DISCLAIMER: I don’t own them, and I never will!
TIMELINE: S7 of Buffy “Selfless”
SPOILERS: All of Buffy pretty much
SUMMARY: After sharing her pain with her friends about how difficult it was for her to kill Angel all those years ago, Buffy finds herself at the mansion, thinking of him.
PAIRINGS: B/A mentions of b/s
DISTRIBUTION: If you have anything of mine, then feel free, if not please ask.
RATING: PG
FEEDBACK: Yes Please Akay_81@msn.com
DEDICATION: To Kristian, Sobad and Lea for all your friendship and support. *hugs* I love you guys!!!

She said she was only going to be fifteen minutes, just popping down to the store to grab a few things. That was an hour ago, where could Buffy be?

“Something’s up” Willow said, stating the obvious as it seemed to be on Xander's mind as well.

*****

Buffy was outside, it was so cold and dark and her green eyes carried a great sorrow as she looked up the mansion sitting on the hill. The one place that had so many memories, even one that she still had nightmares about, when she had to do the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life, and take her Angel out of her world.

She still remembers the pain of that morning, and the months after that, running away and what her mom went through, worried sick about the slayer. She wished she could take back what happened that summer, leaving her mom when she didn’t have that much time left with her. But she didn’t know what was to happen, and besides she did learn a valuable lesson in those months away from home.

She had learnt she could live without Angel. And although she knew that that was how her life was supposed to go on, she still secretly hoped that one day they would find their way back to each other.

She’d never let it show though, not around the others, around those guys she was the slayer. ‘little miss saves the world a lot’ she was the girl that had slept with Spike, Big sis, Best friend, the girl who doesn’t show it but wants her Watcher back.

Buffy slowly made her way down the dark hall taking it all in, she tried the lights but the power had been cut. When she approached the fire place she sadly smiled at the memory of him, standing right in front of it, the flames glowing on his beautiful face. Then as an after thought she remembered the matches in Angel’s old chest, that one that sat not far from his old bed, where the old and happy Buffy used to lie.

She made her way over to the bed and eased herself down on the dusty blood red sheets. They still carried his scent, even after all these years they contained a piece of his essence. She leant forward and opened the top draw of the chest and found what looked like nothing but plain paper, from what she could tell in the dark room.

The memory of Angel sketching crossed her mind, but it didn’t look like the pages she now held in her hand had anything on them. She pushed the draw back in, and tried the next one, there they were, and there was something else in there, it looked like more paper, but it had been pushed up the back of the draw. Buffy pulled it out, but couldn’t make it out properly. She swore there was something on this sheet but there just wasn’t enough moonlight lighting the room for her to see it. She decided to put in it her pocket and look at it once she had the fire going.

She grabbed the matches, and the other sheets of paper, making her way back to the fire place, she lit a piece of paper and then dropped it on the old dry wood that still sat there. A little flame flickered as she carefully made her way around the mansion, walking through the doors she and Faith smashed years earlier, she gathered some branches.

*****

Willow and Xander decided to take a walk, go and find Buffy, see if there was anything they could help her with, for some reason they didn't believe her just popping down to the store excuse.

While they were walking through the main street looking for her, they noticed that all the shops were closed and empty, except one, the magic shop. Its lights were on; Willow knocked on the door and was a little shocked when Angel answered it.

“Buffy?” He asked before getting a chance to see who it was.

“No….Willow and Xander, you know the people who live in this town” Xander snapped

“What are you doing here?” Asked a curious Willow

“I’m looking for Buffy”

“Well we pretty much gathered that with the greeting” Xander bit out.

“Where is she?” he asked ignoring Xander.

“No sorry pal, first you tell us what the hell’s going on, why are you here? Now it must be the big bad other wise you would just phone, and why are you here in the magic shop?” asked a suspicious Xander glancing past Angel at Anya with a worried look on his face.

“Big evil” Angel replied

“Oh great something different” Xander smirked

“What is it?” asked the Wicca

He walked out of the magic shop and straight past the pair, turning to look at them when he reached his car.

“Get in, I’ll tell you on the way”

“On the way…..where?” Asked Willow.

“Home” he whispered a small smile on his lips

“Well okay but you still haven’t told us why you were in the magic shop………Hey you weren’t trying to steal any books, or maybe my ex, were you?” Replied Xander as he jumped in the back of Angel's GTX.

*****

Buffy now had the fire well on its way and as it had lit up the whole mansion, she took a walk around. Everything was still the same, a few personal items missing, clothes, books, hair gel, but other than that, it was still as she remembered it. She went back into the bedroom to lay herself down on the bed, the same place she laid so long ago and fell asleep in her boyfriend’s arms, and not long after that he broke her heart.

She sat up slightly, leaning on her elbows, looking around as she remembered the time she nursed him when Faith shot him with the poisoned arrow, nearly taking him away from her, but she saved him in the end, so why did he leave? She obviously did everything she could for him..............maybe he felt he never did that for her, but he did, she knew it, and that was all that had mattered.

Angel pulled up outside the mansion and got out, and then turning back to Xander he said “Take the car back to Buffy’s”

“But I thought you said WE were going home” Willow said

“I am home…….now go” He insisted

“But, you still haven't told us about this big evil thingy."

“GO”

They both looked up at Angel, confused and a little intimidated before taking off.

*****

Buffy walked back out toward the fire place; slowly she reached her hand inside her pocket to retrieve the paper she had stuffed in there only moments ago when she rummaged through his draws. She could see a little better now and when she gazed down at the slightly crumpled paper she found a sketched image of herself in a wedding gown, and she swore she'd never seen anyone so beautiful in her life, even though it was herself. She realised that this was how Angel had seen her; he really thought she was that beautiful and it brought tears to her eyes.

She gently folded the paper and placed it back in her pocket, it was all she had left of him and it showed just how much he loved her, it was something she would always cherish.

She walked a little closer to the fire then something stopped her in her tracks. She could see something glimmering on the concrete ground; she slowly took a few steps closer and knelt down, gliding her fingers over it. It was the ring or at least fragments of it, she remembered how Angel had given it to her on her seventeenth birthday, the night they made love for the first time, the only time, well that she knew of.

That meant that when she came here that time and said goodbye to him and placed her ring there, pieces of it were imbedded into the ground, but why “Oh my god” She exclaimed, her hand rising to cover her mouth as she realised that was where the outline of his body used to be, from when he came back so long ago.

So could this mean that it was something more powerful than the powers that brought him back? Was that even possible, but how and why the ring it didn’t make sense…. Unless it was their love, because that was what the ring symbolised after all.

Suddenly Buffy sat still and listened carefully, tilting her head slightly as she could hear footsteps starting down the hall. She could feel it, that pang deep inside her, it was so strong, so good, and so bad at the same time. It was a feeling that made her want to laugh, cry and be sick all at once. He was so much closer now, she could smell him, that scent oh god that sweet scent of her Angel. Slowly she rose to her feet, turning around as she did, staring directly at the tall dark figure.

Angel’s eyes run over her, he was unable to say a word, was she always this beautiful? Did he always feel this strongly when ever he was around her?

Thankfully her friends had believed him and gone, he hated that he scared them the way he did, lying about some big evil being back in town, but he just had to be alone with her.

How was he going to say this, should he just say ‘Hi Buffy I’m human’ no that was stupid. What if it didn’t matter and she was with someone else, like Spike. Angel knew all about that, there was never a time he stopped knowing what was going on in her life. And it was her being with Spike that drove him to this.

He paid a lot of money for the spell, but looking at her standing right there in front of him, as beautiful as ever it was well worth it. Actually he should have given them more; his humanity certainly didn’t have a price on it.

The way Angel seen it even if Buffy was involved with someone else, no matter what she would end up being his, she would always be his girl. And if another man came close to her, he’d kill him end of story, he did still have his strength after all.

“What are you doing here?” she asked unable to move, still finding it hard to believe they were in the same room.

He walked towards her and Buffy swore she’d die if he didn’t hurry up and clear the distance that separated them. Placing his finger under her chin he tilted her head and leant forward placing a soft and slow kiss against her lips. Pulling away he whispered “I’m home.”

She smiled before leaning in to his lips again. That thing she’d always hoped for, had finally come true, she'd gotten her Angel back.

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