AN: Thanks to my beta Patty. She's done a wonderful job of helping me!
*****
After meeting on the Internet a year ago, William and Buffy fell deeply in love, and began living together. Willow and Tara had been hitting it off so well, they moved in with each other as well. Xander was no longer with them. He had begun dating Anya a few months after her divorce from her husband, Olaf. Dating quickly turned to love, and
Xander proposed. Anya accepted, and a wedding date was set.
The Magic shop had done so well that they moved to a larger location. Anya was made a partner, due to her sales expertise. If it hadn’t been for her, the shop would not have been nearly as successful.
Riley kept his distance from Buffy, deciding that she was more trouble than she was worth. Sam found out about her husbands indiscretions, but forgave him and stayed with him, even when everyone told her she shouldn't.
**************************
One Friday evening, William arrived home early. Without Buffy knowing what he was up to, he had planned a romantic dinner for their one year anniversary.
He pulled up to the curb, put the car in park and turned it off. Grabbing the roses he'd bought Buffy, he left his briefcase in the car. No business tonight, he promised himself. Tonight is for Buffy.
As soon as William put the key in the lock, he heard the phone ringing. Bloody hell, that better not be Buffy calling to tell me she'll be late. Not tonight. He turned the key and opened the door. Once inside he kicked off his shoes, and headed back to the bedroom, listening to the message as he changed.
The answering machine picked up, played their outgoing message, and beeped. “Hello Buffy," a man's voice said. I’m in town for the week on business and would like to see you. I’m staying at The Hyperion You remember? Where we spent our first night together I’m in the same room, 204. Give me a call."
I know that voice. Where have I heard it?
William went back to the living room, where the answering machine was. He sat down on the couch, pushed play and listened very closely to the voice.
He had to play the message three more times before it finally hit him.
Why the hell is Angel calling Buffy?
Angel had been from America, and was traveling around the world when they'd met at a bar. They'd become friends, and Angel had been the one who'd introduced him to Drusilla, only to steal her away shortly there after.
William remembered that horrible day like it was yesterday. It had been a rainy and dreary day, and Drusilla had asked him to go to the corner market to pick her up her favorite ice cream. Upon returning, he'd heard soft cries. He'd realized it was coming from their bedroom, and had rushed down the hall. Before he'd opened the door, he'd heard her....
“Oh, Angel,” Drusilla moaned in delight.
William had nearly become physically sick. He’d loved this woman with his whole heart, and now it was being ripped out, stomped on and handed back to him by her and his so called friend, Angel.
Tears had welled in his eyes. So much for love. His dark princess had betrayed him.
Sadness had turned to rage. “Bloody hell!” He'd taken a few deep breaths, and kicked the door open. Angel had instantly climbed off of Drusilla.
“Hey, Will,” Angel said calmly, as though he hadn't just been caught in the act of
screwing William's girlfriend.
“Did you bring me my ice cream, luv?” Dru asked, oblivious to William's pain.
William glared at Angel. "You bastard! How the fuck can you do a thing like this?"
"Oh, come on,” Angel had said, standing up, wrapping the sheet around his waist “We’ve been fucking since before I set you two up. You were just too dumb to see it."
Furiously, William had landed a punch to Angel’s face, knocking him to the floor.
William straddled Angel. “You…bloody…bastard…how…the…hell…could…you…do…this…to…a…friend?” he asked in between punches.
Drusilla had gotten a weird kick out of William hitting Angel into a bloody pulp. She was getting more excited by the minute; there had been blood all over the wall, the sheets, and William. When he'd finally regained control, he'd looked at the blood on his hands and had jumped to his feet. Backing away from Angel's unconscious body, he looked at Dru sadly.
“Why?" he'd asked. "How the hell could you do this to me? I loved you.”
“My poor little William.” She'd crawled over to him, naked.
“Don’t!”
She'd wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him, but he'd pushed her away.
“I said don't! Don't you ever fucking touch me again!"
Drusilla had pouted, sticking her lower lip out, hoping William would give in.
“No. That isn’t going to work Dru. Not this time. It’s over. I’m done.” He went to the closet, moved Angel out of the way. He'd grabbed his suitcase, putting whatever he could lay his hands on into it. Once he was finished, he'd walked out the door without looking back.
********************************************
William quickly snapped out of the horrible memory, and he erased the message. He
went into the kitchen, busying himself with dinner preparations.
“That ponce isn’t going to fuck up my life again. Not if I have anything to say about it!”
An hour later the spaghetti and meatballs were made. He covered the dishes to keep the food warm, then set the table. Buffy had candles around of all shapes and sizes, from votives to pillars to floating candles. William lit them all, leaving the room with a warm glow. He placed a bottle of burgundy on the table.
William looked up at the clock to see what time it was.
Good, she’ll be home soon.
He went back to the bedroom to change his clothes. He decided that he didn’t want to wear his black tee-shirt. He wanted to look nice for her, and pulled out in a blue cotton button down shirt; the one she liked the best on him. He quickly buttoned it up, and was tucking it into his pants when he heard Buffy come in.
“Hey babe." He came out of their bedroom.
She was wearing black slacks with horizontal white pin strips, a black blouse
with a deep neckline, and her favorite red jacket.
“Hi.” Buffy said, kicking her shoes off.
William kissed her, helped her remove her jacket, and hung it up.
“Boy, I’m beat.” Buffy signed and she walked into the dining room. She quickly noticed all that William had done for her.
“Happy Anniversary, pet.” Damn, the roses... Oh shit, I left them in the bedroom.
“You remembered,” She quickly threw her arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a heat seeking, passionate kiss.
When air became an issue, William was the first to break the kiss, leaving her wanting more. “Wow, that’s…some kiss.” He smiled, wanting a little more himself.
“There’s more where that came from,” she hinted, with a suggestive eyebrow.
“Hold that thought!” William went to the bedroom for the roses. He immediately saw them lying on the bed, grabbed them and went back out the living room. “For you,"
he said, holding out the flowers.
“Aww, you’re sweet. I love them, thank you….and there’s definitely going to be more thanks later." She sniffed the roses, as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.
“That I can’t wait for,” He grinned, leading her into the dining room. “But it's dinner first, desert later.” He removed the cover for her to see.
“My favorite, you remembered.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t forget that!” He pulled out a chair for her and she sat down, scooting in to the table. “Wine, love?”
“I’d love some.”
He opened the wine and poured her a glass and walked around the table, sat down, and poured himself a glass and they began to eat.
After they were finished, Buffy was stuffed. She didn’t think she could eat another bite. Unless he has chocolate cake in the kitchen? That I could go for. William stood up, cleared the table, took the dishes to the kitchen, and placed them in the sink. He turned to his left, there was small box sitting on the counter with a note on it, he pulled out two small plates and silverware. As he set the plates down, William picked up the note and began to read it.
“William,
Hope you have a wonderful evening. Happy Anniversary.
Love,
Willow and Tara”
William had been busy all day at work and didn’t think he’d be able to pick up the chocolate cake he had requested at the bakery, so he had asked Willow or Tara to pick it up for him and bring it to the house. He smiled, set aside the note, opened the lid, cut two pieces for him and Buffy and put them on a plate.
Buffy started to feel antsy and leaned in to see what he was up to.
“What’s taking you so long?” Buffy asked teasingly.
He knew she was trying to peek. He just smiled and shook his head.
“No peeking, love.”
William put the pieces of cake on a tray and carried it out to the dining room.
“Mmmmm, chocolate cake,” Buffy said, as he set the tray down, and handed her a plate. She quickly picked up the fork, and took a bite. “This is good.”
He sat down and took a bite as well. “Sorry love, it’s a store bought. If I’d had time, I’d have made you one from scratch.”
“Aww, aren’t you sweet, but you’ve done more than enough,” Buffy gestured around the room. “I love it. I love you.” William and Buffy leaned in for a heat seeking kiss. “Let’s go to the bedroom now.” William quickly rose out of the chair and pulled Buffy up into his arms for another kiss.
*********************************************
After an hour of love making, William pulled Buffy close to him, with her head lying on his chest.
“That was fantastic, William. I love you. I loved all of this. Thank you!”
“Love you too, pet.” He kissed the top of her head. “Too bad we never made it into the bedroom,” he joked.
“As long as we’re together, the place doesn’t matter to me,” Buffy turned around and looked him straight in the eye.
“Love, that’s so sweet.”
“I know,” She leaned in to kiss him. William rolled her over and once again entered her. “Oh, William.”
Once they were exhausted, Buffy and William had decided to call it a night once in their bedroom. The couple was snuggled closed to each other, not wanting to let go one another.
*************************************************
Across town at the Hyperion, Angel paced back and forth in a dark suit, anxiously waiting for Buffy to return his call. It never entered his mind that she wouldn’t. He'd stopped in Sunnydale over night, thinking he could get back with her, even if it was just one night. Angel didn’t care if she was with someone, or even married. It didn’t matter.
“Damn! Why isn’t she calling me?” Angel looked at his watch. “She should be home from The Magic Shop already.”
After Angel was with Drusilla, he'd realized right away that she was a bit crazy, and left her. He'd traveled around the world and on his twenty-third birthday he'd found himself in Sunnydale, California, where he'd met Buffy. He'd courted her briefly, then left after having sex with her one time.
He'd then met Darla in a bar in Louisiana. She was blonde, petite and beautiful, not to mention her father was loaded, which made it easy for Angel to marry her right away. Her father wanted Angel to work in the family business. Master Incorporated bought and sold off companies piece by piece, putting hundreds of thousands of people out of work.
The marriage started out well enough. No kids to worry about the first few years. Then all of a sudden Darla got pregnant. Angel didn’t believe it at first, because they had taken precautions. He'd always figured Darla stopped taking her birth control bills. They'd fought about it constantly, and ended up sleeping in separate beds.
As Angel was waiting, there was a knock at the door, and he rushed over to answer it, hoping that it would be Buffy.
“Oh, it’s you.”
Darla stood there, wearing a navy skirt with a navy waist jacket and a white blouse. Her hair was loose over her shoulders.
“Thanks, Angel. That’s such a nice way to great your wife and son.”
Conner was 3 years old. He had blonde hair that was slowly turning brown. There were hints of Darla, but he resembled Angel more. He was a typical toddler, hyper as can be. He was nervous around his father and always hid behind his mother, but he usually warmed up to Angel after a few minutes.
“I’m sorry,” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Son,” Angel bent down, “It’s ok. I’m not going to bite. You can come out from behind mommy.” Conner poked his head out from behind his mother’s skirt. “It’s ok, Conner.” Conner stepped out, smiled weakly before running into his father’s arms. “How’s my boy?”
“Me fine daddy.”
“Good.” Angel hugged his son. “Come in, Darla.” Angel gestured his wife to come in the room.
Darla walked in and shut the door behind her, not pleased with her husband’s actions, not to mention him being in Sunnydale.
After they were married, she'd secretly had her father’s people check out Angel; his background, if he'd been married before, who he'd dated, and so on. When Darla received the file, she wasn’t too surprised that he’d stolen his good friend’s girl away, gotten another girl pregnant, and had several meaningless relationships before he'd met her. He wasn’t in trouble with the law, which was a relief to her. His background left a lot to be desired, but as long as his family didn’t bother her or Conner, she didn’t care what they did.
“What are you two doing in Sunnydale?” Angel asked.
“We go see Mickey,” Conner’s face lit up.
“I thought I’d spend some time with him, since his father doesn't seem to want to," Darla
replied acidly.
Angel scowled at her and then set Conner down. “Turn on the TV Conner. Mommy and Daddy need to talk.”
“Otay.” Conner turned on the TV and laid down on the bed.
Angel grabbed Darla by the arm and dragged her over to the door so Conner wouldn’t hear their arguing.
“Darla, why the hell do you speak to me like that in front of Conner?”
“I’m only being honest. He should know he has a deadbeat for a father.”
That stung Angel. He really did care for his son, but she was right, he wasn’t the best father.
Angel didn’t have a good relationship with his father, Charles. When his mother had died, his father placed him in boarding school while he traveled in England. Charles came back to check on his son every so often, but the visits soon dwindled down to nothing.
The last time Angel and his father came into contact, was right after Angel left Sunnydale to go to L.A. His father was remarried and had a new family. Charles didn’t want anything to do with his older son.
“That was cold.”
Darla just shrugged and said, “Conner, it’s time to go. We’re going to miss the plane.”
Angel turned away from Darla. “You’re mother’s right. You should get going. When I get home, we can go someplace. Where ever you want.”
Conner jumped up on the bed.
Darla took his hand and headed out the door without saying good bye.
“Damn her!” He punched the wall. Early in their relationship, Angel had hit her, but she'd threatened to tell her father. Angel would be out on the street, or worse, dead. He'd never tried to hurt her after that. Angel didn’t dare cross his father-in-law.
********************************************
The next morning, the phone rang at 6am, and Buffy reached across William to
answer it.
“Hello?” she said, still half asleep.
“Is Mr. Giles there?”
That irritating voice woke her up. That bitch better stop calling here so early in the morning or I’ll kick her ass myself.
“Harmony, do you have any idea what time it is?”
“So…what’s your point?”
“My point is, stop calling so early or I'll..." William took the phone away. “Hey, I was talking to her,” Buffy pouted.
“She’s my secretary.” He put the phone up to his ear. “What is it Harmony?”
“William…” Harmony began, in her annoying, high pitched voice.
“I’ve asked you to call me Mr. Giles.” William rolled his eyes. I’ve got to do something about the chit. She’s getting on my nerves. “Why are you calling me?”
“Give me the phone, I’ll find out,” Buffy tried grabbing the phone away, but William held her back. “Give it here.”
William whispered, “Stop!”
“Can't you tell her to be quiet?" Harmony finally said, annoyed with Buffy’s attitude.
“I’ll ask you again, why are you calling me?”
“God, William...why are you with her? You should be with me. I can give you so much more.”
William sat up in bed. “All right, that's enough. Harmony, you're fired. Call here one more time and I'll notify the police."
“William, please!”
“Monday morning, I want you to clean out your desk at the station."
“But…but…” She stuttered.
William hung up the phone.
“We need a restraining order against her, William. There’s no telling what the skank will try to do,” Buffy surmised.
“You’re right. I’ve given her way too many chances. We’ll go down Monday morning and file the papers then.”
“Good.”
“Let’s say, we forget about Harmony Kendall for the rest of the weekend, and I make you some waffles.”
“Sounds good.”
William pulled on his pajama bottoms and Buffy put on his pajama shirt and followed him into the kitchen, forgetting about Harmony.
******************************************
Willow was startled by the paper hitting against the front door. She sat up and looked over at the alarm clock, which read 7:30 am. She rolled over kissed Tara on the cheek, pushed the sheets off and slid her feet into her slippers. She went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and hair, and then headed down stairs.
She remembered the paper was at the front door, opened it, looking out at the neighbor, kissing his wife before he left for work. Willow smiled as she grabbed the paper. She came in, shut the door behind her, and went to make coffee.
When the coffee was finished brewing, Tara had come downstairs.
“Hey honey,” Tara entered into the kitchen, yawning.
“Good morning,” She greeted her girlfriend with a kiss.
“I wonder how their evening went,” Tara said as she poured herself a cup of java.
“I hope it went well.”
“Me too. They really do love each other. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them,” She took a sip of her coffee.”
“As long as Angel doesn’t come back into the picture, I think things will be ok.”
“Angel?”
“Yeah, he’s the first.”
“The first?” Tara asked, and as soon as she asked, she realized what that meant. “Oh, the first…did something happen?”
“Yes…I don’t know if I should talk about it. She probably wouldn't mind if I did, but I don’t know.”
Tara sat down next to her lover. “It’s ok, if you can’t tell me.”
“I want to tell you, but it’s not my story to tell.”
“I won’t say anything.”
Willow thought it over for a few minutes. Buffy wouldn’t mind too much if Tara knew. The only ones that knew the whole story were her and Xander. William only knew that the first time Buffy was with someone, he'd hurt her by leaving practically the next day.
“When Buffy turned 19, Cordelia, Fred, Faith and I, had a party for her at The Bronze, and she met this guy Angel. They dated for like 6 months. She totally fell in love with him, and the day after they were...together...for the first time, he left her."
"That's awful. What a creep."
“That’s not the only thing that happened.”
“What? Did he leave her with some sort of disease?”
“Not exactly.”
“What then?”
“A few weeks later, Buffy found out she was pregnant, and soon after that she miscarried. It was a horrible time for her. She was right in the middle of studying to be an interior designer, too."
“That’s just so horrible of Angel to leave her like that. I just don’t understand men.”
“There are only two decent men as far as I’m concerned, and that's..."
“William and Xander,” Tara finished the sentence. It was something that they did from time to time, feeling proud that they knew each other's thoughts so well.
“Of course,” Tara smiled, taking another drink of her coffee. “Speaking of Xander, how are he and Anya doing?"
“I'm not sure. She’s been real quiet at work lately."
“That’s very unusual for her.”
“Very…I wonder if everything is okay between them?"
“I’m sure it is. They're probably just having a little spat. They’ll work it out.”
Several minutes went by where neither one said anything. Willow picked up the paper and began reading it. Suddenly she set the paper down, and looked at Tara with worried eyes. "Oh, no...not now," she murmured.
Tara looked at Willow, becoming very worried herself. “Honey, what’s the matter?” Willow handed over the Sunny Times over to Tara.
“It's...it's Angel. He’s back in town.”
“What?” Tara looked down at the paper. She read the headline: ‘Liam O’Malley in Sunnydale. Takeover of local company expected.'
“Oh god, I’ve gotta call Buffy.” Willow rose to her feet and crossed the room to the phone. She quickly dialed Buffy and William’s number. “Come on, answer,” she whispered as it rang.
“ Hello?” William answered.
“Is Buffy there? I need to talk to her. Please get her on the phone.” Willow said, quickly.
“Whoa, red, calm down. What’s the matter?”
“Just please... get Buffy on the phone.”
“All right. She’s here.” He handed over the phone to Buffy. "It's Willow."
“Hi, Willow. Why are you calling so early?"
“I know. I’m sorry, but I need to tell you something.” Willow sounded serious.
“What is it?” Buffy asked worriedly.
“Did you get the morning paper?”
“Not yet. Why?”
“You know how you always worried about the past biting you in the ass?”
“Yeah. What are you trying to say, Willow?”
“Angel,” Willow said simply.
“What? What does he have to do with…what about him?” All her fears quickly came back to her. She thought she’d buried that part of her past, and her face turned white. William hadn’t noticed as he was fixing her the waffles he'd promised.
Willow sat quietly for a few moments, before she said anything.
“Wil, please..."
“I wouldn’t be calling you if it wasn’t important.”
“Get to it already.”
“Angel…he’s…here…in…town,” Willow said, slowly, waiting for Buffy to blow a gasket. The only thing she heard was the phone drop to the floor. “Buffy?” Willow began to get worried. “BUFFY?!”
The phone went dead on the other end. Willow hung up, worried that her best friend’s life was about to be shattered. Tara rushed over to her lover, and held her tightly, telling her everything would be ok.
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!