Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.
Feedback: Please!!! This is only my second fluff, so feedback is welcome and needed.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue, I'm only a high-schooler without a job anyways.
Rating: Same as the TV show
Spoilers: Set right after third season episode "Helpless." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened. Oh, and both X&C and W&O are back together by this point in my universe.
Concept: After her rather traumatic experiences; Xander, Cordelia, Willow, and Oz take Buffy to the beach for an afternoon to try and improve her outlook on birthdays. And guess who makes an appearence once the sun goes down?

Xander, Oz, and Cordelia looked around the beach carefully. They had the blankets and umbrellas set up, there was volleyball down the sand a little ways, and there was a large stack of presents waiting for the Slayer, who Willow would be bringing shortly.

"I just hope this cheers her up a little." Xander said hopefully.

"I still think we should have skipped the presents." Cordelia said clippily, "The girl doesn't have the best luck with birthdays, we should have just made it a regular party."

"This is better though." Oz said, "Show her that birthdays can be fun!"

"Shhh...here they come."

"Willow, what are we...." Buffy trailed off upon seeing all her friends and the set-up that they had. "Wow, you guys did all this for me?"

"Yup, all for you." Xander went over and gave her a big hug. "Happy Birthday Buffy!"

Oz followed suit, giving the Slayer a hug before going over to stand by Willow.

Cordelia sat where she was, saying simply, "Happy Birthday."

Willow grabbed Buffy's hand, pulling her over by the blankets and sitting her down. "So, presents now."

"You guys didn't have to do all this, really...."

"Sure we did. You need a happy outlook on birthdays." Xander put in.

"And some cool stuff." Cordy gestured towards the presents.

"I already got the best present..." Buffy trailed off, thinking of the book of beautiful poetry Angel had given her. Not to mention what he had said....

"And what's that?" Willow asked, although seeing the look in her best friends eyes she knew it was Angel-related.

"Umm....oh, just all you guys. A birthday with al..with my friends. It's cool." Buffy finished lamely.

"Sure it is." Cordy said, only half convinced. She, also, had read the look in the girls eyes.

"No, really, my last birthday get-together ended in disaster, so I didn't even try it this year. But this is neat. Just a whole afternoon at the beach with my friends." In the sun. She added to herself sadly. But then she smiled, determined to have some good old-fashioned fun with her friends. "So, presents now?" She asked with a grin, trying desperately to forget about her birthday last year.

"But of course." Xander sat down on the other side of her from Willow and began handing over gifts.

Buffy opened each one slowly, taking the time just to enjoy all the neat things.

Willow and Oz had given her some CD's, including one homemade one of the Dingos that Oz still insisted was no good, unless you only liked 5 chords. Buffy grinned and told him that she was sure she'd love it.

There were also a new shirt, a burgundy velvet midriff top.

"This looks like...." Buffy began.

"Yeah, I realized I never returned it. So I bought you a new one. Not exactly the same but..." Willow trailed off, looking at Oz.

"But she couldn't return the original cause I love her in it." Oz finished, blushing slightly.

"Is that so?" Buffy asked as she laughed. "Remind me to let Will raid my closet more often. I've got some other things that would look great on her." Oz grinned but didn't reply.

The next thing Buffy opened was a necklace. It was, as were most of her necklaces, a cross. But yet it looked a little different...

"It's a solar cross." Willow explained. "I thought you might be sick of regular ones, plus it's a little something to remind you of your Witchy friend. I hope it works the same way on vamps as other crosses."

"It should." Buffy said. "It's so pretty, thanks."

Next, Buffy opened Xander's gifts. There was another CD along with some videos. She looked happily at the CD, then grinned when she came to the videos.

"An American Werewolf in Paris. John Carpenter's Vampires. The Scooby Doo Movie. Thanks, Xand." She laughed, each movie had something to do with one or all of the gang. "Clueless?" She looked at the last one.

Xander flipped his head sideways to indicate his girlfriend. Everyone laughed, except for Cordy of course, who punched his arm.

"Now, my stuff." She said, not laughing.

Buffy grinned as she was handed Cordy's presents.

First she opened several new hair pieces, including sticks made out of wood.

"Hey, cool. I had one of these but had to use it. Thanks."

Next came an outfit, probably 100% in style, but not ranking high on Buffy's scale. "Thank Cor, it's cool." She said, not knowing what else to say. And it was cool. She just wasn't sure how she'd wear something like that and not get picked up by the cops.

"And last but not least." Cordelia handed her a small box, wrapped in baby blue paper.

"Oh my gosh!" Buffy screeched. "Is this really from Tif...."

"Just open it." Willow prompted.

The guys just looked on in shock. How had she known where it was from? Buffy tore off the paper quickly, coming to a small velvet box. She opened it, barely breathing, and the gold lettering on the top inside spelled out "Tiffany's." It contained a beautiful silver charm bracelet. That had no charms.

"This is so pretty Cordy, thanks. I love it..."

"There's a little more than that." Willow interrupted, pulling a small plastic bag out of her pocket. The other three did likewise.

"We each picked out a charm that would remind you of us."

Cordy gave hers over first, and Buffy pulled the charm out of the bag. It was of a miniature tiara.

"First time I found out who you were." Cordy remembered the May Queen dance. "Plus, I am Queen C." She referred to her license plate and everyone laughed, thinking of a time not long ago when they would have used a letter other than C to describe what kind of queen she was.

Oz gave his next, and it was a small wolf. "No explanation needed there." He said quietly.

Next came Xander's, which was a small heart that said "Always." Both of them smiled as they remembered the first time he had given her that. Cordy glared at him sharply, but he simply said "Turn it over." On the other side was the word "Friends."

"Thought that would make it a little more clear. That's not what I meant the first time, but that's all that it means now." He told Buffy with a smile.

She nodded, glad he had said it that way. There was only one person she wanted "always" with, and she could never.... 'Stop!' She told herself. 'You're having fun. You've gone almost 20 minutes without thinking of him. Keep it up.'

She nodded again and smiled, almost successful about forgetting a certain someone as she looked around at all her friends.

Willow handed her charm over last.

Buffy opened it slowly, then laughed out loud. "Where did you find this?" She held up the charm for all to see. It was a larger charm that the others and held two figures. One was a girl dressed as a ghost, the other was a girl with long curly hair in a pouffy formal gown. They held hands and had huge smiles on their faces.

"It's actually two separate charms. I had them melded together and the hands remade. I think the jeweler though I was really weird." Willow grinned, glad that Buffy liked it.

"I love it, it's great. They're all great. Everything is. Thank you all so much!" Buffy said, giving each person, even Cordelia, a huge hug.

"So, cake now or cake later?" Xander asked a moment later.

"Later." Buffy said. "Who's up for a game of volleyball?"

They all laughed, glad that she was having such a great time. Oz grabbed the ball and they headed down towards the court.

***

An hour later, Buffy was exhausted. It had been girls against guys, but even with that small advantage, having no Slayer strength left her exhausted. She begged out, wondering how the others could still have the energy to play. She heard them switching partners as she left, making it each couple against the other.

Buffy walked slowly over to where the gang had left their stuff and grabbed a water bottle from the cooler. She drank it down in a few sips, then simply relaxed on the blankets.

She looked out over the water and daydreamed. She imagined how much more fun she could have had if Angel had been there. As great as it was hanging out with her friends like this, it just wasn't the same without him. It wasn't that she felt like a fifth wheel; the gang was carefully avoiding PDA's, making it seem merely like they were all friends and nothing more. It was just that she never had quite as much fun doing anything if Angel wasn't there.

For as bad as her last birthday had been with the vampire crashing her party and the Judge and all, the actual day itself had ended happily.

That day she had been given the most perfect present, one that could never be topped as long as she lived. Not only had Angel given her the Claddagh ring, he had actually said he loved her. The first time he ever said it, and it was her birthday. And then he had shown her just how much.

Buffy smiled as the memories washed over her and just lay there enjoying them.

***

While the Slayer slept, her friends finished their game and began to work on a campfire. They weren't certain if it was legal on this particular beach, but there was no one around so they decided to risk it. When it was roaring and the food was ready, Willow went over and woke Buffy up.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty."

"Hey..." Buff opened her eyes. "How long?" She groaned.

"Only an hour or so. You were pretty pooped after that game."

"Tell me about it. Plus yesterday was pretty exhausting." Buffy remembered.

"Yeah, well, forget all about that. Fire's on and we've got food."

Buffy grinned and got up to follow her friend over to the fire.

The sun had just set, and the fire warmed the cooling mid-January air. Everyone sat around the campfire roasting hot dogs on sticks, and just enjoying the time to chat about things non-hellmouthy.

Willow suddenly stopped talking mid-sentance and stared at a point over Buffy's shoulder.

"What?" The Slayer asked, but didn't turn around.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I just remembered that we forgot...some stuff....over by our other stuff....I'm gonna go...get the stuff. You guys wanna help? With the stuff?" She looked pointedly at everyone and they rapidly got up to help.

Buffy didn't bother to turn around, the little feeling in her heart told her exactly who she would find. "Really subtle guys." She called at the departing forms. "Hi Angel."

"Hi Buffy." He said as he came up and sat down next ot her.

"You just happen to come by or did they tell you where we'd be?"

"They didn't, your mom did. I went by your house to see you and she said your friends were having a little beach party for you."

"Yeah, they thought it would cheer me up. And it kinda did, I had fun." She admitted. "I just wish they'd invited you too. That would have been so much more fun." She added softly.

"Well, they probably thought you'd be better off away from me. I didn't exactly give you the best memories on your birthday last year...." There was pain in his voice.

She turned and made him look in her eyes, "Yes, you did Angel. My birthday last year, well, it was everything I had ever dreamed of. Granted, the next morning and day were the uber-suck, but, well, that night was perfect." She felt a little strange since they'd never talked about it, but she had to let him know. "The ring, what you said, us... Everything was perfect."

He smiled a little, "Yeah, it was, wasn't it. Oh, and before I forget, I have something else for your birthday."

"Angel, you already got me the most perfect...."

"But Willow told me about a little thing they were all doing for you, and said I could get something for it too if I wanted."

"The charm bracelet?" She asked him.

"Yeah, the charm bracelet." He said, pulling a small box out of his pocket. She opened it slowly, and it held two charms. "Two because I wasn't sure if you'd want to wear the one, so just in case...."

She shushed him, "They're both beautiful."

One was of an angel, halo and all. "In keeping with Willow's theme of charms that remind you of the person." He said, "Now, granted I don't have a halo, but..."

"In my book you do. It's perfect." She then pulled the second charm out of the box and a tear ran down her cheek. It was the same symbols as on her Claddagh ring; the hands, crown, and heart.

"I wasn't sure if you'd want it." He glanced down at his hand, where the heart on his ring still pointed in. "I noticed you don't wear the ring anymore, I thought maybe this way it would be a little less obvious to everyone, but you'd still know..."

She put a finger to his lips, quieting him. She then reached down to the chain around her neck, and pulled the long chain out of her shirt. On it hung her Claddagh ring.

"After, after you turned....I took it off. I kept it in a jewelry box, kept it as my only reminder of our love. Earlier this year, I had a boyfriend....you remember me talking about him. Before I decided to go out with him, I had to forget about my past. Cause I knew if I compared anyone else to what we had....well....there would just be no comparison... I brought the ring to the mansion, and I left it there, facing downwards towards where you...." She trailed off, beginning to cry at her memories.

He reached out hesitantly to put an arm around her, and she leaned into him. When her tears quieted a moment later, she continued, "The spot where I put it, it's the exact same spot where you came back. The shadow burnt into the floor...that's where I put the ring. I found it on the floor of the mansion that day when I chained you up there. It's like that's what brought you back. It was so amazing. But at the same time, I knew if I suddenly started wearing it again, someone would notice. Will, Cordy, even the guys, they all knew what it meant. And that it was from you. If I suddenly started wearing it, they'd wonder. I guess even once they found out, it was just easier this way. I didn't have to see it every day as I reminder of what we'd lost, and yet I always had the comfort of knowing it was with me."

He had been silent as she spoke, watching her with unconcealed love. Now he turned her face so that it faced him again. "I can understand that." He said softly. "I almost took mine off too, I considered the chain idea as well. Then I realized that no matter what I'd never get through a day without finding something that reminded me of you, so it might as well be this ring."

"I know what you mean. I was always thinking of you too." Buffy said softly.

Their eyes were still locked, and now they slowly leaned closer together. Ever so slowly, heads leaned and eyes closed. They kissed each other softly on the lips. The kiss grew longer and deeper until finally Buffy had to pull away to catch her breath.

"I love you." She whispered before her head could talk her out of saying it. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth as she echoed the words he had spoken to her a year ago, "I try not to but I can't stop."

With a smile, he showed her that he remembered that night as well as she did, "Me too. I can't either."

They kissed a moment longer, then she pulled back. She reached up to her neck to unfasten the chain. She pulled her Claddagh ring off the chain and put it on her finger, heart pointing in, just as she had worn it for that all too brief period last year.

"You guys can come on back now. It's probably getting pretty cold over there." Buffy called out to her friends who had remained away from the fire and the lovers.

The four came over quickly, warming themselves by the fire. Seeing Buffy snuggled up into Angel's side, the others no longer worried about making her feel like a fifth wheel. Each girl snuggled into the arms of her guy, and the three couples sat around the campfire.

As the waves whooshed along the beach, Willow glanced around at all of her friends. She suddenly noticed the firelight shining off of a ring on Buffy's right hand. She shifted her position so that she could see it better. The Claddagh ring shone in the light, matched perfectly by the one Angel wore. Willow smiled a huge smile, one almost as big as the ones Buffy and Angel wore.

Buffy had just gotten the greatest birthday present a girl could ever have, for the second year in a row.

Buffy and Angel were together again. Whatever else happened now didn't really matter. When Buffy was with Angel, she was in a good mood.

And a Slayer in that good a mood could take on the world....and win.

Their day at the beach had turned out even better than she could have hoped.

Willow lay back in Oz's arms, suddenly knowing in her heart that all was right with the world.

Send feedback to Lady Callista

Back to the Fanfiction Archive