DISCLAIMER: Not mine, I own nothing. I wouldn't be such an evil bastard and put B/A through so much.
TIMELINE: Season 5 -'Forever'
SPOILERS: Season 5 Buffy, especially "Forever" and "The Body"
SYNOPSIS: Set during the B/A scene in 'Forever", My version of what should have happened.
DISTRUBUTION: While I highly doubt this is anything worth taking, you're welcome to it if you ask.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my 4th attempt at a fic so please be gentle. I'm currently emotionally distraught over the announcement that David Boreanaz is engaged, so please go easy on me! I'm fragile right now!
FEEDBACK: Essential to my over-all health. I will be forever grateful(If it's positive) :)
RATING: PG-13ish, nothing too bad.
DEDICATION: To David Boreanaz, who decided it would be fun to break the heart of one of his most devoted fans. I hope that you're happy with your blonde playboy model. Honey, I love you,.... but you suck!

Buffy

I can't believe I'm still standing here. I just can't take my eyes off the grave. Her grave. My mommy's grave.

When we found out about the tumor, that was bad. The thought that my mom, who I love and adore more than anything, might have cancer? It tore me apart. But now, standing above her buried body, it's too much to bear. It seems like she was just here, twirling around in her beautiful dress, waiting for Bryan to arrive for their date. Less than a week ago she was here, smiling and laughing and being the most amazing mom ever, and now she's gone. I feel the tears well for the thousandth time since I found her lifeless body, but this time I let them fall.I sink to the ground as my sobs grow heavier. I throw my arms around the tombstone and cry for what I'd lost, What Dawn lost,and the empty feeling I'd felt ever since she left.

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Angel

I can see her now. I've felt her ever since I got to Sunnydale, felt her pain and sorrow, but I can see it now. She's crying, sobbing uncontrollably and holding on to her mother's tombstone. My heart is breaking as I watch my beloved cry. I slowly approached her, not sure what to do. I'd never been through the loss of a parent, I'd killed mine. I gently layed a hand on her shoulder and she whipped around to face me. I saw the look of shock on her face and then she grabbed me and sobbed out all her sorrow on my shoulder. Before I even realized what I was doing, my arms were around her, rocking her. Telling her that it was going to be okay, and that I was there. Her sobs finally subsided, and she looked at me and said, "Can we go somewhere and talk?"

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A few hours Later

They talked for what seemed like forever, filling each other in on what had happened in their lives since they had last spoken. Buffy told Angel about Dawn and the discovery that she wasn't real. They talked about Giles taking over the magic shop and the beginning of her mother's illness. Angel inwardly thanked the heavens when Buffy told how Riley had left her. Angel went through many emotions during those few hours, but one thing was for sure... He had never hated Spike as much as he did right now.

"It was really creepy" Buffy was saying."Spike had chained me to the wall, and said he was gonna kill Dru to prove how much he loved me."

"Well Spike might be a good change for you." Angel said jokingly." He is harmless."

"That's what he kept saying. He was like'I've changed, I'm good now'. He kept comparing himself to you. But he didn't have anything on you. No one has anything on you."

Angel met her eyes and saw the love they held for him. The love they still held for him. "Buffy..."

"Angel, just don't okay? I lost my mom so suddenly, and if that's taught me anything it's that any of us could go at any moment. And if I died tomorrow, I need you to know that I love you. I never stopped loving you, and I never will." Buffy met his eyes and held them there, not moving. She whispered, so softly that Angel almost couldn't hear, "I will always be your girl."

Angel gazed at her, unable to believe what he had just heard. He wanted to protest, to try to explain for the hundredth time how he couldn't give her what she deserved, but when he looked into her eyes, he knew that he had to follow his heart.

"Buffy..." he gently lifted her chin, "Look at me... I love you too."

And when Angel said those four simple words, he saw the spark return to her eyes, that spark that he loved so much. He gently lowered his head and she reached up and kissed him. It started slowly, but soon the desire that they had ignored since he walked away, came back at full force. They broke apart and Buffy reached into her pocket and pulled out a small object. Angel couldn't believe what it was when he saw it. The ring he had given her on her 17th birthday, that she had lost so long ago. She placed it in his hand and said, "Put it back where it belongs."

He looked at her and gently slid the ring onto her finger, the heart facing inward. They kissed again and when they broke apart they both looked at the sky.

"It's gonna be light soon. I should go." Angel said.

"Okay" Buffy replied.

"Wait." Angel said quickly."Before I go, I have to tell you something. Wesley found a prophecy a while back. It said that if I keep fighting, I'd get my reward."

"Reward?" Buffy asked.

"Humanity. I'd get to be human, and we'd finally be able to be together."

Tears welled in Buffy's eyes, but for the first time in days, they weren't tears of loss, sorrow or grief. They were tears of pure, overwhelming joy.

"I love you Angel." She said as one tear slipped down her cheek.

"I love you too." He replied as he wiped the tear away. He looked into her eyes and said, "Wait for me."

"Forever" She replied instantly.

They shared one last kiss and then he was gone, and Buffy was left gazing at his retreating figure. She looked up toward the heavens, because she knew where this blessing had come form. She closed her eyes and said the only thing she needed to say to express her gratitude.

"Thank you Mommy."

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