Part 16
Angel came out of the kitchen and noticed that Giles and Buffy were still talking in the booth. He looked fondly at the woman, remembering the girl that had once held his heart captive. He still remembered the first time he had seen her outside of her school as she was being informed as to her destiny. She had given him the reason for living that he had denied himself for so long. He never regretted a minute of their being together, although he knew how much pain that relationship had brought the two of them, because it had eventually led to his life today. A life that included a beautiful wife and two adorable daughters. The life that he never thought possible. Angel’s thoughts were interrupted when Kathryn came running over to him.
"Daddy, are we going over to Uncle Spike’s house now?" He laughed as he picked up the little girl, spinning her around to the amusement of the diners. It was a regular sight, father and daughters, and one of the reasons that the restarant was so popular.
"As soon as I get Giles and tell Cordelia that I am leaving. Why don’t you go and tell the others to get ready, okay." Kathryn nodded her head as she raced off to her friends. Angel went over to the booth, where Buffy and Giles were watching him.
"I always had a feeling you would be good with kids, Angel," Buffy replied, sliding over to make room for him to sit beside her. He shook his head at the offer.
"Yeah, well, it’s pretty easy when they are yours." Angel turned to Giles, "Are you ready to head out? I talked to Spike and everything is set up for tonight. I had Kathryn tell the other kids to get ready and I have some food being prepared in the kitchen."
"Well then I suggest we head out then," Giles agreed, slowly getting out of the booth. "Buffy, I am glad we had a chance to talk. I hope I will get to see you again before you leave."
"Where are you off to in such a rush?" Buffy asked, a bit confused why the two men were leaving so suddenly with all of the children. "I mean, can’t you stay for a little while? We haven’t seen each other in so long."
"Buffy, I really wish we could, it’s just our turn to watch the children while the girls watch Oz," Giles explained. "It’s a tradition. Kind of a male bonding thing, if you like."
"Well, how about if a former slayer joins in?" Buffy asked, looking directly at Angel, who was studiously doing his best to ignore the blatant clues about who Buffy really wanted to spend time with.
"I don’t think so Buff," he said. "It’s just going to be the guys and the kids. I don’t think they would be too comfortable with you around. The kids that is," Angel added.
Buffy shrugged her shoulders, her disappointment obvious. "I understand. Maybe we could get together some other time?" Her request made to Angel.
"We’ll see. Why don’t you call and talk to Willow about it," he suggested, hoping that maybe she would be able to accept his life with the red head. Buffy blanched at the suggestion.
"I don’t think that would be such a good idea. Not after what happened the other night."
"Willow understands your reaction Buffy," Angel stated. "She misses you. You were her best friend and it hurt when you left. The two of you need to talk."
"I’ll think about it," Buffy conceded. Any further conversation was interrupted when Cordelai joined the trio, holding quite a few bags.
"Okay, you two. Here’s the food," she said handing the bags over to Giles and Angel. "Remember that the kids should be in bed no later than nine."
"We’ll make sure that they are, Delia," Giles said as he kissed his wife. Cordelia rolled her eyes at him.
"Yeah, and you say that every month," was Cordelia’s sarcastic retort. "Yet who is it that has to deal with a bunch of sleepy kids the next day because they stayed up to watch Letterman?"
"Understood." Giles and Angel signaled for the kids to meet them at the door and turned back to Buffy. "It was nice seeing you again Buffy." The two men left, leaving Cordelia and Buffy alone.
"So, Buffy what are your plans for tonight?" Cordelia asked, not really caring but trying to, at least, act polite.
"I think I’ll just stay in and watch a movie. What about you? Giles said something about the girls watching Oz."
"Yeah. Me, Willow, Anya and Dru meet over at Faith’s for a night of girl bonding and wolf sitting. It’s kind of like an adult slumber party."
"Sounds like fun," Buffy said, meaning it. She remembered when she and Willow had spent the night together and the fun the two of them had, eating ice cream and watching movies.
"It is. Well I have to go. Take care of yourself Buffy," Cordelia said over her shoulder as she left the table. Buffy watched the brunette go, slightly offended at the snub that had just been handed her. (Well Cordelia never was one for tact. Still hasn’t changed much.) Buffy decided that is was time for her to head back to her hotel and settle in for the night. While she still may have been a slayer, she didn’t really relish the idea of being out at night in Sunnydale.
Spike’s house
The sounds of children playing could be heard over the radio. The four men sat around the living room, reveling in the noise that they were making, contentment settling in around them. Spike enjoyed having the children over. It made the house seem more like a home and he and Drusilla loved all of them as if they were there own. They always had plenty of sweets on hand for their visits. Usually, the adults would enjoy watching whatever sport was on television, arguing over the aspects which one was better. Tonight was another matter. All four had the same thing on their mind. The return of a certain blonde slayer to Sunnydale and the effect that she had on them.
"So, Angel, how is Willow handling Buffy’s return?" Spike asked, remembering the concern that Angel had for his wife the night before. The two of them hadn’t had a chance to talk about it when Angel had come to pick up the children because he had to get to the restaurant.
"She’s handling it as well as can be expected," Angel replied. "Last night was the worst of it, I hope. She’s happy that Buffy is back, but angry at the same time. Her emotions are playing havoc with her. I’m hoping that tonight will be good for her. I think she needs her friends right now, especially since she is afraid that Buffy might do something to harm her."
"You don’t think Buffy would really go after Willow, do you?" Xander asked as he grabbed a mozzarella stick from the carton of food in front of him. "I mean, I know she’s upset and hurt over you and Willow being together, but I mean, she wouldn’t go after Willow for revenge."
"I just don’t know," Angel admitted. "Buffy showed up at the restaurant tonight." Spike and Xander were surprised by that.
"What did she want?" Spike asked his sire.
"Information. About me and Willow. You and Dru. Basically what happened since she returned. She also asked me for another chance. I don’t think she’s willing to accept me and Willow. Especially since I was able to give Willow the things that I could never offer Buffy."
"She changed quite a bit from the girl that we all knew," Giles joined in, "and yet, in many ways, she’s still the same slayer that we all knew. I think the hardest thing for her to accept are the changes that have happened in all of us. In our lives. While it appears that she has moved on, making a life for herself outside of Sunnydale, she hasn’t let go of the past. It’s still weighing her down. Suffocating her."
"Bloody hell, doesn’t that little chit ever do anything the usual way," Spike spat. "I’ll be damned if I let her hurt someone I care about because she couldn’t handle her job when she was a teenager."
"It’s not that easy, Spike and you know it," Angel admonished his childe. "Think about it a minute. I mean, for the past eleven years, she’s lost everything that she had ever cared about. Her family. Her friends. She’s had to live with the fact that she had sent someone she cared deeply for to Hell. How well do you think you would have handled that if you were only seventeen?"
"Hopefully a lot better than she did," Spike retorted, not liking the way his sire was defending the slayer. "Are you excusing what she did? What she said to Willow?"
Angel shook his head, "No, I’m not. And I won’t allow her to hurt Willow just because she thinks that she and I were meant to be together. I’m just saying that I understand why she left. Not why she came back after all this time and just expected things to go back to the way they were.
" "So, you and Wills are going to be okay, right?" Xander asked, concerned for the girl that was like a sister to him.
"Yes, we are going to be okay," Angel told the younger man. "There is nothing that can come between us. Not Buffy. Not the hellmouth. Nothing. I love her too much to risk anything, let alone for the love of a past life. I have too much going for me."
"Good." The sounds of something falling and breaking resounded through the home and the men looked towards the sound.
"Dad, William dropped his ice cream all over the floor," yelled
Anne from the kitchen. The four men shook their heads, grinning at the
antics of the children before joining them.