By Goddess Isa
SUMMARY: Part Five of 'To Have & To Hold' - this is getting complex, isn't it? =) I'm evil in this part, I'm warning you now.
SPOILER: Basically, this hints on ALL the Buffy & ANGEL eppys so far, because there will be some flashbacks during the series, I hope. SPECIFICALLY Pangs & I Will Remember You though.
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-14
DISCLAIMER: In case you didn't know, all the characters I'll mention (except for Mary and Shannon) belong to David Greenwalt and Joss Whedon. I am SO furious at the both of them right now, I cannot even tell you. This stuff also belongs to all the writers that have ever written for both shows.
"Angel, look out!" Buffy shouted as the vampire jumped at him. She immediately took the idiot on, kicking him in the chest, punching his face. He fought back rough and Buffy noticed Angel out of the corner of her eye, hunched over, clutching his arm where the vamp had hit him.
Pissed off now that her man was injured, she caught the vampire off guard and began beating him senseless. She pounded her fists into his undead flesh, wanting him to feel more pain that she usually inflicted. She didn't have a stake, so she grabbed a pencil off the night stand beside her and drove it into his chest. It was harder to use than a stake, but it served its purpose. The creature beneath her disappeared and she stood up, brushing herself off. Then she flew to Angel.
"This is never gonna work," he told her. "You can't always be protecting me."
"I protect the others, don't I?"
He didn't answer. "Did he hurt you?"
"A little. Do you have any aspirin?"
"No, but I could go get you some from the hotel gift shop if you want."
She walked over to the mirror in the room and used her hands to brush her hair into a fresh ponytail. "It's okay, I'll be fine."
"Where does it hurt?" he asked, coming over beside her.
"Everywhere." she grinned. "Make it feel all better?" she asked in a small voice.
"Buffy...."
She purred and wrapped one leg around his. He knew it would be pointless to resist so he lifted her up and kissed her. He carried her into the other room and was gonna lie her down on the bed when she pulled her lips away. "Wait, wait, wait. Who slept in this bed?"
Angel pondered it for a second. "Let's try your room."
He carried her back into the room she shared with the other girls and laid her on the bed she pointed to. He covered her body with his and Buffy allowed herself to forget all the evil they'd soon be fighting. Her mind became hazy with his kisses, and that was the way she liked it.
At five p.m., the gang met in the dining room for dinner. After eating, they walked outside and all looked to Giles.
"Oh. Yes. The sewer cover over here will lead us in the right direction."
"We're packing," Doyle said, holding up a large bag of explosives. Angel and Xander also carried the goods in backpacks.
They followed Giles and arrived at their destination within minutes.
"Ugh," Willow held her nose. "It smells."
"Well, duh." Cordy rolled her eyes. "It's a sewer. Tell me I don't have to go in there."
"Of course you do." Anya said. "We all do."
Cordelia began cussing under her breath as Buffy pried the sewer cover off. Tossing it aside, she looked down to make sure the coast was more or less clear. Then she jumped in.
"Ugh, gross." she too began holding her nose. "Come on down. And hold your breath."
The group followed, Cordelia complaining all the way.
The tunnel was bigger than Sunnydale's, but it was also smellier. There weren't any bricks set up for people to walk on the way there had been in the tunnels at home, but it would have to do. They walked single file, Cordelia and Anya occasionally complaining.
Xander grinned at his girlfriend. "I never knew you were such a girly girl."
"I'm not." she said defensively. "Unless you like that. Then I am."
"I like a girly girl." Doyle said to Cordy. "And you are definitely all girl."
"Don't suck up." she snapped. "It's pathetic."
"Ouch," Xander muttered, a small smirk on his lips. He was slightly jealous that Doyle was now the main recipient of Cordelia's insults. However much they stung, they were always important to him. He missed them.
"Wait." Buffy stopped walking and Xander thought the look on her face reminded him of Joey on FRIENDS when he was learning all about "smell the fart acting".
"What do you sense?" Giles asked. Willow was surprised he didn't have a notebook ready to jot things down.
"Vamps. To the left."
They moved according to her spider sense and Angel kept a protective arm around her the entire time. Anya turned to Xander and made a face. "How come you don't put your arm around me like that?"
"'Cause we're walking single file?" he guessed. She punched him in the stomach.
"Um, for no reason at all. Here." he draped his arm gently around her shoulders and she beamed.
"That's better."
"You're not gonna try to dominate me now, are you?" he asked in a small voice.
Cordelia roared with laughter. "All she has to do is speak and you're her little lap dog. She's got you totally whipped."
"I do not!" then he turned to Anya. "Do I jump when you say something to me?"
"No! And if you did, I wouldn't want you."
"Good." he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, I'd want you, but then it would only be for sex."
Xander blushed, embarrassed.
"Here," Buffy pointed. "I think I should go in alone, see what the deal is?"
"That's ridiculous, Buffy." Willow said.
"We enter, we attack." Xander said flatly.
"I gotta agree with ya, man." Doyle said in his sweet accent.
"I'm afraid they're right, Buffy. Entering what could be a lair by yourself, it's suicide."
She sighed and looked to Angel. "What do you think?"
Xander and Giles both rolled their eyes. Their opinions meant nothing if Angel was available.
"I think we should go in a group. You, Doyle, Xander, Willow."
"Me?" Xander gulped.
"Why Xander? And why not me?" Anya demanded.
"They've had the most experience in the field." Angel said. "And," though he hated to admit it about Xander, "They're good at hand-to-hand."
"All right," Buffy pulled out a stake and nodded when she saw that the others were armed. "Let's move out. In. Whatever. You guys stay here and wait."
"For what?" Anya asked. "A blood curdling scream?"
"A signal." Angel said. "Buffy, let's make our keyword 'dammit', all right?"
"Yeah. Come on."
The four of them left and Giles looked to Angel. "You didn't volunteer yourself."
"I'm not up to my full fighting strength. I may never be. Buffy can't be looking out for me and fighting to save the world."
"This isn't for the world, not yet."
"It's the world for us."
Giles nodded. Then, he decided to try at conversation with the.......with Angel again. "'Dammit'?" he questioned.
"She never says it." he explained. The Watcher nodded.
The vamps Buffy had sensed turned out to be an elderly, newly turned woman. Xander proudly dusted her while she was still struggling to stand up and then Buffy spotted a door. She reached to open it and then grabbed her pointer finger, sucking on it.
"Dammit!" she yelled.
"That's our move." Angel said and he stayed back to bring up the rear and watch over Cordelia and Anya. They would be strong with Giles in front.
They turned to find a bored Scooby Gang, a yawning Doyle and Buffy still sucking on her finger.
"Buffy?" Angel questioned.
"What are you guys - the word? Man, I didn't mean to use it. I just went to open this door and my nail caught and ripped off. It's bleeding and all sore and gross."
"I'll say," Cordy commented, looking away.
"I guess I didn't realize I was yelling the key word. I'm sorry."
"It's all right. There seems to be no one here."
"I killed him." Xander said proudly.
"I always knew you were strong." Anya wrapped her arms protectively around his waist, not caring that it made it quite hard for him to walk.
"We're moving on," Buffy stated the obvious. "There has to be more where that came from."
"Perhaps not," Giles allowed.
"Well, we can hope." Buffy kept her stake poised and ready.
They turned a corner and were face-to-face with five evil looking vampires.
"Hope harder next time." Cordelia ordered.
"Ugh!" Buffy crawled into a bed with Angel in the separate room he decided to rent just for them. It was eight a.m. and they'd battled all sorts of evil all through the wee morning hours. Cordelia was at the hospital with a sprained ankle and Doyle had a nasty cut just above his right eye that had required stitches.
The battle had been long and hard, and futile. It seemed the more they killed, the more appeared. At one point, Buffy dusted three vampires in less than a minute and they just kept coming. Finally, Giles broke out the Holy Water long enough for them to get away.
"Tomorrow, we start with the TNT." Doyle suggested.
"I'm with Demon Boy." Xander agreed
"There's no need to be callin' me that now." he said, annoyed.
"No explosives." Buffy said flatly. "We'll save that for the Eyes. Right now, sleep."
And that was when Angel announced he was getting them a room. Buffy had been wanting to suggest it but never had because she didn't want to say it in front of the others. She'd stopped in the room she shared with the girls to grab her pjs and had let Angel carry her the rest of the way.
Their room was small, cozy. They'd taken a shower together, and after drying each other off, crawled into bed together. Buffy lay with her head on Angel's chest, half-sleeping, talking with him about the future she hoped they could have.
"You wanted five children before?" she asked with a smirk.
"Oh yeah. My parents had five, I thought that was the thing to do."
"What were they? I mean, sisters, brothers?"
"I had two brothers and two sisters. I was the middle child and caught the most hell for it. My brothers were both older, and they were married, working, doing as my parents wanted. I was lazy and I dreamt of more."
"Tell me about your sisters." she said softly. "If you don't mind. I mean, is this..."
"Hard? Yes. Impossible? No. I want to share all these things with you, I've just been looking for the right moment, I guess. Their names were Mary Elizabeth and Shannon Emily. They were both married by the time I was turned. Mary had two babies and Shannon one. I don't even remember their names."
Buffy gently ran her hand through his hair. "That wasn't you, baby. You have to know that."
He nodded. "It's just hard. Realizing the truth...it takes awhile. Becoming human again has given me a lot of time to think."
"About?"
"Us. What you want. What I want."
"One in the same."
"I don't know." he shrugged.
"What do you want out of life?"
"You mean like now or long term?"
"What do you think?"
"Just checking. I want you. I want to marry you, spend my days and nights making love to you. I want to have children with you and grow old with you."
"That's all?"
"Okay, and a Mustang convert." she grinned.
"I mean, no career? Don't you want to do something with all those classes you've been taking?"
"You mean failing. I already dropped out, Angel, you know that."
"I know, but--"
"College isn't for everyone. That's Willow's beat, not mine."
"Well, what's yours?"
She grinned. "You." she leaned up to kiss his lips and after awhile, pulled away with a yawn.
"Get some sleep, my goddess." he whispered, kissing her head.
"Your goddess?" she asked. "You've never called me that before."
"And I never will again if it bothers you."
"No, I love it. It's sweet."
He smiled. "I was hoping you'd think so."
"You know me so well." she kissed him once more and then laid on her own pillow, keeping a hand on his chest and she fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.
"Angel?" Buffy asked sleepily when she woke up around two.
"Yes, my goddess?" he grinned at her.
"Make love to me?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Angel pulled his lover on top of him and kissed her hungrily. She ran her fingernails over his chest and rested her hands around his neck, wanting to savor every moment with him.
The lovers fell asleep again after their tryst, and Buffy woke up to find Angel grinning at her.
"Morning. Afternoon. Whatever."
His eyes were shining. Angelus stroked her hair and pushed a strand behind her ear before finally kissing her forehead. He pulled back and smiled at the Slayer. "Hello, lover."
The End
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