Chapter 1: Wake Up
Her eyes opened slowly as she felt the constant jarring of the bed. She smiled when she noticed her husband playfully tossing their daughter in the air before catching her again. The giggles Deanna let out freely, made Buffy’s heart swell with happiness. This was her life…her amazing life that she would do anything to keep the way it was.
“Morning mommy!” Deanna squealed out as her daddy started to tickle her.
“Morning baby girl.” She gave her daughter a kissed on the forehead. “Morning honey.” She gave her husband a lasting kiss on the lips.
“Ohh, it feels good to wake up and not go to work today.” Buffy cooed, as she stretched out and sat up in bed along with her husband.
“I know, you’re lucky…I gotta get going in an hour and a half.” He sighed, settling Deanna on his lap. “Maybe I should just call in sick…take a day with my girls, huh?” he said directing the last part to his daughter squeezing her to him.
“As much as we’d both love that, Angel you need to go to work today. You got that big case remember?” Buffy reminded, playfully twisting the hairs at the back of his neck.
“Yeah I know…you two enjoy your day off. I’m gonna start getting ready.” Angel kissed both of his girls then headed to the bathroom for a shower.
* * * * * *
Both Buffy and Deanna walked angel to the door with an ‘I love you’ and a kiss. Closing the door behind him Buffy turned to her little girl. “So, Pumpkin…we got the whole day to do whatever you want.”
“The park!” she exclaimed as if that was the only option.
“The park it is then.” The blonde laughed.
Buffy watched as her daughter played around on the swings and the monkey bars, all with a big smile on her cute pixie face. Her hair was a honey blonde like her mother’s; which was odd because of Angel’s dominate brunette gene. Her eyes were a sparkling greenish blue, which she assumed was from her father. When she though about it Deanna didn’t look much like her father at all. But she definitely had his personality. She was always laughing, and doing things to make others laugh. She knew exactly which buttons to push to get what she wanted from Buffy too…Angel had to have taught her that.
Buffy let her thoughts wander to the day she met Angel. It was about six years ago and Buffy had just turned twenty-two. She had taken law as her minor in University and the professor took the class to the court to sit in on a hearing. She was mesmerized at the way he debated against the opposing lawyer; using every bit of detail he knew to convince the judge and jury of the innocence of his client. He won.
She had stayed behind as the courtroom cleared out, and watched, as he was the only one to stay behind.
Buffy approached him quietly, making her way from the back chairs to the front desk that he stood beside.
“Congratulations on the win Mr. O’Connor. That was amazing, really. I could almost watch it again.” She joked, and blushed went he grinned at her.
“Thank you…but I’m pretty relieved that it’s over. And you are?” he quested holding out his hand to her.
“Oh! Buffy Summers…I came with Professor Camebry’s class…” she glanced around. “Which is not here anymore.” They laughed.
“I’m Angel. I was told you guys would be sitting in today. I hope you all got what you needed from it.” They both started heading down the aisle towards the wooden double doors.
“Oh for sure. It was definitely intriguing, worth missing two hours of the written work.” Buffy commented as he led her to the lobby.
“Well, not every case is that interesting…some are over in a about ten minutes.” Angel leaned towards her and whispered in her ear. “I’ve caught the Judge almost nodding off once.”
“No way! Really?” Buffy exclaimed.
The two walked out the front doors together and Angel offered her a ride back to the school, since she had missed the ride with the rest of the students. She gave him her number…and he called.
Buffy knew then that he was the one that was going to stick around for good. Buffy hadn’t dated much when she was younger, a total of two times before Angel. Riley and him. Him wasn’t a name she liked to use, because it brought back waaay too many feelings that Buffy tried for months to get rid of. A high school sweetheart I guess you could say that lasted from her grade nine year to her second year of Uni. But he left…moved back to England and left her behind. He had his reasons and she understood that but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
And there it was…his name clear in her mine. William. Spike. The first man to ever hold her heart. And she smiled…He went from best friend, to boyfriend, to her love. And although her love for him had simmered down, it had yet to die. She would always remember him, but she had moved on with her life, and the chances of ever seeing him again were very, very slim.
She was broken out of her reverie when she didn’t see Deanna on the playground anymore. She stood up in alarm, and raced towards the area she last saw her.
“DEANNA!” she screamed, desperation in her voice. “DEANNA…where are you?!” she quieted for a second hoping for a response. Nothing. “DEANNA!” tears were now streaming down her cheeks, as she frantically searched for her little girl.
The wind blew about her hair, as she ran up to every person around that area. “Have you seen a little girl, she’s four…” people shook their heads before she could even finish so she huffed in frustration and continued to ask and search for Deanna.
She found herself standing in the middle of the playground looking around in sporadic, and panicked circles. Her head was starting to dizzy, and she felt her heartbeat quicken. Her eyes closed, and she blacked out before her body hit the ground.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!