TITLE: Just the weirdest

AUTHOR: Ophelia

EMAIL: ophelia_rd@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Joss, not I.

DISTRIBUTION: Let me know where it's going

CATEGORY:

PART: 1/1

FEEDBACK: Yes please!!!

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Just the weirdest

"You want me to do WHAT???"

Unable to hide his feelings of loath and disgust Angel stared at the tiny blonde slayer pleadingly gazing at him.

"You heart me, Angel," she sighed. "But I'll say it a gain, and again, and again - I'll even beg you and grovel, if this is what you want me to do."

Her usually tanned face was pale and she seemed even more skinny than the last time they had met. His long dead heart painfully clenched and unclenched in his chest.

He'd known about them.

His gorgeous little slayer and Captain America.

Oh right, he'd been the on to leave her behind, didn't mean he'd to like the results - namely her moving on to... grrrr!

Thinking about it, Angel couldn't believe that almost two years had passed since he'd told this beautiful creature good bye.

"Angel?"

The dark-haired vampire frowned when Buffy interrupted his line of thoughts in a small voice.

He looked at her quickly then just as fast turned around and closed his eyes. No, he couldn't do it - wouldn't!

How dare she turn up at his door step asking him to go and turn soldier boy. It didn't matter, that the blonde oaf was exactly what he'd told her to find - loving, sun-proof - mortal...

Yeah, Initiative Kid had gotten himself clubbed quiet efficiently. Not the usual kick ass and run..., no, the ninny had gotten himself wagged with one of his very own shock sticks. Not that that was a bad thing by itself, at least as far as Angel was concerned, however, since - according to Buffy - the high voltage supposedly was burning up her little pet soldier from the inside, compliments to the highly dosed drug the Initiative had been feeding the boy...

So, already stimulated beyond belief, the kids immune system was turning against himself.

The dark-haired man let out a long unhappy sigh!

"I'm sorry, Buffy."

Angel reached out a big cold hand to gently run it along her cheek. The much he didn't want to even consider her request, the much it hurt him to see her like this.

But even if he went against his better judgement and knowledge and even if Tara and Willow managed restore GI Joe's soul straight away - wouldn't he doom the youth to just as dull and broody an existence as had been forced upon Angel himself?

An existence of eternal darkness, with a most unfair happiness clause hovering above his head. And most important they'd be Sire and Childe, how bad was that?

It was difficult enough to put up with two wayward childer, why create an additional burden now when things eventually were starting to work out.

Drusilla, Spike...

No there simply wasn't any more room, let alone time and nerves left to teach and train another true childe, especially with Drusilla's newest creation around.

Darla...

Yep, his little family, all together now.

All bullied or neutered into submission, however, beneath the surface as wicked, crazy and homicidal as ever. No, there was no way in hell, he'd add another liability to this barely contained chaos.

"I'm sorry, Buffy," he tried once again but the little girl wouldn't have any of that.

"Angel, you must do something!!!"

She had him by the front of his shirt in a second, hot tears streaming down her beautiful face.

"I will not allow you to rip my life away from me again. You told me to find somebody worthy to fight by my side, well here he is and it is in your hands to keep him there."

Their eyes locked and Angel felt an icy hand clamping down on his heart - he truly had lost her. All the years they had been apart, he'd always been able to pretend...

"Buffy..."

"He is my life, Angel! When you left, I almost died because of grief - you can not put me through this again... Angel, please..."

Her voice broke and the tall dark man felt like a complete bastard, however, he still couldn't make himself comply to her plea. He wanted to pull her into his chest, he wanted to hold her and tell her all would be fine, but he couldn't.

The girl silently crying in front of him just wasn't his Buffy, his slayer, anymore.

"Why don't you come in," Angel finally offered, unable to listen to her heart wrenching sobs another minute. "Maybe we can find another solution."

***

The moment was broken, when Drusilla accompanied by three more or less jovial blondes stepped into the office.

"Look, daddy, princess brought dinner!" The dark-haired girl cheered, leading a terribly thin, terribly pale Riley inside the small office.

"Riley!"

A look of terror on her face, Buffy scurried towards her all too obviously suffering better half.

"You weren't supposed to leave the car all by yourself."

She shot a murderous glare at Drusilla for as much as looking at her beloved Riley and slapped the brunette's hand off of her mate's forearm.

"Angel?" A steely note in her voice her eyes travelled from the three newcomers towards the suddenly all broody dark man. "Is there anything you want to explain?"

Not really, he thought, but held his tongue.

Spike, however, didn't have such constrains.

"Slayer, what's the commando prick doing in my house?" He barked, furiously glowering from one skinny blonde to the other.

Angel couldn't but chuckle.

Not too long ago Spike had cursed and damned the shelter his sire had offered - forced on him? - and now, less than 6 months from then he all but strutted around like bloody the autocrat of "Angel Investigation".

"You hear me, slayer, I so don't want you in here - either!"

"Watch it, Nancy, the good man is touchy about his blonde whores." Darla audibly whispered in false concern.

Three angry pair of eyes bored into the vampiress.

"You are so dead, little girl!"

"Make that fake blondes..., oops!" Drusilla giggled and immediately flashed a non-apologetic grin at the others, before she busied herself with rearranging the flowing fabric of her ankle-deep silk skirt.

"C'mon, Darla, Ms Edith wants her tea!"

With a crystal-clear laughter the brunette vampiress grabbed her pouting childe's frail wrist and stubbornly dragged her along.

"...and dare you calling him Nancy again, it's Sid - although you could ask him what he thinks about Johnny, because I always liked him better than..."

The remaining group exchanged several long knowing looks.

Buffy and Riley because of the unexpected vampire presence and Spike and Angel for once conform with their thoughts giving each other the what-have-I-done-to-deserve-this glare.

"Now all we need is Faith to perfect this little reunion!" Buffy finally snapped venomously, never taking her eyes off of the peroxide blonde.

Her angry eyes grew big as saucers, when she noticed the part guilty part bemused expressions scurrying across the vampires' faces.

This couldn't be true.

No way - Angel wouldn't have kept this from her.

However, her attention quickly turned towards Riley and way he shakily reached for her wrist in order to steady himself.

Her heart was bleeding.

"Maybe we should call it a night," Angel supplied when he noticed the other man's agony.

tbc