Chapter 6

As Buffy disappeared out the door into the daylight Angel simply stood still. His mind was a whirl. The very thing he had literally dreamed about for so long had happened. Buffy had come back. And it was too late. He wasn't in love with her anymore. Fortunately, he admitted to himself a bit ruefully, she wasn't in love with him either.

The almost amusing part of all this was that this was exactly why he had left Sunnydale years before, so that Buffy could have a life that wasn't intertwined with a repentant vampire who did not dare offer her the love she deserved.

She had moved on. Whether she was really involved seriously with the Immortal or not wasn't important. She had made her choices and he had no problem with that. After all, he had fallen in love with Cordelia, although due to Jasmine's machinations they had never been able to fulfill that. She was gone now and he would always have a special place in his heart, unbeating or not, for her. Just like he would for Buffy, and he hoped she had a place for him in her heart.

But now he loved Nina.

He loved Nina.

He LOVED Nina!

He jumped to his feet. "Great Angel," he scolded himself. "Way to go. NOW you figure it out that she's more than just a partner in business and in bed."

It seemed like he had been thinking for ages but to his surprise when Buffy popped back in the door he realized that it had been less than a minute.

"By the way," Buffy looked embarrassed. "What's Nina's last name?"

"Ash," replied Angel. He started to give the address of Jill and Amanda but before he could finish the blonde slayer was out the door again, leaving him to his thoughts.

Buffy sprinted back to the limo and hopped in the back. She picked up the phone there and punched in a number.

"Yes, this is Buffy Summers. I need information on someone."

When Nina had fled from the hotel she had no idea where to go or what to do. She drove aimlessly. Her mind revolved in an endless circle, fixed on the image of Angel and Buffy locked together.

"You knew it was a dream," she scolded herself. "She is his real love. He was kind to you but nothing more than that."

She had been tempted to storm right up to them and tell them to stop. She had wanted to tell them her secret. But she couldn't. Their kiss had blinded her with tears. Besides, she heaved a sigh, she just couldn't. She couldn't use her condition to force him to stay with her. Not when his heart belonged elsewhere.

Finally she lifted her head and began to take an interest in her surroundings. The place looked familiar she thought. She pulled into a deserted parking area. Locking her Honda after she got out she walked up the beaten dirt trail till she reached a clearing. There she sat down, leaning back against a huge oak tree.

She just tried to let her mind go blank. She didn't want to think about anything. The hurt was too much. She had been fooling herself, she admitted that. She should have known that no one would ever replace Buffy. Wesley was the one who had known him from all the way back to Sunnydale and in a few unguarded moments had let things slip. Fred, dear sweet Fred, had shared girl talk with her and given her some insights.

She had known better. She remembered asking him if he was "Thinking about your little Roman friend?" She had tried to be so very casual about that. He had dismissed it, telling her he had other things on his mind but had he really or had he simply been sparing her feelings? She hadn't thought so at the time but now everything that she thought she knew, all the faith she had in the relationship that she thought she and Angel were building, it had all torn to shreds. He cared for her, there was no doubt about that, the man was transparent, but it clearly wasn't the same way that she felt about him.

So what was she going to do? Go back to college? Move back in the Jill and Amanda? And what was going to happen when the time arrived?

Nina was so lost in her thoughts that she actually jumped when someone suddenly sat down on the ground next to her. She was even more startled when she turned her head and saw that someone was Buffy. She opened her mouth and then shut it after she realized that she had not the slightest idea of what to say. Finally she managed to break the silence.

"How did you find me?" She knew that had to sound inane but Buffy never blinked.

"It wasn't that hard once I thought about it. Where would you go? Not back to your sister's place. I don't know but I don't think she's aware of your condition is she?" When Nina shook her head sideways Buffy went on. "I know what you saw and we'll come back to that in a minute. I was sure that you wanted to go think and a natural place would be somewhere you associated with Angel. Besides the Hyperion there really are only two places and Wolfram and Hart isn't exactly available to you, or to anyone this side of Hell in fact, right now."