Memories Recalled
By Jessi Knorr
Page 2 of 3
Disclaimer: Not mine, never were, never will be. They're Joss', aka The Devil. I own Sage, Summer, Tia, Cora and all the other weird people, plus the plot.
Author's Notes: People, feedback is the word! Email me at Slayer_2000_(at)hotmail.com, or even better, head to the Addiction [http://www.geocities.com/jessi_writer/] and read more!! But please send me feedback. Or do you want me to quit writing and take over the Store like my mom wants??
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Chapter 4
The sun was dipping below the horizon when Buffy woke up again. Red and orange rays spilled in through the window and over the carpet, helping ease her tense mind. Buffy stayed on the bed for a few more seconds before she mechanically sat up. She was much more relaxed since she'd been able to sleep. For now, he wasn't invading her every thought. Right now, she was concentrating on the terrified yells coming from downstairs.
While she wasn't the Slayer anymore, parental instincts kicked in when her Slayer Sense would have stepped to the challenge, and before she knew what was going on, Buffy had the nail file from her desk in hand and was running down to the foyer. She turned into the den, where the yells were coming from, ready for an attack, only to discover Sage glued to the screen where people were being dispatched left and right by a slobbering pack of cartoon demons. His math books lay open around sheets of paper and discarded writing implements. Buffy relaxed again, picked up the remote control in her free hand and switched the set off.
Sage jumped and wheeled around on his butt to face his mother. She looked better than she had when he'd gone in to get his crayons but was still bedraggled around the edges.
"Mom, you're awake! Oh... sorry... " he moved the books around into a heap by the glass table and started packing away the crayons. Buffy smiled at her son and set the remote back.
"What did I tell you about blasting the TV?"
"If I did the Noise Police would haul me away for Disrupting the Peace?" She had to admit, the little guy was smart for his age and quite tall at that. Two of the many traits he'd aquired from his father, rather than her. *There you go again... *
"Bingo. Now go do your homework, Aunt Willow and Uncle Oz are going to be home soon. Are you sure you're going to be okay tonight while we go to the movies?" Sage cocked his head in annoyance at the question, having heard over and over. "Okay, I'm just checking. If you get your math done maybe we'll bring you back something." He smiled finally and hurried past her into the kitchen. Buffy managed a small grin herself and laid back down onto the sofa, relieved the only threat invading the house was her own insanity.
.
Willow and Oz arrived at the house an hour later with their long time friends Xander and Cordelia in tow. Sage was back in front of the TV and Buffy was back in Dreamland. Xander shut the door loudly to announce their arrival. Buffy awoke with a jolt, breathing hard.
"Angel?"
"Jeez, ten years later and you still think we're him?" Cordelia pouted as the assembled Scooby Gang filed into their living room. Buffy lit up and blushed, Sage watched the adults from his spot.
"Well, it's better than him mistaking Oz for her, right?" Xander counted.
"He's got a point," the werewolf hung up his jacket in the closet across the hall and went up the stairs to change.
"He always takes your side," Willow pouted too, leading them into the den. Buffy got up to hung her old friends with a smile across her lips.
"Oh, wow! What are you guys doing here? How's the shop?"
"Well, unfortunately we don't have a shop because Xander forgot to call the exterminator before the health inspector came around. So now we're in the process of relocating and having our own building built to make sure no Peskies get in. And anyway, it'll be done by the end of summer and so we decided to drop by San Fran and see what the other half of the Freak Brigade is up to."
"And she failed all her auditions back in LA... " Xander smirked. Buffy and Willow giggled and Cordy elbowed him.
"I did not fail them, Harris. They weren't looking for a talented, beautiful, real brunette. They were looking for fake blondes with no talent except being able to sleep around."
"Like I said, can you believe they didn't pick her?"
"And you'd better believe it," Cordelia raised her chin and moved away from her husband as he tried to wrap his arm around her. Sage walked out and beamed as well.
"Hey, Squirt! How are you, please don't tell me you've been beating up all those bullies at school again... " Xander ruffled his nephew's hair. Sage laughed and moved away to Buffy.
"How's your arm Uncle Xander?"
"Oh God," Buffy laughed as Xander paused and flexed his right arm. The Christmas before Sage had effectively snapped it like a twig when he'd tried to ruff him up. *Chalk it up to passed down Slayer strength... or maybe he's growing up to be more like... * She mentally groaned and kicked herself for dwelling in the past yet again.
Sage's uncle sent a playful scowl his way. "Wise guy, are ya kid? Well,you'd better watch your back, because when you least expect it... "
"Don't threaten him Xander. He can kick your butt and he's proven it more than once," Willow snapped at him. Sage laughed at again and Cordy glowered at her.
"Sage, can you go play in your room? The adults are going to talk. I'll call to you when we're leaving," Buffy turned serious, holding his shoulder softly. Sage obeyed and headed for his loft as Oz came back down dressed casually in a T-shirt that said 'If You Can Read This, I Should Be Going Faster' and a pair of blue jeans. They all toned down the humor and were quiet for a few beats.
"He's grown," Cordelia observed. "He looks exactly like... " She caught the glimmer of sadness in the Slayer's eyes, something she rarely noticed. "You. Y'know, with the eyes, and the... clothes... "
"Thanks, Cord."
"So, does he... know?" Xander asked, leaning against the banister of the staircase. Buffy, Willow and Oz all shook their heads.
"And I intend to keep it that way as long as it takes."
"But he's going to find out sooner or later. Buff, he asked me if I knew his dad last time we came-"
"Xand, I know, okay? It's not like I haven't heard it. And he's asking it a lot more because there's this Parents' Carriers thing on at school this month. For his birthday all he wanted was to be able to hear... Angel's voice. And... well... "
"The guy who you took a fit over because he looked like Angel?"
"It was Angel Cordelia. He was with Cora's kids, she said her boyfriend was bringing them in because she was off on a trip. One's Sage's friend... I don't know what to do now, knowing he still is around."
"Oh, hey! What about that movie we were going to see until we brought this up, huh?" Willow made an attempt to stop the harmful questions. "Who was in it that you were so hyped up about back in the office Cordy?"
"Ooh, Ben Afflick! Living proof that actors get hotter as they age! I actually met a friend of his brother's hairstylist one night at a party, did I ever tell you guys that?" Cordelia chirped as they exited the house. Buffy yelled up to her son before they closed the door and left for the cinema.
Assured they were gone, Sage peaked out from the second floor bathroom down to the foyer to make sure. Then he dashed down the hall passed the stairs to the attic back into his mother's room, and reached for the leather tomes in the bookshelf.
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Chapter 5
While it was the happiest day of his life, deep down he felt uneasy and afraid. The bride, on the other hand, was as happy as she'd ever been. She had reason to be, she'd just been wed to the one man she ever loved. And he'd just been wed to the one woman he'd ever loved. They began their walk down the empty church aisle, slow and graceful, holding hands like lovers merely walking down a beach. She, as usual, was extravagant in her pure white Vera Wang dress. Her blonde hair was tucked neatly under the veil, allowing clear view of her always beautiful face. But it wasn't her he felt compelled to study, it was the church itself. High, stained glass windows stretched to the ceiling, filled with sun which fell over the oak pews in colored beams. A large cross hung over the doorway, and the smell of incense and flowers was heavy inside. They were out before he knew what was going on, and she walked away from him.
His blonde bride sat on the stone railing of the church in the sun. It glittered off her hair and made her almost glow. He stayed back in the shadow of the door, hesitant to venture into the light. Slowly but surely he followed her into the sun's full blaze. She smiled at him again before another scent began to rise into the air. It smelled like barbecue to him. Or, more properly, burnt flesh. And as suddenly as the mental question was posed, his bride was on fire. She looked straight at him with large, fearful eyes. Soon even her face was engulfed, smoke and heat and the smell of her burning skin radiated off her in waves. He felt like crying.
"Angel?" She choked out, high with emotion. He gasped again, she whimpered before the flames engulfed her fully. One word flashed through his mind, and it was the girl's name.
"Buffy!" And then, darkness.
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Daniel jumped so hard this time he nearly fell out of bed. The dreams had intensified since the night he'd had the Mist One. He was definitely loosing his mind, and that afternoon when the secretary had been so jumpy... Only, the Secretary was the Dream Girl. And the Dream Girl was named Buffy. And that was the name of one of Cora's best friends. It was all so confusing, so overwhelming, but if he talking to Buffy, the secretary, the Girl who thought his name was Angel, then maybe the dreams would stop. Or maybe they'd just get worse, he had to take a stab at it. And he'd start the next morning, once he got at least a little sleep.
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Daniel straightened his leather jacket and stood at the door of the Rosenbergs' office. He rang his hands as he tried to think of what to say. What if she was at work today? What if she wasn't? What if she were so sick she couldn't talk? There were so many What Ifs, Daniel felt as if he were swimming in soup with all the confusion surrounding him. But there was only one way to beat this, and that was to face the problem head on. He was just thankful Cora was away in New York at a Convention.
He gripped the cold knob and twisted it open. The room was empty save the two secretaries and a few patients waiting to see Oz or Willow. Unfortunately, the secretary at Buffy's desk wasn't Buffy. It was a rather large woman, red hair wrapped in a bun so tight she should have been doubled over in pain. She spoke in a high, annoying voice that was not unlike a saleswoman's, or Cora's mother's. Daniel was already tired of the woman even if he hadn't closed the door.
As if on cue, she looked up and flashed him a smile full of crooked teeth. An icy shudder ran down his spine as he walked to the desk, anxious to get out of there.
"Mr. Cooper! Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise! Still single and wooing the ladies?" Her laugh was like a cackle, and that made him run over his reasons for even bothering with this again.
"Yes, I think," Daniel forced a smile and gave the woman a fake laugh. She smiled even more, he wondered if she were needing a doctor right now, and put the phone down in the cradle.
"So how may I help you Mr. Cooper? You do recall your girls were just here yesterday, don't you?"
"Yes, actually I do... Um, I was just here to inquire... if you do, by any chance, have Dr. Rosenberg's secretary's number. Uh, Oz's secretary. We're... old friends, and I'd just like to pay her...a visit. A surprise visit because we haven't seen each other... in a long time," Daniel couldn't remember the last time he'd stuttered so much. But the only thing that made him as nervous as talking to Buffy was talking to this woman.
"Oh, of course Mr. Cooper! I have Buffy's number, let me just check the Rolodex," the fat lady pulled a scattered Rolodex from somewhere in the hidden holds of the desk and looked for Dream Girl's name. "Summers... Summers. Ah, Buffy Summers. She lives with Dr. Rosenberg and his wife on 3230 Fourth Street. The number's KL5-3654, she stayed home today because she still is a bit sick, and also thinks Sage may have what she caught so he was kept home too. Would you like to call Buffy and tell her you're coming, Mr. Cooper?"
*What part of Surprise Visit do you not understand?* "No, it's all right." Daniel took the offered address card with Buffy's handwriting on it with a smile and turned to leave.
Willow exited from her office just to talk to her secretary when she spotted him. Buffy had been right; it was Angel. And judging by what she had heard from the other side, he was on his way over right that moment. When she snapped out of the guilt ridden thoughts moving through her brain, Angel had left. Willow cursed herself mentally and walked back into the office.
"I'm sorry Kyle. I'll be with you in a moment, I just need to talk to someone. Could you go out and wait in the lobby, Jenny has your number," she addressed her patient. He went out without a word and the instant she was alone, she grabbed the phone and pressed first button on the directory. "Buffy? It's Willow... And you know how Xander and Cordelia doubted us last night? Well, the proof is on his way to the house right now."
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Chapter 6
She was upstairs again when the phone rang. Once, twice, three times. "Sage honey, can you get that?"
"Got it!" Sage called back. He talked to the person on the line for a minute or two before adding, "It's for you Mom! It's Aunt Willow!" *What would she want?* Buffy thought as she stumbled sleepily down the stairs. They hadn't gotten back until late the night before, after Xander insisted on buying them all a few rounds. She hadn't gotten to the point that she would look like roadkill, but she'd fallen on her bed and hadn't woken up until a few minutes before. Sage gave her the white portable and stepped away.
"Hello?"
"Buffy? It's Willow... "
"Is there something wrong Will? When I'm here you never-"
"No, well, yes... You know how Xander and Cordelia doubted us when we said Angel was back? Well, living proof of his being back just came in asking for your address. He's on his way over to the house now."
"What!?" Buffy's heart thudded against her chest.
"Angel just asked for our address. I think he may want to talk to you."
"I-I got that part, but... "
"Mom," Sage said casually from by the window in the den. Both girls paused, Willow heard him too. "Summer's Dad just pulled into the driveway."
Buffy was so tense now she dropped the phone to the floor. Willow winced on the other line.
"Is everything all right? What happened?"
"Peachy Will, but he's not on his way over, he's here now! And I look like... Call you back, 'kay?"
"Okay," and the line disconnected. Buffy slammed the phone onto the table below the mirror in the foyer. She looked okay, except her frazzled hair and the red circles under her eyes. She pulled a compact of makeup out of the drawer of the table and hastily went to covering up the circles. She was brushing away at her hair when the doorbell rang, and she froze in mid stroke.
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Daniel had gotten even antsier on the way to their house. And his nerves got even worse now that he was outside their place. Modest size, Victorian architecture. Brick, high windows with the curtains drawn, cute little garden in front. Typical life at it's best, but it wasn't his. He was the richest man in the Bay Area, so he probably wouldn't be living in a low rent place like this right? He bit his lip so hard it started bleeding and when he heard the lock unlatching from the other side he tried to wipe it away as fast as he could.
Buffy took a deep breath and opened the door. There he was, the sun spilling over him like candlelight. Her heart was pounding so hard and loud she thought he'd heard it, or that she was going to have a heart attack. He turned to face her and her heart stopped. She didn't move, didn't speak, just silently pleaded it to keep beating and for him to leave her alone. His fingertips were covered in blood and for a second she was bewildered until she saw his bleeding lower lip.
"Hello," Daniel said after a few minutes of staring. Buffy pushed herself onward, her heart doing the brain's work.
"Hello, Mr. Cooper. Uh, may I help you?"
"Yes, actually. I'm looking for... Buffy Summers," she felt like she was going to choke on her racing pulse. Maybe she really was sick; sick with unrequited love that hadn't been as extinguished as she thought. Here was the only guy who she could ever date for more than a day without turning her back on him. His hair stood full up in spikes, normally how he kept it. His shoulders were wrapped in a beige polo shirt and black leather jacket, and his legs in black jeans. Except for the polo shirt, and him being out in the sun, he was her Angel. But he didn't know that, he didn't know what they had shared. What they had made... "Are you okay miss?"
"Huh?" Buffy looked at him, drunk on the thoughts that had just come up from no where. "Oh, oh, I'm sorry! Yes, Buffy... me's she!" She slapped her hand to her forehead as she felt her cheeks heating up. "I her... uh, she's me. Hi, I'm Buffy," she finally spat out, glowing red. Daniel smirked at her self-chided idiocy. She wished he'd just go away and leave her alone. *No! You want him to stay! You want to bring Angel back, and save him from that wretched witch!* She mentally told her brain to sit on a stake and twist, and opened the doorway to him. "Why don't you come in before I embarrass myself anymore to whomever may be walking down the street?"
"Thank you," he took the invitation with a curt nod and smirked again. She closed the door after they reached the foyer and she saw him walking towards Sage. And for the first real time it dawned on her how much they looked alike. Did Daniel notice the similarities too?
"Hey Sage, how are you?"
"I'm good Mr. Cooper. How are you? How's Summer, is her cold gone?"
"Just about. She should be back in school next week. How about you, are you feeling okay?" Sage only nodded at him, looking past to his mother who looked either about to break out the camera or the tears. "That's good. You look after your mom; you're a good kid. And an even greater tutor." Sage smiled politely but didn't flinch, still looking at Buffy. Daniel turned to see her red with tears in her eyes.
"How are you, Miss Summers. You don't look well, was this... a bad time?"
"Oh, no! No, actually you got me up from a bad dream. Uh, Sage, could you go back upstairs? Mr. Cooper and I would like to talk."
"Okay Mom," the boy replied and hurried back up to his room. Or his mother's room; this welcome interruption would give him a chance to pick up where he left off in the books...
Daniel watched as he scrambled away, one eyebrow arched. *I'd like to take Old Flames, New Identities and Having to Tell Them Stuff for $1000 please Alex... * "So... "
"Are you sure you're fine, Miss Summers-"
"Buffy, please."
"Uh, Buffy... You really don't look good. Like, you look like you're really sick. Or you've been crying."
"Damn squid. Never go to a place called Lee's Lounge, they never cook their... sushi, which I know isn't supposed to be cooked because it's raw fish, and would you like to come into the den and sit down before I become the Rambling Airhead that I always do?" They both laughed quietly and she led the way from the front into the spacious living room. The darker interior helped Buffy calm down a bit, the smell of her vanilla candles carrying around the room. Daniel took to instantly examining the various snaps and professional photos and trinkets the family had gathered over the years. One of the pictures she noticed he was staring at. It was the drawing of her, in the park.
Daniel stood, transfixed by the beautiful sketch. The younger Buffy was captured extravagantly, as if who ever had drawn it was a true artist. And not only was it drawn with charcoal, but with love. Intense, real, raw love. Unrequited, even. It was undeniable, and radiated off the framed parchment to fill the house. He found his gaze now falling on the signature in the middle at the bottom, which threw him completely off. It read, "Always, Angel" in his handwriting. Daniel heard his breath quicken and he was sure Buffy did too, for he felt her presence behind him, near enough to touch without even reaching out. The image of Cora coming into the house and seeing him and Buffy kissing flashed through his mind and he lowered his gaze to the smaller frames that contained pictures of the residence owners all smiling and playing happily with three more people, a young couple and an older man. He recognized the picture from her desk back in the office, it was the same one. In the office, the label on the glass of the frame had read 'Giles, Xander, Cordy, Oz, Will & Me-The Scooby Gang'. Strong arms held the blonde in the next group photo, all of them plus a curly blonde woman about the age of the man, Giles. The owner of the embrace was decapitated from the picture.
"Um, would you like me to get you something to drink Mr. Cooper? Water, milk, soda... ?"
"No, thank you very much though. And please just call me Daniel. Formalities aren't needed when I happened to have been the one disturbing you... that's quite a lovely drawing. August 2000?"
"Yeah, I've gotten that a lot. Thank you, rather. My... boyfriend drew it," she noticed him staring not at the picture itself but the signature of the artist. "Old. We haven't seen each other in forever. His name was... Angel... " Daniel jumped when he heard how her voice rolled the name out like gold leaf. He ripped his staring eyes from the drawing and looked at her, even more beautiful in flesh than paper. Even if he vividly could picture the colors of her cheeks and the glint of her blond hair, and the sound of her talking and her laughter on the day it had been drawn...
.
"Are you done yet?"
"I would be if you'd stop fidgeting."
"I'm not fidgeting Angel. For all I know you could be drawing a stick figure of me with pony tails and smiley faced sun and flowers that reach to the clouds. Don't give me that look... Okay, maybe not that bad but still."
"Drawing takes time, especially when the subject can't sit still for fifteen minutes."
"Are you sure you're back's okay? You keep moaning as if you're in blinding pain."
"It's burned. A little, remember, yesterday if I'd even stepped outside the jeep onto the beach I'd have been a smoldering pile of ash? Now I can stay outside from sunrise to sunrise... and my skin's a little sensitive. These things take time. Now just hold that pose, I'm almost done."
"Come on! I'm hungry! When this is done I'll introduce you to the fascinating world of the more than 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins.
Ice cream, Angel. Ice cream."
.
Daniel shook his head and brought his hand up to cradle it. They were supposed to come when he was asleep...
"Are you all right? Are you sure you want to put a rain check on that water?"
"I'm fine, I'm just getting a bit of a headache. Well, I'm guessing you want to know why I came by. Well, this is going to make me sound a bit like a perverted stalker but," Daniel chuckled and turned to her and cleared his throat. "I've been having... weird dreams. Dreams of you... of us... And I don't know why. They started about three years ago and at first I didn't think it was anything but then they got even worse. I actually felt like I was in them. That I could... touch who ever was in them. And the only other person was you, Buffy. This beautiful, tall young girl with flowing gold hair and eyes... I can't even describe it, but the Dream Girl was you. And... I came to find out if you knew why I was having them. As if you even knew I was dreaming... And you shouldn't care, either. It's just, I know my girlfriend has been getting tired of this and I can tell that she's planning on going.
I need help. I've gotten help, but what the last one said was to try to find the source, well before he called me a lunatic and recommended to Cora I be put in a comfy white jacket with brown straps and locked in a padded room. But that's beside the point. What I'm babbling on about is... "
"That you think I could be giving you nightmares," Buffy felt anger rise up that she couldn't control. He was doing it again, he was playing with her heart. And he was going to break it again. He was also remembering, which meant she was at another crossroad. And crossroads didn't like her and she didn't like them... "That I'm the source of all your misery for the past three years." She wanted to add that he'd been the source of her misery for over a decade but didn't because he wouldn't understand. "You think that if you talked to me, or got rid of me, you'd be saved and you could get on with everything else in your rich little life. We'll you're right about one thing, I do think you're a perverted stalker. And I don't want you around anymore, so just... go. Please, just leave."
"Buffy, I-" She glared daggers and he scrambled out without so much as a gesture. She watched him peel out in his black Porsche and just kept staring into the sunny afternoon. She let out a wail and shut the door gently, leaning against it with her head.
"I blew it," Buffy put her hand to her mouth and fought back the tears. This time, she wasn't going to cry. She told herself to fight it, that she was strong. She was strong enough to haul her soulless body back to her room, but stopped halfway across the threshold. Sage sat, perched on the edge of her bed with the Watchers' Diaries strewn all around him. He had three on his lap, until he stood up in shock. They all clattered to the floor loudly and she discovered one of them as the one with Angel's biography in it, which was the one he'd been reading.
"Mom! Did Mr. Cooper leave?"
"Sage, what the... what's going on? What are you doing with those books?" He looked down at the fallen volumes and sputtered. When he looked back up at his mother, he was shaking with fear. What was going to happen? He knew she had a short fuse, and he probably had just burned it at both ends...
But when she walked to him, she did something he totally was not prepared for. She bent down and hugged him. Squeezed him tight as if he were a life raft, the only thing anchoring her to this world. And in her mind, he was just that.
An hour, a cup of herbal tea and a box of Kleenexes later, she'd told him everything that had happened during high school. Including who and what his father was and had been, and how they'd met, fallen in love and broken up so many times it was like an episode of 90210. Sage's response when she'd finally stopped? Very Oz-like, in an eight year old, befuddled way: "Whoa".
.
Daniel slammed the front door shut so loud pieces of the chandelier clattered to the ground and broke. He was panting, and sweating. The look Buffy had given him when he'd left, there were too many emotions below the burning green of her eyes that he couldn't pick out just one. But something was evident; she didn't want him to ever be around again. And he hoped he wouldn't have to be. And he had a plan to make that happen.
Daniel ran all the way from the foyer up to his study on the second floor and within the security of his own personal library, he pulled out the phone book and looked for 'jewelers'. He dialed the first number he found on the portable and tapped his fingers rather impatiently.
"Frollen Jewelers? Hello, this is Daniel Cooper; I called some weeks ago about an engagement ring? I was calling to inquire whether it is still available. Yes, thank you. I'll pick it up in two days, thank you. Um, I told you the verse when I first came in, right? Can you put, at the beginning, Darling Cora? Thank you. Right, goodbye." Daniel turned the phone off and held it. It was now, or never. And not that it was his decision on the matter... After the wedding, he would take Cora and the girls and move far away from San Francisco, from California. And definitely from the blonde enchantress Buffy Summers... If Cora could love him anymore. He'd find out when she came back in half a week.
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