Good Can Get Better (RE-VAMPED)

They stopped for a long breakfast and arrived at the airport at 11:45, just as the plane began to board.

“Sarah, these last few months have been amazing.” Oz said quietly.

Sarah smiled softly. “You gave me something I’d never thought I’d have again. Hope.”

Oz stepped forward. He softly kissed Serena on the forehead then his eyes met Sarah’s. He caught her lips in a bruising kiss, only the child between them kept him from pulling her to him tightly.

“Oz, come on. We gotta get on the plane.” Devon said.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Oz said turning away from Sarah to pick up his suitcase. “I’ll miss waking up next to you.”

“I’ll miss that too, Oz. Thank you, for everything.” The girl said then turned to Devon.

“See ya, Sarah. I’ll email you in a few days.” Devon said giving the girl a quick hug.

“OK, Dev. Take care of him for me, alright?”

“You go it, sister. Keep writing those songs so I can steal them when we make it big.” Devon said with his patent cocky grin.

“In your dreams, Dingo.” Sarah said with a smile.

Devon smirked at her nickname for him. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t mope over you for too long.”

“Thanks, I’ll talk to you soon.” Sarah said with a laugh. She watched as he moved in line behind Oz at their gate. The werewolf gave her one last smile then disappeared through the door and out of her life.

She turned and started out of the airport to make her way to Angel investigations.


~~~~~


The building loomed in front of Sarah, casting a welcome shadow on the overheated girl. She gazed up the front of the Hyperion one last time before moving to the door and shifting Serena to open it. She walked halfway across the lobby then dropped her baby bag to the floor.

“Hello?” The singer called out. “Anyone here?” She watched as a pretty brunette came out of one of the offices.

“Can I help you?”

“Cordelia. I recognize you from the pictures. I’m Sarah.”

“Oh, hi. I’m glad you made it.” The seer said smiling warmly at the younger girl. “Why don’t you sit down, I’ll round up the gang.”

Sarah nodded and watched as Cordy disappeared into the office again leaving her in the massive lobby. She picked up the abandoned baby bag then moved to a couch by one wall to sit down. Once she was settled comfortably with the baby in her lap she dug a pacifier out of the bag and popped it into Serena’s mouth, gently rocking back and forth. After a few minutes Cordelia reemerged from the office with a tall man and longhaired woman trailing behind her. Sarah knew without seeing the man’s face that it was Angel, the power and wisdom of age rolled off the vampire in waves that were almost tangible. As he drew near Serena opened sleepy eyes that became suddenly alert, even though she probably didn’t understand Serena felt it too. Giles had already established that Serena had Sarah’s empathy and power to soothe. The singer watched as the vampire effortlessly moved with stealthy grace, aware of everything around him yet relaxed. The woman must be Fred since she was the only other female at Angel Investigations. Unlike the dark vampire her head was up, a bright sunny smile of greeting on her pretty face. She stood to greet them and watched as two more men came from the office, one who she assumed to be Wesley holding a baby.

“Hi.” Sarah said. “It’s nice to finally meet you all.”

“Likewise.” Fred said warmly. “Oh, she’s so precious. Serena, right?”

Sarah nodded. She watched as Angel lifted his head and looked at the child cradled in her arms, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“And this is Connor.” Wesley announced as he joined them.

“He looks just like you, Angel.” Sarah said.

“A pity isn’t it.” Cordelia said with an evil grin. Angel just rolled his eyes.

“And who are these lovely ladies?” A voice asked from behind. Fred stepped back to reveal a green demon.

“Lorne, this is Sarah and her daughter Serena.” Wesley said.

“You’re a singer aren’t you?” Lorne asked.

“I am or was before Serena was born anyway. How’d you know?”

“You got that aura about you. Care for a reading?”

"Ahh, Lorne the empathic demon I presume." Sarah said and Angel nodded.

“Lorne. She’s probably exhausted. It’s a long drive from Sunnydale.” Angel said quietly.

“Actually I am kind of tired but later I’d love to.” Sarah said, Willow had told her about the demon and she was curious as to what he’d see.

“Come on, I’ll show you to your room. I can watch Serena for you if you’d like to rest for a bit.” Fred suggested.

“That's ok, but thank you. Serena needs a bit of down time with mommy.” Sarah said.


~~~~~


Sarah fell asleep on the comfortable bed Angel had provided after she made a little fort of pillows around Serena, when she woke a few hours later she went down into the lobby to find Lorne sitting next to two bassinets reading a magazine.

“Hi. Where is everyone?” Sarah asked placing a gentle kiss on her sleeping child’s forehead then setting her in the empty bassinet.

“Cordelia had a vision so they went to do whatever it is they do.” Lorne said smiling.

“I see. Well then, how about that reading?”

“Sure.”

“Ok, just let me run out to my car and grab my guitar.” Sarah said.

When Sarah returned she settled next to Lorne and ran her fingers over the strings. “Ready?” She asked.

He nodded and she started a slow sad melody.


‘This is the place where I sit
This is the part where
I love you too much
Is this as hard as it gets?
'Cause I'm getting tired
Of pretending I'm tough
I'm here if you want me
I'm yours, you can hold me
I'm empty and taken and
Tumbling and breakin'

'Cause you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would
The way I know you could

I dream of worlds
Where you'd understand
And I dream a
Million sleepless nights
I dream of fire when
You're touching my hand
But it twists into smoke
When I turn on the light
I'm speechless and faded
It's too complicated
Is this how the book ends,
Nothing but good friends?

'Cause you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would’

She stopped singing but continued playing and Lorne just stared at her. Her head was down so he was free to examine her. Not even Angel had ever possessed so much sadness. Her friends didn’t know how deeply Michael had scarred her. She was, for lack of a better word, broken. He’d taken all the love and confidence and joy inside of her and shattered it. The werewolf, Oz, had slowly begun to rebuild it but she was far from ‘fixed’. He began to read her again when she continued singing.

‘This is the place in my heart
This is the place where
I'm falling apart
Isn't this just where we met?
And is this the last chance
That I'll ever get?
I wish I was lonely
Instead of just only
Crystal and see-through
And not enough to you

'Cause you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would
'Cause you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would
The way I know you could’


Lorne opened his mouth to tell her what he’d seen but a voice form the entrance stopped him.

“Wow. Sarah that was beautiful.” Fred told her.

“Oh, thank you. I didn’t know anyone else was here.” She said as she watched Angel and Fred cross the room towards her.

“Where’s the rest of the gang?” Sarah asked.

“They went home for the night.” Angel said moving to Connor’s bassinet.

“I should probably get a few more hours of sleep. I’m supposed to meet my friends early tomorrow.” Sarah said.

“Friends?” Fred asked.

“Yeah, some of my old friends from Roswell were in Sunnydale visiting. They decided to take a detour to LA before going back to New Mexico.” Sarah told them.

“I’ll walk you up.” Lorne said.

Sarah nodded then went to Serena’s bassinet and picked her up gently. Her eyes met Angel’s briefly and there was something in the chocolaty depths she couldn’t identify but it was intense. She smiled at him quickly then turned to follow Lorne. Once they were in her room Lorne shut the door.

“I’m sorry about Michael.” The demon told her.

“No use apologizing, what’s done is done.” Sarah said.

“Not everyone is like him, Sarah. You won’t always get hurt like that.”

“It really doesn’t matter Lorne. I have to focus on Serena and doing what I came here to do, I don’t have time to think about my love life, or lack thereof.”

“Just let me know if you need to talk, gorgeous. I’m here. And you just might find what you’re looking for here.”

“Thank you.” Sarah said. “Goodnight.”

After she’d shut the door again behind the demon she gently placed her daughter in the portable crib she’d set up earlier then went about getting herself ready for bed.

~~~

The next afternoon Angel came down into the lobby to find Sarah talking to two other girls and a boy.

“Hey Angel.” The singer greeted with a small smile. “These are my friends, Jess, Crystal, and Max.” She pointed to each one in turn.

“This is a great place.” Jess said.

“Thanks. Where’s Serena?” Angel asked.

“Fred took her to the park. She’s sweet, a bit odd but sweet.”

Angel gave her a half smile then moved to the front desk. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Cordy is, would you?”

“Last time I saw her she was attached to Groo by the tongue.” Sarah said.

Angel’s faced darkened slightly but he didn’t comment.

Well, well. What do we have here? Sarah thought.

“Well, we better get out of here. I have to call Isabel and make sure she told Liz we were staying in LA for a few days.” Max said.

“Oh and asked her if she picked up mom’s birthday gift.” Sarah said. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Angel said goodbye to her friends then turned to Sarah. “You call his mom ‘mom’?”

“Yeah. After his sister got married she kind of adopted me as her daughter, I call Buffy’s mother mom too. What can I say, parents love me.” She said with a smile.

Angel nodded. “Do you want to talk about getting the book from Wolfram & Hart?”

“Sure.” Sarah said.

“Buffy gave me a run down of your powers so it really shouldn’t be a problem.” Angel said. He told her about the firm’s security and where the book was. “At first we figured I would just use you as back up but now I think you could go in alone and do the job, if you think you can handle it.”

“Yeah, I can do it. The cameras won’t be a problem. One zap to the main power system and I can make it look like a malfunction. I can be in and out before they even knew I was there and if anything goes wrong I can take care of anyone that gets in my way.”

“Are you sure?” Angel asked.

“I’m positive, Angel.” Sarah said nodding firmly. There was a look in the girl’s eyes that said she might be looking forward to a good fight.

“Okay. When do you want to do it?”

“Tonight. We need that book as soon as possible.”

Angel nodded.

Later they told Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, and Cordelia what they had planned and did the same when Sarah’s friends arrived. Max would go with her but wait outside in case anything went wrong. Cordy and Wes had their doubts but Sarah made it seem easy, quickly getting into the firm, grabbing the book, and getting out without incident. It was the most smoothly run mission Angel had ever seen and he couldn’t be more relieved.

She arrived back at the hotel where Wesley had already set up the ritual. She and the former watcher performed it. As the last lines of the spell spilled from their lips both parties dropped unconscious to the floor, signaling it had worked. Gunn and Angel moved Wesley to the couch in his office and Max carried Sarah upstairs to her room with Crys and Jess following worriedly behind. The Roswellians had been through a lot but magic was new to them. Max carefully set the girl he considered a sister on her mattress then pulled up a chair next to the bed. Angel joined them a moment later.

“You’re sure she’s okay?” Crystal asked.

“Yes. She’ll be awake in a few hours.”

“She’s fine, Crys. I’d know if something was wrong.” Max added. “Jess, why don’t you call Sunnydale and tell the gang that it’s done then change Sarah into something more comfortable. Crys, can you go watch Serena for a while, I think Lorne deserves a break.”

Angel watched with a smile as the girls did as they were told then followed Max into the hallway so Jess could change her friend’s clothes. Max was definitely a leader. He’d been around the monarchs of the Old World and Max radiated royalty; even those who were not aliens could feel it. Angel knew the youth was having doubts about his position.

“You’d make a good king.” Angel said.

“Thank you.” Max said. “Sometimes I’m not so sure.”

“Trust me, when you’ve been around as long as I have you get a feel for things like this.” Angel assured him.

Max gave him a grateful smile then turned his gaze back to the closed door. “I just hope I never have to find out. I mean here, on Earth, I only have to look after Isabel, Michael, and Sarah. But on my planet that’s a different story.”

“I think you’ve got what it takes.” Angel said, then turned to go check on Connor. The baby was still sleeping peacefully so he made his way back to Sarah’s room. As he approached he heard the singer shouting from down the hall.

“Will you get the hell away from me! Stop hovering, I’m fine damn it!” Sarah yelled.

“Sarah, you need to rest. Stay in bed.” Max said.

“I. AM. FINE. MAXWELL. Goddess! I gave birth, for crying out loud, I can handle a little spell.”

Max sheepishly turned his eyes to the floor and moved so Sarah could get up.

“Sheesh, where’s Oz when you need him? He’s the only one she’ll listen to.” Jess murmured not so quietly.

Angel saw a hurt expression pass over Sarah’s features then anger firmly took its place. “You two,” She said pointing at Max and Jess. “Out. OUT! Angel can stay cause he hasn’t pissed me off. Yet.”

Jess started to protest but then Sarah picked up a shoe and threw it at her, it narrowly missed nailing her in the head. Max ran out the door with Jess on his heels. Sarah got up and went to the door slamming with all her might.

“Sorry.” Sarah said as the frame rattled.

“It’s ok. How are you feeling?” Angel asked.

“Fine. Never bloody better.”

“I think you’ve had too much time with Spike.”

“Is that so, Peaches? Then, luv, you can bloody well piss off.” Sarah said with a smirk in a very convincing British accent.

“Considering the bad influence you’ve been hanging around I’ll let that slid.” Angel said.

“Spike’s not a bad influence. He’s changed a lot since the last time you saw him, thanks to Buffy and you should see him with Serena. He’s so sweet and gentle.” Sarah said defending her friend.

“If you say so.” Angel said shaking his head. Spike must have done something right to inspire that kind of loyalty. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure.” Sarah said with a shrug.

“You and Oz?”

“Yeah. We’ve been involved since Serena was born.”

“But you’re not anymore?” Angel asked.

“We knew from the start it was never going to be a permanent thing. He got to go to New York for a meeting with some record company. The Dingoes might actually make it. I was musician once too so I know how much that means to him. He offered to stay but I said no. I wouldn’t let him throw away the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“But you miss him?” Angel asked.

“Yes. He just made me feel so special. He made me feel like a woman again.” She said he eyes turning sad again.

“What do you mean?” He asked moving to sit beside her on the bed.

She shrugged and looked down at her shoes a bit self-conscious. “The last guy I was involved with, Serena’s father. It ended badly. I mean, we’re okay now but…He really hurt me. Made me feel like no man would ever want me again.”

“He’s a boy, Sarah. Alien or not, he’s still just a teenage boy/. They aren’t known for making the best decisions. You can’t let one guy ruin your self image. You are a beautiful, talented, powerful woman. And someone who deserves you will see that.”

She cocked her head to the side and on corner of her mouth tilted up. “You think I’m beautiful?” She whispered.

Angel’s lips curled into a smirk but before he could answer there was a soft knock at the door and Jess’ voice floated through the wood.

“Sarah? Devon’s on your cell. You want it?”

“Yeah. Come on in.”

Jess came in and handed her the phone then sat down next to her friend.

“Dingo! What’s up, babe?” Sarah asked.

“We got a contract with a small independent label.” Devon informed her.

“Oh, that’s great!” Sarah said.

“Oz wanted to be the one to call but I wanted to tell you.”

“That’s great Dingo, I’m so happy for you.”

“I couldn’t wait to tell you. You wanna talk to Oz?”

“Yeah. Congrats, babe.”

“Thanks. Here he is.” Devon said handing the phone to his friend.

“Hey.” Oz said.

“Hi. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. How are you?”

“Fine. I guess I don’t have to ask how you are? Probably on cloud 9.” Sarah said.

“Yeah. How’s Serena?”

“She’s good, kinda fussy lately, but good.”

“I just wanted to tell you what had happened. Devon was hoping to use some or your lyrics you worked out with him, he wants you to be involved with making our first record, even if it’s long distance. I do too.”

“I…I don’t know what to say, Oz. I’d love to.”

“I know it’s not the kind of thing you’d have hoped for. I know how much you’d love to be the one on stage playing.”

“You’re right, but that can’t happen right now, so I’ll take what I can get.”

“Great. I’m gonna go celebrate with the guys. I’ll call you soon, okay?”

“Okay, thanks Oz.” She pushed the end button then tossed the phone onto the bed behind her.

“So?” Jess asked.

“Well, they got signed to an independent label based out of New York.”

“That’s great. I’m gonna go tell Max and Crys.” Jess said bouncing out of the room.

“Cordy is planning something special for tonight. After all you did just help avert your very first apocalypse.” Angel said after the girl flounced off.

“True.” Sarah said with a small grin. “What’s the plan?”

“Dinner out. All of us.”

“Even Lorne?” Sarah asked standing up and walking towards the door.

“Yeah, we’ll go somewhere demon friendly.”

“Okay.” Sarah said. She took another step but Angel’s hand at her wrist stopped her. She looked up into his eyes and that intense look was there again.

“And yes, I think you’re very beautiful.” With that he moved past her and disappeared down the hall.

“Sheesh. Buffy really knows how to pick them.” Sarah murmured to herself lifting one hand to fan her suddenly hot face.