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Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Buffy, or Angel, for that matter. There is a song at the end, and I don't own it either!! I do however own Chrissy! This takes place almost three years after Angel left Sunnydale. I wrote this before Graduation Part 2 aired.
Author's Notes: I would like to thank Jessica for her support. We plead innocent!! We are not obsessed!! (Although my mom sure thinks so!)
"…and coming up next on Channel 6 news: an unusual death in Sunnydale…"
Angel dropped his pencil when he heard the news anchor mention Sunnydale. He tried to block it out of his mind, but it wouldn't let him. Buffy's voice and face haunted him. He shook his head; he had to get over it. She probably had moved on since he left almost three years ago. Angel secretly hoped that she still loved him. He laughed at that thought. Buffy was probably dating a normal guy who could go out in the sun, and could give her kids. She might even be married already. His long dead heart cringed at that. Although he never told her after he had come back from hell, he had desperately wanted to tell her that the ring he had given her had married them. Of course, it was only in Irish custom that it married the two of them. And they were not in Ireland.
Angel looked down at the paper he was drawing on. It showed Buffy laughing, her eyes sparkling. He could never forget her face when she laughed like that. She looked like a normal sixteen-year old girl with nothing on her mind. He was always happy that she was able to have friends despite her life as a Slayer. Buffy wasn't meant to live a lonely life, like he did. She deserved a normal life, which she wasn't destined for. Angel sighed. All he ever did was dwell on the past and brood. He told Buffy to move on, but he couldn't do it himself.
Angel looked back at the TV when he heard the usual jingle signaling the return from commercial. He wondered what new demon or vampire had killed another Sunnydale resident.
"In a bizarre incident at Sunnydale Community College, a young college student was shot during daylight. Even though there were witnesses of the shooting, no one saw the shooter. The student's name was Buffy Summers, a second year student at the Community College…"
Angel just stared at the television screen. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't. Buffy could not be dead. She wasn't destined to die at the hand of a human. She wasn't supposed to die now. She was supposed to live a normal, full life. She had already defeated armageddons, and a prophecy of her own death. This wasn't supposed to happen. Angel's anger started rising. It was supposed to be a vampire if anything. Then he could go kill it for Buffy.
This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to happen. Angel kept repeating it to himself, trying to tell himself that Buffy was not dead. He stood up and smashed his TV. His blood was boiling now. If only it was night, he could go out and hunt. It would let out some of his anger. Not all of it, but it would help. It was better to do that than ruin his apartment.
Angel raked his fingers through his hair. He tried to calm himself down. He had to wait for sunset until he could do anything. He sat down on his bed, and remembered the night they had shared. He felt bad that their night had to turn out that way. It was their time together, but it was taken away. But now, it would never happen again. Not just that they couldn't be together, but that she was dead now. There he admitted it. Buffy was dead. They could never be together.
Angel walked through the cemetery. Memories flooded him. Buffy and him fighting, kissing, and talking. He walked over to the most recent grave. He knelt at the ground, and fingered her name on the gravestone. There were flowers lying there, and he regretted not bringing any. He looked up at the sky, feeling the sunset coming. He sighed. Here it goes.
"Buffy, I'm sorry this happened. I know it wasn't supposed to end this way. I wish I could have been there with you. I still love you. I knew it was for the best that I left, but I really didn't want to leave you. I thought of you every day." Angel looked up briefly at the horizon. Soon. He looked back at the grave. "I know that I won't be able to come where you are. I don't deserve it. But you deserve it Buffy."
"You must be Angel." A voice interrupted his private goodbye. Angel looked up at the voice. It belonged to a young girl, about sixteen. Buffy. No. She was dead. This girl has short curly brown hair with blue eyes.
"I know you have pale skin, but I don't think a suntan is the right way to go." The girl grinned at him. Angel scowled.
"Who are you?" Angel was not in the mood to talk with someone. Especially someone trying to talk him out of what he was planning.
"Chrissy. New slayer in town. Nice to meet you too." The girl replied. She was still grinning.
Angel's eyes fell. "Buffy's replacement?" He asked even though he knew it was correct.
"Bingo!! Give yourself a prize. Wait. You were about to. Better not." Angel scowled at Chrissy. She reminded him of Buffy.
"The gang told me you would be here. And that you would be waiting for the sun. I'm here to stop you. I don't care if it means that I have to knock you over the head, and drag you to the library, I will. Don't think I'm not willing to do it even though I barely know you, and the fact that you are a vampire. I know you won't hurt me." Chrissy informed Angel, giving him another grin.
Angel stood up and growled. "They don't want to see me. I don't want to see them."
"Oh, but they do. Time has passed. They have healed." Angel looked at her puzzled, wondering how she knew about the past. Chrissy nodded at him. "Yeah, I know about what happened." She paused and looked at the vampire. His eyes were sad, remembering what he had done to the group. "So, are we done with the twenty questions? Let's get the show on the road."
Angel sighed, then starting walking the familiar route to the library with the new Slayer. The walk was quiet. Angel didn't say anything, and Chrissy wasn't about to try to start a conversation with him. She almost laughed out loud, but restrained herself. Angel was exactly how the gang had described him. He was handsome, but quiet, sad, and brooding. They said it was his favorite hobby. She grinned to herself. That was the truth. She wondered if he ever lightened up.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the high school. Chrissy pulled open the doors, and they walked down the halls to the library. Angel stopped a few feet short of the double doors. Chrissy was about to push them open when she noticed that he was not following.
"Oh, come on now. Don't be a baby. You're over 200 years old, I think you can handle this." Chrissy retorted.
Angel looked up at her with bloody tears in his eyes.
"I promise you. It won't be that bad. They have forgiven you." Chrissy replied softly, with a small smile.
He nodded and walked the few steps to her and the doors. Chrissy pushed open the doors and the vampire and Slayer walked into the library. "Giles!! We're here!!!" She yelled out to the librarian.
Giles popped out of the office, and saw the vampire and Slayer standing in the middle of the library. "Ah, yes. So you are." He took off his glasses and wiped them with his handkerchief. "Hello Angel. Nice to see you again. I trust you have met out new Slayer?"
Angel nodded. "Hello Giles. Yes, I have had the opportunity."
"Well, I shall leave the two of you alone now." And with that, Giles started walking toward the library doors. Angel looked puzzled, wondering why he left him with Chrissy. Then Chrissy followed Giles out of the library. Angel looked around the library confused. "What the…"
And then he saw her.
He couldn't believe it. She was standing at the top of the stairs that led to the stacks. She looked beautiful. He inhaled sharply, even though he had no breath.
"How?" Angel whispered, a little bit of hope beginning to stir inside of him. A little bit of the sadness also disappeared from his dark eyes.
"Hi Angel." Buffy smiled at him, noticing the change in his eyes. Her eyes glowed too.
"Buffy…" Angel was speechless.
But then something dawned on him. His eyes quickly became sad again. "No…" Angel whispered, hoping against hope that he was wrong.
Buffy read his thoughts and shook her head. "I still have a pulse Angel. Listen."
Angel stood still and listened. He heard her heartbeat and sighed. She wasn't a vampire. Good. He wouldn't be able to bear it knowing she had been changed into the one thing she despised. Into what he was. What he had to deal with every moment of his life.
Buffy walked down a few steps, and paused. "It was a setup, Angel." Angel looked at her curiously.
"I turned 21 a month ago. No Slayer has ever lived this long. Yet, it was written somewhere, I don't know exactly." Angel grinned at her. Buffy was never the one to research or read. "But, apparently they wrote that if a Slayer were to reach her twenty-first birthday, she could retire and a new slayer would be activated." Buffy looked down at Angel to see if he understood what she was talking about. He nodded.
"Chrissy came to Sunnydale a few months ago to become acquainted with the hellmouth and our family of vampires. Not to mention her new watcher, Giles, and to train. We knew that the vampires would still come after me after I retired. So, we staged my death. We had to make it public so it would get around." Buffy paused a second, and drew in a breath. "And I wanted to see if you would come back. If you still loved me." She looked at Angel's surprised face, with tears forming in her eyes.
Angel stood there shocked for a moment. Then he whispered, "Always."
With that one word, Buffy flew down the steps and ran into his arms. She was sobbing now. She looked up at his face, and whispered, "I love you too."
Angel bent down and gently kissed her. A kiss to reacquaint themselves, a kiss to stop the pain. They came up for a second, and in that heartbeat Angel asked, "Will you marry me Buffy?" Buffy caught her breath, and her tears started again. She grinned, and replied, "Yes." Angel kissed her again, but this one was more forceful, more passionate. A kiss to hold on to each other, a kiss that signaled the beginning.
From this moment, life has begun
From this moment, you are the one
Right beside you, is where I belong
From this moment on…
From this moment, I have been blessed
I live only for your happiness
And for your love, I give my last breath
From this moment on…
I give my hand to you with all my heart
I can't wait to live my life with you
I can't wait to start
You and I will never be apart
My dreams… came true…
Because of you
From this moment as long as I live
I will love you, I promise you this
There is nothing I wouldn't give
From this moment on…
>You're the reason I believe in love
And you're the answer to my prayers from up above
All we need is just the two of us
My dreams… came true…
Because of you
From this moment, as long as I live
I will love you, I promise you this
There is nothing I wouldn't give
From this moment, I will love you
As long as I live
From this moment on…
-Shania Twain
"From this Moment"