FIC: These Roads We Travel (21/?)

[The Masked Road Runner <kacoe@xxxxxxx>]

TITLE: These Roads We Travel (21/?)
AUTHOR: Kimber (kacoe@xxxxxxx)
DISCLAIMER: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant
Enemy. SUMMARY: The long awaited next story in "The Road Series".
SPOILERS: Everything is fair game.
DISTRIBUTION: The usual suspects. Anyone else, e-mail me please.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This comes because I've had so many great responses to
the series and many people begging for another. Be careful what you wish
for.

{{Indicates flashbacks}}
-----------

Lisa stood at the end of the hall, away from Willow?s room. This was a
private moment for Laurel and she didn?t want to intrude. She?d taken
the news very well. At first she was shocked, then elated, then she
couldn?t stop talking and crying. Lisa smiled at the thought of Laurels
fondest wish coming true ? she had her mom back.

And so did Lisa. It was all so much to take in at once. She felt like
she was living in a dream and never wanted to wake up. She had begun to
suspect Faith being her mother not too long ago, but before she got a
chance to look into it further, her father came to her and told her the
truth. That was a shock itself because her father had always been so
guarded about any information about her mother. It struck her as being
odd that he was suddenly so forthcoming, but wasn?t about to question
it.

Lisa was brought out of her silent musings when she saw the door to
Willow?s room open and Laurel emerge from it. She watched her walk down
the hall with a smile on her face and decide that, for as long as she
lived, she?d make sure Laurel smiled like that at least once a day. If
anyone deserved it, she did.

Confusion set in when Laurel walked right past her. Lisa got up and
turned around, noticing for the first time that there was a tall man in
a black trench coat leaning against the wall about ten feet from her ?
and Laurel fell into his arms.

?She?s alive, Angel.? Laurel sobbed. ?Really alive.?

?I know.? He stroked her hair. ?I?m proud of you, Slayer.?

?Thanks, Vampire.? She looked up at him and smirked. ?But what are
you doing here? Mom would have a cow if she knew.?

?I know, but I was worried.? He leaned down and kissed her on the
forehead.

?I don?t believe it.?

Laurel and Angel looked up to see Buffy, Faith and Giles standing in the
corridor.

?Oh, no. Mom.? Laurel whispered.

?How long?? Buffy looked at them both with anger in her eyes.

?Buffy, listen. It?s not what you think. We train together. Nothing
more.? Angel protectively placed Laurel behind him and stepped up in
front of her. ?You can?t ignore a prophesy, Buffy. We both know that.?

Buffy looked at Laurel then to Angel. ?How long?? She said evenly.

?A year.? He shrugged. ?Maybe less.?

?Wait a minute.? Faith walked up next to Buffy and looked at Laurel,
then settled her gaze on Angel. ?A year?? She looked back at Laurel
who had the most frightened look on her face.

?Faith, please.? Laurel pleaded.

?Oh, God.? Lisa watched the whole exchange and was finally putting two
and two together. ?You?ve got to be kidding me.? She looked over at
Laurel. ?Tell me you didn?t.?

?Li. . .? Laurel approached her. ?Please.?

?Tell me you did *nothing* with him in the entire time that we?ve known
each other. . .or even been together, at least tell me that.? Tears
were falling silently down her cheeks. ?Tell me.?

Laurel looked over at Angel then back to Lisa. She couldn?t speak, the
words were caught in her throat. She pleaded with her eyes, pleaded
with Lisa to let this go for now so they could talk alone.

Lisa shook her head then broke into a sprint down the hall before anyone
had a chance to do or say anything.

?Lisa!? Faith ran after her.

?God, no.? Laurel finally broke down and cried openly. ?I can?t loose
her, I can?t.? She turned around and instead of going to Buffy for
comfort, she fell into Angel?s arms. ?I didn?t want to talk about this
now, I didn?t want her to know.? She hiccupped and sniffled. ?I have
to make her understand, Angel.?

?I know, Lau.? He cradled her in his arms. ?I know.? He looked up at
Buffy. ?Nothing happened, Buffy. . .you know I?d never jeopardize mine
and Cordy?s relationship. She. . .she needed to train, she needed to
fight and I helped her. But she also needed a friend and someone to
talk to. I?m sorry we went behind your back, all of you, but it had to
be done. You weren?t training her and there was no other way. Not if
she?s to survive this.?

Buffy was at a loss. Normally, she would have flown off the handle and
screamed at him, at both of them, but that wasn?t going to help matters
any. She knelt down beside Angel and reached out to stroke Laurel?s
hair. ?You need to go after her.? Buffy whispered. She waited until
Laurel?s sobs subsided some before continuing. ?I let your mom go once
and I thought I lost her for good. It took us a long time to get back
to where we were suppose to be in the first place. It was time that
could have been spent happy together, and we?ll never get it back.?

Laurel sniffled and looked up at her. ?You?re not mad??

?Well, I wouldn?t say that.? Buffy smirked. ?But I think you need to
get your priorities straight and you?re first priority is to have no
festering in your relationship. You need to be fester free.? Buffy
squeezed her daughter?s hand. ?Go after her. Before it?s too late.?
She whispered.

?Thanks mom.? Laurel hugged her. ?I love you.? She got up and took
off down the hall.

-----

?Hey there, Will. You look. . .well, you?ve looked better.? Xander
whispered to his best friend.

He took her hand gently and rubbed it with the pad of his thumb. ?I
need you to come out of this, Will. I need you, Laurel needs you and
Buffy. Besides, if you don?t wake up soon they?re all gonna have my
hide for sure this time. This is big, Willow, really big. I kept your
secret. I didn?t tell anyone you were around and I helped you. Now you
have to keep your promise to me. Come back to us.? Tears fell from his
eyes. ?I love you. You?re my best friend.?

Giles stood in the doorway and observed Xander talking with Willow.
True, they should all be mad at him for not coming forward sooner. But
it was more important to him to keep his word to Willow. It was a
selfless act, and he risked all of their wraths to keep that promise.
It truly proved how much he valued her in his life. So as not to
intrude further, he slipped away silently.

-----

?Well??

?They bought it.?

He rose from his chair. ?Are you sure??

?Positive. They were all riveted to their chairs by my wonderful tale
of selflessness and how I was looking out for my ?daughter?s? best
interest.? Ethan smiled. ?Fools.?

?No!? Jason screamed hoarsely.

Ethan crossed the room and back handed him across the mouth. Blood
trickled down and stained his already blood stained shirt. ?Shut up,
shut up, shut up! Haven?t you learned by now that we cannot be
stopped? We cannot be defeated? There are forces at work here boy that
were put into place even before you screwed that whore of a Slayer.?

Quentin walked over and put his hand on Ethan?s shoulder. ?Take it
easy. We still need him for the last part of the plan.? He looked down
at the beaten man and smiled. ?Then you can kill him.?

-----

?Faith.? Laurel approached the Slayer cautiously.

?She disappeared.? Faith turned around and looked at the girl in front
of her. ?He?s who you were talking about last night. Isn?t he? When
you said you had feelings for two people at the same time.?

?I never said. . .?

?Save it kid. Hypothetical or not, we both know you were talking about
him. How could you, Laurel? He?s your mom?s ex-boyfriend for Christ
sake!?

?Don?t yell at me! I didn?t do anything wrong! I can?t help the way I
felt about him any more than you can help how you feel about mom.?

Faith approached her. ?That?s not fair and you know it. Your mom and I
have a history.?

?You save it, Faith.? Laurel bit out angrily. ?You think I want to
feel this? Don?t you think I considered the total ick factor of liking
my mom?s ex-boyfriend? Do you think I expected to feel the way I do
about Lisa? She just came into my life out of no where and everything
got turned upside down and backwards and I don?t know what I?m doing
anymore! I never asked for this. I never asked to like Angel or be the
Slayer who?s to save the world by sacrificing my life, I never asked to
fall in love with Lisa. Do you know how much pain and anguish I went
through over our first kiss? Do you?? She took a deep breath and wiped
the hot tears away from her face. ?Most kids my age don?t have to go
through that.?

?I know, Lau.? Faith approached her. ?Believe me, I know. But you
have to understand that this is new for her too. Everything in the past
twenty four hours is new. I?m not claiming to know her, though I wish I
did, but I do know what you?re going through.? Faith touched her cheek
to make Laurel look up at her. ?I just want to help you, and Lisa, and
I don?t want either one of you to get hurt.?

?I?m not sure how possible that is at this point.? Laurel responded
sullenly. ?She must hate me for sure now.?

?She doesn?t hate you, kiddo, and neither do I. You need to talk to her
and explain things. Don?t let it go.?

?I know.? Laurel looked around. ?So, where?d she go??

?Try the roof. I?m gonna head back and see if I can?t do some damage
control with your mom.?

?Thanks, Faith.?

?Anytime.?

-------

?Buffy. . .?

?Don?t.? She turned to him. ?Don?t try and convince me that it was
anything other than it is, Angel.?

?And what do you think it was? A game? A chance to get even with you?
Because it wasn?t any of those things. It was training. Pure and
simple. And you of all people should know that you can?t control your
feelings for someone, even though you know how wrong it is and that it
will all just go to hell in the end.? Angel shoved his hands in his
coat pockets and walked away a few paces. ?Above all, she needed
someone to talk to and before you even ask, I don?t know why she didn?t
go to you in the first place. I care for your daughter, Buffy, and I
would walk into the sun before I hurt her intentionally. She?s like a
daughter to me and I know that?s probably not what you want to hear
right now, but it?s the truth.?

?Am I interrupting?? Xander walked up to the group.

?No.? Angel looked at Buffy. ?I think we?re done here.? He turned and
walked out the double doors towards the exit of the hospital.

?Looks like I missed something.?

?Plenty.? Buffy sighed and smiled at him. ?Did you see Willow??

?Yeah.? He said quietly.

?She looks like hell. But at least we can look at her. She?s right
there, Xand, not thirty feet away from where we?re standing.?

?I know, Buff.? He nodded. ?Look, there?s something you need to know.?

?Xander, why don?t you go get us all some coffee and tea? It looks to
be a long night and we could all use the refreshment.? Giles
interrupted and pulled some money out of his pocket.

?Sure, G, I just want to talk to Buffy first.?

?I know, Xander.? Giles looked at him for a moment and smiled sadly.
?I know, but I think it can keep. Don?t you??

Xander was dumbstruck. He took the money from Giles? hand and nodded.
?Yeah, sure, what ever you say, Giles.? He walked off to find the
cafeteria.

-----

Lisa was standing on the roof of the hospital looking down at the town
below. ?God, what am I gonna do?? She whispered to herself.

?Shouldn?t I be asking that question??

Lisa startled and turned around to see Laurel standing behind her. She
tried to walk past her, but Laurel just sidestepped and got in her
path. They went on like this for a few minutes until Lisa relented and
turned her back to the slayer.

?Look, I know you probably don?t want to see me right now, but. . ?

?You?ve got that right.? Lisa bit out angrily.

Laurel sighed. ?I deserved that. Look, it?s not what you think, or
maybe it is, I don?t know. I?m gonna explain things right now and you
can either accept my explanation or not, that?s up to you.? Laurel
waited a few moments to see if she?d protest, then began to speak.

?All my life, I?ve known I was different. Hell, I?ve known that this
town is different. It was kinda hard not to when you?re mom is a slayer
of vampires and your other mom was, is, a witch. I accepted a lot of
things without question and I thought that I was better off for it. I
know my family life is different than most, even in this day and age. I
have two moms, which isn?t that uncommon now, but it?s still not fully
accepted and that hurts me. That makes me all the more different than I
already was, never mind not having a dad. Try explaining that one at
school.? Laurel sighed and walked up next to Lisa.

?When I met you online, it was like. . .it was like a part of me that I
was always afraid existed was given validation. It wasn?t something
that was easily ignored or pushed to the back of my mind any more. I
was scared and that was about the time I started training with Angel. I
didn?t want you to be someone that understood me, or got what I said as
convoluted as it came out half the time, I didn?t want you to say sweet
things to me and encourage me and flirt with me. I didn?t want it
because it made me feel good, special. . .like I?ve never had anyone my
age make me feel before, so I started to flirt with Angel. I knew it
was wrong, I mean. . .he?s mom?s ex-boyfriend, that fact alone could
have sent me into therapy till I was fifty.?

?You scared the hell out of me, Lisa. You really did. So I did the
only thing any sixteen year old would do, I rebelled against what I was
feeling and pushed Angel more. I even kissed him. All of this was
before we met. Sure I think he?s a great guy, I mean he?s legendary for
gods sake. . .he?s in the watchers diaries for the past two hundred
fifty years. . but I don?t love him and I can?t be with him, even if I
wanted to ? which I don?t.?

?What?s your point?? Lisa looked over at her angrily. ?You expect me
to feel sorry for you? ?Poor, Laurel, look at all she?s gone through.?
Well excuse me if I don?t have an ounce of sympathy for what you?re
going through with this. Think of what I?m going through and what
you?ve put me through for the past few months, Lau. Think about that.?

?I have.? Laurel raised her voice. ?Don?t you think I have? I?ve been
stand offish and running hot and cold with you since we met. I?m
scared, Li, I really am. If I acted on my feelings alone then I?d never
be able to let you go. . .I?d never be able to live without you and that
scares me. I?m acting totally opposite of how I feel because I?m afraid
that you don?t feel the same way, I?m afraid of you leaving me, I?m
afraid sometimes to wake up in the morning because I?ll find that you?re
not there.?

Laurel paused and wiped the tears away from her eyes. ?I don?t want to
be any different than I already am and I?m sorry if my insecurities hurt
you, sorry that you had to find out about Angel this way but I?m not
perfect. I?m sixteen and I almost died trying to save my mom and do you
know what I thought about when I first woke up? You. If you were okay
and not too worried about me and when I?d get to see you. All I think
about is you and as scary as that is I don?t wanna stop. I don?t wanna
stop loving you. . .it?s the one thing that I?ve been really really good
at in a long time.?

Lisa continued to look out at the city below. Everything looked so
peaceful from up there. She knew as well as anyone else that it was
anything but peaceful sometimes. She sighed and turned to Laurel. ?I
hate how I felt when I put everything together about you and Angel
downstairs, I hate that you still can?t trust me and I hate that you got
hurt and I felt so helpless. With all of those things I hate, and all
of them have to do with you. . .I just can?t stop myself from loving you
either. And maybe that?s the one thing I hate most of all. . .not being
in control of how I feel and how I hurt right now. It hurts so badly,
Lau, because I love you so much. Do you get that at all??

Laurel nodded. ?I do.? She whispered. ?I really do.? She took a
tentative step towards Lisa and put her arms out. Lisa hesitated only a
moment then allowed herself to be enveloped in a hug. ?We?ll make it, I
promise.?

------

?Hey, Red.? Faith whispered. ?Been a while.? Cautiously, she took
Willow?s frail hand and clasped it between her own. She took a few
moments to study her condition and sadness overwhelmed her. ?Looks like
you went through hell and back a hundred times to get back to us.
People say that when someone?s in a coma, you should talk to them. You
know, make like they can still hear ya. I know you can hear me, Red, so
you gotta listen close. Buffy needs you and so does Laurel. They?ve
both practically fallen apart since you?ve been gone and I don?t know
how much longer I could have tried to keep them together.?

Faith sighed and squeezed her hand. ?I love, B, sure. . .I mean, you?ve
always known that, right? You gotta know that I?ve done my best, but
now?s the time for you to take over. I have my own stuff goin on that
needs to be taken care of. Things like getting to know my daughter.
Yeah, that?s right, me, a mom. Can you believe it? I can?t, not yet
anyway. So we need you to come back to us real quick. There?s a lot of
people around that love you and need you. I kinda got a soft spot for
ya myself.? Faith smiled. ?Just come back.? She bowed her head down
to Willow?s hand and placed it against her cheek.

?Faith??

Faith looked up and was met with a very confused pair of green eyes.
Willow?s eyes. ?Uh, not to sound ungrateful or anything but, did I miss
something? I mean, you?re practically kissing my hand and while that?s
nice and all, don?t get me wrong, I just think it?s really kinda
strange, not that you?re strange of course but, well. . .there was that
whole leather pants phase you went through. . . ?

?Red!? Faith yelled. ?You?re up and awake and. . .? She stopped and
laughed. ?And just as babbley as ever! I have to go get, B!? She got
up and ran towards the door but turned back and pointed her finger at
Willow. ?Don?t go *anywhere*. You hear me, Red?? Willow nodded, which
seemed to satisfy Faith and she took off out the door and down the hall.



TBC