She ran to her mother and enveloped her into the biggest hug
she'd ever given someone in their life.
"Oh, Ali, what's the matter?" Buffy asked concerned for her
daughter and the sudden appearance of her tears.
"I'm sorry, it's just, I've missed you so much." Ana went on
as she wiped her eyes and walked back to the car with her mother.
She felt so right with her mom with her. She only had one female in
her life and that was Fred. She loved her father, very much, but she
always felt like she was missing something being surrounded by
mostly species of the Y chromosome.
"Come on, every one is dying to see you." Buffy replied
happily as she dragged her daughter off to retrieve her luggage and
return home to the loving family that was waiting to see her.
When she returned to 1640 Revello Drive, she looked at the
small house, and it in no way compared to Doyle's mansion or the
Hotel, but she found that to be a good thing. She was getting tired
of having so much space and feeling so alone because of it. At the
hotel, it was only her and her dad and when she was at Doyle's, she
always felt out of the loop on most topic discussions, so she'd
wander off and sit alone in the dark in one of the rooms, doing what
her father used to do best, as she was told, brood.
She couldn't fault her dad because of his job. He saved
people and helped them. He was a hero, he was her hero. She just
wished that he'd realize that she didn't need a hero. She needed a
father. She needed someone she could count on. His job didn't
exactly provide that security.
Not letting bad thoughts of her dad flow into her mind, she
needed to concentrate and pretend to be her sister. She took a big
sigh and followed her mother, her *mother* into the quaint, small,
but lovely home.
She set her bags down and was welcomed by all of her long
lost family members. She remembered each and every one of them. She
smiled and felt like they were really welcoming her back home. As
the night went on, she found that even though she met these people
for the first time, that night, she felt like she'd known them all
her life.
Xander was such a goofball, Willow reminded her *way* too much of
Fred, Anya was quirky in a weird sort of way, Tara was quiet, kind
of on the shy side, but she could tell that she was very wise, Oz
was the same, only not so shy. She found that he just didn't have a
lot to say, but when he did, he made you think. Giles, was a much
older Wesley, Faith, she'd heard Angel talk about a woman named
Faith once and now she had a face to go with the name. From what
she'd seen of Faith tonight, she couldn't really decide how she fit
into the group. When she heard someone mention Faith being able to
kick the vamps asses, she put two and two together. Dawn was such a
riot as well. She connected with Dawn right away on any subject.
Buffy, her mom, she found to be just like she'd always dreamed she
was. By no means was her mom Susie Homemaker, but if she was honest
with herself, she didn't expect or want her mother to be like that.
The next day, since Buffy was off of work for the next three weeks,
until school started again, she spent the day with her mom shopping
for new school clothes and getting some _mocha chinos in the Espresso
Pump and just learning all these wonderful things about her. As the
day went on, she started to see more of her mom in her. It felt good
to know where some of her traits came from.
While they were eating lunch in the Espresso Pump, Ana looked over
at her mom and asked her, "Mom, what's dad like?"
Buffy practically choked on her scone when Ana asked her that
question. She certainly wasn't expecting anything about Angel to
come out of her daughter's mouth at the moment.
"Why do you want to know that?" she tried to avoid the subject.
"Maybe because you've never said a peep about him and he is my
father and I do have a right to know. I mean, I've heard stories of
how much in love you two were, so why did you break up? Why did dad
leave?" she asked knowing part of the answer.
"I did love your father very much. I still do. A part of me will
always love him, but, there were obstacles in our way and to this
day, they are still there." Buffy said sadly.
"I don't mean to pry but what obstacles?"
"Ali, Angel, your father, was a vampire." She blurted out the truth,
feeling the weight come off her shoulders as she let go of something
she'd been holding inside of her for the past twelve years.
"So, is that why you broke up?" she intriguingly asked her mother.
Buffy ultimately decided to tell the truth, "Yes. How you came into
the picture was, your father and I couldn't have- we couldn't-"
Buffy stumbled to find the right words.
"Have sex?" Ana filled in casually.
"Right. He was a good vampire cursed with a soul. When he achieved a
moment of true happiness, he'd lose his soul and become a monster
again. We had earlier figured out that he and I couldn't do anything
like that, because then he would lose his soul. So, Aunt Willow came
up with a spell to allow us to spend one final night together and
not worry about the consequences. The spell must have allowed me to
get pregnant, because here you are." Buffy said, then thought to
herself, "Along with your sister."
"And after that night, he was a vampire again." Ana
finished the story. With Buffy's nod of correction, she also put the
final pieces of the puzzle together. "Since he was a vampire again,
those obstacles were once again in your way."
"That's right." Buffy replied sadly. "But your father, god
help me, I love him so much. No one made me happier than Angel. No
one ever could." She beamed.
"Dear ol' dad. I wonder what he's doing at this very
moment." She wondered aloud to no one in particular. She understood
*so* much more now than she'd ever hope for. Now all she had to do
was talk to Ali tonight and see how things were over in New York.
Now that she knew that her mom was still head over heals in love
with her dad, it shouldn't be that hard to get them back together,
she thought.
Back in New York on the beautiful day they were
experiencing, Angel and Ali did take that ride as promised by Angel.
Cordy had left, due to an emergency at work and the rest were all
inside playing video games.
As father and daughter were walking through the stables,
Angel turned to Ali and said, "I have something very important I
want to talk to you about."
Ali breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good because I have
something I need to talk to you about too. You first." She said.
"Well, I want to talk to you about Cordelia."
"And I want to talk to you about my mother." She bravely
started. "What about Cordelia?"
"Well, what about your mother?" he was suddenly very
intrigued to know what she was thinking about Buffy, but waited for
her to say it.
"Dad, I'm almost thirteen, how long are you going to stick
to the story that the stork dropped me on your doorstep?"
Angel grimaced that that's what this was about. He took an
unneeded breath and started walking his daughter and their horses
down the stable.
"Come on, Ana, we've talked about your mother." He tried to
shy away from the topic now.
"No we haven't. Not really." She retorted. Ana had filled
her in on that part of her life. She could understand, her mother
hadn't exactly `sharing gal' when it came to Angel either. "Face it
dad, I need a mother."
"You're absolutely right, you do need a mother. Why don't we
finish this later?" he asked her as they mounted their horses and
took off.
"So, Ana, are you exited about our camping trip?" Angel asked as he
slowed down his pace on the horse.
"What camping trip?" Ali wondered aloud. Ana hadn't told her
about any camping trip. Was this some kind of test? Did he know?
"What camping trip? The one we take every year before school
starts." Angel reminded his daughter. He found it a little strange
that she wouldn't remember the camping trip, but just shrugged it
off as she probably had a lot on her mind.
"Oh, that camping trip, sure I can't wait." She played
along.
There was a beat of silence before Angel turned back to Ali
and asked her, "So, Ana, what do you think of Cordy?"
"What do you mean dad?" Ali asked him back as they stayed
still looking over the bluff at Doyle's house.
"Just, what do you think of her? Do you like her?" he
wondered casually, not letting anything cause suspicion in his
daughter that there was more to this than he was letting.
"Well, she's pretty, has nice hair, good teeth. Honestly
dad, I just met her, I don't know her. She's a complete stranger to
me."
"Well, how would you-" he started to say before she
yelled, "Race you back to the reins dad!"
"Ana! I'm trying to tell you something!" he yelled as well
and took off to find her. After a few minutes, he didn't see her
anymore. He wondered where she was. There had been other times that
she had gone off to hide when things were rocky. He went back to the
stables to return the horse and then he'd go look for her.
Ali was running to the house and when she entered, she just
lost it, talking to herself.
"I can't do it. I can't handle everything. I'm just one
kid!" she exclaimed.
"Is there something else you would like to add to that
little proclamation?" Fred asked as she turned around in the chair
Ali was leaning on, causing Ali to jump.
"Fred! Good god, don't do that. You gave me momentary
wiggins." She let her Sunnydale words escape her and before she
could take them back, Fred was already getting up and walking toward
her.
"Wiggins? Since when did you start using that word?"
"I learned it at camp." Ali lied smoothly.
"Okay, but if I didn't know any better it was almost like
you were-" she stopped herself from going further, past the point of
no return.
"Almost if I were who, Fred?" Ali wondered.
"Nobody, just forget I ever mentioned anything." Fred
covered as she started to walk away from the conversation.
"Almost if I were- Ali?" Ali asked Fred to which the Texan
turned around with a shocked look on her face and walked back toward
the girl standing in front of her.
"You know about Ali?" Fred asked turning emotionally.
Sheepishly, Ali replied, "I am Ali."
Fred gasped loudly and looked at the girl in front of her,
not truly believing her eyes or her ears. Surely they had seen some
weird, weird stuff in their time, but Fred never thought this was
possible.
"Oh-"
"Ana! Why'd you take off on me? I told you had something I
needed to talk to you about." Angel called as he walked into the
house and saw his daughter talking with Fred. He looked up and saw
the look Fred was giving Ali and asked her, "Fred, why are you
looking at her like that?"
Fred composed herself and kept Ali's secret, "Like what? I'm
not looking at her any special way. I'm looking at her like I've
always looked at her, since the day she came home from the
hospital." Fred said becoming teary. "Can I hug her?"
Fred moved in and Ali kept her awareness of her surroundings
and the fact that Angel was right next to her looking strangely as
Fred and Ali hugged. "Oh, she's so beautiful, and so big." Fred
cried praises as she walked back away leaving father and daughter
alone and went to find Wesley.
"Ana, I really need to talk to you." Angel said as he walked
her over to the couch and sat her down.
"Okay, shoot." Ali replied, bracing herself for what was to
come. She had an inkling but didn't want to say anything incase she
was wrong.
"Okay, how would you feel if we made Cordelia, a part of our
family?" Angel asked carefully, not wanting to scare her right away.
"A part of our family? I think it's an awesome idea." She
replied.
"Really?" Angel didn't want to believe that she actually
said that.
"Brilliant. I mean, I think we need another secretary around
this place. I can't do it anymore by myself."
"Oh, hone-" he stopped and then, looked at her more
sternly, "I'm not going to be hiring her to be our secretary, I'm
going to marry her."
"MARRY HER! That's insane! That girl's young enough to be my
big sister!" she screamed.
Angel calmed her down, "Honey, let's discuss this calmly, calmly and
rationally if you don't mind." He truly thought she'd start yelling
in Gaelic or French or any of the other six languages he'd taught
her.
"Dad, you can't get married, it'll totally ruin completely
everything!" she didn't yell, but raised her voice and headed off
out the door again. She needed to tell this new information to Ana
as soon as possible! She snuck into Wesley's office and faxed a 911
emergency call to Ana in Willow's room.
Dawn walked by Willow's room as she heard the fax machine receive a
message. She went to go check it out, and saw that there was no name
on it, to who it was for, so she carried it downstairs to ask if
anyone was waiting to receive a document.
"Hey! Is anyone waiting for a message, via fax machine?" Dawn asked
as she walked back into the dining room where her family was eating
a wholesome dinner that `Ali' had prepared.
"No," came from everyone in the room.
"But I do have to say, where in the world did you learn to be such a
great cook, and can you teach Buffy?" Dawn asked jokingly about that
last part.
"They had a cooking area at camp." Ana lied. Angel had actually
taught her how to cook, so if there was ever a time that she needed
it, she'd know how to take care of herself.
Dawn leaned over and Ana saw the fax in her hand. She recognized the
code and excused herself for a moment to get some fresh air.
Willow looked suspicious and followed her out to make sure that she
was okay, or that's what she told the gang. She wasn't surprised
when she didn't find `Ali' outside the door, but running down the
street to the nearest payphone.
The phone finally rang in the Ana's own bedroom, where she figured
her sister would be, waiting impatiently for her call. She was right.
"Ana?" Ali asked desperately.
"What is up?" Ana asked confused.
"We have a major problem! Dad's getting married." She more calmly
informed her sister.
Ana could have sworn that she heard Ali say that her dad was getting
married. "What do you mean, `getting married'?"
"I mean just like it sounds. Black tux, white gown, the whole nine
yards. We've got to get him and mom to see each other again fast,
and I mean speed of light fast." Ali said panicking again.
"Okay, okay. Mom and I are going out patrolling tonight, I'll drop
the bomb on her first thing in the morning."
"And Ana? Hurry!" she said as they both hung up. Ana didn't know
what she was going to do, but she had to come up with a plan.
As she turned around from the phone, she bumped into somebody. "Oh,
I'm sorry-" she caught herself as she saw Willow standing behind
her. Clearly, she had heard her whole conversation.
"Why don't we take a little walk, huh?" Willow asked as she clearly
didn't look angry at her, just a little confused, but was willing to
hear the whole story.
"It's a long story." Ana tried to warn her.
"Well, it'll just be a long walk then. Now come, tell me what this
is about." Willow said as she put her arm over the younger girl next
to her and walked off down the streets of Sunnydale California.
The next morning, Ana was pacing outside her mother's bedroom when
Willow walked over and urged her forward, to just get it done.
"Just do it Ana." She pushed her into Buffy's room as Buffy was
sitting in her bed, checking her e-mail via lap top.
Ana grimaced for the conversation she was about to face with her
mother. She took a deep, calming breath and walked inside.
Buffy noticed her daughter enter the room and patted for her to take
a seat on the bed next to her. As she put her lap top away, Buffy
turned to face her daughter.
"So, I thought we'd go shopping today if that was okay with you?"
she asked.
"I can't. I'm sorry mom, but I have to go out of town today." Ana
said with little conviction, which caused Buffy to turn her head
toward her daughter in a `what the hell are you talking about' look.
"Oh, you have to go `out of town'? Where are you going?" Buffy asked
in her very motherly tone.
Ana didn't want to say it, so she hid under the covers to try to
hide away from her mother. She didn't want to let her go so soon.
"Ali! Ali get out from under there!" Buffy teased.
"That's where I have to go. I have to go see Ali." Ana said still
under the covers.
"And where might Ali be?" Buffy played along for the sake of her
daughter.
Ana swallowed and said, "In New York with her father Angel."
Buffy's eyes grew wide as her daughter revealed her destination. She
couldn't believe that� It wasn't possible� this couldn't be� could
it?
"You're not Ali? You're Ana?"
"I am."
Buffy's hand flew to her mouth as the truth came out. Things were
starting to make sense now.
"Ali and I met at camp and we decided to switch lives. I'm sorry,
it's just I wanted to meet you my whole life and I decided to seize
the moment. Because tomorrow I might be dead." She quoted her mother
and explained the situation.
"Hey! There will be no death-talking from you."
"I just hoped that one day you can love me for me, and not as Ali."
Ana sheepishly admitted the truth of her feelings to her mother.
Buffy took her long lost daughter in her arms and cradled her like a
baby. She ran her hands through her hair and told her, "Oh, sweetie.
I've loved you your whole life."
Buffy looked up and saw Willow standing there with her arms folded,
glad to see the mother and daughter reunited with no secrets. Beside
Willow was Xander getting kind of teary eyed.
"I've never been so happy in my entire life." He simply said as he
went downstairs and called the rest of the gang up.
All at once, the Scooby Gang was told that this was Ana here and not
Ali. Giles was surprised, Dawn was giddy, Anya said her usual
sarcastic comment and Faith just kind of shrugged and asked if there
was still Chinese in the fridge. Oz just said his peace and Tara was
happy for Buffy and Ana.
A few hours later Buffy was frantically packing. She hadn't seen
Angel in nearly thirteen years. She wasn't the same girl she was
back then, and he still looked his age! This wasn't an easy thing
for her to do. The last time they'd seen each other, things didn't
go very well.
*Flashback 11 years ago*
"We both knew this day was coming Buffy." Angel said as he tried to
hide his pain like he always did.
"Yeah, but it doesn't have to, does it? Why can't we raise our girls
together?" Buffy pleaded with him. She had him back in her life and
she was fighting tooth and nail to hang on to him.
"It's not our time yet Buffy." Angel said feeling it in his gut. He
would be grateful to her everyday for the rest of his unnaturally
long life because she did so many things for him, including giving
him these two daughters, but the timing was just off for them.
"What the hell do you mean, it's not our time? It's always been
about not the right time or you getting over some stupid need to
feel you have to protect me!"
"Damn it Buffy! Why do you have to be so difficult sometimes?" Angel
yelled at her. It was something that he could count on one hand how
many times he'd done.
"I'm sorry if challenges are too much for you Angel! If we're such a
hassle why don't you take your shit and go!" she yelled back at him
feeling angry.
"Fine! I'm not leaving without one of my girls though." He said.
Buffy was holding Ali, burping her, so he took Ana and grabbed her
clothes and other stuff.
"Fine! Leave! It's what your good at!" Buffy screamed one last time
as Angel slammed the door on her and walked away again, for the
second time.
*End flashback*
Buffy thought about that meeting and couldn't help but feel saddened
that they had left things that way. Buffy was still young and Angel
still felt that he had to be the mature one and be noble and protect
her. She still felt that he was wrong in needing to protect her, but
with time came knowledge that she needed to learn. Not just about
herself, but about the world around her.
In New York�
Angel was sitting on a bench, trying to decipher what had just
happened between his daughter and him. `She thought I was going to
hire her?' he kept thinking to himself.
Just then he heard a car pull up and saw Cordelia come his way. What
he was going to tell her he didn't know yet.
"Hey baby. Why so lonely?" she asked as she sat on his lap and
started to rub her hands on his cheeks down to his chin making sure
his eyes never left hers.
"I told Ana." He just came right and said it.
Her eyes held shock that he actually told her. Surely she must be
hearing things. Though, his eyes never lied, and he'd never lie
about something like this.
"You did? And?" she asked intrigued.
"She went nuts. I never thought she'd react like this." He held
truth and honesty in his voice.
Cordy shook her head, "Angel, it's `daddy getting remarried 101'. To
be honest, I would be worried if she didn't react to this."
He thought about it, and it did make sense. Maybe she was right and
he was overreacting. It wouldn't be the first time he overreacted
when Ana had done something. Memories of when Ana was a little girl
and had done something wrong, he'd majorly overreacted. Thoughts of
the most recent, when she'd kissed her first boy and the LONG talk
they'd had afterwards on the safety of relationships. He didn't want
his baby girl rushing into anything.
She'd said, "Dad, it was my first kiss. It's not like I'm marrying
the guy." She had kissed him on the cheek and ran to her room,
feeling happy about life.
"Why don't I go talk to her?" Cordelia offered.
"I think she's a little sketchy around you right now." He warned her.
Again, with a reassuring smile and nod, Cordelia smoothed
out, "Don't worry. I think another female is exactly what she needs."
She kissed him passionately and then left to go find his little brat
of a daughter. She'd talk to her all right; she'd talk to her to
make sure that she didn't screw this whole deal for Cordy.
She saw a lone figure sitting on a little swing porch in the back
yard and approached her with confidence and ease.
"Do you mind if I sit?" She asked civilly.
"Go ahead." Ali replied equally as well. She moved back into the
seat more, taking a defensive position. If Cordy came out, she
wanted to be prepared.
"I take it the news came as a bit of a shock." She started the
conversation easy as she sat down next to her soon-to-be step-
daughter.
"Basically." She said in a sad voice.
"I remember what it was like to be twelve. I had my first boy friend
at twelve. My first kiss too. Have you had yours?" she asked trying
to seem nice, but screaming inside.
"Yeah, dad freaked out on me." She rolled her eyes. Ana had told her
about that since it had just happened prior to her leaving for camp.
It was because she was leaving for camp that it happened.
"It's a wonderful age. You're just starting to feel like a woman and
believe it or not, soon you'll understand what it's like to be in
love. Being in love is a fantastic mystery that takes a man and a
woman-"
"I don't mean to be jerky, when you're trying to go all Dawson's
Creek on me, but I know what mystery my dad sees in you." Her face
was ever so confident.
How Cordelia wanted to smack that smug smile off her face at the
moment more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life. More than
she wanted Angel right now.
"And?" she probed.
"You're young and beautiful and hey, the guys only hu- well,
vampire, but if you ask me, marriage should be based on more than
just sex, right?"
"Well, I think your father underestimates you." She said impressed.
"But you won't? Will you Cordy?" Ali asked as she crossed her arms
and her legs simultaneously.
"Being young and beautiful is not a crime you know. And for your
411, I adore Angel. He is exactly the kind of man I have always
planned on marrying." She smirked as she told Ali this bit of
information.
"Really? You've always wanted to marry a vampire, huh? Gotta say,
that's a new one if I ever heard one."
"Alright, listen you little brat. I'm marrying your father in two
weeks whether you like it or not, and there is nothing you can do
that is going to come between us. Hate to break it to you sweetie,
but you are no longer the only girl in Angel's life. Are we clear?"
Cordy spat right in her face. Ali just let this slide, knowing that
this wasn't going to last much longer. She just had to hold out and
things would work out.
"Crystal." She smiled back and watched Cordy sway her hips back and
forth as she left. God, she wanted to rip that woman's eyes out.
The next day in Sunnydale�
"Mom? Are you ready to go?" Ana asked as she came walking
into her mother's bedroom.
Jumping out her thoughts, she looked to her daughter and
said, "Almost. Did you speak to Angel?"
Thinking up a quick lie, she said, "Yeah, I just hung up with him.
He said that he's really anxious to see you."
Buffy blushed at the thoughts that were going through her mind and
then they set on panic, "Anxious excited or anxious he's totally and
completely dreading this because he never wants to see me again?"
"The first one, definitely. He said that he'll meet us in the Yorick
Hotel in two days." Ana lied again, but it was for the sake of the
plan. She couldn't have her mom find out that Angel was planning to
be married. At least, not yet anyway.
"Why two days?" Buffy wondered idly.
"Client of some sort. He said not to worry though, every thing was
fine, it would just take him an extra day to beat this thing, so,
two days." She explained.
Her mom shook her head and started to pack like a crazy woman again,
muttering sounds which could have been construed as words, but it
was in question. Willow was outside the room and heard the
conversation. She knew that Ana hadn't talked to Angel.
As Ana left the room, she was about to walk back into her room to
grab her stuff, but was stopped by Willow calling, "Liar, liar,
pants on fire!"
"Shhh!" Ana called as she snatched her suitcase and headed
downstairs to say goodbye to everyone. She couldn't wait to see them
again. In the few days she was here, she felt like they were family
already. She loved each and every one of them.
Fifteen minutes later, Ana was waving goodbye to her new family and
headed off to the airport in Buffy's car.
Once they were on the flight, Ana turned to her mother and asked
her, "So, are you anxious to see dad again?"
Buffy thought about her answer very carefully. She didn't want to
say `yes' and forget about how they left things, but she didn't want
to say `no' and seem like she didn't love him, when she still did.
She still loved Angel with every fiber of her being. `You can never
stop loving your soul mate, no matter what.' Buffy thought to
herself.
She looked at Ana very carefully and said, "I don't know. I won't
have your answer until I do see him and my reaction." She smiled,
and cradled Ana's head rubbing her shoulder. Ana smiled up at her
mom and promptly fell asleep.
The next day, Angel, Cordy, `Ana', and Fred were looking at some
hotel looking for the place to have the wedding. Cordy and Angel had
decided to not have it at the Hyperion because you never knew what
was going to crash through those doors at any second. A demon wasn't
going to stay away because the sign read, `Come back later� Wedding
in progress�' so, they decided to have a place away from work.
Of course, this was all set up by Ana and Ali. As Buffy exited the
taxi in front of the Yorick Hotel, she couldn't help but notice how
wonderful it looked.
Angel and everyone else were starting to grow thin, waiting for
Cordy's parents to show up. Finally, after they'd called and said
that they're flight was delayed, Ali and Fred had started to go get
some food. Cordy had convinced Angel to go up to the honeymoon suite
to try it out.
Ana and Buffy were walking through the hotel when Buffy realized
she'd dropped her bag. "Go on I'll meet you upstairs." She told Ana.
She walked up to the counter and asked, "Excuse me? Did you find a
pink bag?" As she turned back around, she went to walk to the
elevator when she saw him.
He had his arms around some skinny brunette with her paws all over
him.
As the elevator doors shut, he saw her and his mind went blank.
Immediately, he let go of Cordy and was shocked to see her standing
there.
Buffy decided to take the stairs. She walked the three flights to
their room and as she walked down the hall she shouted, "Ana
O'Conner!"
Two doors across from each other opened and both girls stepped
outside to face the wrath that was their mother at the moment. They
knew from the tone of her voice that she was not a happy woman.
"Which one of you-"
"It's me mom. Ali." Ali said on the right and she came toward her
mother, going in for the brave and giving her a hug.
"Sweetie. Oh, look at you. Both of you together. Why would you do
this to me?" she asked as Fred came out in the hallway.
"Ah, excuse me? Why don't we continue your reunion inside? You
probably don't remember me-" Fred started to introduce herself as
she shuffled the group inside Ana's room.
"Fred." Buffy said, remembering the wonderful girl that Angel had
saved from the horrible hell dimension.
Inside the hotel room, Buffy was lying on the couch with a cold rag
over her head. This was getting to be too much for her.
"One of you, I'm not sure which one at the moment told me that your
father knew I was coming here today. Let me just tell you that the
man I saw downstairs didn't know we were on the same planet, let
alone the same hotel." She informed her daughters.
"You saw dad already?" Ali asked, making a face that clearly
indicated that that wasn't a good thing.
"He looked at me as though I was the ghost of Christmas past. Now,
tell me why you really brought me here." She demanded.
"Well mom," Ana started out, but then turned to her twin and saw the
nod of approval, "dad's getting married."
Buffy's jaw dropped a mile and a half at the shocking news of her
soul mate.
"To the evil bitch monster of death. She's awful mom. You can't let
him go through with it. The only way to do that is if-" Ana looked
over at Ali and told her, "You tell her, she knows you better."
"Is if he sees you again."
Buffy caught on to their little scheme, and said, "Wait a second,
you're not trying to set me up with Angel are you?"
Before either girl could answer that question, Fred walked in and
then out as she heard the question.
"Hold it, Texas-Girl! Did you know about this?" Buffy asked as she
stood up and put her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.
"Me? What? I didn't know anything, nope, not a cl- alright yes! I
did. It was their idea and I really haven't seen Angel happy since
he's been with you and I don't like this Cordelia woman. She's too
fishy for me."
"You haven't met Riley have you?" Ali joked. Buffy just glared at
her daughter for that comment.
Buffy just fell down on the couch and let it all absorb into her
system. She vaguely heard Ana and Ali tell her that they were going
downstairs to the work out room. She knew Fred was going to go find
Angel and she prayed that she didn't have to confront him yet.
Ali, in the work out room saw her dad training with a punching bag
and went over to him. Ana had decided to go swimming in the pool
with Fred. She had Fred so they wanted to spend some girl time
bonding.
"Hey dad." Ali called to which Angel stopped and looked over at his
daughter in her sweats looking for a work out.
A small smile crept over his lips as he thought of what she must
want.
"You wanna go?" he asked and pointed to the mats that were not being
used. They hadn't had a training session all summer. He figured she
must be starting to get itchy. He knew he did after a while of not
training.
A smile formed across her face as she nodded her head yes and walked
over to the mat with her and his arm over her shoulder.
The walked to their respectable corners and walked to the center.
Daughter and father got set in their stances and it was surprisingly
Angel who made the first move. Usually he would have waited for Ana
to make the first move, but he wanted to surprise her this time.
Ali was on the defense for a moment, but quickly repositioned
herself. Her mother had taught her all her tricks and she planned to
use them on Angel right now.
During the work out, neither father nor daughter led up and both
held their own ground equally. Angel had turned the tables for two
seconds and Ali quickly got out of the hold and flipped him over.
"I didn't teach you that." He said suspiciously.
Thinking of a quick lie, she explained, "I learned it at camp." She
moved away and let her father up to his feet.
She regained her focus and grabbed her bag on the floor and walked
back over to her dad who had a nasty bump on his head from a move
she made earlier.
"We're having dinner with Cordy in about two hours, so be ready,
okay?" Angel told her and then they went their separate ways.
Ali walked back out to the pool outside to tell Ana and Fred the
latest news on tonight and to let her sister know that she's just
kicked their dad's ass. She had to gloat, it was just kinda funny.
"Hey Ana!" Her sister called over to her as she sat down next to
Fred on the lounge chairs they had out.
Ana had been sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet in,
talking with Fred and chatting and looking at all the delicious
looking boys there.
"What's up?" Ana asked looking worried.
"Dinner in two hours with Cor-" she stopped herself when she saw her
Dad walk outside in the sunlight and start to look around.
"Crap." She muttered to herself and walked away to go and try to
stop her dad from seeing her and Ana together.
She didn't get very far when she saw his attention turn to the woman
walking outside into the bright, warm, glistening sun.
He couldn't believe his eyes. He thought he'd been dreaming earlier,
but now she was right here in front of his eyes. His beloved Buffy.
She was here, in this hotel, with him.
He walked toward her like a mindless zombie and accidentally fell in
to the pool. The scene definitely got Buffy's attention and braced
herself for the incoming conversation.
"Hello Buffy." He greeted her after he climbed out the pool.
"Hello Angel. I heard that you could go out in sunlight, but I'll
never get used to it." She tried to make easy conversation.
"What are you-" he stopped when Ali walked up to Buffy and stood by
her mother.
"Dad, I can explain why she's here."
"Ana? You know who this is?" he couldn't believe this was happening.
His daughter was next to her mother.
"Actually yes. And actually, I'm not Ana." She said.
Ana stepped up on the other side of Buffy and informed
them, "Actually, I am."
"Both of them? Ali? Ana?" This was so mind boggling. Both of his
girls together, and Buffy. This was a dream come true for him.
Nothing could make this day more complete for him at this moment.
"You and mom think a like cause you both sent us to the same camp in
no-where's-ville and then it just kind of came out of the closet."
Ali explained.
Buffy looked over a really confused Angel and told him, "They
switched places on us."
The revelation hit Angel like a two ton demon. He looked back and
forth between his two girls. He hadn't been able to tell them apart.
They looked identical. It was amazing.
"You mean to tell me, that I've had Ali all this time?" he looked at
the girl standing right next to her mother. She looked so beautiful.
When he thought that, he didn't know if he meant Ali or Buffy.
Either way, it was true.
She shyly nodded her head and he willing took her in his arms to hug
her. He never thought he'd see his other daughter again.
"Ana you've been in Sunnydale this whole time?" he turned to his
little Ana and smiled. "Come here sweetie."
While she was hugged to his waist, she looked up at him seriously
and said, "Mom's amazing dad. I don't know how you ever let her go."
True, she knew that there were problems and obstacles between them.
That was why they had their own secret weapon.
Ana moved back to where her sister stood beside their mother and
Buffy turned to their girls after looking guiltily at Angel and
said, "Girls, why don't you go upstairs? Angel and I need to talk."
Oh, Angel was looking forward to this. Well, as long as it didn't
end like their last meeting, he was okay with it.
The girls walked away, content to leave their parents be. They
didn't follow their mother's orders and go upstairs, but they did
walk around the pool area, lurking and just waiting for the right
moment to join them again.
Buffy and Angel walked over to a lawn chair and sat down next to
each other. Neither really knew what to say or where to begin. They
never did. It was always so awkward to see each other after they'd
broken up and the last time, well, they really never expected to see
each other again.
"How are you?" they both asked each other at the same time. They
both chuckled at that. The once upon a time lovers looked at each
other and wanted to say something, but the words never wanted to
leave their mouths for fear of admissions they didn't want to hear.
"How are you Angel?" Buffy started again this time with a little
more assurance that she could do this and still remain sane at the
end of the day.
"I'm good. The agency is doing really well. Ana's been doing great
is school�" he trailed on.
"Finally! There you are!" a new voice entered the picture.
Both parties stood up and Angel looked ashamed as he was caught with
Buffy by Cordelia.
Buffy just eyed the dark haired woman and thought, `so this is who
Angel's marrying. Wonderful.'
"Cordy." Angel greeted. He motioned for her to step up and he looked
at Buffy and then looked at his fianc�e. Lord, how was he going to
explain this one?
"Angel? Why are you all wet?" She looked at her man and apparently
she had missed something; something big. "Am I missing something
here?"
Ana and Ali took this time to step out behind their hiding spot and
Ali greeted Cordy.
"Hi Cordy." She said as charmingly as possible.
Cordy just turned the little brat that was on her nerves, "Hello."
She mused for Angel.
Ana walked up to the other side of Cordy and seemed friendly, "How
ya doing?"
Cordy just gasped as she looked to her side one after the other and
saw two girls. This was new. This was going to put a crimp in her
plans. `What did she do when unforeseen things pop up in her plan?
She revises.' She thought to herself quickly.
"Cor, did I ever mention to you that Ana had a twin?" Angel asked
sheepishly.
She huffed a little and smiled sweetly again, "I'm afraid you forgot
that little detail sweetie."
"Don't worry about it Cor, he didn't bother to tell me either. By
the way, I'm the real Ana. This is Ali, she was pretending to be
while I was pretending to be her. And this," she pointed to a very
quiet Buffy, "Is our mother."
Cordelia looked to the beautiful blonde to her dark hair man and was
barely keeping it all in. "This is your mother?" she asked
rhetorically. She pointed to Buffy and then to Angel and asked
again, "You were marred to her?"
Both Buffy and Angel looked at each other and replied, "No, we
weren't actually."
That thread of relief washed over Cordelia. They hadn't been
married, but they had two children together. `This could be doable.'
She thought.
Off in the shadows of the hotel, a stranger watched the scene
unfold. The stranger had failed once and it wasn't going to happen
again. Things were about to get very interesting for the group the
stranger was watching. Very interesting indeed.
"Angel, we've got to get ready for dinner." Cordelia stated
impatiently as she watched the couple in front of her. Or ex-couple
really.
Angel looked back at Cordy and was about to say something when Ali
and Ana interrupted their father from digging his own grave even
further.
"Actually, we have dinner plans. Tell your parents Cordy that
something unexpected has come up." Ali told her off. Cordelia just
stared in disbelief that this little bitch would dare speak to her
this way. She looked up at Angel though and gritted her teeth. She
couldn't behave poorly around him and especially their mother. The
woman looked like a woman not to fuck around with.
"Okay." She backed down and said sheepishly. Angel looked so
grateful. Relief filled his face as the thought that he wouldn't
have to endure her parents company for dinner tonight.
Both girls looked over at each other and a passing smile occurred
between them. Their plan was working perfectly. Now all they had to
do was get rid of Cordy permanently. Tonight's dinner would be one
more step in making that happen. They weren't going to chase her off
themselves. No, that was the fall back plan. They planned to have
Angel leave her himself. It was the best way to go for them. That
way, they couldn't take any of the blame, only the praise for
bringing their parents back together would be put upon them.
Buffy just stood their quietly, as Ana dragged her father off and
Ali dragged her off, leaving Cordelia by the pool alone and helpless
to stop the reunion plans the two devilish little teenagers had for
their parents.
An hour later Buffy and Ali walked downstairs to the front of the
hotel lobby dressed in nice, dressy clothes. It wasn't anything
fancy, but they were more than casual. Angel and Ana walked
downstairs and met them in front of the hotel.
Buffy gasped when she saw her former lover and the father or her
children. He stood there in all his glory in a simple white silk
shirt and black dress pants. `Gods he looks good'. If Ali and Ana
hadn't been there, she was sure that her mouth would have hit the
ground and whistled at how incredibly sexy he looked.
She was sure that she looked horrible now and she should go change
her outfit, Angel looked over at her and was obviously pleased with
what she was wearing. His lusty eyes raked all over her body and he
tried to contain himself and not look. He knew that he had Cordelia,
but Buffy had always been the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid
eyes on. It was hard not to look- okay, gawk at her.
Her hair had been left down so it touched her shoulders lightly and
she choose a simple short maroon skirt with matching top. She had on
a simple silver necklace with a matching bracelet.
All in all, Angel really couldn't turn his gaze from her. If someone
yelled, "Apocalypse!" he wouldn't be able to. She had him mesmerized
and she always would. It was Angel's one downfall when he was with
her. He knew he was whipped when it came to her, but he really
didn't mind one bit! That was long over though.
He had Cordelia, he had to keep thinking that. He was in love with
Cordelia, and had no right looking at Buffy that way. She was free
to date whom ever she wanted to date. It was her life.
"Then why do I have this feeling of jealousy in my stomach at the
thought of her with another man?" he questioned himself as they
entered the car that pulled up for them to enter. Being the
gentleman that he was, Angel opened the door and let his girls go in
first along with Buffy.
Ana told the driver where to go and off they went. Neither Buffy nor
Angel had ANY clue as to what was going on or where they were going.
All they knew was that they were going to have dinner. Somewhere
nice, but nothing fancy, obviously due to their clothing choices.
From a higher story room, the figure watched the happy "family"
through his binoculars out his window and smirked to himself. They
had no idea what was about to come. He was on a mission and that
missions name was Buffy Summers. He'd be damned if anything got in
his way.
He turned and heard the door to his hotel room open. There she
stood. The second most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes upon. Her
brunette hair was so beautiful, he loved running his fingers through
it after they'd made love.
"How's our baby doing?" she asked him.
"It's going perfectly. Soon, we'll have everything we've ever
wanted." He told her as he kissed her with a hunger only she could
sate for him.
"I love you Riley." The woman exclaimed.
"I love you too Fred." Riley muttered to her as he carried her to
the bed and laid her down. They had plans for Buffy and Angel, they
had wicked plans in store.
Dinner was all planned out. Ali and Ana had gone to a lot of trouble
to make sure that absolutely nothing went wrong with dinner that
night.
They had the entire evening set up to go off without a hitch. Being
that it was for Buffy and Angel, they suspected that something would
go wrong, so they had posts to make sure that that didn't happen.
"What is this?" Buffy asked looking around at the little dinner set
up that was put together with stars along the walls of wherever they
were.
Taking a sigh, Ali explained, "This is the proper date you and Dad
never had."
Angel smiled to himself. They had never really had a date together
without something going wrong or something showing up. It was kind
of ironic that they're daughters would be giving it to them.
Looking at the table, he saw that it was only set for two. "Girls,
the table is only set for two."
Ana smiled devilishly, "That's the other part of the surprise. We
won't be joining you. A date shouldn't include children, so we're
gonna go now."
Before she could drag her sister off to the kitchen to make sure the
food was ready, Ali hit the play button on a remote control and then
waited for the music to start. Lifehouse's Everything came on the
speakers and filled the room.
Angel held out his hand for Buffy to take and smiling slightly, she
accepted it, and the two danced to the beautiful lyrics. The lyrics
spoke volumes to Angel and how he felt when it came to Buffy and
their relationship.
They were both amazed at how their bodies seemed to fit together as
if they were made for the other. Buffy's tiny hand, fit so perfectly
inside Angel's larger one. In his arms, she felt safe, at home,
complete. No where else had ever had such an effect on her. She felt
like she was in heaven while she was in his arms. Even after
everything they had been through, she still loved him and he could
still affect her like this.
Angel was having similar thoughts. How could this tiny, perfect
creature could ever love him so much and so passionately, he didn't
know what he did to deserve this kind of love, and he was sure that
he didn't deserve it all.
She looked up into his soulful eyes and all her old feelings came
rushing back to her in a flash. Everything about him that she loved
and respected and admired about him, made their presence known to
her once again. She rested her head against his shoulders, and was
completely overwhelmed.
He noticed her sadness almost, and lifted her chin up to meet his
eyes to see what was going on behind those beautiful emerald eyes of
hers.
"What's going on Buffy?" he whispered to her.
She took a few minutes to answer him. She was debating within
herself whether or not she should be truthful, or just shrug it off.
With Angel, he'd always been able to tell when she was lying, but he
hadn't been around her in a long time. She decided to see if he
could still tell.
"Nothing, I'm fine." She looked away from him. It was and always
would be an impossibility for her to lie to his eyes. It was simply
something she'd never been able to do, and never would be able to
do.
"Are you sure?" he asked carefully. He brought her face back to meet
his. They were so close; their faces centimeters apart, their lips
even closer.
It would be SO easy to kiss her, and it had seemed like it had been
forever since they'd last kissed. He missed the taste of her and her
hunger for him. If he just gave in�
`No!' a voice shouted in his head. `You're with Cordelia. Just
because you still love Buffy means nothing. You're committed to
Cordelia. You're marrying Cordy.' He reminded himself.
He broke eye contact with her and looked down at the floor.
"Damn." Ali said loudly accidentally which caused both parties to
look toward their daughter.
Angel's eyes were raised and Buffy looked like she was shooting
daggers at Ali.
Ana came over and dragged Ali away chastising her, "Man." Ali looked
down sadly and walked with her sister.
Angel looked at Buffy and chuckled slightly to himself. Their girls
were so adorable. He wondered how he ever could have gone this long
without both of them in his life, was a mystery to him.
"Buffy?" Angel whispered her name the only way he could, as if it
was his dying breath.
She snapped her head back up to meet his fiery gaze. "Yes?" she
whispered back. She loved how he said her name, like it was the name
of a fallen angel.
"How did we get here?" he asked rhetorically.
That wasn't what she was expecting to hear from him. She didn't know
quite how to respond to that. All she could do was drift back to
thoughts of the past.
Across town, back at the hotel, Riley was lying in the arms of
his `one true love'. Well, that was what he told her. He fed her so
much bullshit as to why they were here, there was only one plan in
his mind: To get Buffy back. In his mind, if that meant getting
Angel out of the way any way shape or form, he'd take it.
Fred was just his key into Angel's life. He fed her lines of love
and devotion and all that other bull. He told her some bullshit line
that he didn't even remember as to why they were destroying their
relationship. The important thing wasn't the reason he'd told her,
the important thing was that she was here, helping him.
He rolled over on the bed and scooped her up in his arms, like the
dutiful boyfriend should and promptly went back to sleep. Things
were going to be revealed VERY soon.
Year: 2000
Buffy was lying on her bed in her dorm room, staring at the ceiling
thinking of things that were of no importance. She decided to do
that every chance she got, when she wasn't defeating demons or
having agonizing conversations with her current ex-boyfriend.
Willow came charging into the dorm room as if there was a fire in
the south hall. Buffy didn't even look up to see the intruder, she
was so far gone into her thoughts.
"Buffy!" she shouted when Buffy didn't move. Concerned for her
friend, Willow walked over to Buffy's bed and kneeled down to shake
her shoulders to see if she needed to be woken up.
Buffy's bright green eyes fluttered open as she saw a distraught
looking Willow sitting next to her.
"What's the matter Will?" Buffy asked as she lifted her body up on
her elbows to meet Willow's gaze.
"Buffy�"" she started to say as she got back up on her two feet and
started to pace around the room nervous about what she had to tell
her best friend.
"What is it Will? Just spit it out," Buffy told her friend who
looked like she was wearing a spot on the carpet from pacing so
much.
Willow took a deep breath and walked back over to Buffy who was
still sitting on her bed. Licking her incredibly dry lips, she
asked, "What do you still feel for Angel?"
Buffy was a little shocked at the question, and she turned
flabbergasted. She really hadn't thought about what she still felt
for her vampire with a soul. Nothing had really changed except the
fact that he left. She really wanted to hate him for doing that, for
abandoning her, but she couldn't find it in her heart to have any
hatred for him.
"I still love him Will," she paused, "God help me, I don't want to,
but I do." Her face fell into her hands as she let the truth of her
words wash over her consciousness. She really wished that who ever
made her love Angel could un-make her love him. She wished that her
life wasn't so damn complicated. She wished that for one day, she
could just have a nice, relaxing, day where she wasn't having to
save the damn world and she could just be Buffy Summers: College
girl.
"Buffy? How would you feel if I made Angel human for a day?" Willow
asked her quietly and calmly.
The question shocked her even more than Willow's first one. She
looked at Willow to see if she was joking or crazy or maybe both.
What she saw rocked her to the core. Willow had her serious look,
and Buffy could tell in her eyes, that this was no joke.
Taking a few minutes to think about her answer to the question, she
finally answered the witch, "I guess I would love it Will. It
wouldn't change anything in our relationship, but I can only tell
you to tell him first." Buffy warned her.
Willow very quickly and quietly informed the slayer, "I already
talked to him." A small smile crept up on her face as Buffy looked
to the side of her and saw the door to her dorm room completely
open, bathed in sunlight and there stood her Angel.
"Angel," she whispered his name and he stepped forward into the room
and held out his hand for her to take.
Feeling awkward, Willow looked at the pair of lovers and quietly
left the room to leave them to do their `stuff'. She shut the door
to dorm room 218 and walked down the hall to find Tara. The two in
the room would need some time alone.
The couple was sitting, facing one another. They really didn't know
where to start. There was so much to say and so very little time to
say it in. According to Willow, they only had twenty four hours
until he was a vampire with a soul again.
"Buffy-"
"Angel-" They said at the same time. Both chuckled for a minute,
amused that they always seemed to say each other's name at the same
time. They didn't know how they did it, but it was a running theme
with them.
"You first," Buffy said as she gave the floor the Angel. She could
wait to say what she wanted to say. Who knew? They probably had to
say the same thing as well, knowing their luck with discussions.
There was only one discussion where they weren't thinking the same
thing and that was LONG past. She wasn't going to drudge up those
thoughts and feelings again.
"Well, I know that there's obviously still issues between us, but I
would really like to set those aside today and just have today. I'd
like to enjoy the chance that I have with you today Buffy and make
the most of it. You're the only one I would ever want to spend the
day human with." He told her sweetly. He loved her so much and today
was the second time he'd have the chance to be with her in the
biblical sense while being human. It wasn't just about the sex
either, it was him being able to enjoy his time with her and not
have the black cloud of Angelus over his head.
"I think you're right. I think we should just let the past be the
past today and just have today. I told Willow once that she should
seize the moment." She informed him.
When she didn't continue, he prodded, "So?"
She moved closer to him, inching ever so slightly to his body and to
him, his eyes a magnet to her soul. They sucked her in every time.
It was wrong for God to have created such a perfect man to begin
with.
"So, this is me. Seizing." She said as she grabbed his head and
brought his lips down to hers and captured them in a searing kiss
that had been so needed. It had been so long, too long and both
Buffy and Angel were lost in the senses they created within one
another. He lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his stomach
and pushed her up against the wall. As he lifted up her shirt, she
started to kiss at his neck.
He'd never felt something so wonderful than Buffy sucking and
nipping at his pulse point on his left side of his neck. His eyes
rolled back up into the top of his head as the feeling she was
making him feel came rushing into him.
His hands wanted to come adventurous so he let his boys free and
they started to roam the land that was currently Buffy's gorgeous
body. They wanted to feel every inch of her beautiful, smooth skin.
She couldn't take it anymore. She needed to feel him against her. If
she didn't she's surely go insane. Gripping at his clothes, she
roughly pushed his black coat off his shoulders and worked on his
shirt. Getting fed up with it, she finally just ripped it and pushed
it off of him. She looked at his chest and her greedy eyes drank all
of him in.
Their lips found their way back to one another as both were
shirtless and dropping their other clothes like flies. Angel set
Buffy down on the ground as he kneeled down and un-did her jeans and
pulled them down. He took them off her feet one by one, careful to
not let her lose her balance. Buffy just stood there with her bare
back against the wall and enjoyed the feeling of Angel just touching
her. Anywhere he touched her sent butterflies to her stomach. God,
how did he have this kind of affect on her?
Angel stood back up and lifted Buffy yet again. He loved having her
in his arms at all times. It wasn't just that he loved the feel of
her so close to him; he loved knowing that she was safe in his arms.
She wasn't going to get hurt in those arms. He loved being her
protector. Her savior. Her angel.
This time, he moved her back over to her bed and laid her down as he
attacked her neck and she let the erotic sensations fill her senses.
She fumbled to get his jeans off of him as he did his work and made
a mark on the side of her neck right over where he'd bitten her
before. He loved how she moaned and mewled as he ran his slick
tongue over the bite mark. A very strong feeling of possession
crashed through him but then quickly vanished as he knew that she
loved him and wouldn't let anyone else bite her. She'd never give
another vampire the chance.
He stopped his motions and helped her out with his jeans. She looked
up at him, and looked into his deep chocolate brown eyes and wanted
to say that she loved him. God how she wanted to say it, but she
couldn't bring herself to say the words. For once in her life, she
couldn't utter the words she had only said to one man in her life;
the man in front of her. She didn't think about it too much due to
Angel's constantly running hands making their way up her thighs and
her stomach and to her chest and finally to her jaw line and he took
her face and kissed her.
He looked in her emerald eyes and felt so happy. He'd never be this
happy again in his life and he couldn't even tell the woman in front
of him, the woman that he'd changed his life, that he loved her. He
couldn't say the words to her. He never thought that would be
possible, but with every thing going on, he didn't want to scare her
or read too much into this. He didn't want to confuse her, and they
had agreed that today would be just that. Just today.
No more thoughts went through their head as Angel and Buffy made
love for the first time since the forgotten day a little over two
months prior. Well, the first time for Buffy since the night of her
17th birthday. Angel was the only person she had ever been with and
Angel was giddy with that knowledge. He smiled to himself and let
himself go with Buffy beneath him.
At Tara's�
Willow laid in Tara's bed staring up at the ceiling and the stick on
glow in the dark stars with Tara next to her as they held hands and
drifted off to sleep thinking of happy thoughts and all the good
that would come of Buffy and Angel having tonight. Willow was glad
that she could do this for them. She sighed contently and drifted
off to sleep with her lover and soulmate next to her.
TBC...