a/n: Betas: Slaymesoftly and Mabel Marsters. A/N: While my BTVS verse is AU, I’m keeping in canon for Angel the Series. Angel makes this visit During S4 of AtS, which is parallel to BTVS S7. So he appears here between his S4 episode 2: Ground State and episode 3: The House Always Wins.

Banner made by: me, Dawnofme.




Chapter Five: Sherlock Gets a Clue


“Hello, Buffy.”

They jumped off the headstone in unison and stared at each other with open mouths. Faith, understanding Buffy’s distress at seeing her ex, stepped forward and lightly punched Angel on the arm.

“Hey, man. It’s good to see you.”

Angel took his eyes off Buffy and smiled at Faith.

“It’s good to see you, too. Heard you got out.” His smile was genuine. “Giles said you were patrolling, so I came to say ‘hi’ before I head on back.”

“You just got here and you’re leaving so soon?” Faith asked.

The girls listened in shock as Angel described in detail why he’d hadn’t been around to help when Faith was in trouble. When he was finished, he sniffed, widened his eyes, and put out his hand to silence Faith before she could speak.

“Shh! There’s another vampire near by.” He turned slowly in a tight circle, scanning the area around them with narrowed eyes.

Faith snickered. “No shit, Sherlock.”

“Faith!” Buffy shook her head at the girl.

Finally getting the clue that this wasn’t the time to be joking, Faith sobered up. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

“It’s…it’s me, Angel.”

He snapped his head in her direction and blinked once. “No.”

Tears formed and she fought for the ability to speak. She knew the day would come when she’d have to see him again, but it would have been a lot better if she’d had time to prepare for this moment. “Yes.”

“When did this happen?”

The anger in his voice surprised Buffy, as she thought he‘d be more sad than angry. “A couple of days before you got that call about Faith.”

“I’m so sorry. I got the message about Faith, but not the one about you being turned. No one in my gang said anything to me.”

“That‘s because I never called you, and I asked everyone that knows to keep quiet for now.”

“Why wouldn’t you call me? I could have helped.” The hurt was written all over his face.

“It wouldn’t have mattered, would it? You wouldn’t have been there.”

His eyes widened again as a thought occurred to him. “Who did this to you?”

She looked down. “I really…I mean, I don’t want to talk about it now.”

Faith looked from Buffy and back to Angel, who was about to continue with his questions. “Drusilla did it, okay? Now leave her alone about it, until she’s ready to talk.”

He staggered forward, but stopped and turned his back on them both while he attempted to get his emotions in check. Buffy wanted to get out of there. Wishing she’d stayed home, she played with the hem of her shirt.

He whirled around and grabbed her into a hug. The emotions she felt were strange as she fought the desire to push away from him. For years, she’d longed to be wrapped up in his strong arms, but now that she was there, she realized that he was a little too tall and a little too wide.

The hug lasted all of two seconds and then, as if he read her mind, Angel pushed her away with enough force to have her stumbling back.

“He’s all over you,” he said through clenched teeth. “Why is it that you reek with the stench of Spike?”

She told herself that she had no reason to feel guilty as he glared at her with accusing eyes, waiting for her to explain. Angel had no claims on her. As a matter of fact, she reminded herself, he had practically kicked her out of LA when she‘d been there last, and they weren‘t an item.

Buffy shook her head. “I…I don’t owe you any kind of explanation.” She glanced at Faith. “I need to go. We’ll talk later?”

When Faith nodded, Buffy turned to look for her sword, doing her best to ignore Angel. Once she had it secure, she started to jog towards the exit. Angel called out to her, but she kept on going.

“Buffy!” Faith called to her. When Buffy stopped, Faith yelled out, “See you tomorrow night at the Magic Box?”

“Okay.” She yelled back and waved. Then, she resumed her pace and ran out of sight.

Faith and Angel stood with an awkward silence between them. Angle broke it when another thought occurred to him. “Buffy! You can’t let her go off like that. She could hurt someone.”

“You can’t tell?” Faith asked him and then said quietly, “Spike knew right away.”

“Knew what?”

“She has a soul like you, Angel. Only hers appears to be more permanent.”

He stared in awe towards the direction that Buffy had gone. “She has a soul?”

“Yes, and she won’t hurt anyone.”

“I just can’t believe it. Buffy’s a vampire.”

“It takes a while to get used to, but Spike’s helping her adjust.”

Angel squinted and spat out the name, “Spike. Why would she let him help her?”

“They’re pretty tight, nowadays.” Faith shrugged.

“So, I could smell.” Angel felt sick to his stomach. Like the time he drank down a whole bag of rancid pig’s blood before he really got a taste.

“How’s the Fang Gang?” Faith asked cheerfully.

“They’re all doing well. They’re on vacation right now. I plan to catch up with them after I leave here.”

“The cheerleader get any good acting roles, yet?”

“Cordy is not with us anymore. She’s an exalted being now in another dimension,” Angel said wistfully. He missed her so much and thinking about how he’d never see her again furthered his state of depression.

Faith shook her head. “Damn, you people in L.A. are into some weird shit.”

“I can’t argue with that.” He grinned at her. “So, everything alright with you then?”

“Well, other than my own Council trying to end my life, yeah, things are great.”

“What? Giles mentioned something about that.”

Faith explained what happened at the prison and how Spike had scared the life out of Travers. Angel couldn’t believe the change in Spike and commented on that.

“Well, he’s been really good to Buffy, I can tell you that.”

“Listen, I have to get going, but you call me if they give you any more trouble. Let me know if you need any help.”

Faith hugged him and he walked off feeling like a hero, until he got into his car and inserted the key into the ignition. There’s no way she could be happy with that piece of crap, poor excuse of a vamp.

Maybe if he got her alone, he could talk to her and get her to see reason. Now that she was a vampire, the curse wouldn’t affect them. He smiled as he turned the motor. They could finally be together, as they were meant to be.

He wouldn’t ask her to go away with him until he was sure she was the same girl he fell in love with. She seemed a little closed off. Is it possible that she’s not like she used to be, even with her soul? If that were the case, he would just walk away. Angel released the brake and put the car into reverse. But if she were his Buffy, he’d get her away from here and maybe take her to Vegas. She’d like that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When the door opened with a resounding bang, Buffy jumped up from her spot on the couch. Her stomach tightened in anticipation, knowing that Spike was home. She smiled at him as he swayed slightly in the open doorway.

Spike gazed at her with hungry eyes and her whole body hummed for him. Not bothering to shut the door, he swaggered over to her.

“Oh, God, Buffy. I missed you.”

He smelled of sweet liquor and smoke, and his leather coat was cool to her touch. Buffy threw herself into his arms, their lips meeting, tongues dueling. They’d only been apart for a few hours, but it felt like forever.

When she pulled away from him, she said, “I missed you, too. I think I’m addicted to you and if you’d stayed away much longer, I might have started going through withdrawal. And…are you drunk?”

Even his deep chuckle made her body tingle for him. “I’ve had a bit to drink, but I’m standing--so not drunk. I had to keep drinking to stop myself from getting up and leaving before I made any money.”

“Ooh, how did you do?”

He pulled a rolled up wad of cash out of his pocket and looked at it with his eyes crossing before he could focus. “Not much; about seventy dollars. I think.” He blinked. “I won a wide screen TV, though.”

She looked behind him at the open door, “Where is it?”

“Well, I’m strong, but that thing is huge. It will take the two of us to get it. I’ve got a key somewhere to the storage unit that it’s being kept in.” He patted his pockets until he found it, showing it to her proudly. “Would have preferred cash, but you take what you can get.” He shrugged. “Thought we should wait until we move into your basement, so we don’t have to cart that thing around more than once.”

“That’s a good plan.”

She closed her eyes and swayed a bit herself, feeling like she was the one who was drunk. His voice was soothing and low and his accent just turned her on. There were times in the past, when all she ever wanted him to do was to shut up. She was stupid then. Now, she’d be content if he talked all night. Maybe he’d read one of his poetry books aloud for her later. She loved when he did that.

“You okay, pet?”

“Yes. This place was too quiet without you. You could talk all night and I’d be happy.”

“Really, because I thought maybe you’d like it if I did this instead.” He grabbed her to him and kissed her neck, before nibbling on her earlobe.

“Yes. You can do that, too.”

He caressed her backside and then gave it a good slap before squeezing. “What about that.”

“Oh, lots of that.”

He nodded towards the TV and raised an eyebrow. “You wanna make out on the couch and watch late night TV?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me put this cash and key away and I’ll be right back up.”

“Bring a couple of pillows with you.”

She watched him drop down the hole, not bothering to use the ladder, and rolled her eyes. What a show off. She turned around and noticed that the door was still open, so she went to close it.

Buffy jumped when Angel appeared in the open doorway.

“There you are. It took me a while to track you.”

She frowned when he walked in without an invitation, but closed the door behind him. He looked around and her nerves went on edge as he obviously found the place lacking.

“What is this place?” Angel asked.

“I like to call it home,” Buffy responded quietly.

Behind Angel, a pillow flew through the air and landed by the hole. A second one followed and then Spike was standing behind him, looking shocked.

“We have a visitor,” Buffy said to Spike.

Spike let out a breath and walked around Angel to stand next to Buffy. “I see that.”

“What’s he doing here?” Angel asked in exasperation.

Spike narrowed his eyes and ground out, “I live here, so the question is, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see Buffy.” He dismissed Spike without looking at him and gazed at her. “You’re living with him, too?”

“That’s it! Time to go.” Spike grabbed his shoulder and gave him a good push towards the door. This agitated Angel and he swung his arm and caught Spike’s wrist, gripping it tight.

“I told you, you stupid piece of trash, I came here to see Buffy, not you.”

Spike went nose to nose with him and wrenched his arm out of Angel’s grasp. “Piss off, you soddin’ bog-trotter. No one asked you to come here.”

“How do you know she didn’t? We were just talking, a while ago, with Faith.”

Spike pushed him away and gazed at Buffy. “Is that true?”

“Yes, but-”

“And you didn’t think that was something you should share with me?”

She hated that he looked so hurt and she never wanted to be the cause of that look on his face again. “I didn’t think it was that important, really.” She nodded to the couch with the hopes that he‘d get the idea that she had more important things on her mind. “I would have gotten around to telling you, eventually. I didn’t ask him over here. I thought he’d left town already.”

Turning her attention to Angel, her countenance changed. Her eyes flicking gold then back to green before she vamped out completely. He jumped back in alarm, as if he’d never seen someone vamped out before.

“Tell him, I never asked you to come here,” she ordered him with a growl.

“No, you never did.” Angel was unable to tear his eyes off her.

She inhaled deeply, shook her head, and felt relieved when her face changed back. She glanced at Spike. He stood with slouched shoulders, but both fists were clenched at his sides, and he refused look at her.

“You don’t have to stay here with that.” Angel pointed a finger at Spike in disgust. “Come away with me and I can help you to adjust.”

A deep, agonized growl came from Spike as he vamped out and prepared to attack. Angel answered back with a growl of his own and vamped out. Seeing that this wasn’t going to end well, Buffy rushed up to Spike and grabbed him by his coat. She dragged him to the couch and pushed on him until he sat down. She leaned down with him and kissed his cheek.

“Calm down,” she whispered. “I’ll be right back.”

As she turned, she didn’t see him hang his head down. Her focus was now on Angel and getting him out of their space. Buffy pushed him none too gently towards the door.

“Let’s go. Out!”

She slammed the door behind them and followed him until they were far enough away from the crypt for Spike not to hear them. When he turned to look at her, she glared at the man now, wearing a smooth face and big brown eyes. The face of the man that an innocent, immature and impressionable young teenage girl had fallen in love with. Or rather, had become infatuated with. Standing in front of him now, she could clearly see this. She fell in love with an idea; a romanticized version of a stage tragedy.

Had she ever seen what he really was? A petty, egotistical man, who should have left her well enough alone. She wasn’t sure what sickened her more. The thought of what they’d done together that night in his apartment or the fact that he had walked away from her, leaving her life in shambles.

“Buffy,” he implored. “Please let me take you away from here. Let me take care of you.” He stepped closer, but she held out a hand to keep him at arms length. “Do you realize that we can be together now? Really be together.”

She closed her eyes for a moment. Could vampires throw up? She’d never seen one do it, but she sure felt like tossing her dinner. “No, we can’t.”

“Yes, we can, sweetheart. Don’t you see? The curse doesn’t work when I’m with another vampire.” He stopped and let that sink in. “I hate what happened to you, but let’s turn it into something good. Something beautiful.”

“So, what you’re saying is that now that I’m a vampire, I can never give you a purely happy moment?”

“You’re a vampire now. You’re not pure.”

“Gee, thanks,” she said dryly and folded her arms across her chest.

“It’s not like that. I love you. I always will, no matter what, and now we can be together.” He gave her a warm, sweet smile. The kind she used to dream about after he left her to move to L.A.

“No, we can’t be together. You need to go.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m in love with Spike.”

“You can’t possibly be in love with that soulless creature in there.”

She found his decisive tone incredibly irritating.

“See, there’s where you’re wrong. I could love a soulless Spike. And I did love him when he didn’t have a soul, but he’s not soulless anymore.” She nodded when Angel’s eyes went big. “He traveled across the globe and fought almost to the death to beg another demon to stuff his soul back into his dead body. And do you know why he did it?”

Angel shook his head, not wanting to hear anymore.

“He did it for me; because he loved me and didn’t want to hurt me again. That “creature” in there stuck around for years without a soul, professing his love for me, keeping my sister safe and taking care of her after I was dead, because he loved me enough to keep a promise, even when I wasn’t around to see it.”

Angel backed away shaking his head.

“He put up with me and did anything I asked.” Tears rolled unbidden down her face now. “Even when I treated him like dirt, he stuck around, because he knew I needed him. The only time Spike ever left me was when he thought that his soulless state was a danger to me. Then he went out and got a soul, so he could never hurt me again.”

“No, this isn’t happening,” Angel said with a shake of his head.

“Please, just go and let us be happy.” When he stood rooted to the spot, she sighed. “You always managed to leave or push me away at the wrong times. Why don’t you do the right thing now and leave when you should?”

“He’s going to hurt you. Spike doesn’t think of anyone but himself. It was all about the chase for him. Now that he’s had you, he’ll get bored. The only reason he sniffed after Drusilla so long was that she never fully gave him all of herself. You do that with Spike and he’ll be gone before you know it.”

That gave her pause to think. Was Angel right? Dru never really seemed to care for Spike the way he cared for her, even cheating on him right under his nose when he was paralyzed.

“You’ll see,” Angel said softly. “And when you do, I’ll be here. I’m just a phone call away. Don’t ever forget that. I love you.”

She watched him back up, turn slowly and walk down the path and out of sight. Long after he’d gone, she stood in that spot, frowning. Buffy snapped out of it and a small smile crept up on her. She’d done it! Freed herself from the hold that Angel had put on her from the moment she’d laid her eyes on him.