Immortal Beloved..." LV...
A shortie...
PG-13
Disclaimer: No, Joss, no...I make no claims, put that thing down!
It's all yours and ME's...
Spoilers for Angel to the bitter end...Flee at once!...
Summary: Various outcomes following "Girl In Question" and /or "Not Fade Away"
on Angel...Ok, just had to do one more...but I absolutely, positively...On my mother's soul...
Ok, I lied...But me poor ole mum would just say, "so long as I like it, it's ok..."
***
London, Heathrow Airport...One night, four months after the defeat of the Senior Partners in LA...
A strolling Buffy, Dawn beside her, paused to stare at the short, blonde-haired man sitting quietly in a lobby chair...Listening to a tape player without headphones...
"William?..." she came over to him... "Buffy?...Dawn?...Nice to see you..."
"What are you doing here?..." she eyed him...A nervous look...Dawn eyeing him coolly as well...
"Some business for our firm's European office...Basically, cleaning out the European office..." he grinned...
"Rape any other Slayers while you were at it...?" Dawn sneered... "Dawn..." Buffy muttered... "Sorry...Bad memories of the guy who let my sis down..." Dawn eyed him...
"Sorry, Will..." Buffy sighed... "It's ok...Dawn's right...I did let you both down that time...Though it was pre-soul..."
"That's a neat excuse..." Dawn grinned coldly... "Almost as good as Angel's for not being there for sis that year she came back from the grave..."
Dawn...Buffy frowned...She shrugged... "Fine...Maybe I shoulda included ...As good as Buffy's for not bringing you back herself...Or calling you when you came back..." A dark look from Buffy...
"Andy told us when he got back from LA...We were just thrilled..." Dawn grinned sarcastically...
"Dawn...Enough..." Buffy glared coldly... "It's ok, Buf..." Will nodded...
"I heard you slaughtered the Partners...Nice..." she nodded now to Will, smiling a bit...While Dawn maintained a haughtily reserved air...Looking round the lobby a bit...
"Things well in Rome, Slayer?..." "Fine, fine...Had a little down time and decided to take Dawny on a little trip before my university classes resume..." "Very nice...Are you here in England?...Staying with Giles, perhaps?..."
No...Not staying with Giles...she shook her head... "In fact he doesn't know we're out here...Kinda flew the coop..."
Work with the Slayers and all...Plus my new classes...Was all getting a bit much...We needed a break...
"Great...Well, mum's the word if I should speak to your Chairman by phone when I get back to LA..."
"Buffy's with the Immortal now you know..." Dawn chimed in... "A fabulous guy, in case you hadn't heard..."
Dawn...Buffy hissed... "William, you understand I hope...I mean...Back at Sunnydale and all..."
"You were just being kind...I understand, Buf...I told you I did, remember?...And it was very kind..."
"Course..." Dawn interrupted again...A hard look in her eye... "You know His Benevolence is a vamp...But just way outta your league...Wealthy, powerful..."
Dawn...Stop it...Buffy hissed, pulling at her...
"It's fine...I understand, Buffy..."
"I do wish you'd've come to Rome before...It might've made a difference..." she eyed him... "Dawn is right about you're being gutless there, no offense..."
Though I guess it's true...I was just being kind... she spoke hastily...Dawn eyeing her...
No offense...Taken...he smiled...A hair brittlely...
"Yeah...Pity you didn't have the same guts Spike once had...You might've had a chance with sis if you'd shown before the Immortal..." Dawn eyed him coldly...
"Enough, Dawn..." Buffy waved a hand... "Just letting your ex- know what he missed, sis..."
"Well...Things are what they are, right?..." he smiled faintly...Fiddling a bit more with his tape player...
"Yeah..." Dawn leered... "But say, sis hasn't told you the big news..." Buffy stared at her, looking a bit puzzled...And uncomfortable... "Go on and show your ex-, sis...You got the photos..."
Oh...Right...She turned to her bag...Ummn...
Go on...Dawn frowned... "William will be so interested to see..."
She reluctantly pulled out a wallet from her bag...Opening it...Revealing among various photos, several of an infant...A girl...Ranging from apparently just after birth to about six months...
Will stared...At the female spitting image of one Alexander Harris... "See..." Dawn grinned maliciously... "Big news..."
"You and..." he stared at Buffy...
"Yeah..." Dawn smiled... "They finally hit it off...After you croaked..."
Ummn...Buffy looked away, sighing... "Uh...Yeah...It was a spur of the moment thing...We were lonely...Drunk..."
"She's beautiful...Though I don't see a lot of you in her..." Will told her quietly... "Well, she's all sis'..." Dawn chuckled...Xander having displayed his usual fortitude in such matters...
"We decided it was best I keep her..." Buffy nodded... "Xander's a fool when it comes to responsibility, you know..." she gave a hard look... "But she's cute...And Henri...The Immortal...Likes kids..."
"Loves em..." Dawn grinned...
Nice...Will nodded...Well...Congrats... "Thanks..." Buffy bit a lip... "One more drawback to you, eh William...?" Dawn smiled...
"I suppose, Dawn..." he answered quietly...Well...
"So what's the name?..."
Ummn...Buffy eyed Dawn... "Anne..." Dawn noted... Yeah, Buffy nodded... A faint smile... "Anne..."
"Xander wanted Anya...But we told him to go to hell, right sis?..."
"Anne Harris?...A fine name..." Well...He looked at the girls...Dawn frowning a bit...Buffy looking rather...He turned back to the tape player...
"There...At last got the thing running..." he beamed...As the strains of "I've Got You Under My Skin..." played ..."'Fraid I'm a sucker for Cole Porter..." he grinned...
"Always the romantic..." Buffy smiled back... "Wish you'd follow through a bit more, though..."
"Yeah..." Dawn sneered slightly...
Well...The way it goes with love, sometimes...he smiled again, shrugging... Buffy staring...William?...
"Well, must be off...Got a plane to catch...It was nice seeing you both again...Drop by LA some time if you can..." he headed off...
Yeah...Buffy stared after him... "I've Got You Under My Skin..." still playing from the player he'd left behind...
Geesh...Dawn shook her head... "What a weak-kneed putz...All that chasing after you and ..."
She eyed Buffy coldly now...As her sis continued to stare after the vanishing Will...
"His Benevolence won't be too pleased, sister...You should have dusted him...Or at least driven him to the despair of a tan attempt tomorrow morning..."
Our sire will not be pleased...she frowned...
"I'm tired of being Henri's doormat...Sire or no..." 'Buffy' fumed... " 'Sides, I can deal with William any time...We weren't expecting to meet up with him here..."
And it was good practice playing human...she insisted...For when we have to meet up with Giles and Willow at last...Surely even Henri would appreciate that...Especially fooling William...
"You still like that fool, don't you?...You silly bitch..." Dawn shook her head... "Just thank the demon gods he's a romantic idiot and our Master's human glam concealed our natures from him..."
No wonder you were such an easy prey for the Master...A little phony pining after redemption, a little sympathy for your poor wittle William...
"Shut up..." Anne, demon of Buffy, eyed her sister coldly... "At least I don't go round calling Henri 'Lord and Master', prostrating myself before his photograph a dozen times a day..."
"He's our Sire...Show a little respect...And get any dopey notions about that traitor to our kind outta your head..."
"As Buffy I ate clowns like 'His Benevolence' for breakfast, once...I don't intend to let him push me around...As for William...I want Spike...And when the right time comes, I'll get him..."
"Yeah?...Well your dimwitted hero left his little music box behind...Gee, maybe he'll come back for it and you tell him how much you really cared..."
"Hmmn... 'I've Got You Under My Skin...'...I think he meant to leave that..." Anne smiled faintly...
"He still loves me...I..."
"Too bad he doesn't know...Well, we'll have our chance to tell him in our sire's good..."
"Fraid I do know, ladies..." a voice from behind...They whirled to see William eyeing them carefully...
Both sisters now looked at the player in shock as a chant began...Dawn looking at Anne in anger and fear... "You stupid...!!" It was over before she could turn back to spring at Will...
"Buffy...?" Dawn wanly stared... "Yeah..." Buffy nodded and turned to William...
"The curse, huh?..." "Yeah..." he nodded...
"I'm so sorry, William..." "I'm the one who's sorry, Buf...I should have come...This was my fault..."
I think I killed...A bunch of people...Dawn stared at William, then Buffy in shock...
"Not you, Nibs...Your demon..." Will told her... "You didn't, Dawn..." Buffy agreed., hugging the shaken, trembling Dawn...
"Anyway...I was the idiot who fell for the Immortal's redemption-seeking line...And got drunk one night with him..." she looked up at William...
"Guess he reminded me of somebody...Somebody who, in spite of his nature...Never let me down once he told me he loved me..." William smiling gently at her wan face...
Buffy...
"I'm dead..." Dawn said blankly... "Dead and a murderess..."
"No, honey..." Buffy rocked her... "You are not a murderess...And as for dead, well...It's a relative concept..." she smiled at Will...
"Buffy..." Will reached to her... "We have to get you and Dawn to LA at once...There is a chance...Willow says..." "Willow knows?..." Buffy stared...Looking down... "She and Giles guessed after you both left Rome so suddenly and reports of two remarkably capable female Slayer-killing vamps matching your descriptions started spreading...They contacted us in LA..." "Slayer-killing?...Oh, right..." Dawn sighed... "...Though it was clever of His Benevolence to have you use covering glams and spare Andrew to tell everyone you were fine, dandy, and enjoying a new romance..."
Naturally Andy never noticed we were turning viciously evil and staying home by day, even if he couldn't help not being able to see past the glam that we were vamps...Dawn frowned...Moron...
"Anyway...Willow's done some work and if she can get to you both quickly...At the Well of Souls in our place...She may be able to restore you to Humanity..."
Whoa?...
"But it has to be done within twenty hours of soul recovery and the spell's damaged by teleportation, so there's no time to lose..."
Right...Buffy nodded...Then paused... "William?...You know it was a lie what my demon said...About Sunnydale...What I said that day...It was the reason the Immortal was able to get to me...I needed so bad to make you see I did mean it...And he was clever enough to make himself the perfect stand-in..."
"Later, Buffy...The thing to do is to get..." "No, now..." she shook her head... "Here you are saving me and Dawn again and I'm not taking a step until you know and believe...I love you, William..."
And I can deal with giving up a picket fence...she grinned...
And as for Xander's kid...she grinned... "Amelia Anya Harris is a doll, as her mother, Amelia Harris, would tell you in a minute..."
"I vouch..." Dawn nodded... "She was a wreck...And a perfect setup for His..." she shuddered...Buffy hugging her tight... "That...Bastard..."
And, Buf's right... Amelia An is a doll...she grinned wanly...
"Whom, thank God, we haven't seen in the flesh since she was here with her parents before the...That thing...Showed..."
Say?..she asked....We do get to kill him...Soon?...
"Right now, if you like..." Will grinned... "Angel!!!..." he called...Angel emerging from the men's room down the hall, His Benevolence firmly in his grip...
"We couldn't leave our dear Immortal out of this party..."
"Angel..." Buffy sighed as he came over, the Immortal feebly struggling in his grip... "Thanks..."
"Don't mention it..." he smiled... "Just watch the sort of vamp you hang out with from now on..."
Odd...Dawn sighed, trembling again as she stared at the Immortal's fear-distorted face as he made vague sounds of pleading for mercy...
This is the only real father I ever had...Daddy being mine only in false memory...
"Please..." she eyed William... "Just make him go away...Quick?"
"We will, honey..." Buffy nodded...
"Bring him over there..." she pointed...Angel nodding and dragging...
"Will?..." she eyed him, then glanced at Dawn...
"Your sis...And step-daughter...Needs you..." she smiled...He nodded and led Dawn away...
So...She asked him nervously as he pulled her away...
Do I still drink blood or what?...
"Henri..." Buffy eyed the Immortal as Angel held him in the well-hidden corner where he'd dragged him ... "There was a time when at this point I would've made a dumb joke or what I took to be a sharp remark...I'm ashamed now to think I've dealt with people like my William and poor Drusilla like that..."
I'm grateful to you, in a way...For showing me what this side of things is like...Giving me new eyes to appreciate, really appreciate...What my Will and Angel and all the others have gone through...
"But...You hurt my sis...My daughter, in a mystic sense...And for that I can't forgive you...Not that I would let you go in any case..."
Still...she paused... "May God have mercy on your poor soul...And all the poor souls..." And staked him...
"Angel...?" she eyed him as they now both glanced back to where William was gently talking to Dawn...
"I'm sorry to have let Giles make me doubt..." He put up a hand... "There was good cause, Buf...I did it for my boy and maybe...Maybe a leetle too much pride and overconfidence...I was sure I could handle them and they played on that..."
"But thanks..." he beamed...
"Has my boy been doing well?..." she grinned... "A credit to the girl who had faith in him..." he nodded...
"But never lifted a finger to help him..." she sighed...Looking over again...
"Willow's idea...The Humanity thing?...Will it help you...And Will?..." No...he shook his head... "It's much too late for us...This can only help the very recently turned..."
But there's always the hope for that one special day...he grinned... "As, I'm afraid...I have kinda dragged out on you a little too often..."
Maybe William's approach...Being here for the one you love now...Is the way to go...he sighed, smiling...
"Is Nina nice?..." Better than I deserve, no doubt about it...he nodded... "Good...Then she'll hold you up to the mark..." Yeah...he grinned...
"Thanks for taking care of him for me..." she eyed him... "I know what it must've cost you..."
Well...The cash I'll deduct from his future salary...Believe me...he smiled...
"The emotional...Well...After the initial desire to shove him off to Hell wore off, he kinda grew on me..."
"I'm not sure what to do now, Angel...Not that I don't love him...But..." she sighed...
Making him watch me rot away and die...
"He'll stake himself on your last day...He's got it all planned out, down to a sunrise ceremony to be certain...Been driving me crazy this last week going over it..."
She smiled wanly and looked away...
"It had to be the curse, huh...?" she sighed...
"Not...THE curse..." Angel eyed her...She blinked...
Willow's made a few adjustments...
Regarding the happiness quotient...As it's no longer intended for revenge...he smiled...
I see...she grinned...
"I think...While you guys get Dawny to her plane seat, I'll just use the ladies room for a little while...I noticed it's a long, confusing way there...If I do get lost, tell Will to wait for me?"
I wouldn't wanna miss the last plane to LA outta here for twelve hours...And my chance for human restoration...she smiled...Angel smiling back...
"He'll wait...Till the end of the world...I know..." she grinned...
"And I'll be there with him..."
***
