From: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com (buffyfic-digest) To: buffyfic-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: buffyfic-digest V2 #364 Reply-To: $SENDER Sender: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk buffyfic-digest Friday, November 6 1998 Volume 02 : Number 364 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: Mirror, Mirror... - 1/1 by Tiffany BUFFYFIC: Little Mall of Horrors (1/1) BUFFYFIC: That Stupid Jerk (1/1) BUFFYFIC: If You'd Listen See the end of the digest for information on (un)subscribing to the buffyfic or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1998 07:56:29 -0800 From: "Ian and Tiff" Subject: BUFFYFIC: Mirror, Mirror... - 1/1 by Tiffany Title: Mirror, Mirror... - 1/1 Author: Tiffany Gregg E-Mail: iangr@msn.com Distribution: It'll be at my site. If you'd like it for yours, just let me know please. Rating: PG-13 (Special edited edition) Spoiler Warning: nothing really Feedback: Would be most appreciated Classification: BSR (with some angst) Summary: Buffy and Spike make with the smoochies, but... Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon, the WB, FOX and Mutant Enemy. I am making no money in writing this and no copyright infringement is intended. Authors note: This is the 6th part in my "Masquerade" series. The previous parts can be found at my site http://www.thegreggs.com/fanfic.htm (well, part 5 isn't quite there yet). Also, this series takes place after BatB and is a bit of an alternate Buffy-verse. ALSO NOTE: This story has been edited from the original format that was posted to BBETA so that it would fit the requirements (PG-13 cap) for the BUFFYFIC list. ========== Mirror, Mirror... By: Tiffany E-Mail me at: iangr@msn.com Spike slowed as they approached an abandoned warehouse. "Just bloody terrific" he muttered stopping in his tracks. Buffy looked up and saw Spike's minions milling around the building. "Well, Slayer looks like you won't be getting a tour tonight." he said with a shrug. Buffy thought for a moment. "We could go back to my house?" she suggested hopefully. "I don't think your mum would be too glad to see me, Pet." he replied seriously. "She's out of town on another one of her buying tours for the gallery." Spike's eyes glinted with mischief. "Well, then. What are we waiting for, Luv?" Buffy closed the door behind them quickly when they reached her house and threw herself into his arms. Their mouths hungrily devouring one another, tongues dueling, hands roaming. "Spike, I want you to make love to me." the words were simple and spoken so softly that he doubted a mortal could have heard them. "You're sure, Slayer?" For an answer, Buffy took his hand and headed up the stairs to her bedroom. Helpless to resist, Spike followed. Each step closer filling him with excitement and a touch of uncertainty. This is what he'd dreamt of for so many months and his dream was about to come true. The Slayer wanted him. Wanted him as much as he wanted her. Once inside her room, Buffy's bravado seemed to desert her and she stared at Spike with uncertainty in her wide eyes. "We don't have to do this, Pet." Spike said to try and calm her fears. "No, I want to." Buffy said quickly and then added with a blush, "It's just, well, I just, um, don't really know where to start." Spike stifled a laugh and pulled her into his arms. As he held her in his arms he could feel her shaking. Was it from nervousness or excitement he wondered. "Slayer." he murmured as he found her lips and kissed her passionately. Buffy responded to his kiss with spirit, pressing her body into his and circling his neck with her arms. Spike placed tiny kisses all along her jaw and neck. Buffy groaned low in her throat as she felt his tongue lap at her collarbone. "Ah, Slayer. Do you know how long I have dreamt of holding you? Of this very moment?" Buffy looked up into his eyes, they were filled with passion, longing and.....love. She couldn't surpress the smile that lit her face. He wanted her and loved her. Everything felt so right. She pulled his head down to hers and captured his mouth with her own. Her tongue plundering his mouth even as her hands deftly worked the buttons on his shirt. Buffy slid her hands up his smooth, sculpted chest and over his strong shoulders, sending his shirt quickly to the floor. Spike backed Buffy gently towards the bed and she froze and stiffened in his arms. He pulled back and looked down at her. She was staring at something across the room. Buffy felt her breath catch in her throat. She felt as if time was standing still. There in the mirror she could see herself, face flushed with passion. But Spike, who stood right beside her cast no reflection. Memories and emotions came flooding back to her. Vampire. Demon. The words echoed in her mind. She closed her eyes to try and stop them, but they came anyway. Memories of Angel and that same mirror. How could she have let herself get so swept up in her emotions that she could have forgotten that Spike was a blood-thirsty fiend? Spike watched the blood drain from Buffy's face until she was white as a sheet. "What is it?" he asked "What's wrong, Pet?" Then he followed her gaze to the mirror where only her wide blue eyes stared back at him with apprehension and confusion. Buffy unconsciously took a step back. Spike reached out a hand to her and she flinched away. Spike didn't miss the significance of her reaction and bristled. "You know what I am." he said in a cold, defensive voice. "I know." she said in a small voice. "It just startled me a little. It's okay, really. I guess I just forgot." Spike sighed "This isn't going to work, Slayer. I should have known that. I was stupid to think that you could look past what I am to see who I really am." "No, really. It's okay." Buffy said almost in tears. Spike reached out to touch her cheek and she flinched back again. Spike dropped his hand back to his side and clenched his fist. He felt a white hot fury building up inside his gut. Grabbing his shirt off the floor, he fled out of her room, out of her house, out of her life and back into the night. The night that seemed so much darker to him now. Blood red tears ran down his face and as he ran through the night he screamed with all the fury and heartbreak in his being. Back in her room, Buffy sat on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chin and slowly rocked herself back and forth. Tears streaming down her face she wondered what had just happened. Spike was a demon, a bad guy. Why did she keep forgetting that? Even more confusing, if he was her enemy why was he so kind to her. She was sure that it was love she saw in his eyes. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Maybe it was time to talk to Giles? ========== The End. (Masquerade Series - part 6) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Nov 1998 09:01:17 PST From: "Leslie S." Subject: BUFFYFIC: Little Mall of Horrors (1/1) TITLE: Little Mall of Horrors (1/1) AUTHORS: LilS, Tay, Stinger-J EMAIL: leslie_s_@hotmail.com DISTRIBUTION: My pitiful fanfic site. http://beavis.bwave.com/~lilsprout/fanfic.html But if anyone wants it, just let me know and it shall be yours!!! RATING: PG SPOILERS: Sort of "Homecomimg" but not really SUMMARY: Cordelia goes shopping dragging Xander along with her. DISCLAIMER: Characters are borrowed from Joss Whedon and crew, as well as from some folks at the BBC. No infringement is intended. FEEDBACK: is a good thing. But no pressure! NOTE: This round robin fic was spawned one evening due to the fact that our real-time on-line Buffy role playing game was cancelled due to real life happenings. Great literature it ain’t, but we had fun doing it. If you are interested in Buffy chat or want more info on joining our role-playing group, please check out http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Shores/4145/ ***** It was Homecoming. One of Cordy’s favorite times of the year. Especially since she just knew that she would be named Homecoming Queen. Although she was dating Xander Harris, she was confident enough that she would have the votes. SO confident in fact that it called for a trip to the mall. A new dress was in order. She decided to bring Xander along in hopes of forcing him into buying a new suit that looked like he hadn’t picked it off the rack! So with thoughts of a Homecoming victory in her head, Cordy jumped into her BMW and sped off to pick up Xander. So Cordy dragged a reluctant Xander off to the mall. "But I don't NEED a new suit! What's wrong with the one I have?" Xander asked. "Well, first of all, the jacket is pale blue, secondly, the pants are plaid. We are NOT going to the dance with you looking like that!" "Yeah, well..." Xander began. "What if they theme Homecoming for the 70s?" Cordy merely glared at him and swung her car into a smaller-than-average spot at the mall. It was definitely crowded for a Saturday, but in the burgh like Sunnydale, where else is there to be? Cordy swung her door open, dinging the Dodge Dart next to her without a care in the world while Xander tried to squeeze out carefully next to the VR6 Golf on his side. "Cor?" he asked. "Just how am I to pay for a new suit? I'm in highschool!!" "Don’t worry about the money. I have daddy’s platinum card. He won’t even notice the charges with all I have to buy today." Xander groaned. He decided that he would rather spend the day with Giles cross referencing. This "little" shopping trip was gonna earn him some serious closet time. Before they entered the mall, Cordy clued him in her mall strategy. "First we have to go to Sax for the dress. That should take about 2 hours. Then another 40 to 45 minutes in the shoe department…." Xander groaned again as Cordy described her plan in detail, taking up Xander's entire day. But being the faithful boyfriend, into the fray he went. Besides, he didn't have to pay for anything, so it couldn't be too bad. After Cordy had been looking at dresses for about 45 minutes, Xander found himself staring at the watch section of the store as the seconds of his life ticked by as Cordy tried on dress after dress. As Xander tuned out Cordy's frivolous debate on dress, he started humming "Girl from Ipanema" as it was broadcasted over the store PA system. "Xander? What do you think of this one? Xander? Xanderrr!" "Hmm hmm hm hm, the girl from Ipanema goes walking....huh? Oh! oh, yeah yeah it's fine Cor...really, ah… " He started looking closer at the dress. "Cor?" "What? Does it make me look fat?! What?!" "Is there a storage closet nearby?" Cordy gave Xander a glare that would have frozen the Colorado Hot Springs. "Xander….this is important. I have to look my best. And all you can think about is finding a closet and making out?" Xander swallowed hard. "Um …uh……" He decided in this case that honesty might actually get him out of the doghouse. "You look really hot in that dress. And well….just call me hormone boy OK?" Cordy gave him another dubious look. Before she could say anything, Xander backed up a few feet wondering if maybe he was pushing his luck. Cordy took another look at herself in the mirror before turning back to Xander. "Cordy, trust me, you look really great!" Cordy turned and smiled at Xander. "Really?" Than she whispered in his ear, "Lemme pay for this, than we'll go find that closet." Cordy kept the dress on, paying for it with her daddy's credit card. The two left the store and found a little hall that looked like it might lead to a broom closet or something, away from the crowds of the mall. Xander let Cordy lead him down the little hall like the boyfriend he was. She quickly found a door marked Nine West Storage....(Nine West makes nice shoes if'n ya didn't know.) "Quick, in here," she said and dragged him inside. Xander and Cordy proceeded to engage in quite the long and drawn out "make out" session. (Well, to be honest to you the reader, there was a bit of groping included and....Well, I'll be even more honest....Bill and Monica would be embarrassed by what these kids did! However, on the plus side, Cordy found a pair of pumps in her size that she took as a lovely parting gift. ) Cordy took a look at her watch. The were two hours behind schedule!!!! But what a "two hours" it was! "Now back to business Xander. Come on. We need to go to the Men’s Department at Neimens." After they entered the men’s department, a tallish gentleman with a balding head and mustache walked up to them and asked if he could be of assistance. "My boyfriend needs a suit to go with this dress that won’t make him look like a loser." The man nodded and called for a sales assistant. "Mr. Humphries, are you free?" "I'm freeeeee!!!" Xander marveled as the most awkward gentleman virtually pranced over to where he and Cordy stood. "And what can I get for the gentleman?" Xander was ready to quip something nasty back, but Cordy promptly stamped his foot and interrupted. "We need to find him something to match this dress, it's for homecoming and trust me I don't plan on losing. Anyway we need to fix him up with something that won't let him look like the loser he pretty much is." "Well," Mr Humphries said doing that little crossed-arm thing he did when he was contemplating, "I think something in a tan double breasted suit would fit him perfectly!" A look of concern washed over Cordelia’s face. "This won’t be off-the-rack will it?" Mr. Humphries patted her on the arm. "Don’t worry dearie, we’ll fix him up all pretty for you." Now a look of concern washed over Xander’s face. Mr. Humphries took hold of Xander’s arm and lead him behind a partition to take his measurements. Cordelia waited patiently. A few moments later she heard Xander cry out. Being Sunnnydale, she grabbed a stake out of her purse and darted behind the partition. Cordy swung around the partition, stake in hand, in time to see Mr. Humphries rolling up his measuring tape and Xander with still a very startled look on his face. "Thirty two inch inseam, just as I guess," he said and walked past Cordy muttering a quiet "lucky girl" as he passed. Cordy looked blankly as he passed and then, putting her stake away, turned back to Xander. "Well, that had to be an experience," and snickered. It was Xander's turn to glare. "You better stay near the dressing rooms at this rate," he said and walked back out into the department. As Xander brushed past her, she thought she heard Xander mutter something like "related to Larry", but she was too busy staring at the woman with purple hair over at the Ladies Counter to take any real notice. Cordy chatted a few moments with Mr. Humphries to make sure the suit would be ready in time for the dance. Once she was satisfied it would be, she grabbed Xander and headed on to the next store. Xander looked on in horror as he saw their next destination. It was No-man’s Territory. As he struggled against her grip, Xander resigned himself to his fate. He was being dragged into an accessory store! Xander bravely endured the attack of the accessories that Cordy threw at him. From lapel pins to cuff links, from a gaggle of earrings to necklaces of every length, they must have spent a good two hours here as well. Before long, Xander stomach possessed him and he turned into Cro-Xander, dragging his woman off to the food court for dinner. Xander feasted on an upsized value meal from McDonalds while Cordy simply picked on a salad. "You did good today Xander." "Well it really wasn’t all that bad." Xander replied as he remembered their time in the shoe closet. "I might even consider doing it again, he stated thinking it might again gain him some closet time." "Don’t worry Xander. There will be plenty of other chances?" Xander tried to mask his horror. "Wha…what do you mean _other_ chances?" "Let’s see. After homecoming, there’s the Fall Fling, the Christmas Dance, the Spring Fling, the………" Again Xander groaned and resigned himself to his fate. Besides as long as there were closets at the mall, he’d let Cordelia drag him shopping. ~End~ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Nov 1998 18:41:20 -0600 From: Samantha McCullah Subject: BUFFYFIC: That Stupid Jerk (1/1) TITLE: That Stupid Jerk (1/1) AUTHOR: Samantha McCullah EMAIL: ankhet@cswnet.com DISTRIBUTION: Just keep my name attached SPOILERS: Homecoming CONTENT: angst RATING: PG-13 SUMMARY: Willow contemplates Xander DISCLAIMER: If I owned them, do you think I'd still be writing fanfic? Joss owns 'em, not me. The poem quoted is owned by Maggie Estep words in << >> are parts of the poem - ------------------------ That Stupid Jerk (1/1) by Samantha McCullah He kissed me. Eleven years of knowing him, ten years of loving him, and he finally kisses me. He kisses me just when I'm finally in a relationship I like that's not with some demon. I could kill him. I really could. <> Why couldn't we have kissed before? Before Buffy, or Oz, or Cordy, or anyone else, but no, he kisses me now before my first Homecoming dance with a guy that's not Xander. I don't know whether to scream or cry, and usually when I'm feeling like this, I call Xander. But I can't. <> I want to know why I'm so confused all of a sudden. I was *so* over Xander last year when I started dating Oz. When I caught him and Cordy together, kissing. Just like he kissed me. I still don't know what he sees in her. We've hated Cordy for years, and we even formed a 'We Hate Cordelia' club. He's changed her, though. She's actually, dare I say it?, nice. <> He doesn't know I heard him the hospital. I heard him say 'I love you', but I didn't want to believe he'd actually said it. I wanted so much to believe that it had been Oz that said it. But no, it was Xander. All it took was for me to nearly die, and suddenly he loved me. All it took was a change of clothing, and suddenly he kissed me. Sometimes, Xander can be a real idiot. <> I need to tell someone, anyone. But I can't tell Oz or Cordy or Xander, obviously, and Buffy has enough problems so I'm left alone to try and work out my feelings. I can't even tell my parents because they never approved of Oz in the first place. What am I gonna do? <> Maybe I'll go find a vamp to beat up to work out my frustrations. Maybe I just need to sleep on it. Yeah a good night's sleep. Maybe I'll dream of Oz and not Xander. I hope. <> What am I gonna do? *Fin* - ------------------ Feedback is appreciated! Also if anyone wants a complete copy of the poem, just email me. Sam "It's a human trait, remembering things the way we wish they'd been. We rewrite history so that we can live with it. You ask the Russians. Or come to that, ask the Americans or the British." -- Methos Unholy Allies -- http://roswell.fortunecity.com/gypsy/190/index.html Do you have any Buffy/Spike fanfic? Send it to ankhet@cswnet.com and I'll put in the above archive. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Nov 1998 14:00:59 PST From: sasheer@mailexcite.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: If You'd Listen TITLE: If You’d Listen AUTHOR: Alex Queirolo E-MAIL: Treycash1@yahoo.com FAN-FIC SITE: http://www.angelfire.com/co/alexfic/index.html SUMMARY: The missing Angel scenes from TED SPOILERS: Um, TED. Oh ya..and What’s My Line. RATING: PG. Angst. A couple bad words. DISCLAIMER: The characters are not mine. Joss is god. The situations are. I am not god. DEDICATION: To Leona for putting me up. To my sis just because. And to Lex cuz she asked for it. And to my friends on the board cuz you rock. MUSICAL SELECTIONS: Runaway Train by Soul Asylum, Background by Third Eye Blind and Let the Sun Fall Down by Kim Richey. The title hails from Nero’s Rome. FURTHER AUTHOR’S NOTES: The first section takes place after Buffy gets grounded, the second after the “death” of Ted and the third after the real death of Ted. FEEDBACK: Please. “Bought a ticket for a runaway train Like a mad man laughing at the rain A little out of touch, little insane It’s just easier than dealing with the pain.” He was lying on his bed reading when she stepped through the door into his small apartment. Her first thought as her blue eyes settled on his muscular form was that the book he held in his hand looked old. The pages were a dull yellow and looked painfully brittle. How ironic. He glanced up from his original edition of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” when he heard the door click shut. He was about to casually toss off a warm greeting to his beautiful girlfriend but stopped cold when he saw the look on her face. A million things at once. Confusion. Fear. Anger. Sadness. Something was wrong and it showed in the dark shadows surrounding her eyes. Moaning softly, Angel started to sit up, intending to go to her. It still hurt to move but she was worth the pain. She never gave him the chance. She moved quickly across the room and propelled herself into his arms. Immediately, he wrapped an arm around her and began to lightly stroke her back. He could feel her nuzzling herself against his chest, her delicate arms winding around his waist. “Buffy, honey..what’s wrong?” Angel asked softly, planting a soft kiss on top of her blonde head. He slipped a hand under her shirt and began to gently knead the tense muscles he felt there. “Ted,” Buffy Summers muttered, closing her eyes and pressing her face into the meat of his shoulder. Normally she would have laid her head against his chest but even as upset as she quite obviously was, she was still mindful of his recent injuries. “Ah,” Angel nodded thoughtfully. “Ted. What happened?” He wove the hand that wasn’t beneath her shirt into her blonde hair and started gently playing with it, moving the strands between his fingers. He’d once gotten her to fall asleep in his arms by playing with her hair and while that wasn’t exactly the angle he was aiming for now, any degree of relaxation and calm would be welcome. “He’s a creep,” Buffy said petulantly, moaning softly as his hand went to work on easing a particularly painful knot of muscle in her upper back. She arched against it, her eyes falling shut. “Go on,” he urged softly, his voice almost too low to be heard. He pressed his thumb into the muscle and moved it in a slow hard circle, smiling grimly when she cried out again. She was caught in between absolute agony and sheer ecstasy. Moving his digit in closer, he worked on coaxing the knot loose. “He’s gonna marry my mom,” Buffy said bitterly. “God, Angel..he’s crazed. Like Stepfather crazed.” Angel lifted an eyebrow,” I don’t follow.” She waved a hand absently and then moaned again as the knot finally began to loosen under Angel’s constant assault. “It was a movie about a stepfather who was a psychotic serial killer.” “And you think that’s Ted?” Angel asked her gently, not wanting her to think he was making fun of her. “Well maybe.” Buffy said, her lower lip protruding. “He’s definitely psycho but mom’s all ‘ooh Ted’. Yuck. It’s not normal.” “Buffy..” “No!” Her head shot up from his shoulder and she wrenched away from him, whimpering softly at the pain in her back. Shaking her head, she stared back at him. “You don’t understand. The way my mom acts is like a trained golden retriever.. not like someone in love. It’s suddenly like he owns her.” “Love makes you do the wacky. You told me that,” Angel reminded her, reaching out to pull her back into his arms. She shook her head forcefully. “She’s not in love with him. It’s not possible.” She looked up at Angel and saw the soft sympathetic smile he was giving her. Immediately she pushed herself away from him again and began to pace angry circles in front of his bed, looking deeply troubled. “Buffy, talk to me.” Angel urged, stepping towards her. “He said he was gonna hit me, Angel. And he meant it. He got all power-pissed because he caught me cheating at mini-golf and he said he was gonna hit me.” “What?” Angel said sharply, his body tensing. Her narrowed his eyes dangerously and made a low growling noise in the back of his throat. She seemed oblivious to his change in demeanor however because she continued her agitated pacing. “And when I told mom, she didn’t believe me! I mean..how fucked up is that? Let’s see here; big ugly creepy guy or daughter. There’s a fairly tough one there. You know what, I think I’m gonna hafta go with the one that cooks. On second thought mom, great choice..” Angel reached out and grabbed her arm, spinning her out of her angry stride. “Buffy, calm down and talk to me. Did he hit you? Has he touched you?” “No, no, no,” Buffy replied, shaking her head. “No, he hasn’t hit me or tried to..yet. But in the meanwhile, I’m the bad child and I can’t talk to my dad because he’s happy that mom’s happy.” She threw up her hands. “God, this sucks.” He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to it. Then he pulled her into his arms and settled her head beneath his chin. He winced as her body settled against the healing flesh of his exposed chest. She opened her mouth to protest but was quickly silenced by the softness of his lips pressing against hers. She let out a soft throaty moan and then wrapped herself around him. It was he that finally broke the passionate embrace. “It’s okay,” he promised. “Your mom is a smart woman. She won’t let anyone get away with hurting you.” “Ted touches me and I’ll kill him,” Buffy grunted, a half-smile perking her upper lip. “He touches you, I’ll eat him,” Angel replied, kissing her nose. She giggled but didn’t dissuade him and it wasn’t long before that too became lips on lips in a manner that would have put the Hoover vacuum cleaner to shame. “Mmm,” Buffy murmured, finally breaking away albeit reluctantly. “I have to get home.” She slipped her hands up against his cool skin and then rested her head against him, allowing him to breathe in the smell of strawberry shampoo. She felt him shiver as she ran her small fingers across the tattoo. For some bizarre reason, it was a major “yes” spot for him. “Do you have to?” Angel whispered, lowering his head to gently nibble on her ear. Closing his eyes, he took in both the taste of her in his mouth and the feel of her soft hands against his back. She chuckled lightly before turning around and then standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “Technically I’m grounded.” His eyes shot open,”Why?” She shrugged, “I told mom and the Evil Bastard that I’d want to kill myself if they got married.” “Buffy..” “I know, I know. But Angel, believe me…this guy is no Mr..Mr. Brady. He’s loco in the cabasa.” He ran a hand over her cheek. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this.” When his fingers reached her mouth, she kissed the tips. “It’ll be okay,” Buffy assured him, suddenly unwilling to let him worry about her. He had enough problems to deal with. Especially since he had been kidnapped by Spike and Dru. Sighing, she said softly, “I have to go.” “I know,” Angel replied sadly, tracing a finger across her jawline. He wished he could pull her back into his arms and just wrap her tightly in his embrace. “But do me a favor, okay?” She lifted an eyebrow but never hesitated, “Anything.” “Stop by here in the morning. Just..just so I know you’re okay. And..” he smiled shyly, looking very much like a little boy. “Just so I can go to sleep happy.” She blushed and then nodded. “I’ll drop by before I go to school. “Reaching up, she pressed her lips to his once again and then deepened the kiss. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to relax into the passionate embrace. So much in fact that she barely felt him walk her over to the bed. “You’re so tense, Buffy.” He whispered, his hands once again sliding beneath her shirt. He saw her nod her agreement so he smiled. “We’ll fix that and then you can go home, okay?” She chuckled,”You’re the man with the hands.” This section takes place after the “death” of Ted. “And I'm hanging on your words like I always used to do, The words they use so lightly, I only feel for you” By nine-thirty A.M., he was pacing nervously. Anxious and agitated and needing sleep desperately, he continued to rhythmically clench and unclench his fists. And even as it threatened to shut down, his mind continued to pour over the possibilities. Perhaps she had merely slept in. He could still clearly recall the dark circles that had been lurking beneath her bright blue eyes when she’d come to see him the previous night. Things hadn’t been easy for the little Slayer as of late. For any of them really but Buffy had the bad habit of taking everything upon herself. Which naturally made her run herself into the ground. So it made some kind of sense that she might hit the snooze button on her alarm and snuggle back into the soft pillows of her bed. Only Joyce would never let Buffy sleep in on a school morning. He knew for certain because the tiny blonde Slayer was always bitching about it. If Buffy wasn’t in the kitchen by a quarter to eight at the latest, then she would be removed from the bed. Forcibly if need be. So strike that idea. Well okay. So maybe she’d taken too long getting ready and Joyce had had to take her to school. Buffy would have protested but her mother was on some new reform kick that involved ensuring that Buffy at least got to school on time. That was a possibility. It had happened before. So why hadn’t she at least called. She always did when she couldn’t make it because of some unforeseen circumstance. So why hadn’t she? “Maybe she’s hurt,” Angel murmured aloud. His nails dug into the meat of his palm as his pace quickened, tracing the same path that Buffy had frantically worked the night before in her own frustration. He stopped and shook his head. “No.” She was fine. She had to be. If something had happened to her, he would have known. In theory. Reaching across the bed, he grabbed at the cordless that was nestled into the crack where the wall met the mattress. He had put it there the night before so that he wouldn’t have to scurry for the phone should she decide to call him to vent more frustration or even just to talk. He dialed the library quickly and waited impatiently as the phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times. “Hello?” Willow Rosenberg finally answered. She sounded distracted. “Willow, hi. Where’s Buffy?” Angel blurted out quickly. His fingers tangled in the sheets as he fought to make himself comfortable. It was a losing battle. Finally he stood again and resumed his anxious pacing. There was a pause and then Willow replied,”Buffy’s…not here.” “Where is she then? Class?” “Angel..something’s happened,” Willow said cautiously. The moment she said the words, he felt his heart crash to his knees and his stomach heaved violently. “Is she alright?” he whispered. “Physically she’s fine. Emotionally..she’s a wreck.” There was a pause and then she said softly, “Ted is dead.” “Wha? What happened?” Angel gasped out, slowly catching on. “The police report as of right now says that he fell down the stairs and broke his neck. And that Buffy is responsible for it. They haven’t charged her with anything..yet. She’s taking it pretty hard though.” “I imagine,” Angel murmured thoughtfully. “But you’ve seen her this morning, right? You know she’s not hurt, right?” “Xander and I saw her briefly but then she took off. We haven’t seen or heard from her since. We were kinda hoping that she’d gone to see you.” “I wish,” Angel replied, sighing deeply. “Alright, maybe she’ll still show up.” “If she does, call here. We’re all worried. She..she wasn’t herself this morning. I‘ve never seen her this upset and down on herself. And you know how she can get..” “I do,” Angel agreed, thinking about how stubborn his little blonde girlfriend was. She had a hell of a time asking for help and it tended to get her into trouble that would be almost certainly fatal for the average mortal. Then again, Buffy Summers was anything but average. “If we hear from her, I’ll call you,” Willow promised. Then she added, “Don’t worry, we’ll get her through this.” “Thanks, Will.” Angel replied softly. He sighed once more and then removed the phone from his ear and punched the “off” button. Frowning thoughtfully, he crossed over to the closet. He opened it and stared down at the still boxed eighteen inch color Sony. It’d been an impulsive purchase he’d made right after he’d moved into the apartment. And then of course he’d remembered that he had no use for television. Dragging it out, he tore through the packaging until he got the TV, leaving a chaotic circle of debris around him. He pulled it free of the box and then stared at it thoughtfully. The plugging in part made sense at least. Electricity. Power. He reached across and pulled the clock free from the wall and quickly plugged in the cord for the TV. After frowning at it for a moment, he finally jabbed at the gray and white button under the screen labeled “power”. The screen flashed brightly and came to life, assaulting his eyes. Involuntarily, he growled. He’d been with Buffy when she channel-surfed as she called it. What it looked like to him was organized but randomized insanity. Stations flashing by quicker than the human mind could possibly register and causing the viewer to take on a glazed if not slightly euphoric gleam to their eyes. It was nauseating. So the question then became, how did she do it? The remote. He saw it lying in a plastic bag with an oversized white book and two small batteries. He tore through the plastic and pulled out the remote and the batteries. After a few moments of cautious study, he finally but them into the back of the channel-changer. Then he hit the button with the arrow pointing up. The channels flew by in a hypnotic show of light and shapes. “Woah,” he murmured as the bright colors assaulted him. And then he stopped. “…Sunnydale High student is under suspicion but has yet to be charged. At this time, it has not been determined if Ted Buchanon’s death was accidental or intentional. Detective Rick Stein of the Sunnydale Police Department has promised a full investigation and is quick to assure that the truth will be forthcoming.” There was a pause and then the newsman looked dead-on at the camera. “I’m Ken Hill for Channel Seven news.” Angel slid back against his bed. “Oh God, Buffy.” No wonder she’d left school. The media, everyone was looking at her as if she was a cold-blooded killer. And if he knew Buffy the way he thought he did, she was probably agreeing with them. He slammed his fist into his palm and growled. “Dammit.” He should have known better than to let her go back to where she was as upset as she’d been. As it were, she’d been hanging on to her temper by the slimmest of all possible threads. Angel stopped his line of thought abruptly. Buffy wasn’t a killer. A warrior for the good guys but not a murderer. That meant that Ted had done something to her. He narrowed his dark eyes dangerously. Maybe it was a good thing that Buffy had killed Ted then because if the bastard had still been living after he’d in any way hurt Buffy… Angel chuckled humorously as he realized that he would have killed the man without a second thought for even touching Buffy. Only Buffy had gotten there first. And was falling apart because of it. Closing his eyes tightly, Angel silently begged for his beautiful blonde girlfriend to walk through his door. To step into his apartment and into his waiting arms. This part takes place after the real death of Ted. “That old dark cloud Acts like he owns you He takes up too much time Time you could be spending holding me But he can’t have you now.” He pushed the doors to the hospital lobby open and rushed in, looking every bit the part of the concerned and anxious boyfriend that he was. Looking around wildly, his eyes finally settled on the three Slayerettes huddled next to the soda machine. Willow was speaking softly, calmly, as if she was explaining something important. His heart aching more than he’d ever thought possible, Angel made his way over to them. “Where is she? Is she alright?” Willow turned quickly and favored him with a small half-smile. It’d been she that had called him less than twenty minutes earlier from the admissions desk of the Emergency Room. Reaching out, she grabbed his uninjured hand and gave it a squeeze. “She’s fine. A little bruised but fine.” “Who did this to her?” Angel demanded. Willow glanced over at Cordelia, “Would you?” “Ya,” Cordy nodded, stepping a foot closer to Angel. Xander rolled his eyes and then followed after Willow as she made her way over to the admissions desk. “It’s a long story,” the tall cheerleader began as she led him to a row of chairs. He barely paid any attention to her lengthy explanation that was filled with her snappy commentary. Instead he watched the desk where Willow and Xander were calmly talking to the head nurse. Finally he rose from the chair and crossed over to join them, leaving Cordelia alone and slack-jawed. After a beat, she followed. “I know I was talking,” Cordelia admonished, slapping him lightly on the forearm. He tossed her a wary if not slightly apologetic half-smile and then turned back to the desk. “What’s going on? Is there a problem?” The nurse lifted an eyebrow, “And you are?” Angel growled low in throat, frustrated by the woman’s question. Didn’t she understand that only Buffy mattered? Luckily, Willow stepped in. “He’s Buffy’s boyfriend. He’s just worried. We all are. You said she’s okay..so why can’t we see and why hasn’t she been released?” “Well, because she needs an adult to sign her release forms and her mother is still sleeping. We expect her to remain as such until morning.” “And her father?” Xander queried. “We haven’t been able to get ahold of him. And the other person Ms. Summers mentioned is also unreachable.” “Giles?” Willow questioned. The nurse nodded. “You just need a legal adult to sign the papers, right” Angel asked, tapping his fingers anxiously against the desk. The nurse shot him an irritated glare so he stopped. “That’s right. You’re over eighteen?” The nurse asked, a hint of amusement in her gray eyes. “I am,” Angel replied dryly. “You’re a little old to be dating a sixteen year old girl, aren’t you?” she queried, reaching across the desk for a clipboard with release forms attached to it. He shot her a wary look and took the board from her. Teeth clenched in frustration, he went to work on filling out the necessary paperwork. “So we’ll tell her mom that Giles signed her release forms,” Willow instructed the group as they walked down the hospital hallway. “Which he would have if anyone knew where the hell he was,” Xander commented, pointing dramatically at a door. The group entered slowly, cautiously. She was sitting by a large white bed that was holding her mothers’ sleeping form. Angel cast a quick cursory glance over the older Summers woman and then nodded slowly. She’d be fine. “Buffy,” Willow chirped, reaching over to squeeze her best friends’ free left hand. The right one was holding a blue ice pack to her jaw which looked to be several different shades of purple and blue. The swelling had really kicked in. “Are you okay?” She took away the ice pack and nodded slowly. “I’m fine, Will. We both are, thanks to you guys.” She stepped over to Xander and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you for calling the ambulance for my mom. I guess I was a little out of it.” Xander lifted and eyebrow and then shrugged. “Sure, anything for my Buffster. How are you feeling?” “Like I hate this place,” Buffy muttered beneath her breath. And then she turned towards the dark shadows that consumed the corners of the rooms. “Would you stop lurking, please?” “Sorry. Habit,” Angel apologized, stepping forward to take the tiny Slayer into his arms. He kissed her hair and then lifted her hand back to push the icepack against her jaw again. “God, I’m glad that’s over,” she murmured, relaxing into his hold. And then her eyes flew open and she separated herself from him. “Wait a minute! What the hell are you doing out of bed? You’re hurt..” He smirked. “So are you. Why don’t you let me take you home so you can get some rest. You look beat.” “But mom..” “Will be fine,” Willow soothed. “Go home and sleep.” Her tone was firm. “But..” “I’d listen to her when she gets like that,” Cordelia suggested as she gazed at her nails with a frown. “Damn, I chipped one. Gross.” Sighing deeply, Buffy finally relented. “Fine. Did Giles sign my papers?” “I did,” Angel said quickly. “So no more questions. You’re going to bed. Now.” She was practically sleepwalking by the time he led her into her bedroom. Giving her a quick kiss, he urged her towards the bathroom so that she could get ready for bed. While she was gone, he pulled the drapes tightly around the window so that the light wouldn’t be a problem come morning. She re-entered the bedroom wearing blue and white boxers that looked awfully familiar and an oversized white men’s tee-shirt. He lifted an eyebrow. “Mine?” She just smirked and made her way over to where he was sitting on the bed. Reaching out, she wrapped an arm around him and then placed her head lightly on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked. “I mean..really okay?” “I’m fine. A little shaken up maybe but I’m me. Everyone is finally okay. And Ted is gone.” She sombered up a bit as she thought about it. He opened his mouth to question her but was stopped by the feel of her body leaning against his as she tried to embrace sleep. She gently pushed her balled fist into the meat of his shoulder as if she was trying to make him a more comfortable pillow and then she settled against him. Drowsily she murmured, “G’night Angel.” He kissed her lightly, “Sleep well.” Weaving a hand into her hair, he pulled her even closer so that he could feel the pressure of her heart beating. He watched thoughtfully as her breathing slowed into a gentle pattern and she finally slipped into the first restful sleep she’d had in days. Pulling the blanket up and around them, he shifted his body so that he was holding her completely, hands meeting in front of her. He pressed his cheek against hers and then set to watching her sleep. - -FIN _______________________________________________________ Get your free, private e-mail at http://mail.excite.com/ ------------------------------ End of buffyfic-digest V2 #364 ****************************** To subscribe to buffyfic or buffyfic-digest, send the command subscribe buffyfic-digest or subscribe buffy to majordomo@xmission.com. You will need to go through a confirmation process, and the listowners have to manually approve your subscription request, so it may take some time. To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@xmission.com with unsubscribe buffyfic-digest or unsubscribe buffyfic in the body. Back issues of this digest can be found at: ftp://ftp.xmission.com/pub/lists/buffyfic/archive/ Dalton Spence has also provided an index of the buffyfic archive at: http://www.hwcn.org/~ag775/BUFFYFIC.HTM For help, contact Jill Kirby (jtkirby@mcs.com) or sah (romana@mindspring.com)