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It had started out as a quiet night. Stefanie spent some time alternating between watching the news and seeing to her daughter's needs. However, she was able to glean from the reports that the unexplained deaths and events in Sunnydale were growing fewer and far between. Ever since the big quake, it seemed that most of the local vampires had been drifting out of town for whatever reason.
Stefanie had just laid Risa down to sleep and was about to turn in herself when a loud knock came at the door. Startled, she turned to look at it, then went to look through the peephole. When she saw it was Angel, she opened the door immediately to let him in.
"What are you doing here?" Stefanie asked, following him to the small living room and noting that he was holding Ivory in his arms. "It's late..."
Angel set his sleeping daughter on the couch, gently pulling a blanket over her and kneeling by her side. Without looking at Stefanie, he said, "I'm sorry. I would have come earlier, but I got detained. Two vamps made pests of themselves by standing vigil outside my apartment." He gave a deep sigh, then, after a long silence, he added, "It wasn't supposed to happen this way... I always envisioned that Buffy would get to spend more time with me, with Ivory. Now, with her gone..."
Stefanie pulled her robe tighter around herself, going to sit in the nearby recliner. "It was a terrible tragedy, Angel, but it's time to start the healing process," she said. "Buffy wouldn't want you to grieve for her forever." Silently, she added, *And I don't want you to be saying you're leaving as well!*
Angel gazed up at her then, a troubled look in his eyes. "I realize that, and it's not the reason I'm here," he replied. "This is concerning Ivory... I've given a lot of thought about what's best for her, what kind of life she should have growing up. And I didn't come to the ending decision lightly. But, under the circumstances, I think it's best that I put some distance between me and her."
Stefanie stared at him in disbelief, hardly believing what she was hearing. Here, he had just lost Buffy and now he was talking of giving up Ivory as well! "Why?" she demanded angrily. "Why is that for the best, Angel?! And just how much distance are we talking about?!"
Angel bit his lip. "Those vampires who paid me a visit tonight were there for a reason... Apparently, my wedding to Buffy attracted a lot of unwanted attention. A lot of the elders seem to have a problem with a vampire marrying a Slayer, even if that Slayer is now dead... The point is, I've won a lot of enemies with that action. The ones who came tonight were easy to dispose of, but it won't always be that way."
Stefanie leaned back in her seat, the tears begin to flow from her eyes. Then, she struck on a hopeful vein. "But you can take a stand against them! If you run, they'll just follow you, Angel! So why don't you just stay here and tough it out?!"
"Again, for Ivory's benefit," Angel replied. "When word gets out that I've left, they'll automatically assume I've taken her with me. They'll intend to come gunning for her too, but won't be able to if they don't know where she is."
Stefanie eyed him curiously, catching a hidden meaning between the lines. "Why would they do that?" she asked suspiciously. "Just because she's your daughter and Buffy's?" Angel lowered his eyes, letting Stefanie know she was missing something. "Angel, what aren't you telling me?!"
He stood, walking to the window and peering out a second, then returned to sit in the chair across from her. "I had always imagined that it would be Buffy I would have this conversation with," Angel started. A pause, then, "I've known for a while now what fate would hold in store for my daughter, and I've read every volume of Giles' that I could to dispute the fact... But it's remained unchanged."
He paused again, looking at her with those haunted eyes, and Stefanie found herself holding her breath in anticipation. "Sometime in the near future, sometime during her teenage years, Ivory will be called as the Slayer."
Stefanie froze for a moment, then let her gaze wander to Ivory, suddenly viewing the girl in a whole new light. During her hesitation, Angel went on, even though she was only half-listening. "If I leave Sunnydale without her, it would inevitably lead to her safety. But right now, too many of the elders are after me, and I don't want to risk her life over that." He sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "That's why I'm giving Ivory to you to raise as you see fit."
Stefanie paused, then shook her head. "Angel, this is insane!" she protested. "Ivory needs you, not me! And besides which, I hardly have the money or the resources to take care of two children!"
Angel bowed his head. "I know," he said quietly. "That's why I went to the bank last night and opened an account in your name." He looked up at her. "All the papers are in order. You'll just need to go in, introduce yourself, and sign some papers, and it's yours... There's enough money to support yourself, Risa, and Ivory comfortably for a few years."
Angel stood then, going to his daughter's side, and tears began to fall from his eyes. "I said I didn't come to this decision lightly," he reminded Stefanie. "I would like nothing more than to keep Ivory, my last living reminder of Buffy, with me. But there's no other choice if I want her to have any shot at a future." He leaned over, kissing Ivory's forehead gently so as to not wake her.
Stefanie stood at the same time he did, walking closer and embracing him comfortingly. She might not like this arrangement, but she could see the wisdom of it. "When will you be back?" she asked tearfully.
Angel pulled away, looking into Stefanie's sad eyes. "When things settle down... and whenever Ivory is called as the Slayer. Wherever I am when that happens, the moment I hear about it, I'll be coming back as soon as I can." He paused, then reached over to touch her face. "Good luck, Steffi," he added. "I have every certainty that Ivory will turn out to be a good person with you."
Stefanie said goodbye, then walked him from her apartment, watching as he, too, disappeared from sight. Then, after closing the door, she sank to the floor and began to cry her eyes out...
Before heading to the train station, Angel made one last stop in town. He walked into the alley where he and Buffy had first met slowly, looking around and recalling how that night had been. Closing his eyes, he could still see, in perfect detail, the argument they had had that evening.
Opening his eyes again, Angel whispered, "Even then, you were so spirited... I remember that you were trying feebly to get out of being the Slayer. Didn't know that it wasn't something you could dispute that easily. And so, you couldn't help but yell at me when I tried to give you help over what you were facing." He paused, biting his lip, and overwhelmed by how much of Buffy he felt in this place.
"'Oh, God, Buffy, I miss you so much!" Angel cried, looking skyward with tears in his eyes. "Why'd it have to go down this way? Why did Ethan Rayne, of all people, have to succeed in taking you from me?!"
It seemed to Angel that he might have stayed there forever craving an answer. But, quite suddenly, a light breeze caught the side of his face, seeming almost like a caress. And he was almost certain, although he might have been imagining it, that he heard her voice on that same breeze.
*I'll always be with you, my darling,* it said. *Never forget me.*
Angel looked around, startled, then felt a sense of peace descend on him. "Never, Buffy," he whispered. "I'll never forget." With that, he turned and walked from the alley, mere minutes away from departing Sunnydale for good...
Unable to sleep now, Stefanie had gone to her window seat to look out at the stars. She sat in silence for the longest time, wondering what the future would hold now that some of the most important people in her life were gone.
She mused over it for the longest time, then looked towards the two sleeping children. Biting her lip, Stefanie murmured, "I'll take good care of her for you, Angel. I'll cherish every day I have with her, just as I treasure every moment I had with Buffy... Ivory is one girl who will definitely grow up to be her mother's daughter."
Standing, walking to her bedroom to get some rest, Stefanie wondered exactly what the future would hold. All she knew was that, at its best, it could only be deemed as uncertain. Nevertheless, Stefanie planned to take each day in stride, prepared to do what it took to ensure that Ivory grew up to be a good Slayer. After all the tragedies and the changes that had rocked her once constant world, it was one of the only things that she had left to hold onto...
To Be Continued in the Shades Of Ivory Trilogy