Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! for the great feedback for my first story! There are just TOO many people to thank. I wasn't really going to get to this until Friday night, but you guys made me change my mind, and I usually don't even have TIME because of stupid school…and now I'm rambling. So, thanks, and keep it coming! :)
(I'm also hoping this flows well together OK)
Disclaimer: Do I own them? Nope. See, my name is RACHEL, NOT Joss. None of these characters belong to me. I'm not making money off the them, blah, blah, blah. Do you really think I would put B/A thru all of this and have Buffy sleeping with Riley? YUK!
Rating: I dunno. PG I guess.
Summary: Part three in the Surprise series: Angel takes Buffy out for a night in LA to formally celebrate her birthday.
Spoilers: Nothing much: maybe a few hints about stuff.
Authors Notes: This is following "Surprise" and "Finding out." If you don't have these but want them, e-mail me bout it!
******I'm not really sure if everything is in PERFECT chronological order…like when the Bronze's fumigation party was…but I placed that a year ago from this story.
******Also, since I don't live in LA, I have NO clue what kinds of places are over there. I just made up some random name for the restaurant in here.
******Also, "Blessed" By Christina Aguilera on her self-entitled album doesn't belong to me either. These are also great lyrics and I am just borrowing them!
Distribution: My Site, Angel Forevermore, and if everyone else can just tell me where it's going first. I'll probably say yes!
Feedback? < G > Does Angel look hot wearing leather pants? Makes me write faster!

Life had resumed its normal course when school started up again. Angel and Buffy still continued seeing each other just as much, and by now, Willow and Oz were an official couple. Everything was extremely peaceful in Sunnydale. It seemed that there weren't any demons that wanted to visit since the Slayer, a 17-year-old girl, would kill them all.

Friday after school, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia promised they'd meet Buffy at the library. Oz had a band practice, but promised Willow they would hook up later. When they walked in, Buffy was practicing with Giles, their swords clashing back and forth.

"Good." Giles said. "Now thrust downward. Like so." He carried out his command.

Buffy took a second and made her move, thrusting down as he said but then following up in a single, fast motion. Giles flew upward and landed on the floor with a loud BOOM.

"Like that?" Buffy asked, holding her sword at her side.

"Yes…um, very well done…" Giles said, slowly climbing to his feet. He took her sword and walked back into the office and put them both away. As he walked back towards the stacks, he muttered, "one day she's gonna break my back doing that."

"Hey guys," Buffy said, coming over to the three.

"Hey Buffy. So how is your mom taking all of this stuff with Angel?" Willow asked as she sat down in a chair at the table.

"Well, she's getting better. I think she just had a hard time accepting that her 17 year old daughter is married to a man who is old enough to be her grandfather." Buffy replied, grabbing a seat.

"Married?" Asked Cordelia. "When did you guys get married?"

"Well, don't tell Giles…" Buffy lowered her voice since Giles was only a few feet away. "But see this ring?" she held up her right hand. "It's a wedding ring. Angel gave it to me on my birthday."

"Aww, that's so sweet." Willow said, sighing.

"Yeah…sweet." Xander said. "So technically, you married him when he was still Dead Boy. " He snickered.

"Xander, shut up!" Buffy said. But she grinned nonetheless. < I don't think I have ever stopped since my birthday. > she thought.

At that moment, Angel walked through the swinging doors, looking for Buffy. She grinned and got out of her seat, running up into his open arms. "Hey," she whispered, smiling up at him.

"Hey yourself." He replied before kissing her gently. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." She replied before kissing him once again. Meanwhile, all the others were watching the two from the table. It was clear how strong and true their love was for each other; no one could miss it. Inwardly, all of them (even Xander) longed for a love that was as true as theirs.

Xander, being the person that he was, started making gagging sounds. "Ahem. Excuse me, but there are people in this room that would like to NOT be blinded by the PDA in here."

Buffy and Angel grinned and broke apart from each other. "Sorry." Buffy said.

"Hi guys." Angel said, smiling at the two girls. They both replied with a "hi" before hitting Xander for being so rude.

"Hey Buffy, can I talk to you for a second?" Angel asked, holding her hand.

"Yeah, sure." She replied. "Be right back you guys," she directed towards her friends. They nodded and went back to their conversation as Angel led her into Giles' office, closing the door behind them. "What did you wanna talk about?" Asked Buffy.

"Well, today, I was thinking…" Angel began. "About how we never really got to officially celebrate your birthday."

"Sure we did Angel." Buffy said, thinking back to that heavenly night.

"Well…yes, there was that." He smiled down at her. "But, the party was ruined by the Judge and then we had Spike and Dru to deal with. Anyway, I wanted to do something special for you." Angel said.

"Angel, you really don't have to do-"

"Shush." Angel interrupted her protest, placing his finger over her lips to silence her. Buffy gently kissed his fingers before smiling at him. "This is something I want to do." He glanced down at his watch. "I need to pull a few strings, but…can you be ready at 6:00?"

Buffy looked over at the clock on the wall. It read 3:00. "Yeah, I can be ready. But what if my mom says I can't go?" Buffy still wasn't quite sure how her Mom was handling the Angel-situation.

"Don't worry about that. I've already gotten that taken care of. She says that you are free tonight. And something about how if I ever hurt you then she'll personally stake me in the heart, which means that I guess I'm stuck with you for the long run." Angel said.

Buffy grinned. "Was that a joke? Wow, color me shocked."

"Hey, I joke around." Angel replied.

"Uh huh. So, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." Angel replied cryptically.

"Oh goodie. I love surprises." Buffy said, moving in closer to kiss him.

"I know." And with that, their lips met. Their light, tender kisses started becoming more passionate. They only stopped when the need for air was necessary. "I need to go get a few things ready, okay?"

Buffy nodded. "All right. I'll see you at 6:00, right?"

"Right." Angel lowered his head to catch her lips once more. "I love you."

"I love you more." Buffy replied, smiling at him. Angel also smiled before kissing her once more and exiting the room. She heard him leave the library after saying goodbye to her friends out in the other room. She glanced up at the clock…< 3:15 already?! I need to get ready! >

Buffy rushed out of the office and grabbed her stuff. Cordelia, Willow, and Xander looked at her crazily. "Where ya going Buffy?" Xander asked.

"Oh…I have to go get ready for something I have to do tonight." Buffy said, scrambling to get her books packed up.

"Something Angel related?" Cordelia asked, finishing putting her lip-gloss on her lips. < What's the point? > Buffy thought. < She and Xander will just go into a closet and it'll come off. >

"Maybe…" She replied. But from the radiant smile on her face, it was obviously something related to Angel.

"Well, whatever it is, have a fun time." Willow said. "Too bad you'll miss the Bronze's fumigation party. Remember last year?"

Buffy grinned. "Of course she does Will." Xander said. "That was the first time she sucked face with Dead Boy."

"Xander! Don't call him that anymore." Buffy said, throwing her backpack around her shoulder. "Giles!" She called out. "I'm taking off now!"

"All right." His voice echoed from the back of the library. "Check in with me tomorrow just in case."

"Sure thing!" Buffy turned her attention back to her friends. "You guys can, y'know…go HOME." She said. "Slaying has been a bear minimum at best. Go home, enjoy the weekend…I know I will!" And with that, she strolled out the library, dreaming of what Angel had in store for her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Buffy! You almost ready?" Joyce yelled to her from downstairs.

"Yeah! In just a few more minutes." She called back. It was 5:58. Angel was going to be here soon. Buffy could barely keep herself from jumping up and down everywhere. < He's so romantic > she thought. < He always knows just how to treat me and how to act. I love him so much.> As Buffy gazed at herself in her full-length mirror, she heard the doorbell ring. < He's here! > She thought. Buffy quickly went back to adding a few bracelets, a necklace, and other odds and ends.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

From downstairs, Joyce let Angel inside. "Hey Joyce." Angel greeted her.

"Hi Angel." She replied, closing the door. "Please, have a seat."

"Thanks." Angel walked into the living room and took a seat. "Thanks for allowing Buffy to do this on such short notice."

"It's not a problem Angel." Joyce replied. "I mean, if you had seen her when she came home this afternoon, it's all worth it. Honestly, I have never seen her happier. She has this look…an 'Angel-look' and that makes it all worth it to me."

"Well, thank you once again." He said. Angel heard footsteps on the stairs and stood up as Buffy walked into the room. < Wow… > he thought, gazing at his beloved. Buffy stood there in a knee-length black dress with a lace material of red butterflies covering the top half. < She's absolutely amazing. > Angel thought, not having a care that he was staring.

Meanwhile, Buffy was doing the same. < Ohhhh, he's in a tux. A NICE tux. > she thought. < He does NOT look bad! > Joyce could see the love radiating from these two. From just the way they looked at each other, she could tell this was going to last. "Hey." Buffy greeted shyly.

"Hi Buffy." Angel replied softly, walking up to her. He gently kissed her on her forehead, not wanting to do more from the presence of her mother in the same room.

"Well, you two have a fun night." Joyce said, moving the two lovers to the door. "Angel, I want her home by one…since it is the weekend and all." Angel nodded and walked outside.

"Thanks Mom." Buffy said, quickly hugging her.

"Hey you…you picked a good one." Joyce whispered to her and nodded towards Angel. "Even though he was a vampire for 200 a something years. He's incredibly polite."

"I know. It's those dang 18th century manners he learned. See you later Mom." Buffy said before walking outside the doorway, and Joyce closed the door.

"So Angel, where are we…" Buffy's eyes drifted to the car parked in front of her lawn. "Oh my god! Is this your car?!" She asked, walking down the walkway and standing in front of it. Parked in front of her was a black and (from the look of it) VERY expensive BMW.

"No…I just rented it for tonight." Angel said, opening the car door for her. Buffy climbed in and sat down, waiting for Angel to get the car going.

"So…I take it that we're actually going OUT of Sunnydale since basically, you can walk to any place in town." Buffy said.

Angel chuckled. "Yeah. You'll see where we're going." Taking hold of Buffy's hand and squeezing it tightly, they drove off into the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An hour and a half later, Angel drove into the heart of LA. "Ha, I had a feeling we'd be coming here." Buffy said, gazing out the windows.

"You did, huh?" Angel asked back to her.

"Of course! Slayer instinct." She replied.

"Beloved, I somehow doubt that your surprise can be determined by your Slayerness."

Buffy only grinned and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I'm just teasing with you. So, where are we going?"

"I can't tell…"

"Angel…please……" Buffy made him look at her as she gave him the 'puppy dog (sad eyes, pouting mouth) look.'

"Ohh, all right. We're eating at Le Maire…that restaurant at The Adams." Angel said.

"THAT place? Oh my god Angel…do you have any idea how expensive that place is?" Buffy asked, her eyes wide.

"Don't worry about it Beloved. I've got it covered." He answered back, continuing their drive.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thirty minutes later, the two were seated at a table. The waiter took their order and left to fulfill it. "Thank you so much Angel." Buffy said once the waiter was gone.

"Not a problem Buffy." He replied. "I just wanted to do something special for you for your birthday."

Buffy beamed with the love she was feeling inside of her. She sipped her water, and looked down at her lap. When she looked up again, Angel was staring right at her. "What?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing." He replied. "I'm just staring at the most beautiful woman in this room."

Buffy looked over her right and then left shoulder. "You been looking at other women in here?" she joked. Angel laughed softly and leaned forward to quickly kiss her before their food arrived.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Some time later, both Buffy and Angel had finished their dinners. Never in Buffy's life had she remembered being so happy. She was convinced that Angel was her true soulmate. She could feel him when he entered a room and almost feel what he was feeling. Her love for him ran deeper than the ocean. Never in her life had she considered herself so lucky.

Angel felt exactly the same way. Never had he known love like that from his Slayer. He remembered being a vampire and not having a soul in the world whom cared about him lying in the streets. Now he had this amazing woman, his Buffy, who's caring shone clearly for him. Her love for him had redeemed him of what he once was. He had never felt so fortunate in his whole life.

In another room of the restaurant, Buffy and Angel heard music cut on. To their left was an old ballroom that, along with the rest of The Adams, was considered a historical landmark. Angel stood up and went behind Buffy's seat, pulling it out for her. "Do you want to dance with me?"

"Of course." She replied, talking his outstretched hand. The couple walked into the room and held each other swaying to the 20th century music.

When I think how life used to be
Always walking in the shadows
Then I look at what you've given me
I feel like dancing on my tiptoes
I must say every day I wake
And realize you're at my side

Angel listened to the lyrics as he swayed with his love. < Buffy has given me so much > he thought. < A new life with her, a future with her, and so much more >

I know I'm truly blessed
For everything you've given me
Blessed for all the tenderness you show
I'll do my best
With every breath that's in me
Blessed
To make sure you never go.

Buffy was also listening to the lyrical message of this song. she thought. < Angel treats me like a queen. He is so caring and considerate when it comes to me, and I couldn't ask for more. > She felt him kiss her forehead lightly. < If he ever left me…I would die, I really would. >

There are times that test your faith
'Til you think you might surrender
And baby I'm, I'm not ashamed to say
That my hopes were growing slender
You walked by in the nick of time
Looking like an answered prayer

< There were plenty of times that tested our faith, > Angel thought. < I didn't want to try anything. At first, I thought that if I stayed distant and away from her, then everything would be all right. When our relationship started, I never thought it would amount to anything. I mean…a vampire in love with a slayer. You can't get ANY more ironic than that. > Next to him, Buffy raised her head and kissed his cheek softly. < As long as I have Buffy, all of my prayers have already been answered. >

I know I'm truly blessed
For everything you've given me
Blessed for all the tenderness you show
I'll do my best
With every breath that's in me
Blessed
To make sure you never go.

A single tear ran down Buffy's cheek as she thought about everything that Angel and she had to go through to get where they were now. People told her that this would never work, and LOGICALLY, it shouldn't have. < A Slayer in love with a vampire > she thought. < Boy, what irony. > As Angel's hands tightened around her waist, she closed her eyes again and continued swaying to the music.

Deep inside of me
You fill me with your gentle touch
I know I'm truly blessed
For everything you've given me
Blessed for all the tenderness you show
I'll do my best
With every breath that's in me
Blessed
To make sure you never go.

When the song was over, Buffy and Angel met lips, gently kissing. When they pulled away, Angel looked down at his watch. "Oh, we'd better get you back home. It's getting late." So together, hand in hand, the two started the trip for home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fifteen minutes from Buffy's home, Angel looked over at her and saw that she was fast asleep with a smile plastered to her face. Joy filled Angel when he thought that he was the cause for that smile. < I love her so much > he thought.

When he pulled into the Summers' driveway a minute later, he gently woke Buffy. "Beloved?" He asked, gently caressing her cheek. "Time to get up and go inside to bed."

"What…?" she groaned, waking up slowly. "Angel?"

"You fell asleep." He explained. "And we're home."

"Oh…" Both of them climbed out of the car and headed up to Buffy's porch. "Well…we're here." Buffy said, pointing to the door. Both of them knew that this was where they must say 'good night.'

"Yes, we are." Angel said.

"I had an amazing time tonight Angel." Buffy said, "thank you."

"You're welcome Beloved." He replied, gazing into her hazel eyes lovingly.

"I don't want to say good night to you. I don't want this night to ever end." She stated. "I…I can't take this separation Angel. I want to be with you all of the time. I want to fall asleep in your arms and wake back up in them every morning. Only seeing you for a few hours a few times a week is becoming unbearable."

"I know what you mean." He replied. "But I told you we'd work this all out, right?" Buffy nodded. "And we will." Angel leaned down and kissed her gently. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up for a second, kissing her madly. When he set her down, he kissed her once more and then stepped back. "I love you."

"I love you more." She said. It had become an instant reply for them. "And good night."

"G'night beloved." Angel said, giving her hand one more squeeze. Buffy turned around and walked inside the house, blowing him one more kiss before closing the door. Already, their souls were yearning for one another, desperately calling out to be together once again. However, Angel forced himself to turn around and walk back to the car.

< Buffy was right, > he thought. < This separation is becoming a lot to handle. > And his brain immediately started planning on what he could do about that.

Go to the next story Moving In

Send feedback to Rachel

Back to the Fanfiction Archive