Until The Day

ITLE: Until the Day
AUTHOR: Kelly Rowe
EMAIL: angels_bath_towel@hotmail.com
RATING: NC-17
DISCLAIMER: Buffy, Angel and all other characters (except those I make up) are the absolute property of Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, UPN and Warner Bros (If I owned them, the events of Buffy season 4 or most of season 3 wouldn't have occurred) and Riley would never have been thought up.
SPOILERS: General
TIMELINE: AU season 2 BTVS and onwards.
DISTRIBUTION: You want you can have it, just tell me where you put it.

Challenge Requirements:
Angel left Sunnydale on Buffy's birthday (Surprise) to get rid of the Judges arm. A few months after Buffy's mom remarries and Buffy has to move back to LA with her new family. When Angel returns to Sunnydale, he finds Buffy is gone and decides to search for her.
MUSTS:
Angel moving to LA.
Wesley as Buffy's new watcher (Giles stayed on the Hellmouth).
Faith as the slayer in Sunnydale.
Pike.
No clause.
Buffy still wearing the claddagh Angel gave her.
The Scoobies not knowing where Buffy is.
Cordy working for Angel.
Cordy and Xander still together, but later break up.
Cordy and Doyle getting together.
B/A getting back together.
COUPLES:
B/A, C/X, C/D
AT LEAST 3 OF THE FOLLOWING:
The Scoobies walking in on Buffy and Angel.
Spike (with or without the chip in his head).
Doyle wearing a T-shirt that says 'Princess is with stupid'.
A bubble bath.
A fight between Doyle and Xander (over Cordy).
Cordy seeing Doyle in a towel.
Cordy insulting someone's outfit.
Spike messing with Xander's head, by confessing his secret love for him.
Spike messing with Angel's head, by calling him daddy.
Leather pants.

PART 1
January 1998
Buffy Summers slowly climbed out of Jenny's car and headed into the school and towards the library. Giles heard the library door open and saw Buffy and Jenny enter. "Angel?" he asked.
"He's gone," Jenny, told him, as Buffy ignored everyone and sat at the table.
"Is she okay?" Giles asked Jenny, concerned for his slayer who was like a daughter to him.
"She will be... eventually," Jenny told him, just as concerned. Even though it had been her job to keep them apart, she'd never though Buffy would take it this hard.
Buffy heard them talking about her and didn't care all she could think about was Angel and how she wished she could be there with him right now instead of here.

March 1998
Joyce Summers danced around the kitchen, she was in such a good mood and she couldn't wait to tell Buffy her good news. When she heard Buffy coming downstairs, she forced herself to remain calm, "Morning honey" she said.
"Morning" Buffy mumbled back.
Joyce didn't understand what was going on with Buffy, ever since her birthday she'd been walking around depressed, but she refused to talk about it. "I have some news," Joyce told her, excitedly.
"What?" Buffy asked, but only because it was expected of her.
"Rob asked me to marry him and I said yes" Joyce replied.
"That's great," Buffy said, managing a small smile that she didn't feel.
"There's more" Joyce told her, seriously.
"What?" Buffy repeated.
"Because of Rob's job, we have to move back to LA" Joyce said, waiting for the explosion that never came.
"Okay" Buffy, said, "I gotta get to school, bye". Buffy left, leaving behind an extremely confused Joyce.

When she arrived at school, Buffy heady straight for the library, heading through the door she walked in on Jenny and Giles kissing.
"Sorry" Buffy mumbled, getting ready to leave.
"Buffy, don't be silly" Giles said, moving away from Jenny. "What brings you here so early?"
"Just had some news for you" Buffy said, unenthusiastically.
"What is it?" Giles asked concerned. He was worried about her, when Angel left it seemed that he took not only her heart but also her spirit with him.
"Mom's marrying Rob..." Buffy started.
Giles cut her off, "That's good".
"... And we're moving to LA" Buffy finished.
"What? You can't. You're the slayer, this is the Hellmouth..." Giles said, in a panic.
"Like I have a choice about it," Buffy replied somewhat bitterly.
"You go to class," he told Buffy, "I must call the council".
Buffy walked out of the library to go tell Willow and Xander.
Jenny came up behind him and said, "It'll be alright".
"I hope so," Giles answered.

Three Weeks Later
Buffy stood in the middle of her empty bedroom and thought about how quickly things had happened. It was only a few weeks ago when it had just been her and her mom here in Sunnydale and now it was going to be her, her mom and Rob in LA. Even poor old Giles' situation was different, the council had told him to remain on the Hellmouth and become Kendra's watcher, and she was to get a new one when she reached LA. One good thing to come out of this move was no constant reminder of Angel, she missed him so much and yet she hadn't heard from him. It still seemed like yesterday that they'd stood on the dock where he'd given her the ring, kissed her goodbye and told her that he loved her, and then he sailed away from her. Joyce calling her broke out Buffy of her reverie.
"What?" she yelled back.
"It's time to go" was the reply.
Buffy took one last look around her room and headed downstairs and out the door. Where she found Willow, Xander and Cordy waiting for her, she'd already said goodbye to Giles and Jenny at the school before.
"Bye Wils" she said, hugging her best friend, "I'll miss you".
"You'd better call and write me all the time," Willow said, tearfully.
Buffy then turned to Xander. "I'll miss you Xandman" Buffy told him.
He hugged her and said, "Don't forget about us".
"Bye Cordy" Buffy said, majorly uncomfortable.
"Bye Buffy" Cordy replied, in the same manner.
They then watched her climb into the car and drive towards a new life and away from Sunnydale and them.

PART 2
One Year Later
A lone figure disembarked a ship that had just docked. He looked around taking in the sight of the town, as if he was remembering something and then headed in the direction of the high school. As he walked along he kept looking around, like he was searching for someone. After a few minutes her arrived at the high school and went inside the library, as he walked through the door, he heard a collective gasp.
"Angel?" Willow asked, in disbelief.
Angel ignored her and looked around the library and asked, "Where's Buffy?"
At the same time Faith asked, "Who's the hottie?"
"Everyone calm down" Giles said, still in shock. "If you all sit down I'll explain".
Angel sat down next to Willow, the only friendly face in the room and awaited Giles' explanation.
"Faith is the slayer..." Giles began.
Angel cut him off, "Are you telling me that..."
"No" Giles said, quickly. "Last time we heard Buffy was fine. Faith is Kendra's replacement."
"What do you mean last time we heard?" Angel asked, determined to find out about Buffy.
"A few months after you left Joyce remarried and they moved to LA. That's where we kinda lost track of her," Giles answered.
"She's gone?" Angel couldn't believe it; he'd just expected her to be there when he got back.
"So Deadboy, what are you going to do now?" Xander asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.
"Find her" Angel, said, resolutely.

Six Months Later
Angel surveyed his new office, he and his new friend Doyle had decided to open a detective agency a couple of weeks ago. He'd only agreed really because Doyle said he had a greater destiny and although Buffy was a big part of that, so was helping others in need.
"Angel?" Cordy said.
"Yeah" he replied, although he didn't show it he was grateful she was around, a little piece of home in a strange new place.
"I'm going home".
"Okay, see you tomorrow" Angel told her retreating figure.
As Cordy was leaving Doyle was arriving. "Hi and bye princess" he said, as she passed him.
"Don't call me that" was her reply.
Doyle walked over to Angel and said, "She *so* wants me, man".
"Really? Then why is she dating Xander then?" Angel asked, laughing.
"Who's Xander?" Doyle said, confused. He didn't want to believe that the woman of his dreams, especially the dreams of late, was taken.
"Her boyfriend. They've been together almost two years" Angel told him.
"Then I guess it's too bad that he'll lose her to me then" Doyle said, with a confidence he didn't feel.
"Personally, I'm on your team. I am not a Xander fan," Angel told Doyle, trying to cheer him up.
"Good. Now let me tell you about the delightful vision I received" Doyle said, sarcastically, as the two men got to work.

Meanwhile nearby Buffy was training with her watcher. "Buffy, you need to concentrate" Wesley told her.
"I *am* concentrating" Buffy said, trying to control her anger and frustration. "I'm just exhausted, we've been at this for hours and I still have to patrol."
"Very well. We will continue this tomorrow" Wesley told her dismissively.
"Oh joy" Buffy replied sarcastically, but gathered up her stuff and escaped quickly in case he changed his mind. Wes wasn't a bad watcher he just wasn't Giles or Merrick.
Buffy was about to climb into her car, when she heard a voice say, "Buffy?"
She turned around and saw Cordelia Chase standing there and she said, "Cordy."
"Wow, it is you" Cordy said, giving her a hug, "It's good to see you."
Buffy stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. "It's good to see you too" Buffy replied, politely.
"I have to go, but here's my number. Call me" Cordy said, handing Buffy a piece of paper.
"Sure" Buffy told her. She watched Cordy walk away, she shook off the sense of confusion and got into her and drove off towards the cemetery.

The next afternoon when Cordy arrived at work, she saw Angel surfing the net. "What are you doing?" she asked, coming up behind him.
"Running a search on Buffy" Angel answered, distractedly.
"Shall I tell her that next time I see her" Cordy replied.
"Sure, whatever" Angel said, then he realised what she'd said, "You saw her?"
"Yep, last night. I gave her my number" Cordy told him.
"And you think that she'll call *you*?" Angel scoffed.
"Why wouldn't she?" Cordy asked.
Angel just sat there and laughed, he was still doing that when Doyle walked into the office. He was wearing a lime green t-shirt that said 'Princess is with stupid', of course seeing this made Angel laugh even harder.
Unfortunately it had the opposite effect on Cordy, who was cheesed off. "Xander isn't stupid," Cordy said, defending her boyfriend.
"That's not what I heard" Doyle replied.
"Sure, trust Angel's opinion. So Xander's made a few mistakes, but nobody's perfect," Cordy said, leaving the office quickly.
"What mistakes?" he asked Angel.
"Willow, Faith and Anya" Angel replied.
"Why does she put up with that?" Doyle asked, quietly going downstairs.

About ten blocks away Buffy sat around the garage where Pike worked. "Not that I mind having you here Buff, but don't you have someplace else to be?" Pike asked her.
"Nope" Buffy replied, plying with her claddagh that she always wore.
"Why don't you call that girl?" Pike suggested, trying to get rid of Buffy so he could actually do some work.
"*Cordy*" Buffy asked, in disbelief, "Why would I *want* to do that?"
"Because I would actually like to get some work done this afternoon" Pike told her.
"Fine, I'll call her and leave you to play with your equipment," Buffy said, leaving.
Pike watched Buffy leave; he couldn't imagine his life without her again. Ever since she'd come back into his life he had realised he was still in love with her, the one drawback he could see however was that she was in love with someone other than him. He realised he wouldn't win, so he settled for being her best friend.
After leaving Pike, Buffy pulled out her cell phone and the piece of paper Cordy had given her and dialled the number.
~Ring, Ring~ "Hi this is Cordelia. I am so sorry but I am not in right now. Please leave your name and number and I will get back to you. Unless your name is Doyle." BEEP
Buffy left her name and phone number on the machine and hung up. She decided to go back to the dorm for a while to rest before she had to go to training.

Angel, Cordy and Doyle had just finished work for the night, when the office door flew open and in walked Spike.
"Daddy, I'm home" he called out strolling over to Angel, "Aren't you gonna hug me daddy?"
"What in the *hell* is wrong with you?" Angel asked, looking at Spike strangely.
"They put a chip in me head, daddy" Spike said, sorrowfully.
"Who?" Cordy said, wondering what was up and if Spike was a skitso.
"The commando guys. Now I can't kill or hurt Humans, I'm now a bloody great sodding poof like you daddy" Spike told them.
"Stop calling me that" Angel demanded.
"Fine. But you gotta help me; those bloody white hats back in Sunnyhell just laughed at me. I also am *really* hungry and I miss my happy meals" Spike replied.
"Happy meals?" Doyle questioned.
"Yeah, you know Humans. Happy meals with legs" Spike answered.
"EEWWW" Cordy yelled.
"Oh, like you never ate at McDonalds" Spike replied, sarcastically.
"Calm down" Angel said. He turned to Cordy and Doyle and told them, "You two go home, I'll deal with the Billy Idol wanna-be".
As they were walking out Angel heard Cordy ask Doyle, "Billy who?" Angel pushed Spike downstairs, all the while trying to figure out what to do with him.

PART 3
Cordy let herself into her crummy apartment and immediately went to check her machine. She had only one message and it wasn't from her agent, it was from Buffy. Cordy took down Buffy's number and willed herself to remember to give it Angel before she forgot she had it. She was so depressed by her surroundings that she didn't notice the mutant cockroach running across her floor until she almost stepped on it. Tired of living in this poverty trap, she grabbed a few necessities and headed out the door. She didn't know how or why, but probably because of Spike, that she found herself outside of Doyle's door and not Angel's.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she knocked. "Coming," yelled a voice from inside.
The next instant the door opened and there stood Doyle wearing nothing but a towel and all wet from the shower. "Wow" she whispered to herself. "My apartment is infested and I need a place to crash..." Cordy said, trying to look desperate.
"Sure, come on in" Doyle said, moving out of the way.
Cordy entered Doyle's apartment and was totally surprised, sure it was a little sleazy but it was a far cry from the porno-pimp pit she'd imagined that he'd live in. "It's nice" Cordy said, trying to be polite.
"It suits me" Doyle replied, as he headed to his room.
Cordy sat on Doyle's couch and waited for him to return and he did a few moments later dressed in boxers and a t-shirt. He had a blanket and pillow with him, "The bedroom is through there" he told her, "Goodnight princess".
Cordy suddenly realised he was giving her his room and he was sleeping on the couch, surprised by his kindness, she said "Thank you and goodnight", as she headed to his room.

Angel was patrolling, which was something he hadn't done in a long time because it brought back memories of doing it with Buffy, but he'd had to get out of his apartment. Spike had made himself right at home and was raving about how unfair it was to be evil and not be able to torture and kill. And how he didn't want to be like Angel and finally his plans for revenge on the gang in Sunnydale for laughing at him, after three hours of that Angel had seriously contemplated throwing himself or Spike into the sunlight. He didn't care about Spike's predicament because it had nothing to do with his redemption or with him finding Buffy. Ever since he'd left her on her 17th birthday, she'd consumed his every thought; he was desperately in love with her. He had a major regret from that night, he didn't tell her the true meaning of the claddagh he gave her. He was about to head back to his apartment, when he thought he felt Buffy's presence. He looked around and could see no one out there, so he shrugged it off believing it was just his mind playing tricks on him and he headed home. Less than two minutes later, a blonde flew out of an alley. She quickly jumped up and kicked her assailant back and ran him through with a stake. She was about to take off, when she paused for a moment, as if she felt something, but she just turned and walked away.

A week later, Cordy had moved the rest of her stuff into Doyle's, however much to Doyle's chagrin nothing had changed between them except they were better friends. Angel however had noticed other things, their constant bickering had lessened and when they did bicker it was more teasing than spiteful, they were also more considerate to each other and Cordy had the new habit of staring at Doyle when he wasn't staring at her. Angel envied them, he'd give anything to have someone, (who was he kidding), Buffy in his life like that. He was getting depressed with his search, it had been almost a year and still no sign of her, she'd probably moved on with someone who was not only closer to her in age but could take her out in the sunlight. Angel guessed her was doomed to spend eternity with Spike, listening to his complaints or better yet he'd just stake Spike and spend eternity alone. He snapped out of that train of thought when he heard the office door open. Unfortunately, instead of a paying client it was Xander.
"Hey Deadboy. Where's Cordy?" Xander said, practically the second that he stepped through the door.
"Not here, and don't call me that" Angel said, dismissively.
"Well she's not at home either" Xander told him making no move to leave.
Desperate to get rid of him, Angel said "Fine. She's here". He gave Xander Doyle's address.
Xander grabbed and stomped out of the office, leaving Angel free to go all turbo broody again.

Xander arrived at the address that Angel had given him and knocked on the door. "Coming," said a voice from inside. Some guy in his underwear opened the door, "Yeah" the guy asked.
"I'm looking for Cordy?" Xander asked, praying he had the wrong address.
"Sure" Doyle answered. "'Delia, it's for you" he called out.
Cordy came out of Doyle's bedroom in her pyjamas and walked to the door. "Xander? What are you doing here?" Cordy asked, in surprise.
"I could ask you the same thing" Xander replied, coldly.
"What do you mean?" Cordy said, confused by Xander's attitude.
"You're supposed to be my girlfriend and I find you shacked up with some loser," Xander yelled, angrily.
"Xander I..."
"Save it Cor. Faith told me not to trust you..." Xander began.
Doyle cut him off, "Hey, she hasn't done anything, she is the most loyal person I know and she doesn't deserve to be treated like this by you or anyone else".
"Mind your own business, pimp-boy" Xander replied.
That was when Doyle tried to hit Xander; unfortunately he missed and hit the wall. "Ha-ha" Xander laughed.
"Doyle, are you okay?" Cordy asked, concerned.
"I'll live" Doyle replied, touched by her concern.
"Xander, I don't want to see you ever again," Cordy said, as she slammed the door in his face. She walked over to Doyle and said, "Thanks".
"For what?"
"For defending me," Cordy told him, examining his hand.
"No problem" he told her, as she went to get some ice for his injury.

As soon as darkness fell Angel was out patrolling again. He'd been out about an hour, when he thought he'd felt Buffy again, this added claim to his thought that he was going insane. However that thought flew out of his head when he saw a group of vamps attacking a girl. He rushed over to help and before to long the vamps were dust, he offered his hand to the girl and was about to walk away when he heard the girl say, "Angel?"

PART 4
"Cordy?" Angel shouted, "What are you doing here?"
"Doyle and I live in that building" she replied, pointing to a building not more than 10 meters away.
"Then where's Doyle? He shouldn't let you walk around this neighbourhood alone" Angel lectured.
"Here's right here," Cordy said, pointing to a body lying at her feet. "They knocked him out in less than two seconds".
"Oh... well in that case do you want me to help carry him inside?" Angel asked. He knew the real reason Doyle had been knocked out; he put them both in danger just so Cordy wouldn't see his demon half.
"Yeah, he weighs a tonne".
Angel picked Doyle up and followed Cordy into the apartment building she'd pointed out earlier.

Buffy had been about to go the aid of the girl, when she'd seen some guy come to her aid. She thought that there was something familiar about him, but she was too far away from him to tell for sure.
"Hey Buff, everything okay?" Pike asked her, concerned.
"Yeah. I was just admiring that guys technique" Buffy told him, as she watched the guy carry the injured man into a nearby building.
"Is that what they call it now?" Pike asked, slyly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about" Buffy replied, ignoring Pike's dirty mind.
"You were so checking that guy out" Pike teased, "Could you even *see* anything from this distance?"
"I was not checking that guy out" Buffy defended herself.
"Whatever you say Buff" Pike said, with a wink.
"Pike you are a total pain in the..." Buffy started to say.
"Yeah" Pike said, cutting her off. "That' why you love me".
"You so wish that" Buffy said not knowing how true her last comment had been. She turned away from him and stalked off in the direction of Wesley's apartment.
"Hey Buff. Wait up" Pike said, trying to catch up with her.

When Angel finally returned to his apartment, he was totally exhausted all he wanted to do was fall into bed, sleep and dream of Buffy, his beloved. Unfortunately Spike was around.
"Where the hell have you been?" Spike demanded, sounding like a neglected housewife.
Angel was about to give Spike specific instructions on where to shove a stake, when he noticed what Spike was wearing, Angel couldn't help but stare.
"What are you staring at Peaches?" Spike asked, peeved.
"Why are you wearing hot pink leather pants?" Angel asked, still staring at the fashion abomination before him.
"I happen to think they look good, and they make a fashion statement" Spike defended his clothing choice.
"Yeah. Look at me I'm an escaped psychopath" Angel told him.
"Ha-ha. Look who's giving out fashion advice Mr I-wear-only-one-colour-and-have-a-thing-for-slayers" Spike replied.
"Whatever. I'm going to bed," Angel said, walking past Spike.
"What? It's early and I was thinking we could go out, just like the old days without the maiming and killing" Spike told him.
"Nope" Angel said, entering his bedroom.
"Why not?" Spike asked.
"Because I don't want to be seen in public with you in those pants" Angel said, closing the door.
"Jeez, what's his problem?" Spike said, to himself as he left the apartment.

Two nights later, Angel was in his office with Doyle trying to interpret Doyle's latest vision, when Kate walked in.
"Hi" Kate said, shyly. She had a major crush on Angel and was trying to worm her way into his life and into his heart; little did she know that she'd never succeed.
"Hey" Angel replied, friendly-like. He was totally and utterly clueless about Kate's intentions towards him. To him she wasn't Buffy, so she therefore did not exist to him as a woman, only as a colleague.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I could use your help on a case I just got," Kate asked totally lying through her teeth.
"Sure, no problem. Could I meet you later though?" Angel replied, wanting to deal with Doyle's problem first.
"Okay. Ziggy's in, say two hours?" Kate suggested trying not to smile over her so called victory.
"Sure" Angel replied, dismissively.
Kate left Angel Investigations with a big smile on her face, she assumed this was her big chance to impress Angel and win his heart. She headed back to her place to, dress for success.

"Angel" Cordy called out, as he was about to leave to meet Kate.
"What?" he asked, impatiently, he really wanted to get this meeting with Kate over with.
"Don't go. You're only encouraging her by doing this" Cordy warned him.
"How?" Angel asked, confused.
"Coffee is the official non-date beverage," Cordy explained slowly, as if she were speaking to a toddler and not a 240 plus year old vampire.
"Cordy, no matter what you say...I just can't believe that Kate is interested in me like that," Angel said, leaving the office.
Cordy sat there and hoped that Angel knew how to defend himself against man-hungry LAPD detectives.

Buffy and Pike were sitting in Ziggy's diner, couple of hours later after patrol. Pike was talking about his day, while Buffy zoned out. She was exhausted, she'd just endured four hours of training and then two hours of patrol, so she wasn't really in the mood for socialising but she felt guilty about dragging Pike along with her and so when he'd suggested a coffee she'd agreed.
"Earth to Buffy" Pike called, for the tenth time.
"Huh?" she said, snapping out of her daze.
"You wanna go?" Pike asked her, suddenly realising how exhausted she was.
"Nah, I need to caffeine myself up before I go back to the dorm and do my psych homework" Buffy told him.
"Are you sure?" Pike questioned.
"Yes, I'm sure" Buffy replied, with a perkiness she didn't feel.
"Alright" Pike said, returning to the story of his day.
Buffy started to zone out again, when she felt Angel's presence. She was sure about it this time, she had all of the familiar symptoms...butterflies in her stomach, a tingle down her spine and shortness of breath, and they all accompanied his arrival. She quickly scanned the few customers of the diner but didn't see anyone who remotely looked like him. Disappointed, she turned her attention back to Pike and his monotonous story.

Angel walked the two blocks to the diner and waited outside for Kate to arrive. He once again felt Buffy was nearby but the feeling was different this time, it was stronger, as if it were real and not imagined. He tried to shrug it off but it wouldn't disappear, he desperately wanted to see where this feeling would lead him, but he had to complete his obligation to Kate. He went inside and saw that Kate was already there; he headed over to the booth she'd picked. As he sat down he quickly scanned the diner, there was few customers and only one other booth was occupied, it had a blonde and a person Angel could only describe as a scruffy, druggie-bum sitting in it.
"Hey" Kate greeted him.
"Hi" Angel replied. He noticed what Kate was wearing and realised that Cordy may be right about Kate's feelings towards him.
Kate pulled out a case file, "This is what I need your opinion on", and she handed the file to Angel.
He took the file and said, "I'll go review this and give it back tomorrow".
"That's fine" Kate told him.
They sat there for a moment in silence before Angel made an excuse and got up ready to leave. In his haste, he bumped into the blonde from the other booth. "Sorry" he muttered.
"It's alright" the blonde replied.
She was about to turn and leave, when Angel said "Buffy?"

PART 5
Buffy turned around to face the guy who'd said her name and could hardly believe her eyes. "Angel?" she gasped.
Angel took a good look at his beloved she'd changed. Her hair was longer and she was thinner, but he'd expected her to change physically, what disturbed him was that she'd lost her spirit. The thing that made her sparkle, that made her stand out in a crowd, that made her Buffy, that's why he'd barely recognised her.
Buffy was staring at Angel; he looked just like she remembered him, well except for the new haircut.
"So, how are you?" Angel asked, not quite knowing what to say. He'd planned for this moment for over a year, but now it had arrived his mind had gone blank.
"Miserable. You?" Buffy said, without actually meaning to say it.
"Same" Angel blurted out, he couldn't seem to control what his mouth said.
They stood there staring at each other, totally forgetting that anyone in the world existed outside of them.

Pike stood there in total shock; he couldn't believe that Buffy's true love guy was standing in front of him. Pike looked at them, looking at each other and knew then and there that he'd never stood a chance with Buffy; her heart always had and always would belong to this guy. Kate, who was also standing there, was wondering who in hell this silly little blonde annoyance was.
"Angel" Kate said, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"
Angel didn't even hear her; all that existed at that moment in time was Buffy. He snapped out of his daze a few minutes later when Kate and that bum Buffy was with had left.
"Your date's gone" Angel told her.
"Who, Pike? He wasn't my date; he's just a friend. What about the bimbo that you were with?" Buffy said, defensively.
"Colleague, no romantic intentions" Angel replied.
"So..." Buffy said, thinking that they should go somewhere else and talk.
"Want to go somewhere and talk?" Angel asked her, as if he'd been reading her mind.
"Sure, but where?"
"How about my place?" Angel suggested.
"Fine" Buffy replied.
They left Ziggy's Diner and headed the two blocks to where Angel's apartment and office were located.

Meanwhile, Cordy and Doyle were arriving home. Cordy marched into their apartment, still mad at Angel. Doyle said to her, "I don't see why you're so upset about this?"
"You want the truth?" Cordy asked him.
"Yeah", praying that the truth wasn't that Cordy had some sort of unrequited love-thing going on about Angel.
"I hate Kate" Cordy simply told him.
"Is that all?" Doyle said, in total relief.
"What do you mean is that all? Kate is a total bitca," Cordy ranted.
"So..." Doyle replied he didn't see a problem; it was Angel's choice who he dated.
"Any woman Angel wants isn't a problem, just as long as it isn't Kate" Cordy replied.
"Isn't that Angel's choice?" Doyle asked.
"No, it's mine".
"Why?" Doyle said, in complete confusion.
"Because I'm his friend and I have to look out for him," Cordy explained to Doyle.
Doyle gave up, if he lived to be Angel's age, he still wouldn't understand Cordy's logic. He sat down next to her on the couch and turned on the TV.
A few minutes later Cordy said, "This place is kinda small. Maybe we should move? I mean if you want to?"
Doyle extremely happy at Cordy's use of the word *we* replied, "Sure. We could look this weekend".
"Great" Cordy said, smiling.
They both settled back to watch the TV in silence.

Angel let Buffy into his office and noticed it was quiet. "Cordy and Doyle must have gone home" Angel told her.
"Cordy?" Buffy asked, confused.
"She works here" Angel replied.
"And you haven't killed her yet?" Buffy asked, in disbelief.
"She's not that bad" Angel defended, but he relented at the look Buffy shot him, "Well most of the time".
They went downstairs and sat at his kitchen table. They sat there in silence just staring at each other until Buffy said, "So...You're a detective?"
"Yeah. What are you doing?" he asked her.
"I'm a freshman, UCLA" Buffy replied. A few seconds later, she said, "It's weird isn't it?"
"What?"
"There's so much I need to say, but all I can think about is kissing you" Buffy told him.
"I know the feeling" Angel muttered.
Buffy heard him say that and before he could even blink, Buffy was in front of him and kissing him. Buffy was breathing heavily when they broke apart. "Wow" was all she could say, before Angel's lips were crushing down on hers. When they broke apart again, Buffy couldn't stifle a yawn.
"You're tired?" he asked her, sympathetically.
"It's been a long night" she said, "And I still have to get back to the dorm". Buffy got up and ready to leave.
Angel, who didn't want her to leave, said, "You're welcome to stay here". Then he realised how that may have sounded to her and quickly said, "I mean you take the bed and I'll stay on the couch".
Buffy, who didn't want to leave him, said "You sure that you don't mind?"
"It's no problem" he lied. He showed her to the bedroom and left her to get ready for bed. A few minutes later he knocked on the door, when he entered he saw her just sitting in the bed. "Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. I just don't wanna go to sleep, I have nightmares" Buffy told him.
"It'll be okay. If you have one, I'll be here" Angel told her, soothingly.
"Maybe, if you stayed here with me, I wouldn't have any" Buffy suggested, shyly.
"Buffy...are you sure?" Angel asked her.
"Yeah" she replied. Angel climbed into the bed beside Buffy and she snuggled into him.
His last coherent thought as he was drifting off to sleep was that this felt right.

The next afternoon Cordy and Doyle came downstairs, into Angel's apartment to put away the blood that they'd gotten him. Doyle was putting it away, when Cordy spotted a woman's jacket hanging over a chair.
"I don't believe this, Kate spent the night. Is Angel nuts?" Cordy told Doyle.
"Don't jump to conclusions, princess" Doyle warned her.
Cordy as usual ignored Doyle and burst into Angel's bedroom and what she saw shocked her even more than finding Kate there would have. She saw Buffy and Angel wrapped in each other's arms asleep.
"Princess, what's wrong?" Doyle asked, coming up behind her.
"Buffy" Cordy said, still in shock.
Doyle looked at the blonde that was asleep in bed with his friend, "So that's her?"
"Yep" Cordy told him, "That's our Buffy".
"He actually found her," Doyle said, in amazement as they backed out of the bedroom and went quietly back up into the office.

PART 6
Buffy was the first to wake up; she could hardly believe that she was there with Angel. She examined him closely and all she could see was how good he looked, unfortunately she realised they needed to talk before she played touchy-feely with him. It had been two years since she'd really talked with him and knew that although he may be the same physically, she was sure that he'd changed emotionally. Even Buffy realised that she wasn't the same girl that he'd known back in Sunnydale, she'd grown up and was hopefully more mature than she'd been at 17. Any relationship that she and Angel might...no, would have, was gonna have to start from scratch, as they got to know each other again. Buffy was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice that Angel was awake and watching her.
"Hey" he said, scaring her.
"Morning" she told him, "I guess I should get going?"
"Why?" Angel had been hoping that they could talk.
"I've got psych class" Buffy replied, checking her watch, "Or not. It kinda finished an hour ago".
"Great, so we can talk?" Angel asked, hopefully.
"Yeah" Buffy replied. Buffy took her things into the bathroom, while Angel dressed in the bedroom.
Since when he'd finished and Buffy was still in the bathroom, he decide to check if Cordy and Doyle were around.

When Angel got upstairs he saw them actually doing some work. Cordy was actually billing customers and Doyle was finishing up case reports. "Okay, who are you people and where are the real Cordy and Doyle?" Angel joked.
"Afternoon, man" Doyle said, unable to meet Angel's eye. He felt uncomfortable after seeing Angel and Buffy earlier, kinda like he'd invaded Angel's privacy.
Cordy on the other hand had no problem with it, "Hey. How's Buffy today?"
Doyle groaned inwardly as he heard Cordy's question, he expected Angel to get mad, but he didn't. "She's fine" Angel said, smiling, "Since everything's okay, I'm going back downstairs".
Cordy stared at Angel's retreating form and said, "My God, he's smiling. What did she do to him?"
Doyle replied, "If she puts him in this good a mood, let's keep her".
Instead of answering him, she rolled her eyes and got back to work. Doyle followed her example, but all the time was secretly wondering what was going on down there.

Buffy and Angel were sat at his kitchen table, staring at each other silently. Buffy broke the silence by asking, "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Us" Angel answered.
"Me too" Buffy told him. She looked at him for a moment and said, "I think we should take things slowly. You know, date and get to know each other again".
"I agree" Angel said, "We just can't jump back into where we left off, we've both changed".
Relieved that they both felt the same way, they talked about everything that had happened to them since her 17th birthday. Buffy a while later got up and said, "I have to get back to the dorm, but how about we patrol together tonight?"
"Sure, about eight?" Angel replied, happy that Buffy wanted to have him around.
"Okay, I'll meet you here" Buffy said, as she left by Angel's back entrance.
After she'd left Angel went back upstairs and tried to clear as much work as he could out of the way, so he could spend time with Buffy later on.

Half an hour later Buffy was walking quickly across campus, when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around to see who it was.
"Hey Buffy," Riley Finn said, catching up with her.
"Hi Riley" Buffy said resuming her walk back to the dorm.
"So...how come you weren't in class?" Riley asked. He was wondering because he'd planned to ask her out.
"I was up late last night studying, so I kinda slept in" Buffy told him, wondering why he was bothering her.
They walked along for a minute or two, then Riley asked, "So, Buffy...wouldyougooutwithmesometime?"
Buffy didn't want to hurt his feelings if she could help it, so she said as nicely as possible "I'm sorry Riley, but I'm already seeing someone".
"That Pike-guy?" Riley asked, curious as to who had gotten there before him.
"No, Pike's just a friend" Buffy answered, growing increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation.
"Who then?"
"You don't know him, his name's Angel" Buffy replied reaching her dorm. "See ya Riley" Buffy called, entering the building and heading towards the stairs.
Riley watched Buffy go and headed back to the Frat house, all the time barely believing that he'd lost a chance to get to be with Buffy because of some guy with a fruity name like Angel.

Angel was sitting in his office, daydreaming about Buffy when Spike walked in. "Okay, tell me everything" Spike said, sitting back and awaiting the gossip.
"About what?" Angel said, confused as he snapped out of his fantasy.
"About the babe you brought home last night. Does she put out and if so can I have 'er when you're done?" Spike asked.
"Spike piss-off," Angel told him, wanting to get back to his daydream.
"Hey, no need to be rude. It's not like your hot babe was the slayer or..." Spike trailed off as he saw the look on Angel's face.
"Man, you slept with Buffy, that's so sick".
"Nothing happened Spike all we did was sleep" Angel said, so tired of explaining his every action to his grand-childe.
"It's still gross" Spike replied. A few seconds late he asked, "Can I still have 'er when you're done?"
Seeing the angry look on Angel's face, he wisely chose to leave the office. Angel watched Spike run and couldn't believe the nerve that he'd had. Spike was driving him nuts, he knew he had to get rid of him, but he wasn't sure how.
Then Doyle came in, "Angel, man. I need some advice".
"What?" Angel asked, taking a minute to help his friend.
"Say you were living with a girl and you are completely in love with her, but you're hiding a few things. Should you tell?" Doyle asked him.
"Just tell her you're father was a Bracken demon, she might surprise you with her reaction" Angel told him.
"Yeah, well I doubt she'd like the rest of me news" Doyle muttered.
"Oh, what would that be?" Angel asked, curiously.
"That I'm married" Doyle said, quietly.
Angel silently groaned, instinctively knowing it was going to be a long day.

Buffy finished all of her schoolwork and still had hours before she met Angel. She wasn't sure what to do with her time, but she eventually decide to go see Pike and find out what had happened to him last night. Pike was sitting in the garage's office when she pulled up. He watched her climb out of her car and head towards him, and he tried to stop the irrational anger that overtook him that she'd fallen for some other guy, but he couldn't. He felt that it was supremely unfair that he'd known her longer and knew all the same stuff about her that this Angel-guy did and yet she fell for Angel over him. He tried to look busy hoping to discourage her from staying long.
"Hey" Buffy said, coming inside.
"Hi" he replied, still pretending to be busy.
"So what happened to you last night?" Buffy asked, unaware at how uncomfortable she was making him.
"Well, jeez Buff. I didn't see the point in hanging around, when all you were doing was staring at that guy" Pike told her, bitterly.
"Whoa. What's wrong with you?" Buffy asked, concerned at Pike's behaviour.
Pike looked at her and said, "You really have *no idea*, do you?"
"About what? Pike you are so not making any sense" Buffy replied, confused.
"Buffy maybe we shouldn't hang out anymore" Pike said.
"Why not? What aren't you telling me?" Buffy pushed.
"Because I'm in love with you and you love him, so I just can't deal" Pike yelled, walking out.
Buffy stood there in shock; she'd had no idea that Pike had, had those kinds of feelings for her. She'd once again been so wrapped up in herself that she'd not only hurt but also lost her best friend.

At seven Angel was pacing his apartment, he didn't know how he was going to survive another hour until Buffy showed up. He sat down but was unable to stop himself thinking about her he smiled.
"I *so* hope that smile was for me" Buffy said, coming down the stairs, "Sorry I'm early".
Angel saw the look on her face, "Are you okay?"
"It's nothing, just something I need to deal with" Buffy replied.
"If you need me..." Angel said, a little upset that she wouldn't confide in him. "Hey, I know what will cheer you up".
"What?' she asked.
"You can kick Spike's butt when he comes out of the room" Angel told her.
"Spike's here?" Buffy said, coming up with a somewhat evil idea. "So you want me to kick his butt, so he'll leave?"
"Yeah" Angel replied.
"I have a better idea," Buffy said, pulling him closer and whispering her plan in his ear.

When Spike finally emerged from the room he had commandeered, he saw Buffy and Angel making out on the couch. "Oh, that's gross. Stop it you bleedin' morons" Spike told them.
"Spikey" Buffy yelled, rushing from Angel's arms to give him a hug.
"Get off me" Spike screamed, trying to break out of her grip.
"Spike, she's just excited over our plans" Angel told him, justifying her behaviour.
"What plans?" Spike asked, suspiciously.
"Buffy's agreed to become one of us, so we can spend eternity together" Angel replied.
"What?' You can't be serious," Spike yelled.
"Just think Spike. You, Angel and me together *forever*" Buffy said, trying not to laugh.
Spike went paler than usual. "Peaches, I just came out to tell ya that I called Sunnyhell and Red begged for me to come back, so I'm going". Spike quickly headed back the room to pack.
As soon as he'd gone, Angel picked Buffy up and whirled her around. He gave her a quick kiss and said, "You're a total genius".
"I know" Buffy replied, as he set her down and pulled him into another kiss.

When Spike came back out, they were still kissing. "Don't you two ever stop? Wait you're still in that whole newlywed phase" Spike said evilly, knowing Angel probably hadn't told her about it.
"What?" Buffy asked, confused by Spike's reference.
"Didn't Peaches tell you the real meaning of your claddagh ring?" Spike asked, innocently.
"Buffy..." Angel began.
"We're married?" Buffy asked.
Spike chose that moment to leave, after seeing that his work was done. He left the apartment laughing evilly.
"Not officially. Claddagh's were exchanged as wedding rings by my people" Angel explained.
"Wow" was all she could say. She stood there in shock for a minute before saying, "Can I be the one to tell Xander?"
Angel was confused by her reaction to the news, but he was also glad she wasn't yelling and throwing things at him.
"You were gonna tell that night weren't you?" Buffy asked, calmly.
"Yeah, I had it all planned. I was going to walk you home from your party and tell you how I felt and what it meant and then give you the ring. But then I had to leave town and I didn't think it was fair to tie you down like that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you and I've regretted everyday, that I didn't tell..." Buffy kissed him; it was the only way she could shut him up.
"At least I know now. Oh My God, what am I gonna tell my mom".
"Do we have to tell her?" Angel asked, panicked. There was just something about Joyce that freaked him out, like she was evil or something.
Buffy laughed, "She'll find out sooner or later".
"Why?" Angel asked.
"Because one day I'm gonna make you make it official" Buffy answered, kissing him. A few minutes later she broke the kiss and got up, when Angel groaned she said, "Patrolling now, making out after".
Buffy and Angel grabbed weapons and stuff and he pulled her out of the apartment, because he knew the sooner the patrol was over, the sooner he could be back in her arms.

Part 7
A few weeks later, Buffy and Angel were sitting on his couch (well actually Buffy was on Angel's lap and he was on the couch) making out. They were so involved with each other that they didn't hear Doyle come down the stairs. Doyle coughed loudly to get their attention. They quickly broke apart, and straightened their clothing. Angel was about to tell Doyle to get lost when he saw the black eye.
"What happened?" Angel asked, concerned.
"I told 'er," Doyle replied, sitting down.
"I guess she doesn't like half demons" Angel guessed.
"No, you were right about that she didn't mind" Doyle told him. "It was the other matter she didn't like".
"Oh" Angel said, unsure of what to tell Doyle. He looked over at Buffy and saw her leaving, "Where are you going?" he asked.
"Well...Cordy's gonna need someone to talk to and it might as well be me" Buffy told Angel, gathering her stuff.
"See you tomorrow?" Angel asked, still uncertain of Buffy's feelings for him.
"Count on it" she told him, giving him a quick kiss goodbye.
Angel watched her go and then turned back to Doyle, "What happened?"
"Well..." Doyle began, "Princess and I were sitting on the couch watching TV as usual, when all of a sudden she kisses me. I'm totally shocked, but I stop her and say I need to tell her something. I tell her about my dad and the demon-thingy and she takes it real well, even asks to see the demon face and I show her. After all this she starts kissing me again and so I tell her there's more she needs to know. So I tell her about me being married when I were younger and then I finish of with we never got divorced, and she hits me".
Angel listened and then told Doyle, "You're dead".
"Thanks" Doyle said, sarcastically. Then mumbles, "I gotta talk to Harrie".
"Who's Harrie?" Angel asked, confused.
"My wife. I gotta tell I'm filing for divorce, I can't lose me princess over this" Doyle replied.
"Why?" Angel asked, since Cordy was his friend, he didn't want to see her get hurt.
"Because it isn't right to be married to Harrie legally, when emotionally and spiritually I'm married to me princess" Doyle told him.
Angel took pity on Doyle, he remembered when he picked Buffy over Darla, so he got him a drink.

Buffy arrived at Doyle and Cordy's apartment about twenty minutes later and knocked on the door. She knew that she and Cordy had never been close... who was she kidding, they'd never really even liked each other, but since she knew Cordy couldn't talk to just anyone and she was willing to play confidante. When Cordy opened the door, she was surprised to find Buffy there.
"Why are you here?" Cordy asked, in her usual snobby tone.
"I thought you could use a friend" Buffy replied, defensively.
Cordy softened slightly, she was glad Buffy was there because she really did want to talk about the disaster. "You're a friend?" she asked, suspiciously.
"Well...the closet you have to one in LA" Buffy replied.
Cordy let her in and they sat down in silence.
Eventually Buffy asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Yeah" Cordy replied, and then was still silent afterwards.
"Well..." Buffy prompted.
"Okay, it was like this. We were sitting on this ratty-thing he calls a couch watching TV for the millionth night in a row, when I decide to see if he had a pulse so I kissed him. Next thing I know he's telling me about the demon-thing, by the way thanks for the warning last week" Cordy said, suddenly.
"No problem".
"So I'm cool with the demon-thing and all that, so we start to kiss again, which by the way he's really good at. Then he stops and says there is more and he goes on and on, I wasn't really listening to him until I hear the words 'I'm still married'. I got so mad that I hit the selfish male pig" Cordy finished her story.
"Doyle's married?" Buffy said, in disbelief.
"Yeah, hard to believe isn't it?" Cordy replied.
"Totally, especially with the way he dresses?" Buffy answered.
Cordy chose that moment to break down, "Buffy, what am I gonna do? I love him... I've never felt this way before".
"You really want him. Then you have to fight for him" Buffy told her.
"How?" Cordy asked, no one was gonna get her Doyle but her she thought decisively.
"Well... tell him how you feel about him for a start" Buffy said.
"Who am I kidding, he wouldn't pick me. Why would anyone pick me?" Cordy wailed.
"Because, there's more to you than you show. Some guys actually go for depth" Buffy replied, soothingly.
"Anything else?" Cordy said, fishing for compliments.
"There is the fact that he's crazy in love with you" Buffy replied.
"In that case, you'd better get him back here" Cordy said.
Buffy pulled out her cell phone and dialled Angel's. She explained the situation and he said Doyle would be right over. Buffy said bye to Cordy and left, but instead of going back to the dorms she headed for Angel's.

When Buffy got there, she saw Angel staring at a full glass of scotch. "I hope I haven't driven you to drink" she said, flippantly.
"Sorry to disappoint but it was Doyle's. I knew it was true love when he turned it down in favour of going home to her" Angel said. "I thought you were staying at the dorms?"
Without saying a word, Buffy walked over to him and he pulled her into his arms and he kissed her, gently at first and then more urgently. Angel's hand slipped beneath her top, he dragged the fabric up until his fingers found one lace-covered breast.
That's when he stopped, "Are you sure?" he asked her.
"Totally" she replied, breathlessly.
Angel picked her up and carried her into his bedroom and placed her gently on his bed. He removed his sweater, as she did hers. "Wait" he said when she went to undo her bra. "Let me". Angel joined her on the bed, kneeling before her, but instead of unhooking her bra, he cupped her face in his hands. "You're so beautiful, Buffy", he whispered. "Not only in body but in your soul. I've never before met a woman like you".
"And you're never gonna get another chance too, you're mine" Buffy told him possessively.
Angel moved behind her and put his fingertips beneath the band of her bra and deftly loosened the hooks. It fell off her shoulders and he helped it along, skimming it down her arms before discarding it onto the floor. She felt him press his chest to her naked back, and she leaned into him as he moved his hands to her front and covered her breasts. Buffy closed her eyes and she reached behind her to bury her fingers in his hair. His erection pressed against her back and she grew warm and damp in response. Angel continued to massage her breast, but dipped one hand lower, down along her stomach, to the waistband of her pants.
"Let's get rid of these", he said softly from behind.
Buffy nodded and let him peel the tight fabric down over her thighs, along with her underwear. She shifted enough to allow him to remove them completely, then he pulled her back, and she leaned against him, fully naked and aroused. "That's better" he whispered. Angel moved his hands to her breasts again, and she reached behind her to feel his skin. She realised that he'd removed his pants without her noticing that she cared at the moment. She felt his erection again, pressing into her back, and without even planning to, she moved one hand to circle it. Buffy heard Angel gasp, then growl, and then he shoved her hair aside and pressed a kiss to her nape, followed by another, then another and so on. With every brush of his lips, Buffy stroked her palm along the length of him. And then suddenly he pulled away from her; he then turned her around to face him.
Puzzlement must have shown on her face because he smiled and said, "I want to make this last as long as possible. The way we were going, that wasn't likely".
"Angel I..."
"Shh…" he whispered.
"No more talking. Let's just let this happen".
She cupped her hands behind his neck, pulling him to her and kissed him. He bent forward and slowly urged her back downward onto the bed. He nestled between her thighs, buried his hands in her hair and held her steady while he plundered her mouth. After he moved to her breasts and then her navel, before kissing her skin down to the soft blonde curls. His hands settled ever so briefly on her thighs as he spread her legs apart to gain better access to what he sought. For a few moments he investigated with curious fingers, then thumbed her open and followed his exploration with an equally avid mouth. Buffy had never dreamed anything like this was possible. All she could do was lie there, wondering how any human being could withstand such ecstasy. Then out of nowhere, she felt like she'd exploded, rocking her forward. Angel rose above her, absorbing her cries of completion into his mouth.
Angel traced his fingers slowly down her neck and between her breasts, then they hovered over the part of her he had just driven into frenzy, then he levered his body over hers. Before she even knew what was happening, he was slowly entering her and her breath caught in her throat at the moment of pain that occurred when he took her virginity. Then like magic the pain stopped and Angel seemed to fuse into her. His flesh seemed to become one with her own. Buffy could scarcely tell where Angel ended and she began, and she wondered if they'd ever be separate again. As he began to move, Buffy found she couldn't get enough of him, what began slow and tender soon became quick and passionate. As they neared completion, Buffy bared her neck in offering and Angel sank his fangs in. As her blood flowed over his tongue, they both came together. A few minutes later Angel moved his weight off Buffy and pulled her close to him, as they both drifted off into a deep and peaceful sleep.

Part 8
When Cordy and Doyle arrived at the office the next afternoon; neither of them was particularly concerned when Angel wasn't there. They both just figure that he and Buffy had gone patrolling until late and they were still asleep. After a few hours Cordy got worried and went downstairs to check on him. When she opened the bedroom door she saw clothing strewn around the room and two seemingly naked people in the bed. She backed out of the room and headed back upstairs to tell Doyle what she'd seen. When Doyle saw Cordy rush up the stairs, he thought something was wrong.
"What is it?" he asked, seeing her expression.
"You'll never believe what I just saw" Cordy told him.
"What?" Doyle asked, wondering what was up.
"Well let me put it this way...you can call Angel 'The Monk-man' anymore" Cordy told him.
Doyle looked shocked for a moment, but then he smiled and said, "Wow. Angel actually got lucky".
"I'm guessing today is a good time to ask for a raise, since Buffy put him in a good mood" Cordy replied, picturing the extra cash already.
"I'd say" Doyle said, pulling Cordy into his lap. They sat there in each other's arms, enjoying being together. When they heard a noise downstairs they separated and pretended to have been working all the time.

Angel was the first to wake up; he looked over at the girl next to him and wondered how he'd gotten so lucky. He had his agency; two really good friends and now he had his Buffy. She was the most important thing in his un-life, from the first moment he'd seen her on the steps of Hemery about to be called, she'd been his reason to carry on. He knew that her last day on this earth, would also be his. Under Angel's gaze Buffy stirred, she looked at him and saw that although he was looking at her his mind was somewhere else.
She reached over, kissed him gently and said, "Good morning".
Angel snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. "Very good morning," he replied, kissing her back. Things were starting to heat up, when a cell phone rang. Angel answered it, "Hello?"
"Who is this? Where's Buffy?" a shrill voice demanded.
Angel suddenly realised he'd answered Buffy's and quickly handed it to her. Buffy took the phone and said, "Hello?"
"Who's that man who answered the phone?"
"Oh, Hi mom" Buffy replied, pulling a face.
"Answer the question, Buffy Anne" Joyce demanded.
"His name's Angel" Buffy answered, hoping that would get her mom off her back.
"And..." Joyce pushed.
"He's my... ummm... boyfriend" Buffy replied.
"So you planned to introduce him to Rob and myself when?" Joyce asked, annoyingly.
"Soon" Buffy replied, wishing the floor would open and swallow her up.
"Good. Bring him over Friday for dinner" Joyce told her.
"Okay" Buffy answered, wondering what hideous tortures awaited Angel. "So why are you calling?"
"You don't call me, I don't know if you're alive or dead. So I call" Joyce replied, pretending to sniffle.
"I'm fine. Can I go now?" Buffy asked, impatiently.
"What's the big hurry, you and Angel going to have sex?" Joyce joked.
"Maybe, but then again, we did that last night" Buffy replied, hanging up and turning off the phone. Buffy saw Angel staring at her. "What?" she asked.
"I think that's my question" Angel said.
"Nothing much. You kinda have to go meet mom and Rob Friday night" Buffy mumbled.
Seeing how hard it was for Buffy to say that, Angel agreed to go, even though he personally believed Buffy's mom to be the spawn of Satan. He looked at Buffy and decided to ask her an important question. "Buffy?" he said.
"Yeah" she replied, snuggling closer to him.
"Would... you, ummm..." Angel sputtered.
"What?"
"Would you move in with me?" Angel asked, before he lost his nerve.
It took Buffy all of two seconds to shout "Yes" and jump on top of him in excitement. She was just so happy that her life was going great, she was doing well in school, she didn't see her mom much, she'd found her Angel and was about to move in with him. Could life get any better? Buffy was about to kiss him, when they heard a noise upstairs. "I guess they're here" Buffy said.
"I guess we should go up" Angel replied, without attempting to move.
"Yeah".
Angel seriously thought about it for a minute, sighed and got up and dressed. Buffy did the same and when they were fully clothed, they went upstairs.

When they got to the office, they found Cordy and Doyle actually working. "What's the bet that five minutes ago, they were making out?" Buffy whispered to Angel.
"Nothing that these two do surprises me anymore" Angel whispered back. He then coughed loudly and Cordy looked up.
"Hey. How was your night?" Cordy asked them, winking.
Buffy and Angel looked at each other. Then Angel said, "How much do you know?"
"Clothes everywhere, naked people" Cordy said, giggling. Cordy then noticed something on Buffy's neck, "Ewww. Did you bite her?"
"Ummm... well..." Angel stammered, embarrassed.
"Cordy, it's perfectly normal for a vampire to do that" Buffy told her.
"Okay" Cordy said, returning to her work.
Seeing Angel was still embarrassed, Buffy took him into his office. He sat down in his chair and looked at the bite mark.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bitten you," he said, mournfully.
Buffy looked him in the eye and said, "Don't be because I'm not".
"Why? All it does is show you I'm a monster" Angel replied.
"You are not a monster," Buffy told him, forcefully. "I like the mark, it tells everyone I'm yours".
"Really?" he asked, not quite believing her.
Buffy climbed onto his lap and told him, "Totally". They sat like that for a few minutes until Buffy said, "I gotta go train with Wes, but I'll be back later".
"Okay" Angel said, kissing her goodbye. He watched her go and thought again about how lucky he truly was.

After an hour of Wesley's criticism, Buffy was ready to stake him. She knew she was doing nothing wrong, he was cheesed about something and taking it out on her. "Buffy, concentrate" Wes told her, angrily.
"I am. Just exactly what am I doing wrong?" Buffy asked, angry also.
"You don't train enough" Wesley informed her, as if it were some great big sin.
"Well, sorry if I have a life" Buffy replied, sarcastically.
"Slayers aren't supposed to have lives. You're supposed to eat, sleep, train and fight" Wesley replied.
"Well, I'm not your ordinary slayer" Buffy said.
"No, an ordinary slayer doesn't indulge in relationships, especially with vampires" Wesley told her.
"So this is what the attitude problem about… Angel?" Buffy asked, not wanting to believe anyone could be that petty.
"It's un-natural. A slayer should slay a vampire, not lay with one" Wesley replied. Buffy got really angry, but kept her cool. Wesley continued his lecture, "If the council were to find out about this, we'd be in real trouble they wouldn't approve".
Buffy finally snapped, "Screw the council and screw you too".
She grabbed her stuff and marched out of there without looking back. Buffy headed straight back to Angel's, she was still so angry with Wes she felt like killing or something. She went into Angel's office and threw herself into Angel's arms. He cradled Buffy in his arms for a moment and then asked, "What's wrong?"
"Wes...was..." Buffy tried to tell him between sobs.
Angel waited until she'd calmed down and then asked, "What did your watcher say to you?"
"The usual...I'm not good enough. But he's got some new material, where I shouldn't have a life, how I should be slaying instead of laying you...oh and my favourite, how much of a disappointment I am to the council and the trouble I'll be in over you" Buffy replied, tearing up again.
Angel pulled Buffy even closer to him, holding her while she cried and he vowed that he'd never let anyone hurt her like that again.

Cordy was sitting at her desk, when the phone rang. She said, "Hello, Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless".
"Cordelia, its Giles here" said a familiar British voice.
"Hey Giles. What's new?" Cordy asked, surprised to hear from him.
"A prophecy, what else would it be" Giles replied, dryly.
"Okay. So do you want to speak to Angel or Buffy?" Cordy asked, assuming that the Scoobies knew that Angel had found her.
"Buffy?" Giles questioned. "When did Angel find Buffy?"
"About five weeks ago. I thought you guys knew?" Cordy replied.
"We didn't. Can you tell Angel we'll be there tomorrow, we have to discuss the prophecy" Giles said.
"Sure" Cordy replied, not listening at all to Giles because Doyle had come back in the office. "Bye".
"Goodbye Cordelia" Giles replied hanging up.
Cordy hung up the phone and asked Doyle, "Where were you?"
He pulled out some papers and dumped them in front of her. "I was visiting a lawyer. You know, to file for a divorce" Doyle replied.
Cordy got up and hugged Doyle, then she said "You're not doing this just for me are you?"
"Nope, I'm doing it for me and for us. I love you 'Delia and I want to be with you" he said.
Cordy grabbed her stuff and took Doyle's hand, pulling him out of the office.
"Where are we going?" he asked, confused.
"I'm gonna take you home and show you how much I love you. Any objections?" Cordy whispered.
Doyle was remarkably silent as he followed Cordy home.

PART 9
The next afternoon Buffy and Angel were still asleep when Giles and the other Scoobies let themselves into the apartment, with the key Angel had given them for emergencies. When they saw no movement they realised that Angel was still asleep, so they sat in Angel's living room to wait. Ten minutes later they all got a shock, when they saw Buffy walk sleepily from Angel's bedroom to the bathroom wearing one of Angel's shirts.
"Was that Buffy?" Willow whispered in shock.
"Yes, but Cordelia didn't mention the slumber parties" Giles said surprised that Buffy, who even though he hadn't seen her for a while would be sleeping with a vampire.
Xander, Oz and Faith were speechless, but for different reasons. Xander because he was still in shock over seeing Buffy (wearing little), Oz because well... because he's Oz and Faith because she was suddenly face to face with the girl she'd been constantly competing with (slaying, friends and for Angel's affection).
When Buffy finally came out of the bathroom, she noticed the Scoobies. "Oh My God" Buffy said in shock, it had been so long since she'd seen or heard from them.
"Not God, just Xander" Xander quipped trying to break the tension.
Willow got up and walked towards Buffy, she shocked Buffy even more by hugging her. "Hey Buffy, I missed you" Willow told her.
After a second Buffy returned the hug and replied, "I missed you too, Wils".
This started a flood of hugs and talking from the remaining Scooby members, except Oz who just said "Hey" and Faith who was uncomfortable in Buffy's presence.
Angel came out of the bedroom when he heard the commotion. "What are you guys doing here?" Angel asked when he saw that he and Buffy had visitors.
"Didn't Cordelia tell you? I called yesterday and she promised to tell you we were coming" Giles answered Angel's question.
"Well that would explain it. We haven't seen Cordy or Doyle since yesterday afternoon" Buffy said. "They had some good news and went to celebrate and I guess it slipped her mind". Willow couldn't believe it she had just witnessed Buffy-defending Cordy, she wondered if Buffy had sustained some sort of head injury that might explain this behaviour. Buffy noticed Willow giving her a funny look but was sidetracked when she noticed Faith for the first time. She went over to her and said, "Hi I'm Buffy".
"Hey B, I'm Faith. The other slayer" Faith replied.
Buffy turned to Giles and asked softly, "Did Kendra..."
"Yeah" Xander told Buffy gently.
"Whoa. That's too bad, I liked her," Buffy said sadly.
Faith watched as Angel put his arms around Buffy in comfort and tried unsuccessfully to squelch the jealousy she suddenly felt. She'd had a crush on Angel since she'd first met him, even though she knew he was a vampire, and when he'd stayed in Sunnydale for a while to help she'd assumed he'd felt the same. But he hadn't as soon as graduation was over, he'd left on his quest to find Buffy. She'd thought Buffy was just a phase, but seeing them together she realised he'd never seen her as anything but the slayer and it totally cheesed her off.
Buffy saw that Faith was staring at them and she whispered to Angel, "What's her deal?"
"She has a little crush on me. Totally unreciprocated" Angel whispered back.
Buffy eyed Faith and made a mental note to keep an eye on her; there was something about her that wigged Buffy out. Buffy turned her attention back to Giles and asked, "So... What are you guys doing here?"
"I found a prophecy..." Giles began.
Xander rudely cut him off by saying, "Some things never change, huh?"
Giles ignored the interruption and continued, "I need Angel's help to decipher it".
"Sure" Angel replied, "Just let me get dressed and I'll help". Angel headed off to the bedroom, leaving everyone just standing there.

Ten minutes later Angel came back out, which left Buffy to go and get ready. After a few seconds Angel noticed everyone staring at him, "What?"
"So...Buffy lives here?" Willow asked voicing everyone's thoughts. She was nervous because she knew of Faith's obsession with Angel and wondered what she might do to Buffy over this.
"Yeah" Angel replied looking around at everyone's faces and noting the shock on them.
Giles tried not to look horrified and quickly changed the subject back to the prophecy. He showed it to Angel and asked, "What do you think?"
Angel looked at it and said, "It's a little vague. Let's photocopy it so we can each work on it?"
"Agreed" Giles, said as they followed Angel's suggestion.
By the time they got back from upstairs Buffy was back out in the living room. "So...what's the big evil?" she asked.
"We're not sure," Angel told her. "Giles and I will figure it out though".
"I know" she replied as they sat down to plan their research.
Ten minutes late Buffy was relieved, they left to head back to Sunnydale. She loved and missed them all but having them all there at once had been overwhelming. The truth was she was most relieved that Faith was gone; she still had a major wiggy feeling because of that girl.
The second that they'd gone, Buffy asked, "So really, what is her deal?"
Angel knew that Buffy was referring to Faith. "After I got back, I stayed in Sunnydale for a few months because Giles asked for my help, the Mayor was going to ascend into a demon and they didn't know much. Somehow Faith seemed to get the idea that I was hanging around for her, even though I never encouraged her in anyway. The second that the Mayor was defeated I said goodbye and headed out here to LA to find you" Angel said. Then he muttered, "And escape her".
"Oh, you poor baby" Buffy said climbing onto his lap. "How can I make you feel better?"
Angel didn't answer her; he just picked her up and ran with her to the bedroom.

A few hours later Buffy was sitting in the outer office with Cordy, they were bored out of their minds, when an attractive woman walked in. "Can I help you?" Cordy asked hoping this was a customer.
"Maybe. I'm looking for Doyle," the woman said.
"He's here. Who should I say is here?" Cordy said in her most professional voice, while all the time wondering what in the hell that woman wanted with her Doyle.
"Harrie Doyle, his wife" the woman replied.
Before Cordy could do or say something she may regret Buffy said, "I'll go get him".
A minute later Doyle appeared and asked Harrie, "What do *you* want?"
"I want to talk to you," she said. "You owe me that at least".
"Fine, but not here" Doyle said.
Cordy watched them leave the office and said, "Did you see how pretty she was?"
Buffy seeing Cordy's distress replied, "I'm only gonna say this once and if you tell anyone I said it, I'll deny it. You are much more beautiful than she is, compared to you Harrie is a dog".
"Thanks Buff" Cordy said.
"For what?" Buffy teased.
Cordy rolled her eyes and said, "You are really strange".
They resumed their boredom and waited for something exciting to happen.

Doyle and Harrie had barely gotten outside before Harrie asked, "So who is she? The blonde?"
"No way. Buffy is dating Angel and besides that she's not me type" Doyle replied insulted.
"You have a type?" Harrie asked sarcastically.
"What do you want Harrie?" Doyle asked not in the mood to fight.
"I really don't know...Maybe I wanted to see you one last time, or ask why you think this will work when we didn't?" Harrie said sitting down on the steps outside.
"I'm glad you came" Doyle lied totally unconvincingly.
"Liar. Well...I'll sign the papers and now I'll be the mature one and wish you and what's-her-name luck" Harrie told him. The truth was she'd thought if she'd come back into his life he'd have wanted her back, but he didn't.
"Thanks" Doyle said. "And 'er name's Cordelia".
"Does she know..."
"Yeah. She took that bit of news no problem, it was the my still being married part she didn't like" Doyle told her.
Harrie looked at Doyle one last time and didn't even say goodbye before she walked away.
Doyle didn't even notice he just ran inside and grabbed Cordy. "Harrie's gonna sign the papers" he told her.
Buffy watched how happy Doyle and Cordy were and she was glad things were working out for them. But seeing them together brought Buffy an unpleasant thought as she began to wonder what her mother had in store for Angel that night.

Part 10
Angel was nervous about meeting Buffy's mom and step-dad, even though he'd kind of already met Joyce. He'd never done this before, he'd never met any of the girls he was with before parents (he'd never had too) and the more he thought about it the more nervous he got. Angel sat in the living room and tried to think about something...anything else, but he couldn't. By the time Buffy was ready to leave, Angel was pacing the room and muttering to himself.
She went up to him, put her arms around him and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I'm nervous. I've never been brought home by a girl before" Angel confessed.
"Never?" Buffy asked in surprise.
"Well, I never was exactly the type of boy that you'd bring home to meet the folks" Angel explained.
"Now you are" Buffy told him matter-of-factly, giving him a quick kiss.
They grabbed their coats and headed from the office to Buffy's parent's apartment.

Twenty minutes later they arrived there and were let inside the building by the doorman. They took the lift upstairs and walked down the plush hallway to Joyce's place, they took a second to calm down and then Buffy knocked on the door. When Joyce opened the door, she found Buffy standing there with a guy who looked somewhat familiar. The guy also looked older which panicked Joyce, when Buffy said she was seeing someone; Joyce had never thought that he might be older. In fact she'd just assumed that Buffy had been talking about Pike... the hooligan. The thought of Pike and Buffy actually made her decide to give this guy a small chance.
"Hi Buffy and guest, come in" she invited trying to be pleasant.
"Hi mom" Buffy said as she and Angel came inside. Then she introduced Angel and her mother, "Mom this is Angel".
"Nice to meet you" Joyce said trying to be civil but failing.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Angel replied, noting that Joyce was not overly pleased to have him there.
Joyce then showed them into the living room and they all sat there in an uncomfortable silence. Buffy broke it by asking, "So where's Rob?"
"He was called out of town on a last minute business trip" Joyce replied. "So it's just the three of us tonight."
{Oh joy} Buffy thought as she noticed the funny looks that her mother was giving Angel. They once again lapsed back into he silence.
Eventually Joyce asked Angel, "You look familiar, have we ever met?"
Angel looked over at Buffy who nodded. He then said, "Actually we did once. I was Buffy's history tutor when you lived in Sunnydale".
When Angel said that Joyce remembered that night she'd seen him. She looked at Angel closely and decided that he was way too old for Buffy. She decided to make Buffy think she was giving this Angel-guy a chance, by playing miss nice-mommy. "So, Angel...how old are you and what do you do?" Joyce asked pretending to be interested.
"I'm... umm... 24" Angel answered thinking that his age did have a 2 and a 4 in it. "I own a detective agency, Angel Investigations."
"Cordy works there" Buffy told her mom as if it might make a difference.
"Interesting" Joyce, said not actually meaning it. "What does a detective do?"
"I find things or protect people... occasionally I help out the LAPD" Angel replied suddenly feeling as though he were being patronised.
Buffy was about to tell her mom where to shove her questions when Joyce decide to serve dinner. The conversation during the meal was much the same as beforehand and Buffy really didn't know how much more of her mother's underhanded bitchiness she could take. It was after dinner that things hit the fan.
They were once again back in the living room and Buffy was visualising the many ways to kill her mom and make it look as though it was self-inflicted, when Joyce opened her mouth. She said, "It's a long drive and you should get going to drop Buffy off at her dorm."
Since Buffy was sick and tired of her mother's attitude, she decided to exact a little revenge. "Why would I want to go to the dorm?" Buffy asked innocently.
Angel wondered what Buffy was up to, did she want him dead again or something. He figured she must since she was obviously going to tell Joyce about their living arrangement.
"What do you mean? You live there" Joyce replied in confusion.
"I moved out. I live with Angel now" Buffy informed her mother.
"WHAT?" Joyce screamed. "How could you do this? You're only 19, you're not old enough to make those kinds of decisions."
Angel looked and felt totally uncomfortable about Joyce and Buffy's argument. Oblivious to this Buffy told her mom, "You have no right to tell me what to do, and I'm not a child. I love Angel and it's my choice what I do about it." Buffy grabbed Angel by the arm and dragged him towards the door.
Joyce's last words to Buffy were, "You're not welcome here as long as you're with him."

Buffy left the building with Angel and climbed into the car. Before Angel could even open his mouth, Buffy said "Don't you dare."
"What?" Angel asked.
"Apologise. That fight was her doing not yours" Buffy told him.
"If I hadn't of come back into your life..." Angel began.
"I'd still be miserable and that fight still would have happened. Why do you think I chose to move into the dorm in the first place?"
"You mean she's *always* like that?" Angel asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. I totally feel sorry for Rob, at least I got to escape" Buffy replied.
Angel started the car and they drove back to their apartment in silence. When they got there Angel tried to get Buffy to talk about it, but she wouldn't.
"I don't need to talk about it," she told him. "I know what she's like and I'm dealing. I'm going to bed now, I have to go shopping with Cordy tomorrow."
Angel watched her walk off towards the bedroom and then yelled after her, "I think I've discovered something scarier than your mom."
"What?" Buffy replied turning to face him.
"You and Cordy...shopping" Angel said laughing.
He was still laughing when Buffy grabbed him and pulled him off towards their bedroom.

Part 11
Rupert Giles was sitting at home staring at the prophecy in front of him. He had been examining it for weeks, and he was now sure that it was to do with Buffy and not Faith. Giles picked up the phone and dialled Angel's number, instead of Angel answering however her got Cordy and after listening to her babble on about herself for about an hour, he impatiently asked to speak to Angel. That's when Cordy told him Angel was asleep and she wasn't going down there to wake him no matter what, in case she saw something that would mentally disturb her for life. Giles gave up and left a message for Angel to call him back as soon as possible, he hung up the phone and returned to his desk and studied the prophecy once more. An hour later and he was still sitting there staring, when his phone rang jolting him from his reverie.
"Hello?" Giles answered.
"Giles, it's Angel" Angel said trying to concentrate on the phone call and not Cordy and Doyle's latest argument.
"Thank God, you called back. I need to talk to you about that prophecy" Giles said urgently.
"What about it?" Angel asked concerned.
"I believe...in fact I am almost certain that the slayer it refers to is Buffy" Giles told him.
"Are you sure that your sure?" Angel said praying that Giles was wrong.
"Almost positive. Take care of her Angel, she's like a daughter to me" Giles replied.
"Always" Angel promised as he hung up the phone. He turned to his friends and said, "Shut up. Buffy might be in danger because of Giles' prophecy and we need to watch her all the time. Since I'm only good at night..."
"I'll watch her," Doyle volunteered.
"We'll both watch her, you know take turns and stuff" Cordy corrected him.
"Thanks" he told them. "I have to go tell Buffy about this prophecy thing or she'll kick my butt."
Cordy and Doyle exchanged looks as Angel headed downstairs to Buffy. "I've never seen him like this" Cordy told Doyle "Not even when he got back to Sunnyhell and found her gone."
"I think that means that if this prophecy comes to pass, Buffy won't be missin'. She'll be dead" Doyle replied.
"Then we have to make sure she's okay," Cordy said, as Doyle got back to work. Cordy took one last look towards Angel had gone and then followed Doyle's example.

When Angel arrived downstairs he found Buffy looking through all the kitchen cupboards. "Looking for something special?" Angel asked.
"Not really just deciding what to have for breakfast," Buffy replied.
"I'll make you something," Angel told her walking towards the kitchen.
"Nah, I'm not all that hungry" Buffy answered him. She grabbed and apple and said, "This will do." She sat down on the couch in the living room and Angel followed her. "So what's up?" she asked after he'd been staring at her for five minutes.
"Nothing" Angel mumbled. Then suddenly without warning he asked, "Marry me?"
"What?" Buffy yelled choking on the remainder of her apple.
"Let's make it official. Let's get married?" Angel told her.
"Oh My God. I'm gonna die or something, aren't I?" Buffy asked panicked.
"Why would you say that?"
"No offence sweetie, but you're kinda scared of commitment" Buffy told him.
"No I'm not" Angel replied.
"Yeah, you are" Buffy repeated.
"Prove it" Angel, asked.
"Sure. There was the I shouldn't date you... The I got jealous when you dated someone else... The I won't have coffee with you, until you have it with someone else and the major struggle I had to get you to even go out with me" Buffy replied.
"But..." Angel stammered. "Maybe sometimes I need to be motivated to come out with my feelings."
"So what's gonna happen?" she asked him.
"Giles called to tell me that he thinks that prophecy he found is about you and not Faith" Angel told her quietly. "I just don't want to lose you again."
"You won't," she told him. "I guess this means I'll be spending quality time with Cordy and Doyle?" she then asked.
"Only during the day, at night you get me all to yourself" Angel replied.
"Finally an upside" Buffy said kissing him.
Angel kissed her back and then told her, "Go get dressed, it's time for work and not play."
"Fine, but I get to play tonight" Buffy replied as she went to get dressed, resigned to her fate for the moment.
Angel watched her walk towards the bedroom and said, "You never did answer my question."
"What was that?" she asked as she threw on an old pair of jeans and a tank top.
As she came out of the bedroom he asked her again, "Will you marry me?"
Buffy looked at him in shock, "You're serious."
"Totally" Angel replied.
With barely a thought, Buffy ran over to him and threw herself into his arms. "Yes... yes... yes" she told him in between kisses.
Cordy chose that moment to come downstairs. "What's going on down here?" she asked suspiciously.
"We're getting married" Angel told her.
"Oh My God, Buffy's gonna die" Cordy said panicked.
"No, she's not" Angel replied.
"Then why..." Cordy started to ask.
"Cordy, shut up and try to be happy for us" Angel told her.
"Fine" she muttered, then she shot Buffy a look that seemed to say, I need details.
"I'll tell you later" Buffy mouthed back.
Cordy nodded in acknowledgment and then told Angel, "You have a call."
"Why didn't you say so?" Angel asked climbing into the lift with Cordy and pulling Buffy in with him.
"You and Buffy distracted me" Cordy explained, "By the way its Kate the cow."
"Oh great, just what I need" Angel muttered as the lift stopped and they all climbed out and he headed to his office to deal with the unwelcome interruption.

Angel sat down at his desk and picked up the phone. "Hello Kate" he said in his polite tone.
"Hi Angel. I need you to help with a case I have" Kate asked.
"Sure, I'll help. Come by the office later and we'll discuss it" Angel said suddenly distracted by the sound of laughter coming from the outer office.
"Okay, I'll drop by. See you soon" Kate, said.
"Bye" Angel muttered into the phone as he hung up and went into the outer office where he saw Doyle hugging Buffy.
"What's going on here?" Angel tried to ask severely, but couldn't help but smile.
"Cordy blabbed" Buffy replied smiling. She was having a major happy moment, "I gotta call everyone I know."
"Later" Cordy told her, "Now we have to celebrate."
"Celebrate what?" came a voice from the doorway.
Buffy turned around, "Wesley? What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk some sense into you about your sick, demented relationship with this monster" Wesley replied snobbishly.
"He is *not* a monster," Buffy yelled back in Angel's defence.
"You are being highly emotional, you need to be in control to slay effectively. Come back with me at once or I'll have to report this situation to the council" Wesley threatened.
"The council can kiss my ass. They already have a slayer, they don't need two" Buffy told him sticking to Angel's side.
Wesley went to walk out and said over his shoulder, "You haven't heard the last of this."
Buffy watched him leave and wondered if he would follow through with his threat and if he did, exactly what kind of trouble it was gonna cause.

Somewhere across town, in the darkness it waited, it knew the time was approaching for its emergence and the death of the chosen one. When the time came it would take pleasure in killing her and with her death would come the end of the world, for without her the world was doomed to hell. The chosen one must never be allowed to complete the second prophecy; if she did then evil would never prevail upon the earth. It laid in wait, knowing the chosen one would soon be there to destroy...

PART 12
Kate arrived at Angel's office after she'd finished her shift. She walked in and Cordy looked up with a big smile on her face, until she saw whom it was.
"Oh it's you" Cordy said unenthusiastically.
"Hello Cordelia, where's Angel?" Kate asked civilly. She hated Cordy and made a mental note to herself that when she finally married Angel (boy is she delusional) to get rid of her.
"He's in his office" Cordy told her pulling a weird face.
Kate ignored her and barged past into Angel's office. "Hi Angel" she said trying to sound seductive but came off sounding like Big Bird.
"Kate" Angel answered in acknowledgment. "What did you need my help on?"
"Oh... it was nothing, we solved it" Kate replied almost forgetting the excuse she'd used in order to see him.
"Then why did you come?" Angel asked in confusion.
"I'd already told you that I'd be by... I didn't want to be rude" Kate replied.
"Well... umm... thanks. I have another appointment..." Angel began anxious to be rid of her before Buffy got home from school.
"Right... I'll see you 'round" Kate said quickly getting up.
"Yeah, bye" Angel replied dismissively.
Kate left the office feeling disheartened, Angel had seemed eager to get rid of her and she wondered why she was suddenly being treated like that, she resolved to find out the reason.

Meanwhile Buffy was at her psych class, she was so busy concentrating on what professor Walsh was saying that she hadn't noticed Riley staring at her. When the class was over he came up to her, "Hi Buffy."
"Hey Riley" Buffy replied as she gathered up her things and wished he would go away.
"So... are you coming to the party at Lowell House tonight?" Riley asked hoping that she was so that he could impress her with his party skills.
"I don't think so. Angel isn't really into partying" Buffy told him.
"Well... you could... umm... come alone" Riley suggested trying to convince her to come.
"Nah" Buffy said as she started to leave.
Riley was about to try again, when someone interrupted him at the door. "Buffy, are ya ready to go?"
"Totally" Buffy replied relieved that Doyle had somewhat come to her rescue.
"That's Angel?" Riley asked her in disbelief. He didn't want to think he'd lost out to a short, badly dressed Irish guy.
"No, that's Doyle... Angel is taller and dresses better" Buffy replied joining Doyle at the door and leaving.
Riley watched the object of his obsession leave and whispered to himself, "My God... how many guys is she dating?"

Doyle dropped Buffy off at the office and picked up Cordy. "Hi Buffy and Bye. Angel's in his office" Cordy said as she passed her.
"Bye Cor," Buffy answered going inside. She walked in Angel's office and found him sitting at his desk with a big smile on his face. "That better be for me or you're in trouble, Mister" Buffy warned jokingly.
This broke him out of his daydream. "Of course it was about you... who else am I obsessive enough over enough to occupy my thoughts" Angel replied beckoning to her.
Buffy threw herself willingly into his arms and was finally able to relax, all day she'd had a wiggy feeling, like something was gonna happen, but here in Angel's arms she felt safe... like she was home. She pulled away slightly and looked at him, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing..." Angel started and then saw the determined look she had and gave in. "...The first prophecy mentions another one."
"Why do I think that's not a good thing?" Buffy stated.
"It's a good prophecy, but whether it comes to pass is dependent on the outcome of the first one" Angel replied.
"Okay... so if I do survive, what's gonna happen to me next?" Buffy asked curiously.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" Angel muttered into her neck.
"Try me" Buffy replied stubbornly.
Angel realised she wasn't going to give up, so he showed her the text.
Buffy looked at Angel in shock, "Does this mean..."
"Yeah" Angel answered.
"But you said..." Buffy began.
"I know I said... but..." Angel said unsure of what to tell her.
"Then how is that possible?" she asked.
Angel shrugged, "I really don't know, but I suggest we not think about it until the first one passes."
"Okay" Buffy agreed still uncertain.
Angel kissed her and whispered to her, "Let's go down stairs."
Buffy got off of Angel's knee, took his hand and led him downstairs, all the time praying that she'd be able to thwart one more prophecy.

Late the next afternoon while Buffy was at her classes with Cordy tagging along, Angel was showing Doyle something.
"Man, it's beautiful" Doyle told him, "Buffy will love it."
"Are you sure?" Angel asked uncertainly.
"She'll love it, then she'll show it to 'Delia and I'll never have a moments peace again" Doyle replied.
Angel took another look at the ring he'd gotten Buffy. "If you're sure..." Angel started.
"Man, you know Buffy would love it no matter what it was, because it came from you" Doyle reassured him. Then changing the topic he asked, "So when is the big day?"
"As soon as possible... we don't want to waste a minute" Angel said.
"The prophecy?" Doyle asked.
"Yeah."
"You're really scared" Doyle couldn't believe it in all the time he'd known Angel he'd never been scared of anything.
Angel looked at him and said, "I'm terrified, I don't want to have to live without her."
"You won't have to... Buffy is the strongest slayer on record, she'll kick this prophesied demon's ass" Doyle told him confidently.
"I hope you're right" Angel whispered more to himself than to his friend.

Buffy and Cordy were sitting in the campus cafeteria between Buffy's classes. "Buff, I don't like wanna alarm you... but some disgusting stringy haired geek is staring at you" Cordy warned.
"I know, I'm trying to ignore him," Buffy told her.
"You actually know him?" Cordy asked pulling a face.
"Unfortunately... that's Riley my psych TA" Buffy replied, "He's been asking me out all year."
"Eewww" Cordy said in extreme freaked-out-ness.
"I totally agree" Buffy told her. Then she decided to change the topic and told Cordy about the second prophecy.

Across the cafeteria Riley Finn was sitting with his friends Forest and Graham, but he was not paying attention to them, instead he was staring at Buffy.
"Riley, get over it she is not interested in you" Graham told him wishing he'd had the sense to stay at the Frat house.
"I can't see why not... look at me," Riley boasted.
"Do I have to, I might go blind" Graham muttered to himself.
"Riley ignore her, she's not good enough for you" Forest said looking over to Buffy, there was something about her that creeped him out.
"I think she's perfect" Riley replied staring at Buffy.
Graham couldn't take it anymore; he got up and said "See ya back at the house."
This temporarily distracted Riley and when he looked back to Buffy's table she'd gone. He cheered up when he remembered he'd see her in class later.

Buffy and Cordy headed back early to the office, because Buffy had decided to skip her psych class (Riley's stalking had wigged her out). On the way back Cordy stopped to gas up the car, the second Cordy stopped the car Buffy recognised it as Pike's place of employment.
"Cordy, there's like another gas station a block away..." Buffy started.
"Buffy what's up with you? Honestly, I don't know why Angel would want to marry you" Cordy yelled as Pike approached the car.
Pike cringed at the news he heard. "Can I help you?" he asked coldly, choosing to ignore Buffy.
"Hi Pike" she said wondering how much of Cordy's yell he'd heard.
"Buffy" he acknowledged coldly.
"Fill 'er up" Cordy told him trying to break the tension.
Pike did as Cordy said and when he'd returned with the change, Buffy said, "See ya 'round Pike."
This time he ignored her and when they'd driven off Cordy asked her, "What's that story?"
"It's not important" Buffy replied sadly.

PART 13
Deep in the darkness it waited, soon... soon it thought, very soon it would be time to arise. The time in which he would destroy the chosen one and bring forth Hell to Earth. Soon...

Joyce walked into the office building and headed straight for the lift, when she climbed aboard she waited impatiently for it to stop at her floor. Eventually after what had seemed like an eternity it opened to the correct floor and she began to march down the hallway to her husband's office, bumping into Lindsey as he was leaving.
"Hello Mrs Porter... I mean Joyce. I'm sorry for knocking you, are you okay?" Lindsey asked politely.
"I'm fine, thank you" Joyce replied as he walked off. She fleetingly wondered why Buffy couldn't be interested in some nice boy like Lindsey, instead of that Angel-guy.
She barged into the office and Rob looked up in shock. "Joyce... what are you doing here?" Rob asked confused.
"This just arrived in the mail" Joyce replied as she handed him an envelope.
Rob took it and quickly glanced at the contents. "Why is this upsetting? I think it's great, even though I haven't met him yet."
"She's way too young to make a life altering decision like that. What is Buffy thinking... getting married at her age and how could she just send me an invite and not at least tell me in person" Joyce blabbed on.
Rob stood silently for a moment and then said, "Maybe she didn't want to hear you rubbish the guy again."
"How can you even say that? You didn't meet that Angel-guy, you don't know what he's like" Joyce said storming out.
Rob let her go. {Angel... the vampire} he thought, {Just wait until I tell Holland about my soon to be son-in-law}.

Angel looked across the room at Buffy; he could hardly believe that in a week she'd be his wife. It was more than he'd ever thought that he'd have... he never would've thought that she a young, vibrant vampire slayer would fall in love with him, a broody and moody, old vampire. It had never really mattered to Buffy that he was essentially a corpse with an inner demon who was cursed with a soul... she'd always just seen him as her soulmate, her guardian angel.
Buffy saw Angel out of the corner of her eye and noticed that he was smiling. She was relieved because he'd been so broody (even more than usual) since Giles had told him that the prophecy was about her and not Faith. Since he'd been so worried about her, she'd given into his demand that Cordy and Doyle stick to her like glue during the day, she'd have done just about anything to ease his mind. Buffy was shaken from her thoughts by the phone ringing, "Hello?"
"Buffy" a familiar voice said.
"Hey Wils" Buffy replied glad to hear from her, "I guess this means you got the invite?"
"Yeah. Oz and I are so happy for you and Angel... but there are a few unhappy people here" Willow told her.
"Let me guess... Xander and that psycho Faith" Buffy guessed.
"Well yeah and the others."
"What others?" Buffy asked curiously.
"Well... Giles was a little shocked but Jenny's helping him past it. Spike on the other hand..." Willow was saying.
"Spike? What did he want?" Buffy asked cutting Willow off.
"He's claiming that it's sick... because Angel is more than 200 years older and then there's the fact that you're a vampire's mortal enemy and Angel should be slaying you and not laying you" Willow repeated what Spike had told her.
"He's such a sicko. Maybe he and Faith should hook up," Buffy suggested.
"Since she's a total slut, they probably already have" Willow commented nastily.
"Willow Rosenberg, I'm shocked" Buffy said laughing.
"Hey, it's so true. I bet there's maybe ten guys alive or dead in the entire world she hasn't had and you and I are dating two of them and the other's with a techno-pagan."
They talked for a few more minutes and then they hung up after Willow promised to visit before the wedding. Buffy walked over to where Angel was sitting on the couch and straddled his lap. "What are you thinking about?" Buffy asked him.
"You" Angel replied honestly.
"Good answer" Buffy told him as she kissed him.
Her hands started to move down his body and when he realised what she had in mind he said, "Buffy, maybe we shouldn't."
"Why?" Buffy asked continuing.
"Well, it's the middle of the day... and... Cordy and Doyle will be back from lunch soon" Angel said.
"So?" was Buffy's reply.
Angel gave in; he knew that in the end she'd get what she wanted anyway... because he couldn't deny her anything.

Rob Porter knocked on Holland's office door, just about dying to tell him the latest news of that pesky vampire, Angel.
"Come in" an authoritative voice from inside came.
Rob went inside and stood before his boss and friend, "I have new information about Angel."
"What? If it's about him shacking up with the slayer... we know."
"Actually, today Joyce and I were invited to a wedding..." Rob began.
"And what... Angel's the priest," Holland said sarcastically.
"No, but it was to his wedding. He's marrying the slayer."
Holland was shocked, "They must know about the second prophecy. We have to ensure that the first succeeds."
"How?" Rob asked eager to serve. He tried to convince himself that he was doing it for the greater good and not because he was a company stooge.
"We help raise Zanthar" Holland told him simply.
"But Buffy..." Rob said realising that it meant his stepdaughter would die.
"Is an acceptable casualty?" Holland said as he continued to outline his plan.
Rob now realised that he had to tell Buffy what was going on. Even though she wasn't his biologically... he still loved her as though she was his own and he didn't want her to die.

PART 14
Buffy and Angel were just leaving the office to go to the movies (Buffy's idea) when they ran into Buffy's stepfather Rob. "Buffy... I need to talk to you, it's important," Rob told her.
"Look, if mom sent you..." Buffy began.
"No, it's about the prophecy" Rob replied.
Buffy and Angel looked at each other in surprise. "What prophecy?" Buffy asked trying to play dumb.
"The one involving the resurrection of Zanthar and the death of the slayer, in this case that would be Buffy" Rob answered hoping this would convince them to listen to him.
"How do you know all this?" Angel asked him suspiciously.
Rob looked around nervously, "I work for Wolfram and Hart."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Buffy questioned not understanding the connection. "
They're your friendly neighbourhood bad guys" Angel replied.
Awareness began to settle over Buffy, "You knew who I was..."
"Buffy I swear I didn't, not until after I'd married Joyce. My employers thought it was a great bonus... until you took out three of our top clients" Rob told her. "I've done everything that they've ever asked me too... until now. I can't let them kill you."
Angel looked at Rob and saw the sincerity in his eyes, "To protect her, I need to know everything you do."
"Of course" Rob answered.
They went back inside and Rob began to tell them everything that he knew about the plan to aid in Zanthar's resurrection and how they planned to stop the second prophecy no matter what they had to do in order to accomplish that.

After Rob had left, Buffy and Angel sat there in complete silence, both in deep thought over what they'd been told. It was Buffy however who was now not only worried about not only going up against a demon that would most likely kill her, but also a nationally prestigious law firm. Angel saw how upset she was and pulled her into his arms, but he wasn't sure exactly how to comfort her in this unusual situation.
Buffy was the first to speak, "Why me? Did I do something to piss off the PTB or something?"
"Buffy your mom..." Angel began thinking she was upset over her stepfather's deception.
"This is *so* not about my mom, frankly it has nothing to do with her. I mean... why does a law firm that really has nothing to do with me, want to join forces with some icky demon to kill me," Buffy said in confusion.
"I don't know" Angel told her, "I wish I could tell you things would work out, but I can't. All I can tell you is the last day you walk on this Earth will be mine also."
Touched by his words Buffy kissed him and curled up next to him and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Angel carefully picked her up and carried her to the bed, he remained awake in case she needed him during the night and as he looked upon her sleeping form he silently vowed, that no matter what he had to sacrifice Buffy would survive.

The next day in a cavern about 100 miles from LA, Lindsey, Holland, Rob and some of the others from the firm were setting up the ritual that would speed up Zanthar's resurrection. Once they had set up, they formed a circle and began to chant. Rob watched from the sidelines wishing that he'd known about this so he could've warned Buffy and Angel. Suddenly the chant stopped and Rob was grabbed from behind and brought into the centre of the circle.
"Lindsey, Holland... what's going on?" Rob asked confused.
"Did you really think we wouldn't find out about your late night visit with the slayer and her vampire?" Holland answered in reply.
"But... Buffy's my daughter" Rob justified.
"No, she *was* your daughter" Holland told him as he gave the order to start the sacrifice.
Rob's scream echoed through the cavern as his blood was spilled and then there was a second of silence before the chanting resumed.

Buffy awoke suddenly with a sense of dread, like something evil was coming and she realised the first prophecy was beginning. She laid there in bed and tried not to think about what this might actually mean, that she may be dead really soon. This in turn got her thinking about the things she wouldn't get to do... like marry Angel, graduate from college, see if there was any truth to that second prophecy. She felt so depressed she got up and headed to the kitchen to find something to eat.
Angel woke up a few minutes later to an empty bed and wondered where Buffy had gone. He got up and went into the living room, where he found her on the couch eating a tub of cookie dough fudge mint chip. "Buffy, what's wrong?" he asked concerned.
"It's starting... I can feel it" she replied staring into her ice-cream.
"The prophecy?" "Yeah" Buffy said depressed. Angel sat next to her and pulled her close, "I wish I knew what to say."
"You don't have to say anything... just be here with me" Buffy told him.
"Until the day" Angel answered.
Buffy snuggled as close as she could into Angel's embrace and prayed to the Powers that Be that it wouldn't be the last time.

PART 15
Once the ritual was complete, Lindsey asked Holland, "What do we have to do now?"
"What we do is that we get out of here before Zanthar awakens" Holland replied condescendingly.
"Why?" Lindsey questioned his superior in confusion.
"Because once he has risen, he will kill all that stand between he and the slayer and we do not want to be perceived as a threat" Holland told him impatiently.
They left all of the ritualistic items that they'd brought behind and quickly headed back to the limo and drove away from the cavern. As they left the floor of the cavern began to crack open and from the depths came a dark green, horn covered hand with long, sharp retractable claws.

Buffy could feel it coming... closer and closer, as each second past she knew that she was another second closer to her destiny, but which one... death or life. As much as she wished, hoped and prayed for the second alternative, she had the extremely bad feeling that it was her death that was approaching. Buffy looked across the room at Angel and her friends and saw the worried looks on their faces, and she realised that the time for sulking was over and it was time to go out and grab the demon by the horns and fight.
She stood up and said, "It's time. I'm tired of this, I'm not gonna wait for it to come and find me... I'm gonna take the fight to it."
"Buffy..." Angel began.
"Save it Angel. We both know that the outcome will be the same whether I go to it or it comes to me" Buffy told him.
Angel nodded, "Okay, let's go."
When Doyle and Cordy tried to follow, Buffy told them, "No. This is not your fight, it's mine."
"But Buffy we're your..." Cordy began tearfully.
"I know and I so totally appreciate that fact" Buffy replied impulsively hugging Cordy, "I'll be back here before you even miss me."
Cordy and Doyle watched their friends leave and hoped with all their might, that everything would work out and that Buffy and Angel would return safe and sound.

In the cavern, another hand slowly clawed it's way to the surface, expanding the crevice that was forming. An angry grunt could be heard as the ground shook, then suddenly an eerie silence and then a growl of "soon" came from beneath.
Several hours later the crevice split open further and Zanthar managed to pull himself free of his underground prison. He sniffed the air to gage the direction of the slayer; a moment later he headed off in the direction of Los Angeles.

Buffy and Angel had been driving around for close to an hour, when all of a sudden Buffy told Angel to pull over. When he'd stopped the car, Angel noticed that they were in front of an abandoned warehouse.
"What are we doing here?" Angel asked her confused.
"I wanna limit the casualties" Buffy replied climbing out of the car.
Angel followed her lead and they went inside of the warehouse.
Once inside Buffy did a quick sweep, "This will do."
"Are you sure?" he asked concerned. Actually he was terrified, he didn't want to lose her again.
"Yeah" she replied. Then she saw the look on Angel's face, "I'll be okay. Just remember what is supposed to happen if... I mean, when I survive."
"Alright. So what do we do now?"
"We wait," she told him.

PART 16
They had been sat in the warehouse for almost three hours and Angel was sitting there silently going crazy with worry. Buffy on the other hand was totally calm, she had excepted that it was her destiny to face the big ugly evil thing, but she had hope (however slight) that things may be alright.
Buffy saw Angel get up and start to pace, "Sweetie... could you not do that, it'll drive me nuts."
"Sorry" Angel muttered sitting back down, "how come you're so calm?"
"Acceptance" Buffy stated calmly.
Angel was about to say something else, when they heard a deep, foreboding growl echo throughout the warehouse.
"It's time" Buffy whispered, she quickly kissed Angel and told him, "I love you. I always have and will."
"I love you too," Angel told her as she ran off to finally face her destiny.

Buffy let her slayer sense guide her to the demon and when it finally came into view she could hardly believe her eyes. Zanthar (the demon) was at the very least eight feet tall, dark green in colour, covered in horns and spikes and had retractable razor sharp claws.
"So you are the chosen one?" he growled at her unimpressed by the small girl who stood defiantly before him.
"And you're a Godzilla wanna-be" Buffy quipped back.
"You will die... painfully" Zanthar informed her.
Buffy looked at the demon and thought about all she had to live for, "Maybe I'll surprise you."
"I doubt it" he replied walking towards Buffy. He circled her as a predator circles his prey, this act of dominance was to show Buffy that he was the one who would control the outcome of this fight and not her.
Buffy faked a yawn and told him, "Could you hurry up, because this whole stalking-thing is getting kinda old."
Zanthar stopped and growled, "Are you that anxious to die, slayer?"
"Well... if it meant I didn't have to look at your ugly mug..." Buffy began, but was stopped by an extremely vicious backhand from Zanthar that knocked her to the ground.
"For that it shall be a slow death" Zanthar told her.
Buffy looked up from her position on the floor and said sarcastically, "Oh... I'm just so scared."
In reply Zanthar picked her up by her hair and threw her across the room. Before Buffy could even stand up he was looming over her, she rolled out from under him and stood up. Buffy was a little woozy but her kick to the face was dead on centre, unfortunately it didn't have any noticeable effect on Zanthar and neither did any of her follow up moves. All her efforts accomplished was to tire herself out, when she could barely stand, Zanthar simply picked her up once again and extended his sharp claws with the intention of slashing her to pieces.
This was when Angel (who had been secretly watching) finally couldn't take anymore, attacked Zanthar in order to save his beloved. He took out a sword (he'd brought it in case Buffy had needed some help) and raised it to a fighting position, he ran out and was about to use it on the demon, when Zanthar suddenly dropped Buffy and turned his demonic attention to Angel. Zanthar grabbed Angel by the throat, causing Angel to drop his weapon and he slashed Angel across the chest, when he was done he threw Angel's body to the floor and turned back to the slayer.
Zanthar received a surprise... not only was Buffy back on her feet, but she was holding Angel's sword. "How many times do I have to say this" Buffy said as she judo kicked Zanthar in the head, "No-one messes with my boyfriend."
As she finished her sentence she wielded the sword high into the air and cleanly cut off Zanthar's head. Buffy took a moment to capture her breath again and then looked up to check on Angel.
What she saw threw her into a total panic, Angel was still lying there where he'd landed... but he wasn't moving.

PART 17
Buffy rushed over to Angel's side and knelt down beside him. She reached out to touch him, but some sort of bright light enveloped his body and made him shudder with some sort of pain. When the light dissipated, Buffy realised that something was different; she reached out and laid her hand next to his wound. Buffy could hardly believe it, he felt warm and his chest began to heave as he gasped for his first breath in over 200 years.
"Buffy..." he wheezed, "I think I'm alive."
Buffy was in shock, she couldn't seem to form an answer... to express her opinion over the event. Eventually she was able to utter one word... "Wow."
Angel was breathing easier, "Is that all you have to say?"
Buffy found her voice, "Well I'm in shock, a good kinda shock, but still shock."
"You think you're in shock. Imagine not breathing for a couple of centuries and then suddenly..."
Buffy kissed him and asked, "Can you get up? We need to get away from here."
"I think so" Angel replied.
Buffy helped him up and practically carried him to the car, once she put him safely inside she drove him home. Buffy was so busy with Angel that she never noticed the black stretch limo parked across the street... watching.

"Damn it" Holland screamed. He couldn't believe that Zanthar an all-powerful demon had failed, that they'd been beaten once again by that annoying little girl.
"Maybe she didn't kill him," Lindsey suggested.
"Oh sure and maybe Santa really does exist" Holland replied sarcastically.
"What are we going to tell the senior partners?" Lindsey asked slightly panicked.
Holland then saw an out for himself... all he had to do was blame it on Lindsey. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Lindsey nodded and Holland signalled for the driver to take them back to the office.

Buffy helped Angel into their apartment and into the bedroom, where she laid him down. Angel was so exhausted from his transformation that he fell instantly asleep, not sure about what else to do she headed upstairs in search of Cordy and Doyle. She found them both sitting on the couch, holding each other and looking as if they'd both just lost their best friends.
"So... who died?" Buffy said stepping into view.
"Buffy" Cordy yelled jumping up and rushing over to hug her.
"Where's Angel?" Doyle asked in concern.
Buffy didn't know how to say it, so she decided to show them. "Come downstairs... there's something I need to show you."
They both followed Buffy down to the apartment, wondering what in the hell was going on. She led them to the bedroom and when she opened the door they heard the most horrendous noise.
"Wait... the great big mystery was a snoring Angel?" Cordy asked wondering how many blows to the head Buffy had received during her fight.
"Princess, since Angel can't breathe he can't snore. So what's goin' on?" Doyle said.
"When I killed the green, horny-guy... Angel kinda started to breathe and have a pulse..." Buffy explained.
"You mean he's alive?" Doyle asked in amazement.
"What? No grrr" Cordy added, confused by the situation. She thought she'd sent two friends off to die (in one case for the second time) and instead they both came back alive.
"Yeah."
"What does it mean?" Doyle demanded.
"I don't know and I can't think of anyone to ask" Buffy replied.
"I can" Doyle told her, "But we'll need a gift."

Half an hour later, Buffy was with Doyle underneath the post office and she was confused as to why she was there. Buffy noticed that Doyle was doing some sort of chant-ceremony thing and before she could ask him what he was up too, she found herself in a room standing before two gold people.
"What did you bring us warrior?" the female asked.
"This crystal vase" Buffy replied nervously.
They examined it and then the male stated, "You wish to know the fate of the souled vampire."
"Yeah."
"He is mortal, yet not mortal" the female told her.
"What exactly does that mean?" Buffy asked.
The female took pity on her, "For all intents and purposes he is a human now... but he is also charged with your protection and the powers have allowed him to keep his strength and healing abilities. Think of him as the male version of you."
"Why do I need protection?" Buffy asked confused.
"You will see soon enough" the male replied, "Be gone."
Buffy suddenly found herself back under the post office with Doyle. "Did they give your answers?" he asked.
"Sort of" Buffy replied smiling.
"Good" Doyle replied, as they headed back to the apartment.

Buffy, Cordy and Doyle were all sitting in the living room when Angel finally emerged from the bedroom. "How are you feeling?" Buffy asked.
"Great, no aches or pains" Angel told her. He turned to Doyle and said, "We need to see the Oracles."
"Been there, done that" Doyle replied not moving from his spot on the couch.
Angel looked confused, "What?"
"Doyle took me to see them earlier" Buffy explained.
"What did they tell you?" Angel asked praying that it was good news.
"I believe that the exact words were... male slayer... It just means that you're totally human, but have kept your vamp strength and healing abilities," Buffy answered.
Angel sighed in relief and plonked himself down next to Buffy, who immediately snuggled into his arms.
"So what now?" Cordy asked wondering if the group was going to split up, she actually kinda liked her job.
"I don't see that anything has to change... except maybe getting a few more human clients" Angel replied.
They celebrated for a while and then Cordy and Doyle left. Buffy glad that they were finally alone, led Angel off towards the bedroom and the private celebration she'd planned for them.

A few days later:
Angel stood there in front of the celebrant and was nervously awaiting Buffy's walk down the isle. He couldn't believe that Buffy was about to become his wife... to take his mind off things he surveyed the guests. He spotted Jenny minus Giles who was to give Buffy away (her real dad couldn't be bothered and her stepfather was missing). Xander and Anya who had apparently declared their love, Willow and Oz who had brought with them some girl named Tara. Faith and Spike were sitting together and seeming to be disgusted with this marriage (but for totally different reasons) and finally Joyce sitting all by herself. Doyle took his place as best man beside him and whispered, "It's time."
Angel turned his head and saw Cordy coming down the isle (Buffy's maid of honour - self appointed). A second later he finally caught a glimpse of his beloved, she wasn't wearing some frothy, long concoction that would be worn once then thrown away... Buffy had gone for a white, knee-length dress, with a slit that ran up one thigh. When Angel saw this he almost swallowed his tongue. She finally arrived next to him and Giles let go of the girl he loved like a daughter, Angel took her hand and they turned towards the celebrant.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Elizabeth Anne Summers and Liam Angelus McKee. Before we begin, is there anyone here who wishes to make their objection known or forever hold their peace."
All eyes in the room turned and looked at Joyce, who for once was quiet. The celebrant was about to begin, when two voices said, "I object."
Buffy and Angel turned around and saw Pike and Wesley enter the small chapel. "Oh joy" Buffy said sarcastically.
"What is your objection?"
"That is not a man she's marrying... but an abomination," Wesley proclaimed.
"Yeah, he's also a vampire" Pike added.
The celebrant looked at Buffy and Angel; "Do you both still wish to proceed?"
"Yes" Buffy and Angel chorused.
Pike and Wesley sat down discouraged that their attempt to stop the marriage had been unsuccessful.
The celebrant continued with the ceremony and before anyone realised it, he said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."
With that announcement Buffy and Angel left the chapel and headed off into the sunset.
The End.