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Cross Against The Moon	By : rowek Category: BtVS Crossovers > Misc - Het - Male/Female Views: 1896 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Cross Against The Moon
- 2-A Strange New Home
- 1
- 2
TITLE:
Cross Against The Moon.
AUTHOR:
Kelly Rowe
EMAIL: angels_bath_towel@hotmail.com
RATING: NC-17.
DISCLAIMER:
Buffy, Angel and all other characters (except those I make up) are the absolute property of Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, UPN and Warner Bros (If I owned them, do you think that they would be acting this ridiculous right now).
SUMMARY: AU Fiction - vampires exist but there is no slayer. Buffy is a powerful witch an important destiny.
SPOILERS: Minor (if any) for all three shows.
DISTRIBUTION: You want you can have it; just tell me where you put it. Any lists just take it.
PAIRING: Buffy/Angelus, Piper/Leo, Prue/Andy, Oz/Willow/Tara, Spike/Dru.
CATEGORY: AU, Action, Romance and X-over with Charmed.
NOTES: Based on a challenge sent to BA_FLUFF list. Challenge will be at end of fic.

Part One
Los Angeles, California - 1997
Staring out of the French-style patio doors into the balmy Los Angeles night was not exactly what Buffy had planned to do when she had arrived at her mate's penthouse an hour earlier. Unfortunately only a few moments after she had breezed through the entrance, Angelus had received a call and disappeared into his private study to take it. She'd had such plans for the evening and they had all gone to waste. Heaving a sigh, Buffy moved away from the doors and curled up upon Angelus' king-sized bed to await his return. After a while exhaustion began to overtake her and her eyes slowly drifted shut as she fell into a deep and comfortable slumber.
A short time later Buffy awoke as she sensed his approach and sat up, arranging herself seductively on the bed in anticipation of his arrival and events thereafter. However the second she caught sight of him she could do nothing but shudder. Before he had taken the phone call he had been happy, relaxed and naturally sexy as hell and now he was growling and stalking around in full game-face - not that it made him any less sexy to her - but the room vibrated from the anger radiating from his muscular frame.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked him, her eyes filling with concern for him.
His eyes met her's and she watched as he struggled to regain his human guise. "It is nothing," he replied in a calm voice, even though his body-language was screaming an entirely different story.
"Angelus!" she said forcing him magickally to look into her eyes. "Am I, or am I not your chosen mate?"
Angelus sighed an unnecessary sigh, as he moved closer to her, "You know that you are."
Buffy crawled along the bed to meet him, reaching up to gently cup his face with her small hand. "Then tell me what the fuck is going on?"
"It's Master Nest..."
"Old Ugly?" Buffy questioned curiously. "What does he want?"
Angelus pulled himself away from her touch and sighed once more. Suddenly he took a seat on the bed near her, but not close enough to touch. "He's ordered me to appear before him," he told her. When he saw Buffy's blank look he continued, "He is currently in Europe. It means that I have to leave here and... I don't know when I'll be able to return."
Buffy looked at him, her hazel eyes filling to the brim with tears as his words began to sink in. "D-do you have to go?"
"Yes," Angelus told her forcefully. "Although he has no say over my actions here in America � he's still my Grand-sire. When he orders me to appear, I must go."
Buffy didn't say a word, she simply started to get up and leave and in a moment of pure panic, Angelus reached out and grabbed a hold of her arm. "Where in hell do you think you are going?"
"Anywhere that's away from you," Buffy told him childishly.
"Sit the fuck down, Buffy Anne," he ordered, his eyes flashing gold in anger. He waited until she complied with his order before he spoke again, "What is your problem? Why are you acting like some stupid, fucking brat?"
"What does it matter to you?"
Angelus rolled his eyes and wondered why fate had seen fit to send him his destiny in the form of a sixteen year old girl. He sat down next to her once more and took her hand, trying to wait patiently for her to speak about what was on her mind.
"You're leaving me?"
"That's why you are acting like such a bitch?"
Buffy shook her head, as Angelus missed her meaning entirely. "Everyone leaves me. Daddy left, Uncle Victor disappeared, most of my step-grandpa's ran away... and now you're leaving for parts unknown. I'm starting to see a pattern here. Am I really that unlovable?"
Angelus lifted her hair out of the way and nuzzled his mark on her neck. "You know that I wouldn't leave you unless I had too. You and I are eternal. I do promise that I will return to you as soon as I can, did anyone else promise to come back?"
Buffy stayed silent for a moment and then sighed. "When do you leave?"
"In a few hours."
"Then we'd better make the most of the time that we have left," she told him.
Before Angelus had a chance to respond to Buffy's comment, he found himself pushed roughly down onto the bed. He watched as his usually timid little mate straddled him and leaned down to kiss him. He was pleasantly surprised, she was never the aggressor and he found that he liked it - for a change only though. She rubbed her compact body against his in a successful effort to arouse him to the point of pain.
A growl erupted from within Angelus' chest and he flipped her onto her back, to gain the dominant position. He rained kisses - both gentle and not-so gentle - down her body taking his time to explore, to memorize each and every part of her. He undid the small row of buttons on her silk tank top as he went, exposing her tanned flesh to his lust filled gaze. Every movement he made was carefully restrained to give her something to remember while he was away and a reason not to attempt to do something foolishly teenager-like and *be* with another.
He paused his sensual ass mom momentarily as he struggled to remove the extra tight leather pants she had worn that night to tease and torment him. As punishment he nipped at her exposed hip, drawing a small amount of blood which he quickly lapped up. Feeling the rush of her magickal blood flow throughout his body, he pulled her pants the rest of the way off in one motion and smirked at his young lover. He then lowered his head to her hip area once more, this time instead of biting her he wrapped his teeth around the elastic of her panties and ripped them from her body.
Buffy moaned as she tried to move against him, to feel flesh upon flesh, but he would not allow it. If he had, he knew that he would lose all semblance of the fleeting control he had mustered. He moved down to her nest of curls and breathed in the scent of her - there was nothing that could or would ever compare to his little witch. He placed his cold tongue to the inner edge of her lips and licked along it a number of times before thrusting his tongue in-between them and exploring her deeper regions. Knowing that this was driving her wild, spurned him on more as his tongue moved within her, in and out, up and down slowly exploring, tasting, remembering and savoring this so that he would not forget this night and neither would she.
Angelus brought her to the brink of orgasm before moving himself from her, reveling in the sound of her tortured whimper as she lost contact with him. He came back to her slowly, starting of by suckling her dainty toes and then dropping kisses as she moved up her tiny body. Sensing her need he slowed his pace even more wanting to become as necessary as breathing to her and he was shocked when his tiny mate tossed him onto his back, so that she could have her own way once more.
He gave in, not that he'd in fact had a lot of choice in the matter - Buffy wanted and she took. Not wasting a second of her advantage, Buffy straddled Angelus and guided his erection into her aching centre. She stilled the second he filled her savoring the feeling of oneness that it always brought; this was where they both belonged -together, forever. She could feel Angelus' impatience and refused to give ground - revenge for his slowness earlier - she set the pace and she was in no hurry.
Eventually even she could no longer stand the slow pace she had set, she needed to go faster and achieve the completion that both she and Angelus so highly prized. The pace increased and as she neared orgasm, Buffy bared her throat to her mate and toppled straight over the edge into bliss the very instant she felt his fangs pierce her skin - and he was right behind her.
She lay on top of Angelus and tried to fight off the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted, no she needed to stay awake and not waste a moment of the time that they had left together. Even though he had promised to return he had never given her time in which he would do so - she may not see him for fifty years. She knew she was projecting her fears when Angelus started to whisper that he loved her and stroked her hair in a gesture of comfort, but she didn't care - she wanted him to know exactly what his leaving was doing to her. Unfortunately his gesture of comfort was relaxing her and before she knew it she felt her eyes begin to drift shut, knowing sleep was imminent she whispered "I love you" one last time.

Angelus watched Buffy as she slept peacefully next to him and sighed, it was time for him to leave her. He knew that he would return as soon as it was possible - and whenever the Master chose to let him do so - but he really didn't want to leave r her here all alone and unprotected. For over two hundred odd years he had been under the mistaken impression that Darla had been his fate - the one who had transformed him into what he had become -, but a chance meeting with his little witch had changed all that. He had once again become obsessed with her and had stalked her for almost a month - he had never grown bored waiting for his chance, never had he felt anything for an intended victim like he did for this slip of a girl. He had naturally grown sloppy and one night the object of his obsession approached him and wanted to know why he was following her. What he told her surprised him as much as it did her, he simply told her he loved her - something that shouldn't be possible for a demon and especially shouldn't happen to The Scourge of Europe.
He began to spend every second he could spare with Buffy and never even realised that his overly jealous sire was growing ever more suspicious of his behavior and lack of affection - so much so that she had followed him. Unfortunately for him and Buffy, his bitch of a sire had chosen the night that he and Buffy had first consummated their budding relationship to confront him. Of course it also hadn't helped that Darla had watched as he marked Buffy as his during their coupling. The second that he had realised that Darla was there and that she intended to harm Buffy, the choice was clear - the bitch had to die. He felt very little guilt - hell, he didn't even miss her - over the death of his sire, although it had put him out of favor with the family and with Master Nest.
"Peaches, it's time to go," Spike said barging into the room without knocking. He didn't care if he walked in on anything. After all it wouldn't be the first time he'd seen peaches perform.
"Shut up," Angelus replied shaking of his reverie and slipping out of the bed, unashamed of hisbnaked state. "I'll be ready in a few minutes."
Spike ignored his sire and nodded his head towards the bed where Buffy still slept, "How'd Fluffy take the news?"
"As well as I had anticipated," Angelus told him as he dressed.
"That bad, huh?"
Angelus finished dressing and sat down to put on his boots and looked at his grand-childe, "She is only sixteen. How else should she react?"
"You know that you could bring her with you," Spike reminded him. He didn't exactly like Fluffy, but he had to admit that when she was around Peaches was a hell of a lot nicer.
Angelus shook his head, "Her destiny is here and I have no right to interfere."
"What about your destiny?"
Angelus took one last look at his mate and said, "It'll be here waiting for me." He kissed her softly and then he walked away with Spike following behind.

Buffy knew that she was alone before she even opened her eyes. Although she had known that he was leaving, it hurt that he hadn't woken her to say goodbye. She climbed out of the bed and wrapped the blood red silk sheet tightly around her naked body and began to gather up her scattered clothing. She headed into the ensuite and felt a jolt of pain when she saw that all Angelus' things were in fact gone. All she really wanted to do was sink down onto the cool tiles and cry over Angelus' departure from her life and her own broken heart. However she resisted the temptation, instead she dropped the sheet onto the floor and put on her clothing.
"Buffy?"
Hearing her name being called, she rushed from the bathroom, hoping against hope that Angelus had returned for her. She was disappointed to find that it was only her older, half-brother Oz. He opened his arms to her and she ran into them and let the tears fall, as he comforted her.
"He called you?"
"He was worried," Oz replied.
Buffy shook her head against Oz's chest, "If he was worried, he wouldn't have left."
Oz replied in his usual way, "He's gotta do what he's gotta do. Regardless of his own feelings for you."
"I know," she whispered tearfully. "But it doesn't stop it hurting."
Oz detangled himself from his sister's embrace and then placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Let's go home."
Buffy nodded as she took a last look around, "Yeah."

Part 2
Six Months later...
Buffy leisurely ambled towards home after her last class for the day at Hemery High School, as a rule she usually would have caught a ride with her brother and his band friends, but she had been deferred by her best friend Cordelia's most recent spectacle. However there was an unanticipated benefit to walking home all alone, she could spend infinite amounts of time wallowing in her own maudlin thoughts. Ever since Angelus had left Los Angeles for Europe and The Master's court, she had felt incomplete and so disoriented without him there; even her interest in spells and using her inherited magickal capabilities had wavered.
As a corollary of her self-involvement, Buffy did not notice the furor or that anything was wrong at her home until she was more or less out front of it. That was when she ultimately observed that there was an ambulance parked in the undersized driveway, blocking in Oz's antediluvian blue van.
She discarded her expensive designer book bag - a hand-me-down from Cordelia - on the front lawn and rushed into the house. She had scarcely gotten inside the front passageway when she slammed into the unyielding, traumatized body of her brother. Pushing past her brother she looked intently into the small living room and she was shaken to find that there were paramedics working on her mother. At least she at long last understood why her brother was in a catatonic state, it was for the most part a disconcerting vision.
A small amount of minutes passed unhurriedly, making it seem as though she and Oz had been standing there holding hands and gawking, but at long last she saw them load her mother up onto a gurney and begin to wheel her towards the ambulance.
As they moved past the two teenagers one of the ambulance attendants spoke. "We're taking your mother to Saint Agnes hospital now. She's still unconscious and we need to get her examined by a doctor as soon as possible."
"Okay," Buffy replied when it became evident that Oz wasn't going to or couldn't do it himself. Buffy watched the paramedics leave and then she turned towards her older brother. "Oz... you're going to have to tell me what you know about mom."
Oz in due course took in an excruciatingly painful gulp of air, "I c-came home and s-she was l-lying on the f-floor."
Buffy just gazed at Oz and endeavored to stop the tears from inundating her eyes and giving into the inclination to sink to the ground and blubber like a baby. With her mom cataleptic and on her way to the hospital and Oz pretty much out of it, she had to put aside her own feelings for the moment - which was not an easy thing for her to do - and take charge.
"Oz, we need to get to the hospital."
"The van," he choked out.
"I know... but are you okay to drive?"
Oz shook his head virtually indiscernibly, "You drive."
That is when Buffy become conscious of just how out of it Oz actually was, even her own driving instructor hadn't wanted to get into the car with her. In the end Angelus had taught her to drive and although she had passed the test, she still wasn't all that safe on the road.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Oz merely handed her, the keys to his pride and joy and walked out of the front door of the house. A split second later Buffy followed him out, making sure the house was locked up and snatching up her book bag before climbing into the driver's side of the antique automobile and driving off towards the hospital.

The wait at the hospital seemed to go on and on for an eternity and no one would tell them anything about their mother's condition. Oz was of course still in his semi-catatonic state which forced Buffy to deal with her anguish and mystification all alone. Hours passed ever so slowly and Buffy began to grow even more apprehensive with each passing second and precisely when she thought that she couldn't take the waiting anymore, a doctor walked into the waiting room.
"Are you two here for Joyce Summers?" he asked them.
Oz still sat there blankly, so Buffy was forced to once again answer for the both of them. "Yeah, she's our mother."
"Is one of you over eighteen? We need to do some extra tests and we need someone to give consent," the doctor replied matter-of-factly.
Buffy immediately got nervous, the doctor hadn't introduced himself and the first words out of his mouth had been tests and consent. Whatever was wrong with her mom had to be really serious.
"Oz turned eighteen last week, but... he's not exactly dealing well with this."
The doctor looked the young man up and down and then sighed loudly. "I need someone who can deal with this now. What about your father?"
"He's somewhere in Europe... I think."
"Is there anyone else?" the doctor pushed. If there wasn't he was going to have to force the boy to sign those forms no matter what the legal implications, his patient needed those tests.
"The only other family we have is in San Francisco. My cousins," Buffy told him nervously.
The doctor nodded, "You can call them from the nurse's station."
Buffy unhurriedly got up and followed the doctor to the nurse's station and moment by moment the feeling of impending doom grew within the pit of her stomach. If the doctor was this anxious then something was deadly wrong.

Phoebe Halliwell was fatigued, between her college classes, helping Piper to staff the club and the whole Charmed One thing she never seemed to have a moment to unwind. At least until now, she had everything done - school work, the night off and no ugly demons needed to be vanquished � plus she had the whole manor to herself and she was going to simply do nothing. Laying down on the comfortable couch in the living room, she simply listened to the muted sounds of the light rain tapping on the roof and prepared to take a nap. Then the phone rang.
"Damn it. Why me?" she yelled to the empty house.
Sighing, she got up and grabbed the handset of the cordless phone. "What?"
"Pheebs?"
"Buffy? What's wrong?" Phoebe asked immediately concerned. The only time she heard from her aunt or cousins - besides birthdays and Christmas - was during a dire emergency. Not that it was a surprise; Joyce was the black sheep of the family and had never gotten along with Grams or their mother, Patty.
"Mom's in hospital. The doctor needs..." Buffy finally broke down.
Phoebe felt sorry for the kid but before she could say anything to comfort her, a masculine voice filtered down the telephone line.
"This is Doctor Braxton from Saint Agnes' hospital. I need for you to give consent for your aunt to have some tests."
"Sure. What do you need me to do?"
"Verbal consent do will now for now, but we still need written. Do you have access to a fax
machine?"
"Yeah, but my sister is the only one who can use the thing," Phoebe told him thinking of Prue.
The doctor sighed, "Look I'll give you my number and the second your sister returns home have her call me and we'll figure out what to do next."
"Okay," Phoebe told him as she wrote down the doctor's instructions. All the time she was wondering what was wrong with her aunt and how serious was it to warrant this extent to get permission for some tests.

Angelus stared out into the darkness that encased the estate and buildings that The Master had acquired for them when they had arrived at the court, which had now positioned itself provisionally in the English countryside. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but something was going on that was making him feel off his game and that was never a good thing when he was around The Master.
Everything was going well - or at least as well as he could hope for when dealing with the court - he had as expected been raked across the coals due to his choice for a mate, they did not approve of a Master vampire bedding a human; it didn't matter to them that she was destined to be one of the most powerful witches ever born. Then he'd had to deal with The Master's anger over the death of Darla and the fact that he'd broken the rule and killed his sire, but on top of that he had done to protect his human.
Spike wandered into Angelus' bedroom and came up behind him. "What are you doing now, Peaches? You're supposed to be ready for The Master's fucking ball and not standing around in the nude staring out the window."
"Something's not right."
Spike sighed as he let his hand trace the contours of his grand-sire's virile body. "Ever since you left Fluffy back in LA, you have not been yourself."
"That's it. Something is wrong with Buffy," Angelus said softly.
"Fucking hell, Peaches," Spike said removing his hand from Angelus' body. There was a time where his merest touch had aroused the demon before him, but that was pre-fluffy. Sighing he sat down on the king-sized bed, "Did you ever think that you are imaging this feeling? Fluffy is probably fine and hanging out with vapid bitch friend of hers and since you're missing her like hell, you're projecting your own feelings."
Angelus turned away from the window and walked slowly over to his closet, "You may have a point, my boy."
"Of course I am," Spike answered slightly placated by Angelus' term. "Now let's go before Nest has us staked."
Sighing Angelus proceeded to dress in his usual leather and silk ensemble. He tried in vain to put his thoughts and worries about his beloved mate aside as he prepared for another night of The Master's sanctimonious lectures.

The hours dragged on and on, but Buffy and Oz refused to leave the hospital in case their mother needed them. That basically entailed for them a night of uncomfortable silence and sleeping on the hard plastic seating. The worst thing of course was that they had heard nothing from the doctor since he had gotten his precious permission for the tests. And with Oz still silent, Angelus off chasing after The Master somewhere in Europe and her best friend in the middle of her own teenage angst, Buffy felt completely and utterly alone.
"You are not alone, you know," a British voice came out of nowhere.
Buffy looked up, her pretty young face stained by the endless flow of tears that she had cried. "Giles," she sobbed as she leaned her head onto her whitelighter's shoulder and let her sorrow completely out.
Giles just let her cry, unable to offer any words of comfort to the distraught girl who was like a daughter to him and her brother. The council of elders hadn't told him for certain how this situation with Buffy's mother was going to pan out and Giles didn't want to be the one to offer false hope to the two teenagers that he had watched grow up.
"Miss Summers?" the doctor said entering the waiting room.
"Yeah," Buffy answered noting the doctor's suspicious glance at Giles. "This is Mr. Giles. He's a friend of my mother's."
"Speaking of your mother, she became conscious after the last round of tests, but we sedated her and she's now resting. Since neither of you will be able to see her until at least evening, I suggest you *all* go home."
Buffy and Giles nodded their ascent as the doctor left them once more. Taking a quick look at her brother she noted that Oz hadn't moved yet.
"Giles do you think that you could orb Oz down to the van? I'm not sure I can get him to move."
Giles laid a sympathetic hand upon her shoulder, "Certainly. I will also accompany both of you home."
"Thanks," Buffy managed to choke out as Giles touched Oz's hand and they shimmered out of view. Buffy took a few private moments to compose herself and then headed down to the hospital parking garage where they waited for her.

As soon as Giles made sure that his youngest charge and her brother were home safely, he headed back to the council chambers. The council was not in session when he arrived, but he did not return to earth and Buffy. He felt that he could not return to the teen without sound knowledge of her mother's fate. Thinking that he would have to wait until the council reconvened, he was surprised by not displeased when an old friend appeared from nowhere.
"Leo?"
"Rupert."
He looked into his old friend's eyes and knew that Buffy was not going to like her mother's fate. "Joyce isn't going to survive this is she?"
"I'm sorry," Leo replied. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the council asked me to do it."
Rupert was inwardly desolate, not only because of Buffy and Oz's sorrow that would come from the death of their mother. It was his own personal sorrow that caused the hole to widen in his heart. Unbeknownst to everyone - her children, her family and the elder council - he and Joyce had fallen in love. It wasn't something that either of them had planned and it was long after Joyce's last marriage to Hank Summer had crumpled. After Hank had left his wife and tiny daughter, it was only natural that he and Joyce had grown closer and then one night nature had simply taken its course.
They had hidden their relationship for the last fifteen years simply because the council did not approve of whitelighter/witch relationships. However even after Leo and one of his charges, Piper - Joyce's very own niece -had come out about their relationship, it didn't change her mind. So now his sorrow and frustration would always and forever be his own private hell.
"Do you want some company when you tell them?" Leo asked sympathetically.
"No... It�s something I need to do," Giles replied his voice devoid of all emotion, before he orbed away.
Leo sighed to himself; he saw the signs and realized that his friend was in love with his elder charge, Joyce. Shaking his head he orbed himself back to San Francisco to inform his charges of their aunt's imminent death.

Part 3
It was the zenith of incongruity that when Joyce at long last slipped away from life, it was a rainy afternoon and yet the morning of her funeral, the skies were nothing but blue in color and the sun was shining at it's brightest. Regrettably the funeral participants - Buffy, Oz, their cousins and the family's two resident whitelighter's - were not in the disposition to enjoy the exquisite weather. Instead their moods weighed heavily as they committed their loved one to the ground.
Returning to the Summers' household for the private wake and the reading of Joyce's will was a solemn - to say the least - instance, with no one with the disposition to talk about Joyce or anything else. As for the will, it was going to be a total surprise to everyone - including Giles - Joyce had never told what was in the document or given any hint as to the guardianship arrangements for the children. The group simply sat around the Summers' comfortable living room in a disconcerting silence as they waited for the lawyer to arrive and set up.
The lawyer wasted no time upon arrival, only stopping to check that all parties to the will were in fact in attendance. "Ladies and Gentlemen. We are congregated here to hear the last will and testament of Joyce Pamela Halliwell-Osborne-Summers. Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?"
There was no sound made to end the disconcerting silence that swathed the group as they all individually absorbed and dealt with the events of the past six weeks. It was all so agonizing and dreadful - horrifically shocking - to lose a beloved family member the way that they had lost Joyce. No real warning, one minute she was planning to leave the hospital and the next she was dead - a brain aneurysm they told them and there was nothing that could've been done even if they had known.
The lawyer continued on, ignorant to all the pain and suffering around him. He merely named the bequests to an assortment of charities, distant family members and to long-time friends. After what seemed like an infinity the lawyer at long last arrived at the guardianship arrangements for Buffy � Oz being eighteen was free to do his own thing.
"I leave all my worldly possessions to my children, Daniel Peter Osborne and Elizabeth Patience Summers. However lastly I leave the custody of the afore mentioned children to my nieces, Prudence, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, until such a time that they reach the age of consent."
Everyone just sat there, irresolute of what to do or say as the lawyer began to pack up his belongings. "One last thing," the lawyer said drawing their awareness back to him, as he deposited a bundle onto the oak coffee table. "Mrs. Summers left some letters behind, addressed to each of you. She wished for you to read them once I was gone."
Giles stood up and walked the lawyer out of the house, "Thank you for coming."
"It's not the most pleasant part of my job; regrettably someone has to do it," the lawyer replied as he walked away.
Giles returned to the living room and found that everyone but Leo was engrossed in a letter. He was about to fade off into the background when Buffy handed him something. The briefest of glances told him that it was from his beloved Joyce and he placed it reverently within the breast pocket of his tweed jacket to read in private later on.
He laid a supportive hand upon Buffy's shoulder as she read her letter. He knew the contents of her letter by heart; after all he had facilitated Joyce in composing it. The letter told Buffy all that she needed to know, to comprehend at this point about her destiny - her *true* destiny. Buffy was going to be so much more than simply a natural born witch and mate to a Master vampire. was was to be the final Charmed One - the witch who would maintain the balance of good and evil for all of perpetuity. To this she had to be immortal and therefore her mating to Angelus had been prophesized for over a millennia. It further went on to explain that her cousins were to take her in and teach her all they know - mentor her - and turn her into the witch she was meant to be.

Two weeks later, Buffy completed packing up the bedroom that had been her sanctum for the past seventeen years and endeavored to hold back the inundation of tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. She in actuality had not had any idea of how excruciatingly painful it would be to simply pack up some random personal effects, but then again she had not counted on the flow of recollections allied with each item she owned.
On top of all the anguish and ambiguity she felt, there was a very valid apprehension. She barely knew her elder cousins, the two parts of the family had never - if truth be told - gotten along and now all of a sudden she was being forced to leave her life, her brother and her friends to move hours away to live them. Buffy however did have one thing to look forward too, Oz would be joining her at the end of the school year and would be attending a small college in San Francisco to be near her.
Closing the last cardboard box and taping the lid firmly shut, Buffy proceeded downstairs to where she knew that Giles and Oz would be waiting for her. Not seeing them instantaneously when she descended the stairs, she wandered into the living room and received a shock. Three people jumped out from behind the door and yelled, "Surprise!"
"Happy Birthday," Cordelia whispered to her best friend as she handed her a vibrantly gift wrapped package. "I hope you like it."
Not wanting to disappoint her friend by telling her she wasn't in the mood for presents or celebrating her seventeenth birthday, she tore into the dazzlingly wrapped gift and found the expensive blood red leather jacket she had admired during one of their many shopping trips.
"Oh, Cordy. It's perfect."
"I figured that you could wear it on your first day of school and think of me," Cordy told her.
Buffy hugged her, "Thank you and I promise I will."
Cordelia removed herself from the hug, "I gotta get back to class or Principal Nixon will kill me. Promise that you'll write and call and... maybe occasionally visit?"
"I will. Bye Cordy."
Cordelia gave her friend a quick hug and departed with a, "Bye Buffy."
Buffy watched the best friend she had ever had leave before she turned towards Giles and Oz who were standing nearby with sheepish looks on their faces. Spotting the pile of presents, she sat down on the overstuffed couch and opened each gift as they were passed to her, exclaiming delight even though she did not feel it. Overshadowing all the efforts made by her brother and whitelighter was the pain that accompanied the absence of two very important people, her late mother and Angelus.

The three of them were just concluding cleaning up the remnants of the birthday fest, when the doorbell rang interrupting them. Figuring that it must be the removal company arriving to collect Buffy's things, Giles rushed to the door. A split second later he returned with an eye-catching man dressed in an expensive looking suit and carrying a hefty leather briefcase.
"Ms. Summers?" the man questioned. At Buffy's slight nod, he continued, "I'm Lindsey McDonald, an associate with Wolfram and Hart. I am here on behalf of one of my client's, Mr. Angelus O'Connor."
"Is he okay?" Buffy asked, apprehensive that something might have happened to him.
Placing his briefcase on the oak coffee table, Lindsey took a seat across from where Buffy was sitting. "There's no need to worry, the last time I spoke to my client he was fine. I am here because I am under orders to deliver something to you if he had not returned to the U. S by a certain date."
Buffy just stared at the young man in confusion as he opened his briefcase and pulled out two sealed boxes and handed them to her. As she took them into her hands she was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of Angelus on the boxes. Placing the smaller box beside her on the couch, Buffy undid the wrapping on the larger package. Upon opening she found that it contained a book of romantic poetry, inscribed by Angelus. It was something so vividly erotic that it made her blush with embarrassment. She placed the book aside and before she had a chance to stop him, Giles picked it up.
"Not exactly a typical gift for a teenager," Giles commented looking over the cover. Opening it he got another surprise, "Oh dear."
Buffy sighed as removed the book from Giles' shaking hands. "Angelus isn't exactly a typical guy, Giles. Besides he used to read me passages from it. Apparently every great romance needs a little romantic poetry."
Turning her attention to remaining package, she picked it up and for a moment reveled in the connection to her absent lover. Opening the box she was shocked to find a ruby and diamond choker laying on a bed of black velvet, the jewels so exquisite in color were set into platinum.
"Wow," Buffy breathed. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Excuse me," Lindsey interrupted. "I'm sorry to break this up, but I need Ms. Summers to sign this release so that I may leave."
"Sure," Buffy replied handing the gift to Giles and quickly signing the form the lawyer handed her.
As Lindsey left the residence, both Oz and Giles admired and examined Angelus' token of esteem. However their admiration was cut short by the arrival of the removal company.
It didn't take them long to take all of Buffy's worldly possessions out to their truck and drive away and as soon as they were gone, Buffy knew it was time to bid her brother goodbye - at least for the now. All too soon Giles informed her that it was time to leave for San Francisco and her new home. Buffy and Oz kept eye-contact as Giles grasped her hand and orbed her away towards her destiny.

Angelus was not a patient vampire at the best of times and now was not the best of times. He had separated from his mate for almost eight months - suffering from more than simply sexual frustration, he needed to just be with her - and had been waiting for hours for that stupid lawyer of his to call and inform him of Buffy's reaction to the gifts he had left there for her. However the phone just did not ring. Spike, Dru and all of the minions - both his and the Master's - had given him a wide berth all day, knowing instinctively if they approached him in this type of mood they would end up a tiny pile of dust on the floor instantly.
Ultimately the phone did ring and Angelus pounced upon it immediately. Luckily for everyone it was the lawyer, Lindsey McDonald calling with the news. Angelus was on the phone nearly three hours grilling his lawyer on every tiny detail of what Buffy did, said and the expressions she had on her face during his visit. Eventually he allowed the relieved lawyer to hang up and turned around to see Spike waiting for him.
"Why don't you just call Fluffy already?"
"Mind your own business, *William*," Angelus seethed at Spike.
Spike was not the least bit intimidated by his grand-sire's posturing. "It is *my* business. You're my grand-sire... whatever affects you, effects me and Dru."
Angelus just stared at the younger vampire, "You've been watching Oprah again, haven't you?"
Spike moved over to him and placed a hand upon his shoulder in a gesture of caring. "I told you, I don't watch it. It just so happens that Oprah comes on right before Passions."
Angelus shrugged Spike's touch away, "I'll be in my room. I do *not* want to be disturbed for any reason."
Spike watched Angelus walk away once again, silently wondering why he was pushing them away. He and Dru only wanted to comfort him, to be a part of him again; but since they had arrived in England Angelus had been a distant shell of his former self. Eventually Spike wandered back to his and Dru's room - across the vast estate - to work off some frustration and feel at least partly whole once more.

TBC...
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Cross Against The Moon