Disclaimer: I don’t nor have I ever owned any of the Buffy characters even though I wish otherwise. In my world Buffy and Angel will always be together. Yes, I realize Willow is Jewish, no, I don’t really care.
** thoughts
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The Scooby Gang all showed up at the front door of the Summers' home. They didn’t even bother knocking before opening the door and walking in.
In the three years since Buffy had been gone the group had formed a family. Joyce Summers and Giles were like the parents, while Oz, Xander, Cordelia, Willow, and Angel were the children. Angel could be considered a uncle or something since he was older than even the real adults. Things had changed a lot since Buffy had left. The gang had gotten Angel out of Hell and made him human, they had graduated high school, and going to college. They had accepted Angel back into their lives. Willow had been determined to get Angel out of Hell after Buffy left. No matter what anyone else said she was going to do it. Xander ended up helping her. He had felt guilty about not telling Buffy that Willow was going to try the curse again. Eventually they succeed in getting Angel out of Hell. What had been unexpected however was that Angel started to become human. It was a hard time for everyone, but with a lot of fighting, apologizing, tears and forgiveness they had gotten through it and built strong friendships. They all had the hope of bringing Buffy home. None of them ever quit believing. Nothing in Buffy’s bedroom had been moved since the day she left. The gang now prepared for their third Christmas without their beloved Buffy.
Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordelia, Giles, and Angel went into the living room where the Christmas tree had been set up.
Joyce had adopted the entire gang when Buffy had left. They made her feel closer to her daughter, besides she now loved them like family.
When they entered they saw Joyce sitting in a chair curled up staring at the Christmas tree crying. They all moved into the room slowly and sat down. The feeling of loss was great in the room. Every once in a while this happened. The feeling that Buffy was never coming back. Without realizing it the rest of the family began to cry. They all stared at the tree thinking about the day that they had put it up.
It had been a bittersweet day. They enjoyed putting up the tree and stacking the presents under it, but the fact of being Buffyless was strong. They had gone to pick out a tree, it took them two hours. They finally found a tree that they all agreed Buffy would have loved. When they got it home they decorated it. They put on all of Buffy’ s ornaments. Her favorite ones that she always put on, the ones that she had bought, the ones that her parents had bought for her, even the ones that she had made as a little girl. The whole tree reminded them of Buffy. There were even presents under the tree for Buffy. The first Christmas without her they had all felt silly buying a present for someone that wasn’t there, so they had kept it a secret. Then Willow had found a present with Buffy’s name on it in Joyce’s closet. They had all gotten together and admitted that they too had bought Buffy a present, even Cordelia. So from then on Buffy had always gotten presents. The ones from the pervious years were in the upstairs hall closet waiting for her.
Finally the slayerettes calmed down and stopped crying. Angel left silently. He wanted to be alone. The others watched him go knowing he needed time. Angel truly loved Buffy and he still had the hardest time with her being gone.
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Buffy was back. She was back in Sunnydale. Not for good, just to check on the large vampire forces she had heard about in Sunnydale. She knew that her mother and Giles still lived there, she wasn’t sure about the rest of her friends, but if anything else she had to protect her mother and Giles(who she thought of as a honorary father.) So here she was home again. She smiled sadly thinking of the song ‘I’ll be Home For Christmas.’ On her way to the cemetery Buffy passed her house. She stopped and stared at it for a few moments. she could see the Christmas tree in the window and the lights on in various rooms. She continued to walk. Part of Buffy wanted to go home and tell her mom she was sorry and just be held, but another part of her said that, that was impossible. The fear won out everytime. Buffy thought about her small apartment back in L.A. She had gotten a small tree and decorated it the best she could. She thought about all the presents under the tree for her friends. There were tons of presents under the tree for Xander, Willow, Cordelia, Oz, Giles, her mom and even Angel. * My poor Angel.* The presents remained wrapped under her bed from the past two Christmases.
When she reached the graveyard she headed to the grave of Jenny Calendar. Buffy still felt guilty about not being able to save her. She just stood by the grave and disappeared into her thoughts. As she was thinking a group of vampires surrounded her quickly. Buffy jerked herself out of her thoughts quickly and began to fight. She dusted about six out of the fifteen vamps surrounding her before they got her down. As she fell to the ground she seemed to give up. * Why am I fighting death? If I die another Slayer will be called. And I can be with my Angel.* These were her last thoughts before one of the vampires kicked her in the head and she was rendered unconscious.
######
As Angel was walking down the dark streets of Sunnydale he heard sounds of fighting coming from the cemetery. * Who would be fighting? Everyone’s at the house.* Hope rose unbidden in his heart as he raced towards the cemetery. He followed the sounds of fighting. He reached the scene as the fighter fell. He quickly rushed towards the vampires pulling a stake out of his pocket. He quickly dusted the vamp closest to him to get the others attention. And it worked! The vampires forgot all about their prey to attack him. * It’s a good thing I didn’t lose my vampire strength and healing powers when I became human.* Angel thought to himself. He dusted three vampires with no great effort. The rest, seeing how their numbers had depleted thanks to the girl and guy, ran off. Angel watched them go then looked down to the fallen girl. The breath was knocked out of him when he saw the short blond hair. He would know her anywhere. It was his Buffy. She was thinner and had dark circles under her eyes, but she was here and she alive. He looked her over and saw the many cuts and bruises. These, however, did not bother him, what bothered him was the large bump that was appearing on her head. He picked her up into his arms. *Gosh, this feels so good, so right.* He held her as close to him as possible with cutting off her breath. As he carried her home he made a promise to himself and to her. * I’ll never let you out of my sight again. You belong here, in my arms and I’ll never let you go.* Angel reached the house sooner than he wanted. He wanted some time alone with Buffy, even if she was unconscious. However, he knew she needed Giles to administer first aid and he knew it would be unfair to leave Joyce out of it, she had gone through so much already. He walked into the house silently and looked into the living room. Xander was eating cookies and flipping channels on the T.v. while Cordelia yelled at him to give her the remote. Joyce and Giles sat together on the couch talking, while Oz and Willow sat on the floor by the Christmas tree talking and shaking presents trying to guess what they had gotten.
Angel stayed in the shadows and called to Joyce and Giles. "Giles, can you come here for a second? I need your help. Joyce, could you come too?"
Joyce and Giles looked at each other then got up and left the room. The teens continued what they were doing. It probably wasn’t that impotant anyways.
The two adults walked into the hallway, but could bearly make out Angel’s shape.
"Let’s go to the kitchen." Angel said, still in the shadows.
Joyce lead the way and Giles followed leaving Angel to bring up the rear. When they entered the kitchen Joyce and Giles sat down at the bar.
"Angel, what is this about?" Joyce asked with concern.
Angel was a very depressed person. Ever since he had been back he had, had to deal with the crimes of Angelus and Buffy disappearing all by himself. Without Buffy in his life the light was gone from his eyes. He had said it best himself when he said it was like the sunshine had life his life.
"Giles, could you get the first aid kit from the cabinet?" Angel asked without bothering to answer the other question.
"Are you hurt?" Joyce asked in a motherly voice as Giles got up to get the kit.
"No, I’m not, but Buffy is." Angel replied, deciding to tell them.
"What?" Joyce cried as her head snapped in his direction.
Giles too turned in that direction. Angel stepped out of the shadows to show himself with Buffy in his arms.
"Oh, my goodness!" Joyce cried as she rushed to her daughter.
Angel walked forward and laid Buffy on the bar carefully. Giles grabbed the first aid kit from the cabinet and huried to his patient.
"What happened?" he asked as he began to put disinfectant on the cuts.
"I found her in the cemetery fighting vamps and I got there just as they knocked her unconcious. I picked her up and brought her here as fast as I could." Angel told them.
"Is she going to be alright?" Joyce asked looking down at her baby.
"I think so, she’s had worse, but she was stronger than. If she doesn’t wake up in twenty-four hours thought I want to take her to the hospital." Giles answered.
"I didn’t tell the others yet, because I figured it would be too hard to patch her up if they were all around." Angel explained.
"Well, I think that, that was a wise decision." Giles commented.
"Why don’t you carry her to her room? Joyce and I will tell the others. I would also recommend that you stay with Buffy in case she wakes up." Giles continued.
"Okay." Angel nodded as he picked Buffy up in his arms again and went up the stairs quietly.
He gently openned the door to Buffy’s room and headed for the bed. While he supported Buffy with one hand he used the other to pull back the blankets on the bed. He carefully laid Buffy down and covered her up. As he turned on the lamp and sat down on the side of the bed he thought. *This is the first time I will be able to see Buffy in the sunlight. I bet she will be so beautiful with the sun shining off her hair and making her blue eyes sparkle.* Angel continued to watch her sleep peacefully. He never got tired of it. *Buffy, you are my peace. Watching you gives me peace from all the bad things in my life.*
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While Angel stayed with Buffy, Joyce and Giles went back into the living room to tell the others of Buffy’s return. Willow looked up as they entered the room.
"Is Angel okay?" she asked.
"Yes, but we all need to talk," Joyce answered as she and Giles sat down on the couch and the teens all turned towards them.
Giles took the remote from Xander and turned the television off.
"Hey, G-man, relax. It’s not the end of the world." Xander commented.
"Well, it could be." Cordelia responded.
"That’s true this is Sunnydale." Willow added.
"Sunnydale, where the world almost ends everyday." Oz joked.
"This is not about anything like that." Jocye interrupted.
They all noticed the looks on Joyce and Giles, they looked nervous yet happy.
"What’s going on?" Cordy asked, always wanting to know the gossip.
"Angel just came back from his walk. He wanted to talk to us in the kitchen because I needed to administer first aid." Giles stated.
"Is he okay?" Willow asked worridly.
"Yes, he’s fine. He’s not the one that needed first aid...Buffy needed it." Joyce finished before they could ask anymore questions.
"Buffy?" Willow asked in a small voice.
"Is she okay?" Cordelia asked at the same time.
"Yes, she’s fine. She is unconcious right now and has a fairly large bump on her head, but she’s okay." Giles told them.
"Where is she?" Xander asked without looking up at any of them.
"Xander, I know all of you want to see her, but right now she’s sleeping." Joyce started.
"I don’t care! She’s been gone for so long and you don’t want us to see her because she’s not awake? I just want to see her. Know that she’s real." Xander cried.
"I feel the same way." Willow agreed.
"I don’t ever want to let her out of my sight. We need to see her."
Oz nodded as he took hold of Willlow’s hand. Cordy put her arms around Xander and bobbed her head in agreement.
"Angel took her upstairs, to her room." Giles told them.
With that the Scooby Gang headed for the stairs. They quietly openned the door to Buffy’s room and stepped inside. They saw Angel still sitting on the side of Buffy’s bed, looking down at her.
"Angel? Can we come in?" Willow asked softly.
Angel looked up at them and nodded slowly. Willlow walked over and gave him a friendly hug before turning her attention on her long-lost best friend. The others followed her into the room. No one said anything they just watched their slayer sleep.
######
Buffy moaned softly as she began to wake up. The pain in her head was tolerable but with all the cuts and bruises she felt like she had been throught a blender. She tried to open her eyes against the glare of the sun through the window.
"Uh, what time is it? What day is it?" Buffy asked herself as she pried her eyes open.
She rolled away from the window and let her eyes adjust. When she could see again she looked around the room. *Where am I? This isn’t my apartment!* Then she remebered coming back to Sunnydale and fighting the vampires. *Oh my goodness. This is my room!* She looked around in shock. *Why am I here?* She sat up slowly and did a mental back track, but she still couldn’t figure out why she was in her old room. She carefully got out of the bed and went to the door of the room. As she stepped into the hall fear leaped into her chest, but this time it didn’t get the better of her and she continued down the hallway.
########
The Slayerettes were all crowded into the kitchen having linch. It had taken a lot of work, but Giles had finally torn the rest of the family away from the sleeping slayer’s side.
"Did you hear something?" Angel asked after finishing his sixth sandwhich.
"No, Angel, you need to relax. Buffy willl be fine. She's sleeping peacefully in her room." Cordelia replied.
Xander looked at her in mock shock. "Cordelia? Being nice? Giles are you sure the world isn’t ended?"
Cordy took the more immature approach this time and just stuck her tongue out at him.
"Don’t stick it out if you don’t plan on using it!" Xander warned.
Cordelia smiled playfully. "Well, now that you mention it."
Everyone laughed at the look on Xander’s face.
"There it is again. Are you guys sure you don’t hear that?" Angel asked again.
"No, I haven’t heard anything, but Angel even though you are not a vampire anymore, your hearing is still more advanced." Giles responded.
With that statement finished Angel stood up and headed out of the kitchen. The others looked at each other then got up and followed him. Angel was about to go up the stairs when something stopped him. He turned and looked into the living room. There was Buffy standing there staring at the tree.
#######
When Buffy had gotten downstairs she had immeadetly looked into the living room on reflex. Her eyes had been drawn to the large tree. She stared in wonder as she moved closer. The christmas tree was perfect. Not too big, not ot small, forest green, and decorated with all the ornaments that she treasured. She just stood ther in front of the tree crying silent tears lost in memories.
#######
The rest of the Scooby Gang stopped behind Angel and looked in shock at Buffy staring at the tree. They knew that they had to be careful. Buffy was emotionally, physically, and mentally stressed. Angel shooed them back as he slowly and quietly walked into the room. The others stayed back in the doorway and watched as Angel made his way over to the Slayer.
Angel moved carefully as he stepped right next to his love. He glanced at her face and saw her clear blue eyes full of tears that were slowly making their way down her cheeks. He reacted before thinking and quickly wrapped her in his tight embrace.
Buffy tensed at first, she hadn’t seen anyone else in the room. However, the arms felt warm and familiar.
"Angel." she whispered softly knowing that he could not be here. He was in Hell, where she had sent him. *Angel...My Angel...I’m so sorry.* Buffy’s tears began to come faster soaking the shirt of the man that held her.
"Shhh, I know. It’s not your fault." she heard.
*Angel? What?* Her head snapped up at the sound of the familiar voice and she found herself looking into the eyes of the man she loved.
"Angel?" she asked quietly.
Angel nodded his head and said, "I’m here. I’ll always be here no matter what."
Buffy began to sob saying to herself, "No. I-I killed you. You can’t be here. No, I didn’t want to, but I had to kill you. I sent you to Hell. I must be dreaming. Not here..."
Angel saw that she was rapidly losing her grip on reality so he grabbed her by the arms tightly and shook her.
"Buffy, I’m here. I’m not in Hell. Willow and the others got me out. Plus, I’m human. I’m not a vampire anymore. I’m alive and here with you." Angel told her.
Buffy stopped sobbing and looked at him with tear filled eyes.
"Angel?" she asked again this time with a more normal sound.
"Yes, Buffy I’m here and I’ll never leave you." Angel said as he pulled her into his arms again and held on tight.
This time Buffy put her arms around his waist and held on with all her slayer strength, which was a lot even though she was weak and beaten.
"Buffy, I have to breath, too." Angel said quietly in her ear.
Buffy smiled against his chest and only slightly lessened her grip.
"I missed you, Buffy." Angel said with his face buried in her hair.
"I missed you so much." Buffy replied.
The others decided that this was the time to enter. If they didn’t, they might never get the two apart.
"Buffy?" her mother said softly as she entered the room.
Buffy jerked her head up and looked over Angel’s shoulder.
"Mom." Buffy half whispered.
Angel released her from his arms so she could go to her mother. Buffy went to her mother and hugged her tightly.
"Mom, I’m so sorry." she cried.
"Shhh, baby. I know, it’s okay. All that matters is that you’re safe and home." Joyce told her daughter.
Buffy looked into her mother’s eyes. "You know I wasn’t going to come home."
"Why were you in Sunnydale if you weren’t planning on coming home?" a new voice interrupted.
Buffy looked up at the rest of the people in the room.
"Cordy, hi. Hey Xander..Willow...Oz...Giles." Buffy said to them a she broke away from her mother.
"Buffy." Xander said, then his face broke into a smile and he opened his arms for a hug. Buffy smiles as she moved to give and recieve a hug.
"We missed you." Xander told her as they hugged.
"I missed all of you, too." Buffy responded.
"I mean, no offense, I’m glad your home and all, but why are you here?" Cordelia asked again.
Buffy shook her head and smiled. "I heard there was a lot of vampire activity here. I knew that Mom and Giles still lived here and I had to do something. I figured I’d come here, kill some vamps, then leave." Buffy told them.
"Where were you going to go?" Willow asked.
"Back to L.A. where I’ve been living." Buffy answered as she moved back into Angel’s arms after giving everyone a hug.
"Well, we’re glad you’re back, whatever the reason." Oz said.
Buffy smiled, "Do you realize today is Christmas?" Buffy asked them.
"I can’t think of a better present than having you back." Angel told Buffy as he hugged her tighter.
Willow, having slipped away silently, came back into the room with her arms full. They all looked up as she dumped the packages on the couch.
"Buffy, you have a lot of Christmases to make up for." Willow said as she waved her hand at the presents she had brought in.
Buffy laughed as everyone moved in to pull presents out from under the tree.
"You guys have a lot of Churstmases to make up for too." Buffy told them. "Tomorrow we need to go to L.A. so I can get my stuff, plus a few hundred Chistmas presents."
"Yea, more presents!" Oz, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia agreed.
Joyce and Giles laughed as they, too, began to open presents.
"I love you." Angel whispered to Buffy as they watched their family.
"I love you, too. Merry Christmas." she whispered back.
"Merry Christmas." Angel replied as he lowered his head to begin a long kiss.
-I’ll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and misletoe
And present for the tree.
Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I’ll be home for Chirstmas
If only in my dreams.
THE END!!!
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