The Cure:
Disclaimer: Apparently, these don’t matter anymore, because Fox is asking some people to remove their fic anyway, so I won’t bother. We know who they really belong to...
Dedication: Once again, to my friends and Betas, for helping me to crank 'em out! And to Joss, 'cause even though he's obviously a twisted, sado-masochistic psycho, is also the GENIUS who created these people and their universe to begin with.
Song Choice: Ice by Sarah McLachlan, from the CD, Fumbling Toward Ecstasy
Rating: R for language and sexual content.
Notes: This episode is a lot different than the previous ones. Definitely darker, more depressing, and dealing with much more "intimate" issues.
Chapter Three
Buffy insisted, against everyone's wishes, on walking home alone after all. She had to give some thought to everything she'd just learned, and what it meant to her life. Besides, they had research to do, if they were going to find a cure...
And she just couldn't bring herself to look at Angel, right now...
She wandered the Sunnydale streets, her head spinning... Buffy realized she didn't really have anywhere to go. No neutral third party who wasn't directly involved in things to turn to. Except...
She banged on the front door, oblivious to the hour. When a bleary-eyed Amanda opened it and saw her standing there, the woman invited her in without a second thought, and immediately set to making hot chocolate.
Buffy sat morosely at one end of the kitchen table, sipping at her cup.
"So, what happened?" Amanda finally asked. The girl looked at her with such agonizing confusion, she felt even worse for her.
Buffy gave Amanda the Cliff Notes version of the story.
"You know... it's so funny... I never questioned the idea of being with Angel for eternity, when I thought it was my choice... But now? Now there's no choice at all, and I'm not so sure..."
"Not sure you want to be with him forever, or not sure you want to be with him at all..." Amanda said.
Buffy shrugged. "I don't know that either. Besides... it doesn't matter what I want, as usual... Unless the others find some way to break the curse, I don't have a say in the matter. And someone will have to stake me, or all of us will die."
Amanda suddenly didn't find her cocoa all that comforting anymore.
Angel walked Willow home, as Oz and Xander had volunteered to run an errand for Giles.
"Buffy must be really confused." Willow said.
Angel nodded. "I imagine. Buffy's always felt like all the important decisions in her life with made without her... and now this?" He shook his head and sighed.
"I hate no-win situations." Willow said.
Angel frowned. "No kidding." He said.
Giles read the long Latin passage again, double checking the references against several other volumes. There was no mistaking it. Only one cure existed for this particular geis...
One that no one would be able to bear...
Spike was still laughing, flying high on the possibilities his new lackey had presented him with.
"Fantastic! Bloody Amazing!" He yelled, doing a little jig at the end of the table. 14 empty Guinness bottles danced with him.
"Do you know what this means?" Spike said to Garrett, "I can get all my life's goals accomplished in one fell swoop... well, except for the part with beheading Dru, but... I get a little bonus, in addition!"
Lust clouded his vision for a moment as he pictured the Slayer's hard little body wrapped around him.
"Quite the pleasant, unexpected bonus." He hissed.
The phone rang... and rang... and...
"Hello?" Angel's voice. Giles silently thanks the Powers that Be.
"Angel. I'm glad you're home. Is Buffy with you?"
"No. She stopped to talk to Amanda." He had secretly followed her when she'd left Giles' house.
"Good. Good. She could use a woman's guidance...a woman who is not her mother, that is..."
"And what good do you think that will do?" Angel asked bitterly.
Giles had no answer, and let the question go. "I've found the cure." He said instead.
Angel felt his heart lighten. "Great. What do we have to do?"
Giles hesitated, uncertain how to break this extremely unpleasant news to him. "It's not that simple, I'm afraid... The cure is not... a ritual... per se."
"Then what is it?" Angel was getting more, rather than less, nervous. What could possibly be worse than the things they had done to save one another before?
"Angel... I'm afraid that the only cure for Buffy's geis is... is for... ehem. For her to... uh... mate... with, er... with another of her Sire's bloodline."
Silence.
"Angel? Are you there?" Giles asked worriedly.
Nothing for another moment. Then, "You're sure."
Giles sighed and desperately wished once again that he had his glasses to fiddle with. "That's all we've been able to locate. Unless Buffy mates with one of your...uh... offspring... she will certainly go mad. And that could mean the death of us all. Beginning with yourself." He knew he was being harsh with the man, but this was not a matter they could afford to become emotional over. Not until Buffy was better.
Right then, Angel wasn't certain which would be worse -- having Buffy tear him limb from limb in madness...
Or to think of her in some other demon's arms... some demon of his own making...
He was waiting for her when she came in. Buffy felt only the slightest bit better, having talked to Amanda...
But all her doubt and uncertainty seemed to disappear for a moment when Angel looked up at her, stood, and took her into his arms. She felt calm wash over her once again, and cursed the doubt that accompanied it, unbidden. Was it his love, his comfort, that soothed her, or was it the fulfillment of the craving for him the curse generated?
They sat on the couch, and he held her quietly until right before the dawn. Neither of them chose to share their dark thoughts -- they simply enjoyed the nearness of one another, putting aside concern about what would happen later... to later.
Buffy finally rose, reaching out for his hand and leading him to the bedroom. She stripped quickly and pulled him to her, kissing him fiercely, letter her hands roam over his body...
Angel tensed, and pulled away, "Buffy..." he looked into her fiery eyes, and steeled his conviction, "We shouldn't... until you're well..." He eased her back on to the bed, and she slid her aching body under the covers. He sat beside her, gently reaching out to brush the stray hairs away from her face. He looked into her eyes for a long moment, then softly placed a kiss on her forehead.
"I'll be right in the guest room, if you need me..." He said.
Buffy nodded, unable to react. She knew she wouldn't sleep without him beside her, but she had a strong sensation that sleeping apart would be safer... for him.
He brushed her cheek with his hand once more before he rose and left the room. The echo of the door locking from the outside resonated through the silence around her. Buried deep in the covers, alone, Buffy shivered.
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