Sins Of The Daughter

Chapter Two

Look what your money bought
It's all that she's got
It keeps her company
Straight from Mom and Daddy

Money Bought Nickelback

Metropolis, KS 1996

She was like a caged tiger as she paced the small room. Damn it, she was
sixteen years old, it wasnt fair for her father to keep making major
decisions for her. "Do we have to daddy?" she protested. Shed finally
settled in here in Metropolis, and she didnt want to have to pick up her
whole life all over again, especially since she was still in high school.

"Pumpkin, I figured you would be thrilled to go back to LA," Hank Summers
replied, wrinkling his brow in confusion. He figured that shed love
being away from Kansas and the Luthor family. Any idiot could see how
unhappy she was at being dragged to all of their family events because
she and Lex were still married on paper.

"But daddy, I just got settled in here," she whined. "Im a sophomore, do
you understand what that means? Im almost an upperclassman! If I pick up
and leave now, no one will know who I am, and Ill loose all of my
standing when I get back to school."

"Buffy, Im finished out here," Hank replied. "The company is sending me
back to Los Angeles, and Im going with or without you. But if you choose
to stay here, youll have to move in with the Luthors." He played his
last and final card. It was something that Buffy would never choose, even
over being boiled alive in molten lava.

"You hate me, dont you?" Buffy shrieked, flopping down into an easy
chair and folding her arms across her chest. "You want to make my life,
and moms a living hell, dont you?"

"Sweetie, your mother is more than happy to go back to LA and to the
gallery," her father replied sweetly. They both knew that Joyce Summers
never had a choice in anything, and would take her husbands side over
their daughters in a heartbeat. It was the way that shed been raised,
to be a dutiful and loyal wife.

"Fine," she growled, launching out of the chair to pack her room. "Ill
just go pack my things father."

"Come on, Buffy, dont be that way," Hank protested, but he was already
too late, she was upstairs, and seconds later he heard the door to her
room slam shut.

~*~*~*~*~

"You don't care, do you?" Buffy snapped, glaring over at Lex who was
calmly sitting on the couch. "You don't give a damn that daddy's forcing
us to move back to Los Angeles! You're probably glad that I'm going to be
gone from your life."

"It's not like we're in love, Buffy," he sighed, glancing up from his
copy of the Wall Street Journal. He was turning into his father, and it
was pissing her off. She knew that there was no chemistry between them,
but she'd expected him to at least ask why she wasn't fighting to stay
here. But no, all she got from him was annoyed indifference. "We're
hardly even married, why should I expect you to stay here when all you've
wanted was to go back home."

"Fine, see you on my twenty-first," she spat, stomping out of the house
and out to the waiting car. She didn't sulk, merely steamed the entire
eighteen-hour drive to Los Angeles and her childhood home. Maybe if she
threw herself into being a good girl she could forget all about
Metropolis and Lex Luthor.

~*~*~*~*~

Los Angeles, CA 1997

"I dont know whats gotten into you, Buffy, but your father and I are
getting a divorce, and weve both agreed that youre better off far away
from Los Angeles and all the gangs here," Joyce said firmly, crossing her
arms over her chest. She was proud of herself for standing her ground to
her husband for once in their sixteen years of marriage. Theyd only
stayed together in the first place because of Buffy, but now Hank wasnt
even showing an interest in her anymore, so she was just going to pick
them up and move to another town, far away from her soon to be ex-husband
and his little hussy girlfriends.

"You mean dad didnt want to bother taking care of me," Buffy sniffled,
hiding her face in her down pillow. "Hes too busy with work and Susan to
take care of either of us, and youre going to make me move again because
he doesnt want me here ruining his bachelor pad persona."

"Now sweetie, you know that your father loves you," Joyce started out,
carefully picking her words from several well-rehearsed speeches that she
was going to give to their daughter. "He just sometimes forgets to show
it."

"That is such a load of bull shit mom," Buffy snapped. "What happened to
that spine you seemed to have miraculously grown? Did it go into hiding
now that youve served him the divorce papers?" She sat up on her bed and
pulled the pillow into her lap, squeezing it tightly. "Do you think that
it didnt kill me every day to watch you acting like his puppet, his
punching bag? Do you think that I never knew about the other women?"

"N-no, I," Joyce stuttered, unsure of how to continue. In the number of
times that shed rehearsed this, Buffy had never behaved like this in her
mind.

"Dont worry about it mom," Buffy sighed, flopping back against the
mattress once more. "So where are we moving?" Maybe if they moved far
enough away, she would have to be this Slayer thing anymore, maybe
someone else could do it. Maybe the dreams of Merrick would stop haunting
her

"A small town about two hours from here," Joyce answered, relieved that
shed been given an out. Shed never been really good at arguing with
anyone. "Sunnydale."

Sunnydale, huh? Buffy thought. What could go wrong in a town with a
name like that? This was it, she was finally free of the whole "Chosen
One" burden, and the Council could pick someone else. "Sunnydale," she
echoed her mother, smiling. "Sounds good to me."

~*~*~*~*~

Sunnydale, CA 2002

"You are the Slayer," Giles insisted, giving her an exasperated look as
she almost tried to deny it again. "You will hunt and kill, it's what you
do, it's in your nature. Slayer's are drawn towards rebellion and
violence, especially you."

"What if I don't want to be the Slayer?" Buffy whined, pleading with him
to just let her be a normal girl for once. "I've busted my ass for the
powers for almost six years now, I deserve to be able to retire."

"Buffy, honey, maybe we should try to talk this out," Angel insisted,
trying to calm her down. "I know that you deserve a break, we all do, but
now is not the time. Portents talk"

"Portents always talk, Angel!" Buffy broke in with an angry cry. "It's
the story of my life, it's the reason I've died twice now, and I'm not
sure when the third will come. So what if I want to take a two week
vacation or so? I've more than earned it, and the world won't go straight
to hell in that short amount of time. It's not like I'm going anywhere, I
just want a little down time for my birthday, that's all."

"I know love," he sighed, putting an arm around her shoulders and drawing
her close. "I know you're not a fan of birthdays, but I promise you that
this one will be different. You're twenty-one, love, we'll take you out
for drinks and dancing."

"No alcohol," Buffy protested, vehemently shaking her head. Shuddering,
she involuntary flashes of Lex and the time that she'd been turned into a
cave person because of cursed beer.

"Not all beer is cursed Buffy," Xander brought up with a smile, thinking
that this is what she'd been talking about.

"I'm not about taking the chance," she joked, trying to lighten the mood,
but Angel could see right through her tough girl attitude, he knew that
there was something wrong that she wasnt telling them. He wasn't about
to call her on it right here in front of their friends, but they would
definitely be talking about it when they got home.

"Come on love, lets just go home," he pleaded. "I'm sure Giles would
mind if you relaxed for a few days. Spike and I can handle the patrolling
for you if necessary."

"I-I believe that would be acceptable," Giles stammered, glancing to the
man at his right. Wesley, ever so stuffy and full of Council ego was sure
to protest this small break. He was all about charts and graphs, and
hadnt changed much for the better since hed gotten here. Though Giles
had to admit that hed been much nicer since the whole debacle with the
mayor was finally over and they were free to plan for the next
apocalypse. Much to his shock, the younger Watcher was in agreement for
the small amount of time off.

"I believe that you've earned it," Wesley answered with a smug grin. He
loved shaking up Giles perceptions of him every once in a while, and
portents didnt seem to indicate anything major for the next few days.
"As long as your patrols are covered, I see no reason why you shouldnt
be able to have a small break. Maybe a long weekend."

Everyone had to hand it to Pryce, the huge grin that split Buffy's face
was nearly blinding. "Thanks!" she called over her shoulder as she
dragged Angel out of the Magic shop with her. "See you all in a few days.
And if the apocalypse comes, beep me."

She grinned the whole way back to her house, and her mood was contagious.
Angel couldnt help but smile along with her. Nothing pleased him more
than to see her happy, and he hadn't seen her like this in a very long
time, not since Faith's betrayal. But the news that Giles friend had
brought had been a great uplifting. Angel's soul was anchored, any magic
that he could have given Faith wouldnt have worked anyway, the Powers,
or someone else, had super-glued it on tight. Once inside the doorway, he
pulled her against him gently and lowered his lips to hers for a searing
kiss.

"I love you," he murmured, stroking her hair back from her beaming face.

"Mmm," she sighed happily. "I love you too, Angel." Her hands snaked up
his chest, unfastening the buttons of his silk shirt as they went,
pushing it off as she reached his shoulders, and finally wrapping around
his neck to pull him into another kiss.

"Happy birthday baby," Angel murmured, nuzzling her cheek before pointing
at a romantically decorated table and the room that was lit with candles.
He'd had Dawn sneak in here and light them before heading over to Willow
and Tara's house to stay the night. He was hyper aware of the fact that
he was alone with the sexiest woman on the planet. The fact that he was
straining against his jeans was yet more proof of it.

"Birthdays not til tomorrow," Buffy mumbled against his chest, placing
tiny, sucking kisses that were slowly driving him insane. "But it's very
sweet. What'd ya fix me?"

"For madam's pleasure, chef has prepared duck a lorange," Angel
answered, pulling out a chair for her to sit in, and scooting it back
when she did. "Some bean sprouts, and for desert"

"Yes?" Buffy pushed, smiling up at her boyfriend. She loved him so much
more than she could have ever imagined.

"Strawberries and whipped cream," he answered, smiling as she dove into
the first bite. The sensual way that she licked every morsel of food from
her fork was such a turn on. His breath caught in his throat as she took
another bite, watching the elegant muscles in her throat work as she
swallowed and went back to clean her utensil once more. "Baby," he
groaned. "You keep that up and we won't get to desert."

"Let's just skip right to it," she answered in a husky voice, glancing up
from her plate. Desire washed over her as she saw the hungry look in her
lovers eyes. Without even thinking, he scrambled up from his chair and
grabbed her up into his arms, kissing her with ardent passion. No words
were exchanged in anticipation as he carried her up to their bedroom.

He set her on the bed, and the room seemed to swallow her whole as the
fever consumed her. Quickly he set about removing all the barriers
between them, starting with her shirt and the delicate lace bra that
covered her creamy breasts. His mouth and tongue traced a racy path along
the swell of one, sucking a rosy, hard nipple into his mouth and toying
with it until she shrieked in pleasure, pulling him closer and he
released it to her loud protests.

Angel never understood why, but every time that he made love to Buffy,
the whole world seemed to drop away, leaving them in a tranquil sea of
pleasure that sought to drown them if they would just loose themselves to
it. And often, they did, indulging in simple passions as long as they
could, partaking in the small joys that theyd been denied for so many
years.

Their clothing gone, both primed and keening, Angel pushed inside Buffy
with a moan of completion. That's how he felt when they were together,
complete. He was never truly happier than when he could prove to her how
much that he loved her, how much that he worshipped the ground that she
walked on. Sighing happily, Buffy arched back against her loved, hips
heaving in tandem to his, both seeking that pinnacle moment when blinding
pleasure would take them closer to each other than they ever were when
they were apart. It was like their two souls climbed out of their bodies
and immersed in each other before slamming back into bodies stuffed with
desire, breaking the tension that had been built.

They were moving frantically now, hurrying to their release, hips
slamming together at a brutal pace that would have damaged a normal
person. "I love you," Angel moaned into her ear as he nibbled on the
sensitive outer shell. He received a small groan in reply, his lover
obviously beyond words at this point. A few more quick thrusts and they
fell over into oblivion together.

"Love you too," Buffy panted before they both passed out in exhaustion.

~*~*~*~*~

"Mmm," Buffy yawned as something loud woke her up. "Hi," she greeted
Angel with a sleepy grin. "Issa my birthday."

"Happy birthday beloved," he replied obediently, giving the tip of her
button nose a sweet kiss. He began to make his way down to her mouth,
lingering, when they heard the sound that had woken them up again. It was
the doorbell.

Both shrugged on robes and trooped down the stairs to the front door,
where a tall figure stood shadowed by the sun and a curtain she'd hung
there to keep up the illusion of privacy through the beveled glass that
Dawn had chosen when the door had been broken the last time. The Summer's
women took turns picking when demons wrecked their house on Angel's
expense. He truly insisted that he didn't mind them choosing, nor paying
for it. Buffy opened the door and paled in shock.

There, standing in front of her, holding an unopened bottle of wine and a
bouquet of flowers was Lex Luthor. A man she thought that shed never,
ever have to see again. "Lex," she gasped in shock. Seeing that Buffy was
unable to form words, Angel stepped forward.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

Part 3

Chapter Three

Last chance to dance, out in back of the bar
Shakin' hands, nice to meet you, I don't know who you are
She has a toke and makes a joke about the alley man
Never pleasured from the treasure in a garbage can

Money Bought Nickelback

Sunnydale, CA 2002

"Lex Luthor," the man answered calmly, inviting himself into the home by
pushing them both aside and entering. He sat on the couch and kicked his
feet up on the coffee table. Buffy willed herself to say something,
anything that would get him out of her home and gone from her life again.

"Where's your hair?" was what came spilling out of her mouth. She clapped
a hand over her mouth and turned a shade of bright red that neither man
had seen on her in a long time. "What are you doing here?" she asked,
finally finding control over her words.

"It's your birthday," he answered calmly, speaking to her as if she were
a hysterical child. "Your twenty-first, if I'm not mistaken." He stopped
and looked around the room, glancing at pictures of the Summer's family
that adorned the walls, and a few with people hed never seen before,
including the glowering man in the robe behind his wife. "Where's your
parents?"

"Daddy's in LA, where he has been since I was sixteen," Buffy snapped,
knocking his feet from the table in anger. "Mom died a few months ago,
complications from surgery. She had a brain tumor, the operation caused
an aneurysm. Your father sent us a card, I figured you didn't give a
damn, so I didnt bother calling."

"Buffy, what the hell is going on?" Angel demanded, quickly loosing his
patience with the arrogant man in their living room.

"You must be the new boyfriend," Lex said, looking the vampire over.
"This one looks better than the last, Buffy, he appears to have a brain,
and a spine."

"Shut up Lex, or you wont in a few more minutes," Buffy growled. "Just
give me the damn papers to sign and get the hell out of my house."

"Sorry, no can do," Lex replied with a slight wince. God, she looked
angry enough to kill him. When she heard what hed come to say, she might
just do that. He was beginning to hate his father for his meddling. All
it ever did was cause him trouble. "Father's lawyers are still drawing
them up."

"They were supposed to be pre-made years ago!" Buffy screeched, slamming
her fist down on the coffee table, nearly shattering it. "Why the hell
hasnt Lionel done them before? He promised us that it'd be quick!"

"Father is being meddlesome again," he tried to explain. "He has hopes
that we wont go through with it, I tried telling him that it was
useless. You seem....happier here."

"I am," Buffy moaned in frustration, rubbing at her eyes. "Lex, it was
only ever on paper, what the hell does your father think hes doing?"

"The old mans been acting mighty strange," Lex shrugged. "He seems to
think that if we go through the annulment, I'll never get married again."

"Married?" Angel exploded, finally unable to keep his silence. "What the
hell is he talking about Buffy?"

"Oh God," Buffy whimpered, realizing that Angel had heard the whole
thing. She hid her face behind her hands until she couldnt take the
silence any more. Cringing, she looked at Angel, who looked so outraged
and confused that it broke her heart. "Angel....I'm not really sure how to
explain this, so I'm going to just blurt it out. When I was fifteen, we
moved from Los Angeles to Metropolis, Kansas so daddy could oversee the
building of a factory there. I wasn't happy.

"So I decided to test my parents limits by being bad, wild even. I
drank, I partied, and was generally not the charming young daughter that
they expected me to be. And then I met Lex. And things got a little out
of control....daddy found us together, and he sort of snapped.

"We were hauled back to my house, where my parents and Lionel Luthor drew
up a contract. Lex and I were to be married, and stay so until my
twenty-first birthday, when we would be allowed to get it annulled and go
on with our lives. I'm guessing thats why Lex is here, to get the papers
signed, but Lionel is being his usual self, so its going to be a bit
longer." She slumped into a chair as she finally wound down. "I swear I
would have told you if I thought it was important," she cried, wringing
her hair. "But it was only on paper, Angel, thats all its ever been!"

"I think you seem to be repressing," Lex snorted, dropping a manila
folder down on the table in front of them. "Father surprised me with
these the other day when I went in to get the paper work drawn up."

Buffy opened the folder and groaned loudly. Inside were several revealing
photographs of herself and Lex locked in an intimate embrace. She knew
exactly when these were taken, even recognized the dirty interior of the
tiny apartment they were in. It had been the summer after shed sent
Angel to hell. Shed bumped into Lex while working at a diner in Los
Angeles. They'd both agreed to pretend that it hadnt happened, but
apparently the senior Luthor thought otherwise. She had been badly in
need of comfort, and he was still smarting from a fight with the old man.
It was probably how theyd been found, Lionel had followed Lex to make
sure he didn't do something stupid while he was out of his scope of
authority.

Angel turned on his heel and walked out of the room without a further
word. "Angel," Buffy called after him helplessly. She was at a loss for
what to do. In her own ignorance, she had wounded the man that she loved
more than anything else in the world. Anger rose up in her as she
realized the cause, and she spun on Lex. "You will get me those papers by
tomorrow, or I will file for divorce, you understand?" she hissed. "You
can let yourself out." With that, she turned and stomped off in the
direction that Angel had gone.

She found him already in the shower, and decided against joining him.
Instead, she watched his naked body glisten as water pelted down upon it.
She stared at him in longing for several minutes before turning to go to
their bedroom and flop down on the bed. Warily, she let her eyes close,
just for a minute, and in seconds she was fast asleep. When she woke
again, Angel was sitting in the rocking chair by her dresser, watching
her. She blinked a few times, and still he remained so she figured that
it wasnt just a figment of her imagination. "Hi," she murmured.

"Hey," he grunted, not really willing to listen to her, though they knew
that they both needed to work this out for their own sakes. Slowly, Buffy
rose into a sitting position, gathering a nearby pillow into her grasp.

"I know that me saying sorry couldnt even begin to repair the damage,"
she started. He looked like he was going to cut her off, but she stopped
him. "No, let me finish. I know that what you found out today hurt you
greatly, and I'm sorry for that. You've no idea how much I wish that I
could take it all back, but I cant. Nothing that I do could ever make
this better.

"But Angel, I was fifteen years old, a child," she said, eyes filling up
with tears. "And I didn't get a choice in what happened, we tried to get
them to stop, and they wouldnt. They had us married before we had the
chance to protest it. I've always hated his family, and Ive always been
dragged back there when there was a family event because our parents tied
me to it for the duration of the marriage. I have every intention of
annulling it as soon as the paperwork is drawn out." She reached across
the mattress and touched his arm gently. "I told him that if I couldnt
have them to sign tomorrow that I would file for divorce, and that would
hurt him and his precious fortune more than just denying that anything
ever existed between us."

"Buffy," he began finally. "I'm not going to lie to you and deny that
this doesn't upset me. You're married, and whether it was consensual or
not, what we did in getting involved is very wrong. Don't get me wrong, I
love you more than anything, but I was brought up to believe that once
you were married, that was that, and it didn't matter if you liked the
person or not."

"I take it you have general knowledge of situations like this," she said
wryly.

"I was forced into an arranged marriage by my father who only wanted a
land deal out of it," Angel admitted, nodding his head, still unable to
look her in the eye. "At best, we were little more than friends. But she
caught the fever and died, and there's a difference, at least to me. I....I
just dont' know what to say or do. I'm so confused, Buffy."

"Angel, what happened.....the pictures he had," she said, looking at him,
forcing him to meet her gaze. "It didn't mean anything."

"Is that supposed to make me feel any better?" he demanded. "Because it
doesn't, I assure you! I was being tormented in hell and you were here
fucking a man that you were barely married to! The only thing that kept
me sane was thoughts of you, and how much I believed in you! This changes
everything, Buffy, you cant just brush something like this under the
carpet. Not with us."

At his words, Buffy collapsed in tears, folding in on herself and sobbing
out her anger at defeat. Her body shook violently with her cries, and it
was killing Angel inside not to go to her, but damn it he was still
furious at her for not telling him what he was getting into years ago. It
was against everything that he believed in to get involved with a married
woman. He sighed, and then growled in frustration before sweeping her up
in his arms. "Come on Buffy, you know I hate it when you cry," he
murmured, making soothing noises in her ear as he caressed her shaking
back. "God, baby, I didn't mean to yell, I'm sorry. Please do'nt cry anymore, please."

"'Im sorry, Angel, I'm so, so sorry," she whimpered against his chest,
tears wetting the material of his shirt. "I didn't mean for this to
happen, I swear. God, I'm so sorry, please forgive me...I

m so sorry."

"Ssh, baby, its okay," he said softly, stroking her hair. "We'll work
through this somehow sweetheart, I promise." After what seemed like an
eternity, Buffys sobs quieted to sniffles and then finally stopped. She
clutched at him, trying to grasp any part of him and never let it go for
fear that he might disappear forever from her life.

"I love you Angel," she sniffled, wiping her eyes with a balled fist.

"I love you too, baby," he answered, kissing the top of her head softly.
"You feel like going out for breakfast?"

"Not really," she whispered. "I can get something delivered if youre
hungry."

"No, I'm fine, darling, you dont need to worry about me," he replied,
stroking her arm with his fingertips. "I was just thinking that you might
just be hungry or something."

"Not right now, I'm not," she answered, snuggling against him. "I just
wanna lay here with you for a while."

"As you wish," he conceded, squeezing her gently. They lay there on their
bed, arms wrapped tightly around each other as if they were afraid to let
each other go.

"Angel, I promise that I'll find a way to fix things," she swore.

"Ssh, no more talking about it," he whispered, kissing her lips to
silence her protests. "I have faith that you'll fix it, and I'm not going
to worry about it any more."

"You're the best boyfriend ever," she sighed, pulling a blanket over them
as her eyes began to drift shut. Within mere seconds she was asleep
again, worn out from the mornings activities. He couldnt blame here, he
would have been overly stressed too if he were her. And he was still a
little upset himself, but he wasnt going to let mistakes from the past
ruin his future with the woman that he loved more than life itself.
Yawning, he soon found himself following Buffy into the peaceful world of
slumber.

~*~*~*~*~

Dawn crept into the house with one hand over her eyes, then slowly spread
her fingers to search for signs of debauchery. When she saw no sign of
either Buffy or Angel, she breathed a sigh of relief and dropped her hand
to get a better look. What she saw made her smile, there was a huge
bouquet of roses on the table and a bottle of unopened wine. In the
dinning room was a barely touched dinner.

"Guess they couldn't wait," she snickered with a smile. In truth, she was
happy that her sister had found such a great amount of happiness with
Angel. She really deserved it with all of the Slaying she had to do all
the time. Dawn was glad that Wesley and Giles had agreed to give her time
off for her birthday too, she always seemed to have such bad luck with
those.

She wondered around the first floor of her house, not quite yet daring to
head upstairs. A stop in the kitchen procured some leftover duck that
Angel had wrapped for her. He was so considerate sometimes that it made
her smile. Dawn grabbed a can of soda and popped it open before taking a
big gulp.

Walking back to the living room, she plopped down on the couch and ate
her lunch. She flipped on the television for a while and watched several
shows before shutting it off again. By the time that she finished, shed
gone through every channel on their program list.

Once again she went to the kitchen and dropped her dishes in the sink.
Figuring shed be nice just this once, she gathered the left over plates
from Buffys birthday dinner and brought them in as well, washing them
and drying them before finally putting them away again.

"Buffy owes me big this time, even if it is her birthday," she grumbled
as she went back to the couch. Glancing around again, she found a tan
folder lying beside the bottle of wine and the vase of flowers. Curious
as always, she flipped it open and gasped in shock.

There was picture after picture of Buffy and some guy shed never seen
before. And they looked pretty damned cozy to her. Frantically, she
looked to see if this were some sort of joke, wracking her brain to place
a name with that face.

The date looked very recent too. If Dawn remembered correctly, it was
right about the time that Buffy had sent Angel to hell, and then run away
for the summer after shed gotten into a fight with mom.

Who was this guy?

Why were there pictures of him having sex with her sister?

There were so many questions running through her head that she could
barely keep them straight. She had to wonder if Angel knew anything about
this. Maybe he was the one who'd found the pictures. She hoped that they
werent fighting. It was then that she noticed a card on the roses. She
opened it.

Happy Twenty-first Birthday Buffy!

I hope that this day brings you great joy in your freedom

Love,
Lex

"Who the hell is Lex?" she wondered aloud. "How does he know my sister
and who took these pictures?"

Part 4

Chapter Four

Look what your money bought
It's all that she's got
It keeps her company
Straight from Mom and Daddy

Money Bought Nickelback

Sunnydale, CA 2002

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked as she came down the stairs. Dawn
jumped about a mile straight into the air, flinging the photos
everywhere. She spun to look at her older sister who was walking down the
stairs in a soft cotton red dress. It wasn't like most of the clothes
that were in her closet, this one was almost frumpy.

"I could ask you the same thing," Dawn retorted, picking up a picture and
shoving it under her sisters nose. "What the hell are these? Are you
cheating on Angel? Who the hell is Lex?"

"Dawnie," Buffy began slowly. "When I was fifteen, I didnt have the most
stable home life and in rebellion I acted a little out of control. For
about a year and a half, dad forced mom and I to live in a town called
Metropolis in Kansas. That's where I met Lex Luthor, and we were wild
together. However, our parents caught us in a rathercompromising
situation and forced us to get married. We could get it annulled after my
twenty-first birthday."

"What about these pictures?" Dawn demanded. "They're pretty recent."

"Dawn, I was so lost and confused," Buffy shook her head as she tried to
explain. "It didn't mean anything, and we both agreed to pretend it never
happened. I don't love Lex, I never have. I have always and will always
only love Angel."

"But what are you going to do?"

"If Lex doesn't bring the annulment papers by tomorrow morning, I clearly
informed him that I would file for divorce my self," Buffy answered.

"Is he rich?" Dawn asked, beginning to loose steam.

"Very, I guess," Buffy answered with a shrug. "His fathers company owns
most of the stores and factories in the mid-West."

"And I'm guessing that a divorce is not something that theyd
particularly care for?" Dawn asked. "I mean, wouldn't you get paid quite
a sum for having to put up with him?"

"Yes, I suppose," Buffy replied. "What are you getting at Dawnie?"

"Nothing yet," the younger girl promised.

"The gang is going to be here later tonight, and I'd appreciate it if
youd let me break the news and not go blabbing it to everyone like you
always do," Buffy informed her.

"Buffy," Dawn whined. "It's such juicy gossip, its going to take a lot
of energy not to say anything. How can you expect me to keep quiet around
Anya? You know how she is at dragging things out of me."

"Promise me, Dawnie," Buffy begged.

"I promise," Dawn sighed, flopping back against the couch.

~*~*~*~*~

"Hey Buffy! How's our happy birthday girl?" Xander asked as he barged
into the house holding a brightly wrapped package and Anya close on his
heels. She was still furious at him for standing her up at the altar, but
they were trying to work through his insecurities. Last Buffy had heard,
things were going quite well on that front. Giles was next, followed by
Wesley and Tara. All of them were carrying presents, except Anya, who
claimed that she was sharing Xanders gift.

"I'm great, thanks for coming you guys," Buffy replied hugging each one
of them. "You guys didn't need to bring presents, I just wanted to have
dinner with you."

"See? I told you we didn't have to!" Anya whispered, smacking Xander on
the arm.

"Well, An, some of us wanted our best friends to know that we appreciate
them," Xander replied, used to having to deal with her by now. They all
made their way into the living room and began to occupy the furniture
there. Angel came traipsing down the stairs and joined Buffy on the love
seat by the unlit fireplace.

"Happy Birthday Buffy," Wesley announcing handing her his gift, and then
soon everyone was piling them on her. She was about to open the first
when the door flung open and Willow strolled in with Tara close behind.
Buffy was incredibly happy for her friend, glad that the two Wiccans had
patched things up and were on their way to getting back together as well.

"I found this out on your porch," Tara said softly, handing Buffy an
envelope. The Slayer turned it over curiously and then opened it. Inside
was something that shed never expected to see.

"What is it?" Dawn asked, seeing her sister smile and shake her head.

"Child services is calling off any and all investigation," she answered,
pulling her sister into a hug. "They're not going to be bothering us
again until youre eighteen and they come to do an evaluation of my job
as an authority figure."

"But Buffy, theres one thing that I'm not getting," Willow began,
picking up the envelope. "This can't be for you, the letter is addressed
to Elizabeth Anne Luthor." Buffy could feel Angel stiffen beside her and
closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. It wasnt how she'd wanted to
broach the subject but she guessed that now was as good a time as any.

"Legally, that is my name, Wills," she answered softly.

"I don't understand," Giles frowned in confusion. "The Council had you
down listed as your last name being Summers, just like in all of your
other legal records. When was it Luthor and why?"

"Because when I was fifteen years old, my parents forced me to marry
someone named Lex Luthor," Buffy answered. "I was extremely out of
control and they thought that it would mellow me out a great deal. They
were more than right. I never loved him, I barely knew him. But they drew
up a contract with the Luthors that said we would be married until my
twenty-first birthday, when we could get an annulment.

"Lex is in town right now, trying to get the papers drawn up for me to
sign. Im guessing that he was the one who called them for me. Though he
doesn't know anything about Dawn, so I'm sure his father, Lionel, told
him all about her. He does things like that." She took Angels' hand and
squeezed it gently, giving him a smile reserved only for him.

"But how come you didnt tell us about this?" Xander asked. "Shouldn't
you have stayed with him or something?"

"No," Buffy answered, shaking her head. "It was supposed to be a marriage
on paper only, and it was for the most part. I still lived with mom and
dad, just got dragged to Luthor family events and company parties."

"Company parties?" Anya asked. "Is he rich?"

"Is this Lex Luthor of Luthor Corp.?" Willow asked suddenly, spinning to
look at Buffy. "The guy who like owns the entire middle section of the
United States and all of the best software companies there?"

"Yeah," Buffy answered shyly, rubbing her arms to keep from shivering.

"Why didn't you ever mention it?" Xander asked again.

"Because it wasnt important," Buffy insisted. "I put that chapter of my
life far behind me when I moved back to Los Angeles, and further away
when I came here to Sunnydale, and when I met Angel."

"So technically, would you be cheating on Angel or this Lex person?" Anya
pondered.

"Anya!" Xander yelped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "You don't say
things like that to people, especially right to their faces, its very
rude."

"What?" she insisted. "I want to know."

"Its a very personal question," Buffy said softly, looking up at Angel.
"I'd rather not get into it right now, I'd like to celebrate my birthday
and forget all about it."

"What would you like to do first, love?" Angel asked, relaxing again
after a few more minutes of silence.

"Since I've already started, does anyone mind if I go ahead and finish
opening all of the presents?" she asked coyly.

"No, not at all," Giles answered.

"It is your party after all," Wesley agreed.

"Much as my stomach is begging for some of Dead boy's delicious food,"
Xander began, crying out in pain when Willow elbowed him in the ribs.
"What ever you want to do is fine with us, Buff. We won't hold it against
you."

"Thanks, I think," Buffy replied, carefully sifting through the packages
until she got to the one that shed been opening before the whole mess
had started up all over again. It was from Giles, wrapped sensibly in
tasteful cream paper with a gold bow. Inside was something that shed
treasure forever, it was a picture of her family, all of them together in
one single photograph held by an antique looking frame. "Thank you Giles,
I love it!"

"I thought that you might like a replacement for the one that was
destroyed last month," he shrugged, all of them remembering the
thousandth time that a demon had broken into the Summer's home and trashed
the place when he couldnt' find what he wanted.

Her family was made up of a group of wonderful people that circumstances
had forced to be together. Willow and Xander would have always been
friends, and perhaps in another life, Giles and Wesley would have met on
the shores of England at Watcher Central. Maybe Angel and Anya would have
met over an outpouring of violence at their own hands and could have
later felt guilty together for it. But they were here now, and they were
some of the most kind, brilliant, and lovable people she had ever met.

From Willow was a pair of delicately woven gold earrings and a matching
choker necklace. They were in the box that was wrapped with little
puppies all over it and birthday hats. It was such a Willow thing to do.
Tara, in all her shyness produced a shiny silver wrapped present that
turned out to be a small necklace made of seed pearls with a larger pearl
as a charm. She thanked them both, telling them that she loved the gifts,
which was true, and then moved on to Xanders present.

It was about a thousand different colors, which led he to believe that
Xander either had his own brand of paper made, or there had been an
explosion at the factory. Keeping in mind some of the presents that he'd
given her in the past, she shook it lightly, listening for odd noises.

"I'm not going to find some kind of blow up doll in here am I?" she asked
him with a teasing grin.

"Only the best for mlady," the boy answered with a rakish grin. "I'll
let you find out for yourself, but your only hint is that its not
alive....yet."

"Xander" Buffy growled, ripping open the paper cautiously. Inside was a
Chia Pet. One of those rocks that you could grow things on in the shape
of an animal. "Oh Xander," Buffy laughed, almost howling with amusement.
"I havent had one of these since I was six. Where in the hell did you
find one? They haven't made them in almost a decade."

"I pulled in a few favors," he shrugged. "Glad you like it, An thought it
was strange."

From Wesley was a gift certificate to the Sunnydale Mall, and the same
from Dawn, who claimed that Buffy was impossible to shop for. The
rumbling of Xanders stomach dictated that they would have food next, so
the whole group trooped into the dinning room. They proceeded to consume
everything that Angel had made for the party, leaving the older people in
attendance in awe of how much food a small group of young people could
put away in such a short amount of time.

~*~*~*~*~

"Mmm, did I ever tell you how much I love you?" Buffy asked as she
wrapped her arms around Angels waist. All of their friends had left a
few minutes ago, and they were currently picking up the mess that had
been left in their wake.

"Not in the last ten minutes, no," he answered, drawing her closer and
closer to him. "I still haven't given you your birthday present yet
love."

"I don't need anything from you except you," she replied, smiling up at
his chocolate colored eyes.

"I wanted to," he retorted, producing a small box from the pocket of his
shirt. Buffy turned it over and over in her hand, loving the feel of the
velvet jeweler's box beneath her fingertips. Shaking, she opened it.

"Oh Angel," she sighed. "It's beautiful." Nestled in a bed of silk was
one of the most beautiful diamond rings shed ever seen. The main stone
was at least one whole carat, and cut into a pear shape. Smaller diamonds
flanked it in a swirling pattern like something off a vine. The gold was
finely hammered into leaves and stems.

"I wasn't so sure that youd want it, after this morning," he shrugged.
"I seem to have perfect timing, I guess. I'm just going to blurt it out.
Will you marry me?"

"Of course I will silly," she beamed, allowing him to slip the rock onto
her ring finger. "What would have ever given you the impression that I
didnt want to."

"Maybe the fact that you didn't seem to be enjoying your previous
marriage," he admitted sheepishly. "I didn't know if this was something
you didn't want to do again or not."

"There's a difference, baby, I dont love Lex, I never have," Buffy
answered, wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing him in for a
kiss. "I love you. Only you. And I want to be your wife, I want to be
able to beat away my competition with this huge beacon."

"I love you too baby," Angel murmured, kissing her again. And then the
doorbell rang, and both went to answer it. "What the hell are you doing
here?" he asked, rage singing through his veins like molten lava.

TBC...