want you to know that we knew about this fight before you did. A prophecy, like there isn’t always, and Giles sent her here to make sure we could help when the time came.” Buffy tried not to sound angry but she was having a hard time keeping the sarcasm out of her voice.
Angel could feel the anger starting to rise and he fought hard to stay focused and not lash out.
“I see….the council saw fit to keep tabs on us to help in an apocalypse but when we called to help a dying friend we couldn’t be trusted? Now how is it that I’m not supposed to get upset because right now I feel pretty damn upset?” Angel leaned back in the chair and put his head back letting out a huge sigh trying to hold back the anger boiling up.
“I…..I didn’t know that whole scene went down Angel. I hope you believe me…it wasn’t me that said those things when Andrew……. I only found out what happened a few days ago. If I had known Fred was in trouble I swear I would have helped.” Buffy saw the hurt in his eyes and she couldn’t stop the tears that began to well up.
Angel looked up and saw her crying, he grabbed her from the bed and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and as he did she began to sob openly. He hugged her tighter and whispered sweetly into her ear.
They sat there until he heard her breathing even out and he knew that she had fallen asleep. He got up with her in his arms and laid her on the bed. He stared down at the beautiful form of his ex-lover for a few minutes before turning and heading for the door.
“Angel?” She said sleepily. “Please don’t leave. I still have things to say. Will you lay with me a while?”
It was then that Angel noticed the state of his body. He was covered from head to toe in demon slime and soot. He smelled horrible and needed a shower and a change of cloths desperately.
“Can you wait until I clean up?”
Buffy sat up and looked him up and down. She furrowed her brow and then smiled at him.
“Bathroom is over there. I think Spike left you a change of cloths in the bag near the door. When your finished come back here…..ok?” Buffy smiled and lay back down.
Then mention of Spike’s name rolling off her lips made him cringe with jealously but he was so tired that it only lasted a brief moment before he turned to enter the bathroom.
Angel thought it was a bad idea him being in a bed so close to Buffy but his exhausted body wouldn’t be able to do much anyway. He took a hot shower and put on a pair of boxers then slid into bed next to her.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against his body. She let out a soft moan and he snuggled his head into the crook of her neck giving it soft kisses. He breathed her scent in deeply and smiled at the familiarity of it. He closed his eyes and let his body relax. Just before he drifted off to sleep he whispered ‘I love you’.
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