Too Little Time
Jessica

SPOILER WARNING: This all revolves around the major events of "I Will Remember
You".
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNING: Like, one bad word. It's for the dramatic effect.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Buffy or Angel, or any other characters mention. They belong to Joss Whedon. Not me.
NOTES: This is a short, angsty piece, but it's supposed to elude to happiness. I was so thrilled with Buffy and Angel in "I Will Remember You", but couldn't stand the fact that Angel just decided to give it all up. This is intervention, plus therapy. It saves on psychiatry bills. Hey, did anyone else notice how they kept mentioning "time" during the ep?? (Buffy: This is a dream. You're human, for like, A MINUTE, and already there's Cookie-dough Fudge Mint Chip in the fridge.)


Angel entered the dimenion of the Oracles. "You again," the male Oracle greeted him.

"What have you brought me?" the female inquired.

"A famille rose vase. Ching dynasty," Angel replied, tossing her a red vase, "Circa 1811."

"Lovely," the female Oracle pronounced examining it.

"Why are you here, lower being?" the male yet again asked.

"The Mohra demon said the end of days had begun. That others were coming. I need to know if he was telling the truth," Angel asked.

"As far as such things can be told," the male replied.

"And what happens to the Slayer when these soldiers come?" Angel asked, fear hidden in his voice.

"What happens to all mortal beings. Albeit, sooner, in her case," the female responded, stepping between Angel and her male counterpart.

"She'll die," Angel analyzed, then paused, "Then I'm here to beg for her life."

"It is not our place to grant life and death," the male Oracle responded.

"And I ask you to take mine back," Angel finished. He realized that by saying this he and Buffy would never be happy again. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make if it meant she would live.

The Oracles turned back around to face him. "You're asking to be what you were. A demon with a soul? Because of the slayer?" the female asked, in almost disbelief.

"This is a matter of love. Does not concern us," the male reasoned, once again turning around.

"Yes, it does," Angel replied quickly, "the Mohra demon came to take a warrior from your cause, and it succeeded. I'm no good to you like this. I know you have it in your power to make this right. Please," Angel silently begged.

The male Oracle paused a moment, then replied softly, "What is done cannot be undone."

"What is not yet done can be avoided," the female interrupted, gaining a new respect for the being in front of her.

"Temporal folds are not to indulge the--the whims of lower beings," the male hissed.

"You are wrong," the female corrected him, "This one is willing to sacrifice every drop of human happiness and love he has ever known for another. He is not a lower being," she analyzed, defending Angel. The male paused a moment, in defeat.

"There is one way....But it is not to be undertaken lightly," the male spoke up.

"We swallow this day, as though it never happened. 24 hours from when the demon first attacked you, we take it back," the female finished for the male.

"Then none of this ever happened....Buffy and I....." Angel suddenly realized. "What'll stop us from doing the exact same thing?" he asked, his heart breaking as the true meaning of what they were offering him sunk in.

"You. You alone will carry the memory of this day. Can you carry that burden?" the female asked him gently. Angel was about to reply when he was startled by a newcomer behind him.

"Angel?" Buffy's voice called out. "What are you doing?" she asked, tears brimming her eyes, making her green eyes shine with the unshed tears.

"Who is this!?" the male Oracle called out.

"Hush. It is the Slayer," the female said.

"What has she brought us?" the male still inquired. Buffy looked around for a moment, before her eyes rested on her left hand/

"I heard the bargain Angel wants to make. I offer you this ring in exchange to cancel the deal," Buffy said determinedly, and looked Angel straight in the eyes as she slid the silver Claddagh ring off of her left ring finger. The female Oracle caught it and examined it briefly.

"This ring....it means much to you, does it not?" she inquired.

"It almost means as much to me as he does. But I'm willing to sacrifice it if you will keep time the way it is now. Please," Buffy pleaded.

"Buffy----I, please, you have to understand. You will die if I don't do this. I can't just stand by and watch that happen," Angel spoke up softly.

"Angel---I can't...I can't go back to how it was before. Even if I won't remember. It's so hard. When you left, a piece of me died. And this past day with you brought it back from the dead. And you know what? So what if I die? I'm gonna die anyway....I'd rather have it be doing my duty and protecting the world, then to die an old, lonely woman. And now you can die with me......Angel, it's better this way. We deserve it," Buffy whispered.

"All of this is very touching, but please, do you need our assistance or not?" the female Oracle spoke up loudly. Buffy looked at Angel with resolve in her eyes.

"No. Thank you very much for your TIME," Buffy stated, and before she knew it both she and Angel were outside of the gateway to the Oracles' dimension. Neither of them spoke a word as they walked hand in hand back to Angel's apartment.

* * *

Once inside, Angel walked over to a chair and sat down with his head in his hands. "Angel? Angel, please talk to me," Buffy whispered softly, kneeling down in front of him to remove his hands from his face so he could look at her.

"Buffy---you shouldn't have done that. How can you expect me to go on knowing you will die?" he answered with a pang in his voice.

"Angel, you don't know that for sure. All they did was foretell the future, and now that we know it, we can try to thwart it," she said, as yet more tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill.

"But----" Angel tried to protest.

"But nothing! Why do you insist on torturing yourself like this? You honestly wanted to turn back time so only you could remember what we shared? That memory alone would kill me if you didn't remember it," she sobbed.

"I would do anything for you," he whispered. She looked at him again, as even more tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Why do you insist on doing everything FOR me WITHOUT me? You know, Oz left Willow for pretty much the same reasons you left me, and did Willow get a say in the matter? Of course not! Please, God, Angel don't leave me. Not after today...We can make this work. We deserve it! How many times have we risked our lives for this godforsaken planet! I sent my lover to Hell to save the fucking world! And all the thanks I get is to die later, thwarting yet another apocalypse. I deserve this time with you," she said, but continued, "And what about you? You never think about yourself, which you really should. I know you think you deserve to die after what happened after my birthday, but that wasn't your fault! There was no way we could have known, and you had no control over what happened. Why do you blame yourself? Blame the frickin' demon!"

And then Buffy saw Angel do what she had never seen before. He broke down andsobbed. Sure, Buffy had seen him cry before, but not like this. She went over to him and wrapped him in her arms and rocked him like a mother would a small child who had woken up from a nightmare.

"Why us?" he whispered after what seemed like an eternity. Buffy looked at him and shook her head.

After awhile, Buffy gently led her lover to his bed, where she laid him down, only to crawl in next to him. The two fell asleep entwined in each others' arms, dreaming of the happiness they were determined to obtain.

"Angel? I've never really felt this way before."

"What way?"

"Just how I've always wanted to. Like a normal girl, falling asleep in the arms of her normal boyfriend." - Buffy, "I Will Remember You"

The End.