Strange Place to Live:
DISCLAIMER: Okay, obviously anything you recognize, I don't own. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and all related characters, etc. doesn't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them. I don't any of the song lyrics, either. What I do own is the plot and events of these specific stories, and any characters you don't recognize.
SPOILERS: I started writing this series before Helpless, so Giles was never fired. However, I did know Angel was going to be leaving, and I assumed Faith would be somehow written out. No real spoilers, though.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is Book Two in my "Strange Place to Live" series. This means it takes place in my parallel universe that diverges from the show prior to "Helpless." The previous story was Coming Home. I really recommend you read that first, but if you don't want to, just know that Angel is human. My apologies to Orin for the use of his name, but hey, I think it's a neat name. Special thanks to my brother, for saying, "Just finish it already!"
Prologue
"You can celebrate, gifts are never late
You just learn to wait for sudden gifts of fate"
~Sudden Gift of Fate
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Monday Afternoon
Crawford St. Mansion
The mansion, usually a dark and somber place, a house of the dead, was filled with life and light like never before. Laughter and cheerful conversation over music playing on the radio in the background were as foreign to this place as the bowls of potato chips an other snack food arrayed on the table. It was a small party, a welcome home party, and the guest of honor could only blink in confusion.
Sitting on his couch, watching Mrs. Summers chat amicably with Willow, and Xander occasionally joining in with witty comments, Angel could only be amazed at what was taking place. He had returned to Sunnydale only days before and had no plans at the time for an extended stay. Then, an encounter in an alley with a young man who cast unfamiliar magic, and Angel awoke a day later in Sunnydale Hospital. Suddenly, he was alive, human again. He no longer needed to drink blood or hide from sunrises. And Buffy's friends - his friends - had worked together to make his old home livable for when he got out of the hospital. It had all happened so fast, and Angel half feared it would turn out to be a cruel dream. After all, if things appear too good to be true. . . .
A hand on his shoulder startled Angel out of his revery. "Hey," Buffy said leaning towards him. "Penny for your thoughts."
Angel looked at her in surprise. "I'm just amazed you did all this for me," he said, uncomfortable with the sudden attention from everyone in the room.
"It was Willow's idea," Oz proclaimed.
Willow smiled.
"Thank you," Angel said simply and sincerely, "Thank you all."
No one spoke for a moment, then Giles cleared his throat. "That was their gift to you," he explained. "Mine was more . . . in my realm of expertise."
"He stared at books and left the heavy lifting to us," explained Xander.
"Well, yes, indeed," Giles said. "First I was checking on ownership of the house and related issues, which it turns out was unnecessary. Then I was trying to get a clearer idea of what happened to you. As usual, it seems, I could find no previously recorded events that relate. And," he paused for a moment, "I also looked into . . . what you asked me to look into."
Angel nodded and waited expectantly for Giles to continue. He had asked Giles only yesterday what being human again would mean in regards to his soul and his curse. How terrible it would be if he was truly human and was still not allowed his happiness.
Giles appeared uncomfortable. Finally he said, "My research was inconclusive. I can tell you that I found no record of a human ever spontaneously losing their soul. And I do believe that you are truly human. But everything about this situation is completely unique. There is no record of anything like your . . . complex situation."
"I'm sorry," Giles said finally. "I just can't say with any certainty. I can tell you what my research has led me to believe . . . but I can not tell you the final fate of the demon."
Angel hung his head and sighed. He'd tried not to get his hopes up, tried to foresee everything that could go wrong. He'd told himself that it couldn't be so miraculously easy, happily ever after. Even so, he'd been hoping he was wrong. Now he'd have to take it a day at a time and hope for the best.
"Perhaps I can help."
A male voice broke through the silence, causing everyone to glance up in surprise. In the doorway stood a young man with light brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a sense of power. He was also vaguely familiar. Angel stared at the uninvited visitor. Then, as the man was about to speak again, realization came.
"You!" Angel cried in surprised anger.
The man - the chanter, Angel's shadowy attacker - looked his direction and nearly jumped in surprise. His eyes went wide, then narrowed in anger as well, as he cried "You!" in return.
And chaos ensued.
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