Title:- Can't let you go Authors' name:- Cat E-mail:- Cathy@edcom-int.com Disclaimer:- Yeah, I own them. (in my dreams). Just borrowing them for a while. Distribution:- http://www.oocities.org/fallenangel0206/CatsFanfic.html Spoilers:- None at all. totally AU. Rating:- PG 15 Parings:- Buffy/Angelus Summary:- Buffy and Angelus are getting divorced. Is their any hope for our favourite couple? Feedback:- Please. It's like a drug. I'm a feedback junkie. Authors Notes:- Well, the weekend went both better and worse than expected. Had a great time but busted my knee, caught a cold and a family member was taken into hospital. They say bad things come in threes. Anyway, things are improving but that's why there's been nothing this week. I will write more this weekend on all my stories, after all, sitting is just about all I can do right now. Thanks for your patience. ********************** Chapter 21 Angelus headed downstairs the next morning to see Buffy sleeping on the sofa in the study. He gently shook her awake. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked. "I had an idea last night." She mumbled, siting up. "I thought wwp could be the person and 19th could be a place." "Did you find anything?" he asked, brushing her bed hair out of her eyes. "Maybe. I need coffee first." Angelus kissed her forehead. "Stay here, I'll get it." Buffy did her best to wake up while he was gone and she looked through the notes she made last night. Angelus returned a few moments later with two steaming mugs of coffee. Buffy smiled and thanked him as she took hers and sipped it. "You remembered." She said, realising it had lots of cream and two sugars. "Course I did." He smiled back. "Now, what did you find?" "I think the man behind this is Wesley Windham Price. I went through your rolodex and he's the only name that matches." "Wes?" asked Angel, a far away look in his eyes. "Yeah, I think so." Noting his concerned look Buffy asked. "Angelus? What is it? Who is Wesley?" Angelus took a deep breath. "Remember how my business dealings weren't always above board in the beginning?" "Yeah." "Wes got burnt once. He was doing some research into another company for me." "Insider dealing." "Something like that. He got caught, sent away for it." "So what happened?" "We stayed in touch. I sent him things he needed in jail, looked after him." "So why does he now hate you?" "While he was inside I. I dated his sister, Cordelia. Wes didn't take kindly to it when he came out but Cordie was strong willed, she didn't listen to him so there was nothing he could do. Then she became pregnant." This was news to Buffy. "You have a child?" "Somewhere. When Wes found out he went ballistic. Didn't help that I'd told Cordie I wasn't ready to be a father. It wasn't that I didn't want a family, I was jut so shocked. I needed time to get used to it. But I hurt her pretty bad, I lost my temper, said a lot of bad things to her, about her. She went crying to Wes, who finally seemed to develop a spine. He sent her away, somewhere I couldn't find her or the baby. By the time I was ready to face up to my responsibilities, they were gone. He wouldn't tell me where." "Is that it?" "No. I spent years trying to hurt him, trying to find my child. The investigators I hired couldn't find a trace of them so he was my only way to them." "You were pretty cruel I'll bet too." "Yeah. Somehow though it just made Wes stronger. He's head of a large network now. Not exactly a legit company either." "So are you still trying to hurt him?" "No. I. it was useless." "Did Cordelia know you wanted the baby?" "No. I knew he hadn't told Cordie I wanted the baby, she would have come back if she knew. I just couldn't go anywhere else." "And now he blames you for breaking his sisters heart." "Probably." Buffy sighed. "God you're life was a mess before I came along." "Believe me, I know." "Have you ever tried apologising to him?" "No." Buffy pondered the story she had been told. She was sure it was the truth but something didn't feel right about it. "So where does this Wes like to hang out? Anywhere vaguely 19 related?" Angelus thought for a while. "Nothing comes to mind. He has a lot of business addresses though, warehouses for his operations and such." "I'm going to try an internet search, see if 19th brings any clubs up or something." Buffy printed the pages of the search out. Lots of addresses came up until she narrowed the search to the state of California. Then she found 29 entries which she printed off and handed to Angelus. "See if anything rings a bell, I need a shower." She said. Angelus burst into her bathroom a few minutes later. "What?" she asked. "I think I found it. He used to be a big golf player, one of the place in this search is the 19th hole, the bar at the Goodacre golf club." "You think the meeting is there?" "Yeah. And we have thirty minutes to get there." Buffy finished brushing her wet locks out then hurried to the bedroom. "No rest for the wicked." She mumbled, hurriedly getting dressed. ******************************** Chapter 22 Buffy and Angel arrived at the club with just 10 minutes to spare before the 10am meeting. Unfortunately it was a members only club and they didn't have the ID to get in. "Do we wait?" asked Buffy? "I want to know what they're saying." Said Angelus, absently. "Lets drive round." They followed the fence of the club around until Angelus noticed a gate. "What?" asked Buffy as he pulled over. "Not sure." He said, getting out and walking over to the gate. He tried it but it was locked. He looked around, noticing the garbage bins were near. "The staff must come out this way." He said. "But it could be hours before they come out again." "I know, but what other choice do we have?" It angered the hell out of him that Wes and Penn were probably in there, planing Buffy's death and there wasn't a thing he could do. Twenty minutes later someone unlocked the gate and came out, Angelus stopped him. "Hey Buddy, what would it cost for you to let me in there?" he asked. "More than you've got." Said the employee. "Do you have any idea who owns this joint?" "Yeah, that's who I need to see." They man smiled. "It's more than my jobs worth to let you in, sorry Pal." Buffy stepped up beside Angelus. "Where do you work?" she asked. "In the bar." "Is Price in there now? With a blonde man?" "Yeah, why?" "What if you don't let us in, what if you try and eavesdrop on their conversation and tell us what he says." The man looked unsure. "We can make it worth your while." The man looked from the gate to the couple. "I. I guess so." "Buffy." Said Angelus. "This isn't a good idea." "We cant go in there anyway Angelus, Penn knows both of us, it's better all round if." she looked for the mans name tag. "If Alan here helps us." Angelus took a deep breath. "OK." Alan appeared again an hour later, with another bag of trash. "Anything?" asked Buffy. "I couldn't hear much. They were talking about a job, the blonde one didn't seem to be into it but they ended up discussing a time and place." "Did you hear that?" "Yeah. Friday at some shop." "Do you know which shop?" "Some dress shop, I didn't catch a name." Angelus withdrew three c notes from his wallet and handed them over. "Thanks. The man smiled at his good fortune. "Anytime man, anytime." Both Buffy and Angel returned to work that afternoon. They had been away for three days now and needed to catch up before things got on top of them. Angel wasn't happy leaving Buffy but she reasoned that she wouldn't be harmed until Friday, four days time. Angelus still wasn't happy but he couldn't convince Buffy otherwise. She agreed to meet him back at the house that evening. Willow was surprised by Buffy's unexpected arrival but pleased to see her friend. She dragged her through to the back office and began pumping her for information. Buffy quickly filled her in on the happenings so far. "So what's happening with Angelus?" Willow asked. "Nothing. and everything." Willow nodded understandingly. "It can't be easy." "It's not that I don't love him." "You just can't get over what he's been doing." "Not even that. I understand why he acted the way he did. I don't forgive him but. I don't hold it against him any more, not after everything he's done for me." "So you still hold Dru against him?" asked Willow. "It hurts but. no, I don't think so. I was in his room yesterday and the bed. Well it just wasn't the. the... I don't know, before, the few times I saw it, all I saw was them. Now, I still see them but it's feint, like he's a victim too but not just that." She sighed. "To be honest I still don't really understand my feelings. These last few days have been all action, not much time to think, you know?" "What about his child?" Buffy sighed. "I should be mad he never told me. On the other hand all the information I have about him I had to dig for. I guess I'm used to him not telling me stuff about his past." "But a baby?" "I know. I do feel weird about it. I mean he has a child with another woman. A mini Angelus is out there somewhere." Buffy paused. "It doesn't help that someone else gave him the child I couldn't." "Do you really believe that's your fault?" "Logically? No. But it. She did something for him I couldn't. I just feel. inferior somehow." "But it's not like you can't try again Buffy. If you really want a child you can try again." Buffy smiled weakly. "I know. This is my problem, not his, he didn't choose for her to become pregnant, he didn't choose for her to run away." Buffy paused. "But he could learn the value if a condom." She grinned. Both women began laughing, easing the tension they both felt. As Willow's laughter dried up she reached over and took Buffy's hand, looking into her eyes. "So you still love him?" "Yeah." "And you forgive him?" she confirmed. "I guess." "And you don't blame him?" "No." Willow smiled. "It's time you took the next step then." "Which is?" "Tell him, then start anew." Buffy looked into her friends eyes, seeing only the truth there. "I guess." She said, non comically. "Do you guess? No, you know, you're just scared." She was right. "I never thought you'd be Angelus' advocate." She smiled. "I'm not, I'm yours. I know you want him, I know he makes you happy." Buffy smiled. "Just tell him that if he ever hurts you again he's going to have one brassed off designer and her guitarist boyfriend on his tail." Buffy laughed. "Thanks Will. I can always count on you." Buffy stood by the dining room window, looking out on the grounds. She loved these gardens; so immaculate yet still wild looking. Angelus came up and stood behind her, as a reflex she leaned back into him. "Hi." He wrapped his hands around her waist and she clamped her hands over his. "Hi." He answered back, surprised at her manor. "Did you get on OK?" "Yeah, Willow's dealing with everything fine. You?" "A few hiccups, nothing major." Buffy sighed. "I had a talk with Willow," "Anything interesting?" "She thinks I'm ready to forgive you." Angel paused, not sure he could handle the rejection his next question could lead to. "Are you? "I think so." Angelus tightened his arms around her and buried his head in her neck, breathing in her scent. "You don't know what that means to me." He brushed her hair out of the way and began kissing her neck and law line. Buffy relaxed into him, this was what she had been missing, this attention, this closeness to her soulmate. "I missed you." She said softly. Angelus released Buffy and gently turned her around. He tilted her chin up until she looked into his deep brown eyes. "I love you." He said, the truth f that statement written on every feature. Buffy smiled. "Me too." She said. "I tried not to but I couldn't stop." Angelus lowered his head until his lips brushed over hers, softly exploring something so long denied him. Slowly he increased both the pressure and urgency. Buffy parted her lips, granting him entrance to explore further. Angelus pulled her closer, pressing his body firmly into hers, his need for her evident in every fibre of his being. His hands began rubbing her back and Buffy whimpered at the gesture. It was so familiar to her and something she had been missing for a very long time. Everything about him was both new yet familiar. Buffy was scared. Not as scared as the first time as they made love but almost. Not only was sex something she was out of the habit of recently, she also knew she was crossing a line, leaving herself open to hurt and pain. That was scary. "I love you." Angelus whispered in her ear. He picked her up in a fireman's carry and continued to kiss her as he headed for the door. Buffy stiffened slightly, knowing they were heading to the bedroom. She didn't want her first time back with Angelus to be tainted with her memories. "Wait." She said breathlessly. "Here. Want it here." Angelus looked at her a second, wondering why she wanted to make love in the kitchen. But if that's what she wanted. He carried her to the kitchen table, resting her on the edge as he swept everything in the way onto the floor before returning to his love. She leaned back on the table, pulling him down with her and devouring his mouth with passionate kisses. ******************************* Chapter 23 Buffy gave a small sigh as she tried to snuggle in closer to Angelus while they lay, naked on the sofa in the study. Angelus kissed the top of her head as he thought how much he missed that so und. He hadn't realised until this very moment. "You OK?" he asked, pulling the blanket that covered her higher, in case sh e was cold. "If I were a cat I'd purr." She replied. Angelus smiled, happy to have been forgiven. "I'm sorry Buffy, for these past months." She pulled back and looked up into his eyes. "I know." "I mean, really." Buffy smiled, knowing he obviously needed reassuring. "There were times whe n I wished I could wish you dead. But I couldn't, I don't." Angelus pulled her closer to him again. "Ready for bed?" he asked. Buffy stiffened. "I." "What?" he asked, concerned with her sudden change in mood. "That bed. I cant. I cant sleep there." Angelus nodded slowly, realising he should have thought about that. "We 'll sleep in your room then. OK?" "Sure." "I'll have the bed removed tomorrow then we can shop for another after work ." "Sounds good, but can I burn the bed before they take it away?" "You want to burn it?" he asked, incredulously. "Well, I can settle for taking a really big knife to it." "Buffy." Buffy smiled. "Kidding. A new bed is fine." Angelus exhaled and kissed her again. For a moment he. well he wasn't sure what he thought, just that he had made a mess of things again. Buffy arrived to work the next morning, grinning from ear to ear. "Went well then." Smiled Willow. "You could say that." Said Buffy, accepting a coffee. "So, spill. I need details." Buffy frowned. "You don't want these details." She assured Willow. "Oh! That kind of make up." She said, smiling slyly. Buffy couldn't keep the grin from her face for long. "Yes, that kind of mak ing up." She confirmed. "I'm moving back in." "That's great." Said Willow. "Way to make me feel wanted." Said Buffy with a touch of sarcasm "Oh, no. I mean you're a great roomie, and I will miss the company but I'm happy for you. Plus, I just kind of have news of my own." "You do? Come on then, I need details." Said Buffy leaning forward. "Remember when Oz went all distant a few months back?" Buffy nodded. "Well he's back to his old self but not quite. Like he's grown up. I found a sket ch he'd done of names, they turned out to be design's for a business he's t hinking of setting up, teaching music. He'll still tour with the band, just less often. Then the other day he told me he wants to cook dinner on Satur day for me. He said I wasn't to be back before 6pm and gave me vouchers for a day at the beauty spa." "He's going to propose!" said Buffy, drawing the same conclusion. "Yep." Smiled willow. Her smile faded at the reality check though. "It isn' t much to go on though, I have to admit. I could be wrong." Buffy looked sternly at her. "You are not wrong. You know as well as I do t hat Oz doesn't talk much and since we've both learned to translate the non- verbal, I think you're right. He was considering his future, now he's makin g plans for a more settled life with you." Willow looked relieved. "Thanks Buffy, I was worried I was getting all work ed up, thinking I was reading too much into this." "You aren't. Honestly." "Thanks. So when are you coming by for your stuff?" "Probably tomorrow. We're shopping for a new bed tonight." "That's fine. Oz has a gig tomorrow but I can be there if you need help pac king and carrying." "I'll be fine. You go have fun at your fiancées gig." Buffy let herself into Willows apartment the next evening, Angelus followed her in. "Shouldn't take long." Said Buffy turning the light on. "Pretty much it's j ust clothes." She turned to close the door only to see Penn standing in the doorway. Buff y gasped and stepped back, reaching for the gun in her purse. Angelus stepp ed forward to attack him. "Wait!" he said, holding his hands up. I just want to talk. Please." Angelus stopped, as did Buffy. "Keep your hand s up." Said Angelus, gesturing for him to enter. "Thank you." Sighed Penn as he entered, keeping his hands raised. "What do you want?" Angelus asked, gruffly. "I. I'm sorry. I never meant for things to go this far." "What far?" asked Buffy. "I. He wants to kill you Buffy." "So what's this crisis of conscious owed to?" asked Angelus. Penn met his gaze. "I'm not a killer." "But it's OK for you to have Buffy attacked? To split us up? To lie to me?" Penn's passive look flashed angry for a second. "As right as it was for you to let me take the rap for that bar fight." "So that's it? You still resent that?" "Damn right I do! You sold me out! You started it but I went to juvi for it . If it hadn't been for that sentence I could be in your shoes now. Instead I'm here, working for the highest bidder." "That's not his fault." Defended Buffy. "You could have given the police hi s name." "Yeah, and been branded a snitch. No thanks." Angelus knew Penn was right. He has let Penn carry the can for a fight he s tarted, he could have turned himself in, sparing Penn the whole wrath of th e situation but he didn't. "I never realised you resented me so much." Penn just glared. "Hold up here!" said Buffy, stepping between the two men. "He." She said, p ointing at Angelus. "Has done so much for you. Given you money, bailed you out if jail, paid your rent when you blew it all on drugs. How dare you bla me him for ruining your life." "He did! He knows it, I know it. Why do you think he still does so much for me? Because he owes me! This isn't your concern Buffy, so stay out of it." Buffy shook her head. "So what did you come her for then?" "To say sorry, and to let you know there's a price on your head. It's Windh am-Price. He wants to ruin Angelus, through you. The hit's due to go down i n Friday." "We know." Said Buffy. "We've known for a while. We know just how deep in t his you are, who's behind it and just what's going to happen." "You do? How?" Just then the door to willows apparent opened to reveal a man kneeling wher e the lock would have been when the door was closed and Wesley standing beh ind him, a gun aimed at Buffy. *************************************** Chapter 24 Angelus again went to pounce but Wesley cocked the gun. "I wouldn't he said coldly. Angelus stopped, fearful because the gun was aimed in Buffy's direction. "You can go now Tim." Said Wes and the man who had opened the door crawled out of the way of the gun and got up to leave. Price entered the room and closed the door. Never taking his gun off Buffy. "Good." He said. "Now Angelus, if you know as much about me as I know about you, you'll know I've become an excellent marksman recently. I wouldn't try anything or Buffy dies." Angelus growled at Penn. "You set us up!" "I didn't! I swear!" "He's right." Said Wesley. "He really did have a change of heart, unfortunately. But I knew he'd come to you so I fed him false information. Oh and the barman you paid? He came straight to me and I told him what to tell you." "So you're here to kill us?" asked Angelus. "No. I'm here to kill Buffy and Penn, you'll take the blame." "You can't do that!" said Buffy. "The police will know it wasn't him." "Like with the mugging? I don't think so Buffy. I have this all sorted. The man I bought this gun from will swear blind he sold it to Angelus. The evidence will all lead to Angelus, there's no way he'll get off." "Wes, it doesn't have to be this way." Said Angelus. "I want to be part of Cordelia's life, I want to help raise our son." Wes smiled coldly. "Too late." "No, it isn't. I'm sorry for what I said Wes, I really am. I was just scared. And I'm sorry I hounded you for information but I just wanted to be a part of their lives. Pleas Wes, it's not too late." "It's FAR too late Angelus. The only thing left is misery and pain. You see Cordelia died giving birth to your progeny." Angelus complexion turned ashen. "No." "Yes. So did the bastard child." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because destroying you became a much bigger priority." Angelus was reeling from this information "How?" He asked. "The placenta began to detach prematurely. She bled to death while the baby suffocated." Angelus sat on the arm of the nearest chair. "That. she should have been OK." He mumbled to himself. Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Buffy tried slowly, to reach into her purse and withdraw her gun. "I wouldn't." said Wesley, warning her. "No." said Angelus softly. "I assure you it's true." Said Wesley. "No, I didn't mean. I didn't kill her, you did." Angelus looked up, straight into Wesley's eyes. "She didn't go to hospital. If she had one of my detectives would have found something, if you took her anywhere it would have been to some drunk quack who probably couldn't keep his licence. If you'd just taken her to hospital they would have saved her, they have drugs to stop that now." Wesley clenched his teeth. "I did not kill her. If it wasn't for your irresponsibility getting her pregnant, then she never would have been in danger and if you hadn't sent her away she wouldn't have needed my help. Any way you slice this it's your fault, she died because of your demon spawn!" Wesley was shaking with rage now. Angelus smirked. "You keep telling yourself that." He said, calmly. "I will." Wesley smiled coldly, using his left hand to pull a tranquilliser gun from the back of his trousers. He pointed the gun at Angelus. "By the time you wake up Buffy and Penn will be dead. You keep telling everyone it wasn't your fault as you rot in jail." "I'll tell them I was drugged," said Angelus. "They'll test for it." "No, I'm not stupid enough to tell you everything, suffice to say the drug in this gun should be out of your system in two hours and it's not routinely screened for. They wont find a thing. I hope your life is as happy as mine has been since Cordelia died." He looked over to Buffy. "I am sorry Buffy. This isn't your doing and you don't deserve this. It's just unfortunate that you are the only thing Angelus has ever cared about in his sorry life." Wesley made to fire the tranquilliser gun and Buffy lunged at Angelus. As Buffy moved Wes began shooting at her but he missed. Buffy pulled Angelus to the ground, the tranquilliser shot missing him but getting Buffy in her side. She and Angelus scrambled behind the sofa, out of sight of the gun. Wesley's voice was full of rage. "That wasn't smart!" he yelled. Buffy could feel her eyes becoming heavy, what ever was in the tranquilliser gun, it was potent. She dragged her handbag from her shoulder. "Gun." She said weakly before passing out, hoping with every last fibre of her being that she would wake up again. Buffy awoke in Willow's bed, Angelus standing over her. "Hey." He smiled down at her. Buffy shook her head to clear it. "What happ. Oh god, are you OK?" He smiled at her. "I'm fine, are you OK?" Buffy put her hand to her throbbing head. "The worlds worst hangover but I think I'll live." Angelus pulled her tiny frame up off the bed and hugged her. "I was so worried." "I'm OK now." She replied. "Oxygen becoming an issue though!" "Oh, sorry," he said, releasing his tight grip. Buffy lay back down. "What happened?" "After you passed out I took the gun from your bag. Penn and Wes were wrestling on the floor. Wes shot Penn, as he stood up to come after us, I shot Wes." "Are they. dead?" "Penn, no. It's superficial, he'll make it. Last I heard on Wes he was in surgery but they think he'll be OK. Penn's given a statement to the police too, telling the truth for once." Buffy sighed, relieved. A murder charge was the last thing they needed now. "Good. And you're not hurt?" "No. The police want to talk to you, are you up to it?" Buffy nodded. "Sure. They still here?" Angelus nodded over to the door where a uniformed officer stood. "Hi." Said Buffy, noticing him for the first time. "Didn't mean to ignore you." "It's fine ma'am." The officer smiled at her. "Perfectly understandable." Buffy looked back to Angelus. "I'll talk to them. I don't promise to be coherent but I'll talk." Angelus kissed her forehead lightly. "Be right back." He said.
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