Thoughts are enclosed in // //,
Angel looked around in awe. "*This* is Headquarters?"
Whistler ignored him, and started to walk down a long corridor. Angel hurried after him, attempting not to gawk at the people he saw standing around. For all intents and purposes, it looked like an office building, complete with partitioned cubicles and upwardly mobile young professionals.
After walking for what seemed like hours, Whistler stopped at a large oak door at the end of the hallway. Motioning with his hands for Angel to be silent, he knocked once on the old wood. From within, several voices chorused, "Come in."
Stepping over the threshold, Whistler entered, followed by a still, wan Angel. Angel's eyes widened as he noted the people already present in the room. Reflexively, he clutched Buffy closer to him, as though to protect her from unforeseen threats.
His motion was noted by every being that sat on the Committee. Rathe and Lessandra stood, and hastened over the new arrivals. "What is the meaning of this?" Rathe questioned, clearly not pleased with the turn of events.
Whistler paled. "Weeeellllll, you see, I managed to get my boy here out of Hell, but by the time we got Earthside, Buffy had been killed by some two bit punk with a knife. So, I figured that if we appealed to The Big Guy, we might be able to --"
Lessandra interjected. "You want to reanimate her? Have you completely lost what little mind you have left?"
He shook his head violently. "Nononononono. No reanimation. I just want Him to do that thing He does where He waves His hand and presto chango, she's alive."
Tamarin dropped her head into her hands. In a muffled voice, she said, "That's it. The Earth is doomed." Crispin patted her consolingly on the back. "There, there, Tamarin. It will be okay. He will save her, He has to, she's His favorite."
Looking from face to face, Angel searched for some sign of compassion, for some irrefutable proof that one of these creatures would be willing to help them. Whistler shook his head. "We have to do something, the longer we wait from the time she first died, the harder it's gonna be."
Lessandra walked up to Angel, hand outstretched placatingly. "Angel, I want to say first how deeply sorry I and the other members of the Committee are for your loss, we realize --"
Angel cut her off by snarling, "She's not gone yet. I won't let her be gone. The world needs her. And *I* need her."
"I quite agree, " a powerful voice said from the corner. Everyone whirled around.
A chorus of "my Lords" sounded through the conference room. He acknowledged them with a majestic wave of His hand. Angel was frozen to the spot, struck dumb at the sight before him. Before he could actually connect his brain to his mouth, he blurted, "You don't really look like my mental image of God."
There was a collective intake of breath. Whistler cringed, drawing his head down to his shoulders, like a turtle crawling into its shell. The Big Guy HATED that comment. Big time.
Angel closed his eyes. //Well, that was fucking brilliant, Tact Guy.//
Suddenly, The Big Guy laughed. The chuckles poured from him, shaking his large frame. The Committee smiled weakly, unsure if this was some divine trap. Angel's eyes widened. //Is this good, or is this bad?//
Walking over to Angel, The Big Guy clapped a big hand on his shoulder. "Well, young man, my name is -- "
"-- DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!!," all thirteen members of the Committee screeched in unison. The Big Guy looked perturbed.
Laetitia hastened to explain. "My Lord, you know what happens when you say your true name out loud..."
He smiled. "Oh, yes. Right, right. Very good." Continuing, he spoke to Angel. "Young man...I feel silly calling you Angel, by the by...Anyway, I understand that this beautiful woman you hold in your arms is my Slayer."
Shifting her slight weight in his arms, Angel nodded. "Yes, sir, uh, my Lord, this is Buffy Summers."
The Big Guy reached out a hand and stroked her cheek. "And you love her, even though you are a demon and she is the mortal enemy to your kind?"
Angel nodded once more. "I love her more than anything in the world. She is my world. I have nothing, I *am* nothing without her."
"And so you stand here before me, with her dead body clutched desperately in your arms, ready to beg me for her life."
Angel's eyes flashed with something akin to anger. "Yes, my Lord. I was cast from your graces long ago, but not her. She has done nothing but serve you from the time she learned of her destiny."
"You would do anything, say anything, to save her?"
"Anything, my Lord."
"You would forfeit your life?"
"Willingly."
"Your soul?"
"Without a second's hesitation."
Looking into Angel's eyes, The Big Guy smiled ruthlessly. "She is worth all this to you? Why?"
Whistler winced as he saw Angel bristle under the scrutiny. //C'mon, c'mon, Angel, you're almost home free. Just take it for a few minutes more.//
Angel looked at her, seeming to draw strength from the very sight of her. "Because she loves me."
"She loves you so much she abandoned her duty."
Twitching, Angel tried to restrain his game face from appearing. Somehow, he didn't think The Big Guy would appreciate a snarling vampire in his midst.
Slowly, carefully, he spoke. "She never ABANDONED her duty. She's dead now because of her duty."
The Big Guy shook his head. "No, no, no. She should have killed you the instant you lost your soul. But she was too busy writhing under you, moaning out her pleasure, to care."
Suddenly, before either man could react, Lessandra strode forward, placing herself between a tightly wound Angel and a scornful deity. "Gentlemen, I would ask, for the Slayer's sake, that you do not speak of her in this manner. She is unable to defend herself, or give an account of events."
Tamarin stood up. "I agree with Lessandra. We do not know the Slayer's reasons, and after all the good she has done, it would be unfair to judge her thusly."
One by one, each female member of the Committe stood and voiced her agreement.
The Big Guy looked from stern face to stern face. He shrugged his shoulder and raised his hands. "Okay, okay, I know when I'm outnumbered." Then he grinned, and clapped Angel on the shoulder. "Very well, young man. Today's your lucky day. You get your soul back, free and clear. Permanently. Irrevocably."
Angel nodded. "Thank you, my Lord. I'm honored. But what about Buffy?"
The grin faded from his face. "I give you this gift and you ask for more?"
"Respectfully, my Lord, my soul means nothing without her."
Throughout the exchange, The Big Guy watched Angel, noting his clenched jaw, his taut muscles, the anger he was barely holding in check. He smiled minutely. //I like this man. Even though he *is* a demon.//
The Big Guy sighed dramatically. "Very well then. Consider your wishes granted. Welcome to happily ever after."
With that, Buffy coughed and stirred in Angel's arms.
The Committee jumped at the sound, amazed that he had done it.
But their reaction was nothing compared to Angel's. He gasped, looking down into her face. //She's alive. Alive.// His brain was on meltdown; he couldn't seem to speak.
She looked up at him, confused and disoriented. "Angel? What's going on?"
Angel continued to stare, unable to form the words. Suddenly, Buffy whimpered, her memory returning. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she closed them, the tears spilling down her face. "A-a-angel? Is it really you?" She raised a shaking hand to his face, caressing his cheek. He leaned into her touch, nuzzling himself against her, desperate for the feel of her after all this time.
He opened his mouth to speak, to tell her what had happened, but instead of the words he had planned, a sob erupted, heralding an onslaught of tears.
Amazed, Buffy stared into Angel's beloved face, unable to believe that he was really there. She wrapped her arms around his head, drawing his face into the safety of her neck. Clutching him to her, she stroked his head as he sobbed brokenheartedly.
The Committee noted with interest the oddity of a Slayer willingly baring her throat to a vampire. What was said about the couple must be true, the love between them was so obvious it was tangible.
The Big Guy stood near them, an oddly pleased smile on his face.
After a few moments of basking in Buffy's affection, Angel pulled himself together, for the first time remembering just *where* they were. He looked at her. "Hi."
"Hi, yourself. Long time no see."
"I was...unavoidably detained," he said with a wry grin.
Her gaze clouded with tears as her brow furrowed. "Oh, Angel, I'm so sorr--" Angel cut her off with a quick kiss. "Later, my love, later. We'll worry about all the old stuff later. First I want to introduce you to someone." With that he let go of her legs, allowing her to stand on her own, all the while keeping a firm grip on her. "This is...well, this is...," he trailed off, not sure of what to say.
Buffy looked up into the face of The Big Guy. "So you're my boss."
The Big Guy chuckled. "I guess you could say that."
Arching an eyebrow, Buffy grinned ruthlessly. "I think it's time for a raise, don't you?"