Part Six

Buffy was getting more than a little annoyed with her absentee lover.  It had been a week since the
'Parker Incident' as she had dubbed it, and ever since, Angelus had been shying away, becoming more
and more distant.

He was also spending more time out of her loving arms...away from her, period.

Buffy crawled over to where Angelus was standing beside the bed, pulling on his leather pants.  The
sight never failed to turn her insides to warm liquid... 

"Angelus..." she murmured as she ran her fingers across the hard, muscular plane of his back.

"Hmm...?" he grumbled as he bent over to pick up his shirt.

"Come back to bed, lover?" she purred, knowing how much of a turn on it was to him.

He barely even acknowledged her.  Instead, he strode over to the bureau on the other side of the
bedroom, opened a drawer and withdrew a pocketbook of some kind.

Without looking at her, he placed the book in his back pocket and informed her.  "I won't be back
tonight, Buffy.  If you go hunting, be careful and don't get into anything too deep, because I won't be
around to lend a hand, okay?"  The words, although they sounded cruel, the soft, concerned tone of his
voice told her otherwise.

Buffy just sat on the bed, staring down at her linked hands that sat demurely in her lap.  She didn't
even look up when Angelus moved to her and kissed the top of her head tenderly.  "Stay out of trouble,
okay Sweet?" he murmured, then left the penthouse.

The Slayer just sat on the bed, staring daggers into his disappearing form...

*~*~*

Amanda sat in the dining room with Nick.  After the fiasco with Morgan, the couple had decided to just
go out and kick back.  A movement on the other side of the room caught her eye.

A young blond girl strode into the room with purpose.  Amanda recognized the predatory instinct that
the girl possessed, but was curious as to the look of hurt that flashed from her eyes.

As she got closer, a wave of recognition flooded Amanda's head as the girl put her fingers to her
temples.  She was another...yet still unknown and very young.

She spoke to Nick without taking her eyes from the girl.  "Heads up, Nick.  The girl heading for the
bar.  I need you to find out who she is."

The ex-cop discreetly studied the blond that had just reached the bar.  "She's pretty, but a bit young."

"Yes," Amanda acknowledged.  "And she's going to stay that way for some time..." The immortal calmly
took a sip of her drink.  Nick stiffened.

"Another one?" he asked in disbelief.  "Amanda, you lot really should have your own yellow pages, we
just keep running into them."

Amanda sighed.  "Really, darling, that's uncalled for."

Nick shook his head.  "I don't think so.  Since meeting you barely three weeks ago, I've already come
across two other immortals, excluding yourself, and now there's this girl, too."

She nodded her acknowledgement.  "Yes, well, if it helps any, she's only young."

"And that's another thing.  What would you guys class as young, anyway?" Nick was really curious
tonight.

Amanda thought about it for a moment.  "Well, considering my age, I would have classed Morgan as
young and he was just over one hundred years old, eleven centuries my junior, but this girl is a baby.
She couldn't be more than a couple of years old."

At her partner's look, she elaborated.  "And when I say a couple, Nick, I mean less than five...is that
better?"

"Maybe I should go and ask her to dance..." Nick suggested.

"Hmm..." Amanda murmured as he stood up.

*~*~*

"Excuse me...?"

Buffy turned at the interruption.  An older man with dark brown hair stood behind her.  "Yes?"

He smiled.  "Would you care to dance?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Umm, I have a small headache..." she frowned, realizing that the pain was receding.  "Umm...okay."

Nick smiled.  He realized that she had no idea what the pain was.  She hadn't been told of what she was.
So far, she didn't seem to be a power-corrupted immortal...he groaned silently at his own cynicism.

Buffy's heart wasn't really in it.  Angelus wasn't around, so there wasn't any reason for her to play the
flirt.  She stood in the circle of her dance partner's arms.  Hmm...at least he could dance.

"I'm Nick," he introduced himself.

"Buffy..." she stated simply.

"Interesting..."

Buffy giggled slightly.  "Yeah, my Dad wanted to call me Elizabeth, but my Mom hated it, so they
compromised with a nick name.  People have a hard time believing that 'Buffy' is the name on my birth
certificate."

He laughed.  "Well, I guess things could be worse..."

"Not much," Buffy murmured to herself.

"Pardon?"

Buffy looked up to tell him it was nothing, but saw the concierge over his shoulder.  "Umm, I have to go,
I'll see you later."  There was no point in getting this guy killed, especially when he was so friendly.

Nick watched as she rushed off.  He noticed the concierge who took note of her every move and
frowned.  "Definitely interesting," he muttered to himself.

Part Seven

Angelus returned late the next morning.  Buffy was asleep in the king-size bed they shared, even though
it was well after nine.  He frowned at her sleeping form, unsure of what to do about her dance partner
from the previous night.

The vampire knew that he was neglecting her, but he couldn't help it if he wanted to properly set up
their new life to his satisfaction.  He realized that her display of flirtation with different men was
just an act of spite, just to make him jealous and spend more time with her, so he wasn't too bothered
by it, as long as it kept her occupied and out of danger for the time being.

But last night had been different.  Angelus didn't know if he should be furious, or angry.  He hadn't
been there for her to show off her flirting for, so there would have been no reason for it.

He also realized that the encounter with the man had been different.  Winters had informed him that
Buffy hadn't flirted, not really.  She had enjoyed this man's company and had danced with him for a
while, until she had noticed that she was being watched.  That was what worried him.

She had apparently seemed to care whether this man would end up on Angelus' hit list.  And that was
something that the vampire didn't like one bit...

Angelus quietly approached the bed and lightly kissed his wife and lover on the forehead.  He turned
and went back downstairs to find Winters.  The man had informed him that Buffy's dance partner was
staying at the hotel, apparently with someone else from what Winters noticed the previous night...

It was time to find out who this mysterious dancer was...

*~*~*

Angelus held himself still as he pressed his back against the wall, sticking to the shadows.  Even though
darkness no longer ruled his existence, he still preferred it.

Winters had pointed out the man to Angelus as he walked across the lobby to the gift shop.  The
vampire's eyes narrowed dangerously when the human exited the shop with a bouquet of white roses.

*~*~*

Nick was in the doghouse again.  He'd made a remark to Amanda, who had gone off in a huff afterward.
He hoped that the roses would get her out of her mood a little quicker, even though she never held a
grudge.

The ex-cop strode confidently up to the elevators, but was grabbed unexpectedly and pulled into a
nearby darkened corridor.  He was slammed up against the wall further down the corridor, a cool hand
at his throat, nearly choking him.

"What do you want with her...?" the question was more of a growl than anything else.

"Wha...?" Nick didn't understand what the Hell this guy was going on about.

"I suggest you let him go before I separate your head from you body..." came the cool, English
sounding voice.

Without turning, Angelus quipped.  "Well, I'll admit that it'd probably hurt like Hell, but then again,
it won't kill me, so what do I care?"

Nick heard the familiar swish of Amanda's sword.

The immortal frowned.  She knew that voice...  "Angelus?"

He turned and took a good look at his possible opponent.  "Amanda?  You've changed."

She chuckled, and with a flick of her wrist, her sword had disappeared.  The couple embraced, or in
Angelus' case, half embraced, as he kept one hand around Nick's throat.

Noticing this, Amanda rose an eyebrow in the vampire's direction.  "You can let him go, he's with me."

Angelus did so, reluctantly.  "Since when do you associate with humans?"

"Angelus, I'm surprised at you!  I'll have you know, that my housekeeper and closest friends are
always human.  Can you imagine an immortal doing those kinds of things...?" her voice oozed comical
sarcasm.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, well...I've sort of adopted him.  He's fun," Amanda grinned.

"Gee, thanks," Nick scowled.

Amanda crossed to him and patted his cheek.  "Oh, don't be that way, darling, I didn't mean it like that."

Angelus glanced at his watch.  "It was nice seeing you again, Amanda, but I have to fly.  Come up and
visit sometime.  We're in the penthouse, just ask Winters, the concierge, to show you up.  It'll save you
from having to break in..." he chuckled.

His expression turned hard and cold when he turned to Amanda's companion.  "But you...stay the fuck
away from my wife..."

Angelus disappeared into the penthouse's private elevator.

"What?" Amanda muttered to herself.

Part Eight

"Angelus, wait!"

The vampire turned at Amanda's insistent call.  He indicated with his head for them to follow.  "Let's
walk."

The trio entered the private elevator.  "Now, what's this all about?" Angelus asked when the doors
closed.
 
"I apologize.  I was the one that asked Nick to find out who she was.  I didn't realize that she was a
vampire, I thought she was another immortal, although very young.  The feelings we immortals get are
similar with immortal demons," Amanda explained.

Angelus pulled out a cigarette.  He lit the tip and took a drag.  Amanda waved away the cloud of smoke
that gathered.  "You sat that Buffy's immortal?"

Both Amanda and Nick frowned.  It was Nick that spoke, "You say that like you didn't know."

"She's not a vampire?" the immortal female asked.

Angelus shook his head.  The elevator came to a stop.  The vampire pulled out a retractable ashtray
from the wall of the elevator and put out the cigarette.  He slammed it shut and stepped out of the
carriage.  "No."

The two followed him.  Angelus headed straight for the bedroom where Buffy was still sleeping.

Amanda reeled back in surprise when she noticed the large cross hanging over the bed that the blond
was sleeping in.  "Doesn't that get a little painful, darling?" Amanda asked curiously.

Angelus frowned at the religious item.  "Buffy must have just put it up, it wasn't here when I left
yesterday, and I was too focused on Buffy to notice anything else this morning."

"So that whole cross thing is true?  Then if she's your wife, why has she put it up there?" Nick asked,
suddenly suspicious.

Amanda tapped a finger against her jaw.  "The man does have a point darling."

Angelus chuckled.  "I'm immune to everything, including that nasty looking sword of your, Amanda."  He
flashed her the ring.

She recognized it immediately.  "Well, I certainly didn't do a very good job of hiding that thing, now,
did I?" she pouted mockingly.

"You must really be getting on, Amanda, to have buried it one full millenium ago, or was that just a
rumor?" the vampire baited.

"A lady never reveals her true age, and a gentleman wouldn't ask," Amanda informed him playfully.

"I'm no gentleman, and no lady I've ever met carries around a sword," Angelus teased back.

Angelus fell forward into Nick as he received a powerful kick in the ass.  He had had his back to the
bed where Buffy had awoken from the voices in the room.

The vampire and human fell onto the floor.  Amanda watched in amusement.

Buffy sat up in bed, her naked body covered only by the sheet she held over her.  She scowled at her
lover...and husband.  "Are you saying that I'm not a lady, Angelus?"

Angelus quickly got up off the human and turned to face his angered wife.  "Umm...of course not, baby,
you're definitely a lady, I just meant that..." he sighed when his attempted apology had no effect on her.

In fact, Buffy got out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around her body in such a way that she wouldn't
trip over it.  She stalked up to Angelus and punched him in the gut.  "That's for insinuating that I'm
not a lady!"  She punched him in the mouth.  "That's for neglecting me!" Finally, she kneed him in the
groin.  The vampire fell like a tone of bricks, just like the last time.  "And that is for flirting with
her!"  Buffy thrust an accusing finger at Amanda, who was trying to hold back her laughter.

Amanda couldn't hold it in any longer and addressed Angelus.  "You know, darling, for someone who
can't be killed, you're amazingly chicken."  Even Nick chuckled at that one.

The vampire in question slowly got up from the soft carpet and groaned to no one in particular.  "Did I
forget to mention that she's the Slayer...also, the most powerful on record..." he groaned again as he
strained his groin muscles in an attempt to stand.

Angelus ignored her and gestured to Nick.  "As you can see, your friend from last night is here as well."

Buffy glared at him mockingly.  "No offence, Nick," she glanced at the ex-cop before turning back to
her lover.  "But I don't do groups."  She grinned.  "Unless, of course, that it's with Spike, because that
would just be...mmm..."

Shivers of delight ran down Buffy's spine as a mental image popped into her head.

Gloriously rumpled sheets sliding over three writhing bodies, as two wondrously male bodies sandwiched
a petite female frame, all three moaning their pleasure to the cool night mist surrounding their
beautifully naked forms...

As if he could read her mind and see the images flow through Buffy's passion-fogged brain, Angelus
looked at her in abject horror.  "What?!?!  Are you crazy?  Have you been hanging around Dru behind
my back?!?!"

Buffy just giggled.  Nick looked like he desired to be anywhere but there right that second, while
Amanda...well, she was another story.  She looked distinctly interested in Buffy's words, especially
since she had met Angelus' favored childe...

Part Nine

The four beings calmly sat at the table in the main room.  Angelus glared at Buffy every few second,
who always responded with a sweet smile.  He still hadn't gotten over her announcement that she'd be
willing to be in a threesome with Spike...

Nick could see what had attracted the vampire to the girl.  He didn't know much about vampires, but
Buffy was definitely enchanting.

Amanda was beyond curious.  Nothing added up, least of all, Angelus and his wife, who wasn't a
vampire...

Buffy looked around the table.  "Okay, so does somebody want to explain what's going on?"

Angelus glared at her again.  "You went dancing..." he accused.  He was much more irritable than he had
been when he first found out.

"Sulking does not become you, lover..." Buffy told him.  "What happened after that?  I suppose you
went to go and kill him?"

"No..." he grumbled.  "I just wanted to scare the shit out of him.  I was told that he wasn't cracking
onto you or anything like that, so..."

Buffy rolled her eyes, she turned to Nick.  "What did he do?"

Nick shrugged.  "He just shoved me against a wall and warned me off, then Amanda came to my rescue,
toting her big sword."

Amanda laughed at the mental imagery.  "I know how hard that was for you to admit, Nick."  She
turned to Buffy.  "This whole mess is my fault, much to my chagrin.  "I sent Nick to find out who you
were, because I thought that you were an immortal."

Buffy sat back.  "Well, considering the life span of a Slayer, I highly doubt it."

Nick butted in.  "Okay, I heard him..." he indicated to Angelus.  "...call you a Slayer, but what exactly
is that?"

Amanda was the one who answered.  "Basically, she's hunts the big bad demons and kills them."

Nick asked Buffy, "So, do you carry a sword too?"

Buffy laughed.  She whipped out a stake.  "I carry a couple of these."

"Where did that come from?" Nick stared at her, agog.  She was still wrapped up in the bed sheet, so
there wasn't really any  place she could have had it.

Angelus just shook his head.  "Don't even ask..."

"The same place I keep my sword," Amanda laughed.

Nick glared at her, since he didn't know where she kept that, either.  It just seemed to appear and
disappear when she needed it to.

"Anyway, getting back on topic..." Angelus muttered.  "Buffy, you'll be spending a lot of time with
Amanda."

"Now hang on a minute!  Just because you're off doing whatever the fuck it is you seem to be doing
without me at the moment, doesn't mean that you can just fob me off on someone else!" Buffy protested
angrily.

Angelus put his hand to his head.  "Buffy, this is different.  Amanda said that she thought you were
immortal.  The only way for her to know that is if you are.  Kind of like your vampire warning system.
The only way for you to be immortal is if you were a demon, or if you were born that way.

"Your death by the Master would have triggered it, thus stopping your growth.  You'll forever be
sixteen years old..." Angelus finished.

"You perverted old man, you..." Buffy giggled to her lover.

Angelus growled.

Buffy sighed.  "Okay, I get the picture.  But why haven't I ever noticed?"

It was Amanda that answered.  "You've never experienced a sudden headache, only to have it leave just
as quickly?"

Buffy shook her head, then paused. "Wait...last night, when I walked into the dining room..."

"That was me."

"Huh?"

Amanda sighed.  "Immortals can sense each other, rather like a short headache.  There are those that
will try to kill you and harness your life energy and there are those who will leave you alone if you do
the same for them.  I'll teach you all of this in time."

Buffy glared at no one in particular.  "So, this means that I'm not the best Slayer on record, I just
can't be killed...great," she muttered.

Angelus moved toward his lover and brushed a lock of hair from her pouting face.

"Not so," Amanda interrupted their tender moment.  "There has been at least one other immortal Slayer
in my twelve hundred years, and she didn't fare anywhere near as well as you have, or so I've heard.

"About eight hundred years ago, there was a Slayer who found herself immortal.  Strangely enough, she
wasn't taken down by another immortal.  Like you, she didn't know straight away of her immortality, so
she wasn't careless about being attacked.  A vampire killed her.  He used her own sword to separate
her head from her body.

"The quickening that resulted, that's the transfer of energy from the dead immortal, much like
lightening, electrocuted the vampire, setting him alight.  She was around for maybe twenty years, but
she hadn't done anywhere near as much as what you've done in four years."

"Do does this mean that I'm going to be the Slayer forever?" Buffy asked sadly.

"Only if you want to be..." Angelus murmured.  "After a few years, the Council will assume that you are
dead if you fail to report to them.  After that, your life is your own..."

"Just don't do what Amanda did, okay?" Nick advised.

"What?" Buffy smiled curiously.

Amanda glared at him.  "I'm a damn good thief, okay."

The group laughed.  Angelus grinned.  "You're still doing that?"

Buffy elbowed him.  "So, how do you know, each other, anyway?  Just how far do you go back..." Buffy
was suddenly suspicious.

Angelus shifted uncomfortably.

Part Ten

"I broke into one of his lair's," Amanda answered for him.

Angelus nodded.  "Darla was not pleased..."

Amanda laughed.  "Especially after she discovered her ruby and diamond set missing!  And on top of
that, she lost her boytoy to the woman who stole her precious jewels...a much older woman."

Angelus looked to Buffy nervously, hoping that she wouldn't blow up for having been with Amanda at
one time, a very long time ago...

Buffy smiled as she recalled something she had once said to Darla.  "When you've been around since
before Columbus, you're bound to pile up a few exs.."

"Darling, Columbus was an absolute bore!" Amanda laughed.

"You knew him?" Nick looked at her incredulously.

"Of course!  The man was a fraud!  You don't really think that a man of his era could have theorized
that the earth was round.  Good Lord, it was his wife that suggested the fact.  He sent one of his
smaller ships off to prove her wrong, especially since she had said it in public.  Imagine his surprise and
complete humiliation when his ship came back!  He went off to find out for himself, then proclaimed that
he was the one who had come up with the idea.  I can't believe that one of my descendants actually
married him!  Knowing that I had family with so many 'greats' in front of their name made me feel quite
ancient."

Keeping everything light, Angelus quipped, also from Buffy's final scene with Darla.  "At least she
isn't looking a little worn around the eyes..."

The vampire let out an "Oof!", when he received a hard kick in the leg from the bottle-blond immortal.
 
Buffy, however, sat back and laughed.  "It just isn't your day, is it, lover?"

Amanda glared at him.  "Are you insinuating that I have wrinkles?!?!"

Angelus rubbed his leg.  "It was a private joke!"

She let it slide.  "So, where is the partially beauteous, yet thoroughly annoying Darla?"

"She's dead!" Buffy grinned.

Amanda joined in Buffy's delight.  "It's about time someone got the better of her.  SO, who was it?
I'd bet William, he always threatened to do it behind her back, just so that she'd leave poor Angelus
here, alone..."

It was the Slayer that pointed the finger.  "Him!"

Angelus glared at her.

"Well, well, Angelus.  I never knew that any vampire was strong enough to kill their own Sire..."

"It helps that he was in possession of a soul at the time..." Buffy told her.

"What?!?!"

Buffy and Angelus retold the story as best they could.

"Well, I was wondering how on earth a Slayer and vampire could get together..." Amanda admitted.

Buffy leant over to her husband and drew a finger down the side of his face and across his collarbone.
The vampire shivered in pleasure.  "Well, he could never resist my sexual aura..." Buffy murmured,
playful huskiness in her voice.

Amanda laughed at his reaction.  She picked up Nick's hand and stood.  "Well, I guess that's our cue.
Don't forget to meet me in the lobby tomorrow after sunset, we'll begin training."

Buffy groaned.  "Ooohh!  I can't believe I managed to get the Watcher's Council off my back, only to
find myself needing yet more training..."

Amanda chuckled as she left for the elevator, dragging Nick behind her.

Buffy grinned as she stood and discarded the sheet wrapped sarong-style around her body and crawled
over into her lover's lap, grinding her lower body against his aching arousal.  "You haven't been paying
much attention to me that past few days, Angelus..." she pouted against his lips.

The vampire held her close.  "I'm sorry, baby...but I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Good." Buffy leant forward and plunged her warm tongue into his delightfully cool mouth, stroking his
tongue with her own.

Holding her to him, Angelus stood.  Buffy wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into the
bedroom.  The couple fell onto the bed.  The vampire and Slayer pulled back, Buffy breathing heavily.

"Now, where were we...?"

"I believe we were right about here..." Angelus murmured as he pulled down the zipper of his pants...

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