The Buffy/Angel Reunion: Chapter 1
by Stephanie Loss
Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, I would be spending my time writing episodes, not fanfiction and “Buffy” and “Angel” wouldn’t be on different networks!!!

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She had the benefit of leaving before the sun set, but he had every human emotion pushing him further along, trying to reach that secluded spot just a little bit sooner.

He had arrived the place they had decided on. It was strange how the brain worked, he couldn’t remember how they had come upon this strip of beach, but he could remember clearly the exact place she had froze, staring out over the ocean, then collapsed onto the beach crying. Confused and not sure what to do, he crouched down beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She held onto his arms as if she would lose him if she were to let go. They stared over the ocean, and she cried.

His emotions were in the same swirling state as they had been then. She was back. She had been violently pulled out of the place she was supposed to be. He had lost her. He didn’t want to face the possiblilty of losing her again, but did they really have a choice?

Angel moved across the beach, his unbeating heart lifting at every tiny footprint he saw ahead of him in the sand. She was here. She was alive. Then, he saw her. Her figure silhouetted in the moonlight, her blonde hair slowly drifting against the black leather of a familiar jacket. He felt a wave of pride, possession when he saw she was wearing HIS leather jacket. She had kept that reminder of him. She had cared enough to save it, preserve it. She cared.

Once again, she was staring out over the water, feeling the moonbeams radiate onto her face. The breeze lifted her hair and the dream from so many years ago returned.

“How did you find me?”

She felt a pair of arms slide around her waist, feeling far to real for the memory of a dream.

“I would always find you. As long as I can feel you inside my heart, I will find you.”

The slight change from the dialogue of her dream brought her back to the current day.

“Angel.” She sighed as he held her tighter against his chest and laid his cheek on her head. “Is this a dream?”

“No.”

“A nightmare?”

“This is real, Buffy.” His words sank in to his rapidly firing brain. “Oh, Buffy, I should have been there. I…”

“Shush.” She reprimanded as she turned in his arms. “I did what I had to do, I protected Dawn and saved the world.” She forced some humor in her voice. “I wish there was a scoreboard. I can’t remember how many apocalypses I’ve diverted.”

“I should have stopped them from bringing you back.”

“Oh.”

One look into her eyes had been enough. It had to be the Powers That Be’s idea of poetic justice. She had to send him to Hell, while she got sent to Heaven, only to be pulled back out by the friends that loved her, and thought they were helping her.

And he should have known. He should have been able to see the grim determination in Willow’s eyes as she told him what had happened. But as Wesley pointed out later, Angel did have far larger concerns on his mind, like Buffy’s death.

She was here, and that was almost worth everything to him. Almost, until he saw the torment in her eyes. She had been happy, contented, peaceful, and then it was all taken away.

She looked up at him, seeing the pain written across his own face. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you.”

“You had a lot of adjusting to you. I understand. I remember.”

“Who finally called you?”

“Dawn. She didn’t think it was fair, so she took matters into her own hands.”

She sighed again, and put her head on his chest.

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