Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series and all associated characters and plots are owned by Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon.
Buffy Summers sat down in front of her brand new computer, cracked her knuckles, sighed and began to write her memoirs. Though most Americans would believe the book to be a work of (hopefully masterful) fiction, a select few would know the truth - that vampires, ghosts, demons and all the other things that go bump in the night actually do exist. A year after defeating the First Evil and consequently destroying her home, Buffy was growing restless. No longer the one and only Slayer, she was free to do as she pleased.
The once-potential slayers she had trained in those last days before their epic battle were now older, wiser and more mature. They took on the majority of the patrolling, slaying and teaching that needed to be done, relying on Buffy to handle only the most complicated things. There were now several slayers stationed in Cleveland, monitoring the activity on the Hellmouth there. Buffy and her friends, Willow, Xander, and Faith and her old watcher, Giles, had only been called to help them twice - both times to stop more apocalypses.
Willow was alone again. Kennedy had just been experimenting, and then decided that she was not a lesbian and certainly didn’t love Willow. The two parted ways on less than amicable terms, which caused Buffy, Xander, Faith and Giles to become quite protective of the young witch. In an unconscious act of revenge, Giles stationed Kennedy in some third world country in South America, where she was in charge of keeping an eye on an anomaly that threatened to become a Hellmouth but that was currently no more than a slight nuisance. Faith, on the other hand, was still quite close to Wood, though the two had decided to just be friends. Wood was stationed in Australia, a country he said he had always wanted to visit. He came back to England from time to time, while Kennedy knew she was unwelcome.
Andrew Wells, the slightly annoying ex-bad guy had assisted his newly adopted friends in establishing a slayer school. Willow had gotten the idea from Harry Potter and Hogwarts. Each year at age twelve when the typical signs of slayerhood began to appear, they planned to recruit girls, offering to bring them to England to be trained in the ways of the Slayer, while still managing to get a normal education. The system had not yet been tested, as the school was scheduled to open in the fall, but somehow Giles and Willow seemed to think that no parents would have problems sending their young daughters to a foreign country, or even accepting the whole concept of the Slayer for that matter. Nevertheless, Giles now had a whole new system of Watchers who doubled as tutors. Some were stationed in various countries where supernatural activity was strong to keep a look out for potential slayers.
After Sunnydale was destroyed, Buffy thought long and hard about what she wanted to do with her life. She decided to go back to college and planned to leave England and her friends in a month to return to California where she would attend the University of Los Angeles.
“Buffy, you realize that if you go back to Los Angeles you might run into Angel, right?”
“I don't care. I'm just sad we won't be together anymore."
“Yes. You know I’m going to miss you, right?”
“Well, you got into Oxford, it’s not like Giles or Xander or I would let you go anywhere else now. Besides, I’ll be back for the holidays, and if one-hundred seventeen people decide to drop out before second semester starts, I can transfer and go to school with you.”
Before returning to the hustle and bustle of real life, Buffy felt like she needed to get some things off her chest, so she decided to write about her life, hoping to get it all down prior to leaving for school. She chose to split the work into in eight books; one for each year of her life in Sunnydale, plus one to describe what happened in the past year. Each book would be broken up further into chapters. She would leave it open if she ever decided to write more and wouldn’t finish section eight until she returned to the States. Everything was outlined, now all that was left was actually writing the darn thing.
My Life As The Vampire Slayer
Book I: The Master
Chapter 1: Welcome to Sunnydale
Chapter 2: New Friends
Chapter 3: The Harvest
Chapter 4: Prophecies
Chapter 5: Facing the Master
Chapter 6: Death Number One
Book II: Spike, Drusilla and Angelus
Chapter 1: A New Threat
Chapter 2: Kendra
Chapter 3: My Seventeenth Birthday
Chapter 4: Consequences
Chapter 5: My Worst Fears
Chapter 6: Sacrifice
Book III: The Mayor
Chapter 1: Los Angeles
Chapter 2: Starting Over
Chapter 3: Faith
Chapter 4: Love Transcends All
Chapter 5: High School Milestones
Chapter 6: The Final Battles
Book IV: Adam and The Initiative
Chapter 1: Welcome to UC Sunnydale
Chapter 2: Psychology 101
Chapter 3: Betrayals
Chapter 4: Moving On
Chapter 5: The Government
Chapter 6: United We Stand
Book V: Glory
Chapter 1: Dracula and Dawn
Chapter 2: Sickness
Chapter 3: More Betrayal, Different Guy
Chapter 4: Death
Chapter 5: Coping and Running
Chapter 6: My Gift
Book VI: The Troikia, Willow and Inner Demons
Chapter 1: Painful Return
Chapter 2: Life as a Musical
Chapter 3: Solutions Causing Trouble
Chapter 4: Losing Touch
Chapter 5: Death and Goodbye
Chapter 6: The Scariest Moments
Book VII: The First Evil
Chapter 1: Back to School
Chapter 2: Potentials
Chapter 3: Training and Preparation
Chapter 4: Old Friends and New Ones
Chapter 5: Origins and Secrets
Chapter 6: Goodbye Sunnydale
Book VIII: Life Beyond Duty
Chapter 1: England
Chapter 2: UCLA
As she hammered out each chapter of each section, Buffy began to let go of her past, and the things that still troubled her. She cried when she wrote about people she had lost, and especially over Angel, her mother, Tara and Anya. Most of all, she cried for her lost innocence and over having to grow up so fast. Despite her tears, getting her feelings out on paper lead her to a conclusion she had hoped to avoid for at least a few months. She knew that her books, her life would not be complete unless she took action and changed her situation. Right then and there, she decided to follow her heart instead of her head, knowing it was the right decision.
“I don’t know why I feel so much better now, Will. I spent the last three days crying my eyes out.”
“It’s a cathartic thing, crying. It helps relieve stress and tension, and with your history, no wonder it helped so much. Now, Xander and I have a surprise for you. We’re going to tour Europe for the next two weeks. We’ll be back in time for you to get packed to leave for school.”
“Just the three of us?”
“Yup, just the three of us. Kind of as a last hurrah before you and I go back to college and Xander starts helping Giles with Slayer School.”
“Have you guys picked a name for it yet?”
“Yeah. We decided to name it ‘Snyder’s Correctional Facility for the Criminally Insane’.”
“What?! Snyder?! That rat?! Correctional School?! Please tell me you’re making a Harry Potter allusion.”
“Of course it’s an allusion. I’m just kidding with you, jeez, you should see your face! We’re really not sure still.”
“When are we leaving on our trip?”
“Two days.”
“Good, that means there’s plenty of time for shopping and sleeping between now and then.”
****** Three weeks later, Buffy said good-bye to her friends in an airport terminal at Heathrow International Airport. Her backpacking trip with Willow and Xander had offered some much needed relaxation and some much needed violence. While they were in Prague, they heard about some suspicious activity and found a newly formed vampire nest. Needless to say the nest was gone before they left.
“Final Boarding Call for flight 326 to Los Angeles. Final Boarding Call for flight 326 to Los Angeles.”
“That’s me, you guys. I really have to go now.”
“I know, I just wish you didn’t. How am I supposed to get through school without you?” Willow asked her.
“And who’s going to keep me company when we have to go bail out the junior-Slayers, B?” Faith added.
“And who’s going to watch East Indian movies with me?” Xander continued.
“And who’s going to keep Dawn in line?” Giles interjected.
“And who’s going to keep the rest of them in line?” Dawn said, rebutting Giles’s comment about her.
“You guys will just have to fend for yourselves. Besides, Willow, you never needed me to help you get through college the first time. You will get to class and immediately make friends with everyone around you. Faith, if the Cleveland bunch need help, I’ll be flying in to meet you. Xander, you can always call and we’ll watch together over the phone. Giles, you know as well as I do that Dawn is more obedient and more helpful than I ever was and you handled me just fine. Dawn, you’re in charge, and you did have the option of coming with me and living with Dad.”
“True, sis, but then I would have to give up the notion that all of this exists. Plus he’s never home. Now get on the plane and call as soon as you land.”
Buffy turned and walked down the gangplank, obeying Dawn’s instructions. She did not turn back to look at her friends because she didn’t want them to see her crying. She found her seat, stowed her bag and buckled her seat belt. In the seats on her right was an older couple who were talking about what sounded like a cruise to celebrate their thirty-fifth anniversary. The man turned to Buffy and asked her where she was going.
“I’m going home.”
“Oh, that’s lovely dear. My name is Edward Lloyd and this is my wife Margaret.”
“I’m Buffy Summers.”
“Did you enjoy England, love?” Margaret asked.
“Yes. Actually, I’ve been here for nearly a year. I came over with my sister and some friends who were relocating.”
“Oh! With Rupert Giles?”
“Yes, I was. How did you know that? How do you know Mr. Giles?”
“Rupert is my younger brother. I spoke with him for the first time in many years a few days ago. He told me he had just returned from training the Slayer in California,” Margaret answered.
“Oh! You know about the Slayers?”
“Why, yes, dear. We’re both retired Watchers,” Edward fielded that question. “So you’re the infamous Buffy Summers?”
“Yes. I suppose I am.”
“We’ve heard so much about you. Tell us, how did you manage to defeat the Master?”
Buffy talked with the Lloyds for the entire plane ride to Virginia, where the plane had to land and refuel. The English couple left her at that point to catch their connecting flight to Miami. She never learned that they were only on the plane to keep her occupied during the long flight.
Giles and Willow had talked for a long time before they reached that solution. They didn’t want Buffy to think too much about what she was doing, knowing full well that if she over analyzed the situation she would have disembarked and gotten on a return flight to England, abandoning the idea of college and a fresh start.
Little did they know Dawn and Xander had hatched a plan of their own. Losing his eye had lead Xander to really consider his life. This lead him to some rather guilty feelings over his treatment of Buffy’s relationship with Angel and his lie about Willow’s instructions that fateful day six years earlier. Dawn knew that her sister was not ever going to feel whole unless she got back together with the vampire and knew Xander was feeling guilty about his actions, so she talked him into setting Buffy and Angel up. With the help of Fred and Wesley, Xander and Dawn had arranged for Angel to meet Buffy at the airport, only he did not realize who he was meeting. Nor did she know he would be there. It was all supposed to be a surprise.
Buffy sighed as she looked out the window over the Grand Canyon and thought about the surprise wrapped carefully and settled in the bottom of her suitcase. She turned her attention back to the movie playing in the front of the plane. Less than an hour later, she wearily deplaned. In her jet lag induced stupor, she walked directly into Angel, who had been standing with his back to her.
“Oh, excuse me...” Buffy began before realizing who she had literally run into. “Angel.”
“Buffy?! What are you... You’re the mysterious client I had to pick up. I see, very funny Wesley.” Angel said to no one in particular.
“I’m sorry, what? I didn’t understand a word of what you just said. I blame the jet lag.”
“I was just putting together some puzzle pieces. How are you?”
“Other than tired, I’m okay. I’m heading back to go to college. UCLA.”
“Interesting.”
Neither Buffy nor Angel remembered sitting down on the hard plastic chairs in the terminal, but somehow they were now sitting across from one another.
“Angel, I want you to know that in the last year I’ve done a lot of thinking.”
“Really? About what?” But Angel had already guessed what she was about to say, and Buffy knew it. His eyes had grown hazy for a moment, then softened into the look he saved just for her.
She smiled softly. “Why, I think you know what.”
“Okay, since you’ve had a long day, I’ll let you tell me later. Where are you staying?”
“I’m not supposed to be on campus for two days, and I’m not living in the dorms. I had hoped to find some sort of teeny tiny apartment. Right now, I was going to crash in the airport hotel.”
“No you’re not. You’re coming with me, and I don't want to hear any arguments.”
Buffy didn’t argue, didn’t put up any kind of fight. The two of them walked toward baggage claim to pick up her luggage. Then Angel lead her to his car and drove her to the Wolfram and Hart LA offices. She fell asleep during the nearly silent drive, which was Angel’s intention when he turned off the radio. She had looked utterly exhausted walking through the airport. He parked the car in its designated space in the motor pool and turned it off. He got out of the car and called for someone to carry her bags upstairs to his apartment. Then he moved around the car, opened the passenger side door, undid her seatbelt, and lifted her into his arms with ease. Angel carried her into the building, through the nearly silent lobby onto the elevator, where he awkwardly tried to press the button that would carry them to his penthouse suite.
“Which floor is it, Angel?” Buffy asked, having woken up as soon as he had picked her up. She had enjoyed feeling safe and warm in his arms, so she didn’t say anything.
Angel knew she was awake, had felt the slight difference in her breathing so he wasn’t startled by her voice.
“23.”
Buffy hit the button and looked up at him.
“You can put me down if you want.”
“I know. I like holding you though. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t much fun on the car ride over here.”
“You just had a fifteen hour plane ride. You have every right to be exhausted.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“My apartment. And before you get all freaked out, I have a guest room.”
“I wasn’t freaking out. I trust you with my life. You’re my Angel.”
“Do you think you’ll be up for discussion tomorrow?”
“I can guarantee it.
Angel carried her out of the elevator and set her down so he could unlock and open the doors to his apartment. They walked in and he showed her to her room.
“My room is through this door and the bathroom is through this one. Feel free to wake me if you need anything. There are towels and other things in the closet in the bathroom. I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Buff.”
Angel kissed her cheek and watched as she walked into her room and shut the door before he retired himself.
******The next morning, Buffy woke up not remembering where she was. She panicked for a moment before it all came back to her. She showered and got dressed and wandered into the living room. Angel was waiting for her, having gotten up to get her something to eat when he heard her wandering through the apartment.
“So, you’re going back to school. What are you going to study?”
“I’m not sure yet. I just registered for classes that interested me. I’ll probably go into psychology.”
“Interesting.”
“But it’s not what you really want to ask, I can tell. Go ahead.”
“Well, I was just wondering how you are?”
“Peaceful. Content.”
“Bored out of your mind?”
“And nearly crazy for missing you,” Buffy’s eyes widened as soon as she finished her thought. “I didn’t mean to tell you that.”
Angel shifted from his chair to sit next to her on the dark leather couch. He took her hands and looked into her eyes.
“I’m glad you did. I feel the same way, you know.”
“I know.” Buffy got up and ran back to her room and emerged carrying a small shoe box with tin foil peeking out from under the lid.
“To be honest with you, I was counting on running into you when I came back. I was even prepared to search the city for you. Here,” she handed him the box, “open it.”
Inside was a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies.
“I’m finished baking. I know who I am, I just need to figure out what I want to do with my life. I can’t do that on my own.”
“What can I do?”
“The same thing you’ve been doing for the past eight years.”
“Love you?”
“Yeah. That's all I need to finish my story.”
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