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. You can watch this if you watch the show
Summary: Angel comforts Buffy after her mother's death
Spoilers: MAJOR spoilers for the Buffy ep. Coming up this week! (Except that I will see it Sun. Morning and NOT Tues. night!) Also, spoilers on the whole rumor of the Angel/Buffy X/over. (And also...this kinda SUX...it was quick.)
Distribution: Just my site and yahoo-groups places. And anyone else can tell me where it'd headed first please!
Feedback? < G > Does Angel look hot wearing leather pants?

~*Buffy*~

I can't feel anything. Not a thing. I thought that it was bad enough that she had a tumor. But now…how am I supposed to go on? There's so much that she never taught me. That I haven't gotten to do with her yet.

Earlier today we had my Mom's…I can't even think of the word- funeral. I can't even begin to talk about what Dawn is going though. Not even two weeks ago she just found out she was the key and now this. How much more can a 14 year old take?

I can't even cry right now. Too many thoughts are running through my head. 12 hours ago, Mom was spinning around in her new black dress, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Brian, her date for the night. She was smiling. She was anxious. She was SO happy and now…what can I do?

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

~*Angel*~

Darla and Dru are gone. I had been revived after that night of empty passion and lust with Darla. I regained my senses and went back to fighting the good fight with my gang…my only friends in the world. After I dusted Darla and Dru, my head completely cleared. It took time, but things slowly went back to normal. Even Cordelia slowly let me back in.

I have been able to put Wolfram and Hart behind me. I realized that this was definitely NOT the right path of my destiny. However, that was until Spike came to me.

I know, I know…SPIKE. Well, I was just about to kick him out until be spoke.

It was just one sentence, but it had enough power to send me flying back to Sunnyhell: "Buffy's Mom died yesterday."

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

~*Buffy*~

Honestly, I don't know why I'm back here tonight. Giles gave me the night off, hell, he gave me the rest of the month off from doing my "sacred duty." I plod through the graveyard and am now staring at her headstone.

*Joyce Summers*
~1958-2001~
*Beloved Mother*

I start crying uncontrollably. I can't stop the tears. My knees feel like jello and I collapse on the fresh green grass. I wrap my arms around the cold slab of stone, trying to wake up from this never-ending nightmare.

How am I suppose to go on? I questioned to myself. I had no clue. I sobbed throughout the night and didn't budge until a voice- a voice that I had been trying to forget- came up from behind me.

"Buffy."

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

~*Angel*~

"Buffy…" I whispered, my voice filled with pain. The pain of what she was going through. She turned around and faced me. My soul was torn in half when I stared into her eyes, which were glossy with tears and puffy from crying. She sniffed back her tears and looked into my eyes.

"Angel." She replied so softly that I barely heard her. My soul went out for her in sympathy. I slowly walked up to her and bent down, for once not sure how to act or what to say. I couldn't really relate to her problem, after all, I killed my own family.

Buffy launched herself into my arms, fresh tears landing on my duster. "Shh, shh. It will be all right." I said soothingly. I lowered us onto the ground as I stoke my fingers through her golden locks.

"It's never going to okay anymore." She sobbed into my chest. We sat there for an infinite amount of time it seemed. Neither one of us spoke. I just let her cry in my arms. Finally, she sat back, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks. "What…what are you doing here?" She finally asked.

"I…I heard what happened." I said. "From Spike."

Buffy rolled her eyes and groaned. "I don't even WANT to hear that name."

I smiled faintly. "Why? What happened?"

"It's a LONG story," She replied, staring into my eyes.

I cast my eyes up to the sky. Dawn was a good several hours away. "I've got all night. Tell me."

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

Buffy and I were still in the graveyard two hours later. She had been talking about how everything had been going in Sunnydale. I gasped when she told me that Dawn wasn't a real person. She was this…key? Anyway, I promised her that I would help Buffy out in any possible way. There was no way I would let Dawn get hurt. I inwardly leapt for joy when she said that Riley was gone. OK, so what I told her to get a normal life? *I* still want her. I wanted to torture this Glory person for hurting my beloved. So much had gone on in her life after my leaving her. However, I knew one thing for certain…I was gonna KILL Spike!

"So, Spike was all, 'I'm gonna stake Dru in order to show you how much I love you.'" Buffy continued. There was a gleam in her eye that I hadn't seen in the longest time. I was falling in love with her all over again. Last spring, I thought that that gleam had disappeared for good. She was cold, harsh, and not like my love. Her spirit was gone. However, now, it seemed to be back in full force. "And so he chained us all up. Dru was going crazy and Spike was telling me crap. But then Harmony came in and started threatening Spike and Dru and…I love you."

THAT surprised me to say the least. My eyes widened and I stared into her lovely face. "Buffy…"

"Don't 'Buffy' me." She warned. "Angel, I've been through too much crap recently. Riley left me, Spike LOVES me, Dawn is this KEY thing, and my Mom…well…" She lowered her head and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Buffy…" I sighed and took her hands. "Look at me." She lifted her head and tried to smile. Right then and there, I had made up my mind. It was time to follow my heart for once. "I love you too."

Buffy broke down in sobs. "I never stopped Angel, and I never will. I…I just had to let you know Life is too precious to just go through without…you need to know. I love you so much!"

"Oh Buffy…" I sighed as a single tear rolled down my cheek. "Look, things are going to e tough. We know, as we found out in the hard way last year, that we belong in different worlds, fighting the good fight the way we do." Buffy sobbed aloud again. "But…things will get better."

"How?" Buffy asked. "How can *anything* ever get better?"

"I never told you this but…I've got this thing called a 'shanshu' coming up." She looked at me with clear confusion in her eyes. "After the apocalypse, I get my reward."

"Reward?"

"Humanity." I said. "I would get to be human and…with you."

Fresh tears sprang from her eyes. "Oh Angel…"

"I can't make any promises…" And I didn't want her to wait for me forever. "I don't-"

"I'll wait for you." She said. "I'd wait for you for all eternity."

"Buffy…what if things go…"

Buffy leaned forward and kissed me. Her lips were so gentle. This is where I belonged-with her. I remembered all those other nights when we had done the exact same thing in this exact same graveyard. I deepened the kiss, loving every moment. "I'll just be single-waiting-for-her-vampire-boyfriend-to-shanshu-Buffy for a while." She replied a minute later.

I smiled at her joke. "I love you." I said, standing up and bringing her up beside me.

"My angel…" She whispered, caressing my cheek. "I love you." We kissed gently.

When we broke off the kiss, I stared up at the sky. "It's getting close to dawn." I said regrettably. "I'd better be heading back."

Buffy stared up at the sky along with me. "Okay." I knew that she knew it was helpless to try and argue with me.

"Wait for me…" I whispered as I pulled something out of my pocket for her.

"Forever." I slipped the object into her hand that I had been holding onto for all night. With one more kiss on her lips and a loving caress to her satiny cheek, I disappeared into the night.

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

~*Buffy*~

I stared where Angel once stood, grasping something cool in my right hand. Looking down and opening my hand, I saw my claddagh ring that I had lost so long ago. The ring and my love that had brought Angel back to me. Holding back tears, yet unable to hold back a smile, I slid it onto my left hand, making me his once again.

The sun was rising and the rays cast light on my mother's headstone. Angel was right. Things were going to be bad…sometimes unbearable and sometimes not worth going on.

But as long as we were both doing the same thing, fighting the good fight, I would wait for him. As long as it took, I would wait.

FEED ME! < G > Pwease!

Go to the sequel, Worth the Wait

Send feedback to Rachel

Back to the Fanfiction Archive