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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the delay in posting but hopefully it will be worth the wait.

Thank you DRT for you wonderful Beta work and helping my with Cordy, She never would have sounded like herself without your help.

I hope everyone enjoys and reviews!
Chapter Four

It seemed to take them both a full minute before their brains registered what they were seeing. When it finally hit them, they both moved like lightning to Angel’s side.

Spike moved so fast that he gave nothing away about his injuries, it was as if he didn’t have any. The only thing that went through his mind was that something or someone had gotten to Angel. Seeing Angel curled into a ball on the floor made him worry that he and Buffy would be the next to be in danger.

Buffy however, found her thoughts going in the opposite direction. All Buffy could think about was that Angel’s injuries were far worse than he let on. And that meant that Spike’s were as well. She moved as fast as her slayer speed would let her, not being able to bear the burden if she lost both men.

For what seemed like hours, but was in reality only a few seconds, both Buffy and Spike stood over Angel, trying to get some sort of information out of him. Spike kept looking around like he expected an attack and Buffy was searching Angel for some sort of injury that could be causing all his pain. That’s when a lot of things started entering the realm of confusion.

***

Looking down from the heavens, there was a brunette watching the spectacle that was going on in the hotel. Tinkling laughter rose to the plane of the higher beings and they smiled with delight.

“Hello, salty goodness…boy are they going to be surprised!” was all she said as she faded from sight.

***

Buffy was searching Angel frantically for injuries, even though there wasn’t a mark on him. There wasn’t even a scratch. Seeing him in pain told her that there was definitely something wrong, she just needed to find it! She was so confused she didn’t take in Spike’s tense movements as he stood up and looked around, trying to see if there were any intruders. Sensing none, he turned back to Angel and Buffy, stopping suddenly.

“Buffy, luv, stop.”

Looking up at him as if he had lost his mind, she ignored him, and kept looking until Spike reached down and stilled her hands. It wasn’t until then that she noticed Angel wasn’t making a sound.

“Oh god! Is he? No! He would be dust right?!?” Buffy hysterics grew louder, almost drowning out something Spike was saying to her.

“What did you just say?”

“Pet, I said I could hear his heart beating. He’s not dead…he’s human.”

Buffy was stunned into silence. Then she frowned with confusion as she recalled their earlier conversation.

“Didn‘t you say he signed away the Sam’s shoe thingy?”

“Shanshu, and yeah he signed it away in blood to be a member of the Circle of the Black Thorn. He should still be as much a vampire as I am,” Spike said trailing off because he didn’t know what else to say.

Neither blond could say much of anything, as they had no idea what to do with Angel. This sort of thing wasn’t supposed to happen!

“Pick up the phone and call 911. That boy is gonna need some serious oxygen after I’m done with him. Mr. Carebear with Fangs is on vacation…permanently.”

Both blonds turned to see the one face neither thought they would see again.

“Cordy?!? But he said…that you were…and I thought…I‘m so confused,” Buffy said in bewilderment as she stopped and covered her face with her hands. Things were just getting weirder and weirder by the second.

“Um, Cordelia, think you might explain wha’s goin’ on ‘ere? ‘Cause the Slayer here? She isn’t lookin’ so well, and this whole thing is bloody confusin’. He isn‘t s’posed to be human.”

Cordelia looked at them with a small grin on her face before answering.

“Well, I exhibit no surprise there. You didn’t think he could actually sign away his destiny did you? That can’t happen, there is a plan for everyone. And this, Mr. Light of my Afterlife, is yours. Of course, it comes with the obligatory fine print…no refunds after 60 days, mileage may vary, choices to be made,” Cordy explained.

“And what choices are those?” Angel asked weakly from behind the group.

“Good, you’re awake! How are you feeling? Still tall, dark, and broody?” Cordy asked cheerfully as she went over to help him up off the floor.

“I’m feeling alive and I’m wondering how I got this way,” Angel stated as he took her hand and got up. “Care to explain that and how you’re here?” he asked with questioning eyes.

Cordy knew she had some explaining to do, but it would all come in due time.

“Well I’m glad to see you too! I think you and I should discuss this alone…you know, too many hearing unimpaired people here. Should know a couple things first…so this is us leaving you two alone.”

Angel wanted to argue, but if he knew Cordy, she probably had a good reason for everything. Nodding, he looked over at Buffy and Spike. They wanted to know what was going on, seeing the questions they wanted answers to, written all over their faces. Angel needed to know what Cordy had to say first though, and he also knew she wasn’t going to do it his way.

“Alright, fine. We can go upstairs and talk about what’s going on. I need some sleep too,” Angel muttered. He then turned and addressed the two concerned blondes. “You both look like you could use some rest. Why don’t we all get some shut-eye and we can work this out in the morning?”

Without waiting for an answer, Angel turned and started towards the elevator, Cordelia only a few steps behind him.

As the brunette couple entered the elevator, Buffy and Spike just stood there, mouths hanging open. It was a few minutes before either of them found their voice.

“What the bleedin’ hell was that about?”

“I have no clue,” Buffy said, dumbfounded.

Walking back over to the couch they had been sitting on, she let herself fall onto it, feeling very tired. Angel was right. There were definitely things going on here that needed answers, but they all needed some rest. She had been up for going on 30 hours and everything was starting to seem jumbled. Leaning her head on the back of the couch, she let her eyes close.

Slightly dozing, she forgot all about Spike for a few minutes…that was until she felt herself being lifted. Snapping her eyes open, she found herself looking into a sea of blue.

“What are you doing? You’re hurt! Put me down!”

Spike just ignored her. Sure he was hurt, but she wasn’t heavy and he was healing nicely. Now it was time to get her to a bed so she could get some sleep, and he needed rest, too. They were already in the elevator before Spike said a word.

“Got a room, luv. You and I can both get some kip, yeah?”

Buffy didn’t say a word, and she started thinking about all the things that had happened in the last two days. She was so lost in her own thoughts, that she didn’t realize they were in the room he spoke of, until he was setting her back on her feet.

It was just a plain hotel suite. Sure it looked like it came out of a catalog printed 60 years earlier, but hotels were virtually all the same. Taking off her leather jacket, she laid it on the down on the edge of the bed as she started to take off her boots. After she’d shucked one off, she noticed that Spike was moving towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Jus’ thought I would get some kip in the other room.”

“Stay?”

Spike raised a scarred eyebrow in response but turned and walked back to her, nonetheless.

“You sure about tha’, Slayer?”

“Yeah I’m sure, and since when have you gone back to calling me Slayer?”

All Spike could do was shrug. Honestly, he didn’t know where they stood and he wasn’t one for getting his hopes up.

“Stay with me? I’ve missed you so much, I don’t think I could sleep now if you weren’t here.”

***

Back in Angel’s apartment, things were getting very interesting.

“Can you repeat that?” Angel asked, very confused.

“You have to choose. You know, like Dolce and Gabbana or Versace.”

“I have to choose?”

“You know, I don’t remember you being this hard headed. You used to be a lot quicker. Did old age finally catch up with you?”

“No, you just used to make more sense.”

Angel was torn. How could he make a choice like this? It was just crazy! There was no way he could do it. For now, he would choose denial. That worked out well since there were other things that were bothering him.

“Cordy, why are you here? How are you here?”

“Wow, what a way to make a girl feel all special inside. No ‘Hey honey! Glad you’re home!’ Well for those in the remedial class, I’m part of the Shanshu.”

“And here I thought this couldn’t get more confusing. Okay, how are you part of the Shanshu? There was a reward, but I‘m human now, so I already got a reward. The Powers just decided to sweeten the deal?”

“Bingo! I think there is more to it than they were letting me in on, but hey…human again! And shopping! Plus, I could be with you, so I didn’t ask any more questions. In retrospect, that might have been a bad idea though…really gotta read the fine print.”

Looking off into space, Cordelia pondered her choice to not ask more questions. That could have been a big mistake. Her wandering thoughts were soon interrupted, however.

“I love you.”

Cordy gave him a sweet smile before responding.

“And that’s why I’m here. Those wonderful, headache-giving entities knew I loved you. They even eavesdropped on that talk we had a few months back, while you were at W&H. Remember, we thought we’d missed our moment? We were wrong. They’re being generous, who knows why, and giving it back to us…a chance at happily ever after. We can be groiny now without worries of you losing your pesky soul.”

“But I still have to choose.”

It was a statement. Angel already knew before it came out of his mouth. He had to choose between fighting to help the helpless and living a normal life with no memory of the past 284 years. He could choose a normal life, but he had to forget the 26 years he spent as a human and the 258 years as a vampire.

“How can I possibly make a choice like that?” he asked as he turned pleading eyes to Cordelia.

“You don’t have to make it right now, not like there’s a demon with a curse aimed at your currently beating heart. There is time to think it over, not including the time during our power naps. You got about a week to make your decision.”

Deciding it was time to get away from all the talk of big, life-altering decisions, Cordelia made a move.

“How about we discuss this more in the morning? Like over breakfast…when you bring me those little silver dollar pancakes,” she suggested.

At his nod, she started moving towards him. She only had to take three steps when she was wrapped in his arms, kissing him long and hard enough to make up for all the missing moments. Decisions could be made later. For now, they both just needed to feel. They needed the comfort of being together, to touch…to love.

***

Spike knew what he wanted. He wanted to stay with her; to hold on to her and never let go. But he had to know where they stood. He didn’t want to have his heart shattered into a million pieces again.

“Buffy, luv…what does this mean?”

“Does it have to mean something?”

She really wasn’t sure she had the energy to get into all the things in their past right now. Thoughts of their past made her cringe, and at the same time, made her laugh internally. It was almost the same conversation they’d had after she found the Scythe, but she was pretty sure that this time his response was not going to be the same.

“Yeah pet, it does. The las’ time we ‘ad a conversation similar to this it ended with me having the bes’ nigh’ of my life and then, before we could work it out properly, I was a ball of fire a’ the bottom of the bleedin’ Hellmouth! I can’ do it again. I have to know where we stand.”

She knew this was the way it had to be. She had been so horrible to him for too long, and just when they were getting back on track, he had died. She knew exactly what he wanted to hear, so she moved towards him and placed one small hand on the side of his face.

“I love you. And I know there are things that we have to work out, but I want you, and I plan on spending the rest of my life with you. Think you can deal with forever together?”

He was looking at her with the headiest mix of awe, wonder, and fear. So what did she do? In true Buffy style, she started to babble. She was running on about how she could change, and that they could be happy. She was about to start saying that she would do whatever it took, when he put a single finger to her lips.

“Say it again.”

“I love you, Spike.”

“Again!”

“I love you,” she said with a giggle.

The giggle was quickly cut off though, and replaced by a moan when his lips found hers. He was frantic to taste her, being that he wasn’t all that tired now. He was going to spend the rest of the night, and well into the morning, showing her just how much he wanted that forever.





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