DISCLAIMER: The characters of Buffy and company belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, WB, 20^th Century FOX, and probably some more. 

Truth

Lessons in Forgiveness

The Face of Evil

The Price of Freedom

The Return

Angel or Demon

Giles stood alone in the library. He looked at the pearly glow of dawn’s light, which was visible through the skylights. The others had gone home. The children had school in the morning, less than three hours from now. Joyce Summers had gone to call her daughter’s father. Giles had a feeling that he would soon have to explain the truth to both parents. He dreaded the thought.

He looked down at the computer disk in his hand. He wondered if he wanted to know the answers that it contained.

Giles confronted his greatest fear. He had the computer disk, the computer was in front of him, but he needed to get the information from the disk. He knew that Willow, or even one of the others could get the information in a flash. But he had a feeling, based on the bargain between Anna and the demon, that the contents of the disk were best read by him first.

After much fumbling he managed to see the contents of the disk. It appeared to contain three sets of information. One appeared to be a letter to him. He read the letter.

Giles looked at the letter in shock. He read it again, and then began to look through the diaries. He was afraid to find out what his Slayer had done over the summer, but he knew that he had to know, if he was to help her.

A shadow stirred in a dark place. Something had forced it awake, and all it remembered was the peace of sleep. The shadow struggled to understand what had pierced its dreams.

A tiny pinprick of light shone in the darkness. The shadow turned and looked at the light in incomprehension. Its hiss of displeasure echoed in the darkness unpleasantly. Slowly its memories returned to it.

Annoyance turned to excitement as it realized what the light represented. Carefully it extended senses towards the light. Through the gate it felt the presence of mortal life.

Freedom, at last, the shadow gloated. Those who had trapped it in the past had not managed to make escape foolproof. The creature might have no idea how long it had slept, but it did not matter. There were mortal creatures on the other side, and it would soon be able to feed.

And then it would restore itself. And then the mortal realm would tremble before its powers.

The shadow reached out and began to widen the rift between the realms, ever so carefully.

Buffy looked at the clock in the bedroom, 7:01, 5 minutes before sunset. She looked down at the vampire lying next to her. He seemed to be approaching waking. She took a deep breath and quickly ran through all of Anna’s advice. This was going to be the most critical moment. But at least, thanks to Anna’s spell, it would not be daylight out. There would be no chance for him to fry himself.

Angel slowly moaned and opened his eyes. He looked up into Buffy’s face. "Buffy?" his voice was weak and confused.

She looked down at him, and keeping her emotions under control, laid her left hand gently on his cheek. She knew she had very little time to say what had to be said, "Angel." His attention focused on her. "I love you."

He smiled weakly, and said seriously, "I love you." He looked around, and not recognizing the location, slowly sat up next to her. Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Buffy, where are we? I don’t remember."

She took a deep breath, "Angel. I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will always love you." He started to reply, but she stopped him with a finger to his mouth, "No, just listen, and believe. No matter what I did to you, or what you did to me. I still love you." He looked at her in confusion. "I love you, and I forgive you."

"Forgive? Forgive wh..." His voice trailed off as his eyes went wide. He looked into her face, as if seeking refuge from his nightmares. "No. What have I done?" He tried to stand up, but Buffy reached out and held him in place. Her face before him mingled with her face from his new memories. Flash after flash, he saw it in shock, in grief, in anger, in pain, all caused by him. He felt again the desire to destroy her. He could not bear it. Once again he tried to pull away from her, "Let me go." But she just held him tight. He could not believe what he had done, but the memories were not lies. Unable to do anything else, he began to cry.

Buffy gathered him into her embrace and let him cry. She whispered into his ear. "I love you. And I forgive you. It wasn’t your fault." Only the knowledge that she needed to be strong kept her from joining his tears. Despite the pain there was a lightening in her heart, because as she spoke the words she knew they were true.

Joyce and Hank Summers faced Rupert Giles across the table in the library. This evening there were no Slayerettes present.

Buffy’s father had just had the facts of the demon world explained to him. He was still in shock. Buffy’s mother wasn’t much better, but at least she seemed to be still thinking.

"Okay. I think I can accept the vampire thing. But can you please explain Angel to me? I mean the last time I talked to Buffy she was saying she was going to kill him. But last night I saw what she did to save him."

Giles looked at her sadly. "Angel is a vampire." Joyce nodded in agreement. That fact had been pretty obvious the previous night. "She met him shortly after she arrived in Sunnydale." Giles sighed, trying to think of a tactful way to say what must be said. "Well, one thing led to another, and they fell in love."

Hank looked up at Giles in shock. "You mean my daughter is in love with a vampire?" Giles nodded. "But I thought you said that they were demons who went around killing humans?" Giles nodded again. "And isn’t she supposed to Slay vampires?"

Giles sighed again, "Yes. Essentially this is what happened. A hundred years ago Angel killed a gypsy girl. The gypsies cursed him by returning his soul. This made him a good person. He tried to make up for his evil by helping us." The two Summers just stared at him, trying to understand. Giles sighed again in sadness; "Unfortunately neither Buffy nor Angel was aware that the curse would be broken if he experienced a moment of happiness."

Joyce looked at him in shock. Hank just looked confused. Giles looked between the two parents, and realized that not everything had been shared. Uncomfortably he continued, "Well, um, after they, um, spent time together, well, Angel lost his soul." He looked relieved to have managed the delicate phrasing. Hank suddenly understood the comment and turned to Joyce in shock. "Buffy blamed herself for it. It wasn’t really her fault; after all she didn’t know what would happen. But it took her a long time to recover, and the fact that Angel was trying to kill her didn’t help."

Hank and Joyce just stared at him. He continued sadly, "She needs his forgiveness. I only hope she will get it."

At last the emotional storm began to subside. Angel slowly lifted his head to look into Buffy’s eyes. She carefully let him go, and when he made no move to leave, she carefully stood up and walked out the door.

Angel looked after her in confusion. A moment later she returned holding a wine bottle and a single glass. He looked from the bottle to her face in greater puzzlement. She set the glass down on the dresser and then opened the bottle. Angel looked at her in shock as he identified the bottle’s contents by smell.

Buffy just looked at him hard as she poured a glass. "You need to eat." He looked at her defiantly. "It’s from a friend. She knew what you were, and she gave it freely." Buffy held out the glass, but Angel made no motion to take it from her. In an exasperated tone, "I will pour it down your throat if I have to."

He looked hurt, "But…"

"No buts." She sighed, "Look Angel, you’re still hurt. If you don’t eat you’re not gonna heal. I will not let that happen. So would you please just take it."

He looked at her sharply, but reached out and took the glass. She handed him the bottle and then turned and left the room again.

Angel looked at the glass of blood for another moment, before he raised it to his lips and drank.

Buffy knelt in the center of the power circle. Her eyes were closed in concentration and her earring was softly glowing. Angel slowly walked out of the bedroom. It was clear from the way that he moved that he was in significant pain.

He took in the sight before him. Buffy’s back was turned to him. A moment later she sighed and stood to face him. Her eyes were glowing brightly. Angel looked at her in shock, unsure of what to say. After a moment the glow faded and she walked over to face him. She looked him over carefully, "How are you feeling?" An expression of pain crossed his face and he started to turn away. She reached out and stopped him, and elaborated, "I mean, physically?"

Angel raised a hand to his chest; a look of puzzlement crossed his features. "It hurts. I’m not sure why."

Buffy looked at him in surprise. "You don’t remember?"

Clearly he wished she had not reminded him of his new memories. "I don’t remember why I should hurt this much." He looked around. "I don’t know where we are." He looked at the circle for a moment. The crystals caught and reflected the moonlight. "I don’t know what you were doing."

Buffy sighed again. "What is the last thing that you remember?"

Angel looked pained, but forced himself to look into the memories. "Acathla. I wanted to…" he could not continue the thought. "You were there." He frowned in concentration. "Something hit me. I don’t remember anything after that."

Buffy was surprised, but she kept her expression calm, even though her thoughts raced frantically. Why would he not remember more than that? Anna, she had said that she would make the transition as easy as possible. She certainly could have held back some of Angel’s memories. Buffy knew that she could not reveal everything yet.

"I had to stop you." Buffy allowed a bit of pain to cross her face. As she had hoped, Angel responded to the pain by starting to reach out to her. She deliberately half turned to face the circle, and changed the subject. She waved a hand at it; "I have been learning. I was just searching for vamps."

Angel looked surprised.

"You know that Slayers can identify vampires by feel?" Angel nodded. "Well I can search for vamps at a distance. I was trying to see if there were any in Sunnydale. Then I felt you come into the room, so I stopped."

Angel turned back to her, clearly impressed.

The Slayer’s parents were still trying to assimilate their new world view. They seemed so confused that it was impossible for them to come up with rational questions. Finally, Joyce broke the silence with the question that had been haunting her since she first learned the truth.

"Why didn’t she tell us? Why didn’t you tell us?"

Giles sighed, "We needed to maintain the appearance of a normal life. We were not sure how either of you would react. So we just kept the information from you. We could not chance you interfering." Giles closed his eyes for a moment, before continuing. "Besides, Buffy loves you. She could not bear the thought that her life would spill over and put you in danger. Actually, it did a couple of times. But she was determined to keep you safe." Giles looked at the two sadly, "I hope someday you will be able to forgive us."

Angel looked out the windows of a bedroom. He still didn’t understand what was happening. Everything felt distant, even the pain in his body. Angel wondered what he should do. It would be easy just to leave. But he knew that Buffy would track him down, her remarks about her abilities had been a warning. It would be easy to withdraw, to not feel anything again, but he knew that was a lie. He loved Buffy, and nothing would ever change that. Not even what he had done to her. And so he was faced with trying to fit himself back into her life. He wondered if it was possible.

Absently, Angel looked at the stars, and then he gasped in shock. They were in the wrong pattern. Buffy walked into the room. "What is it?"

Angel grimaced; he had been so lost in his own thoughts, that he had not heard her approach. But he was also confused. "The stars." Then he realized what he was looking at. "It not June," he said flatly.

Buffy hid a wince. She should have known that he would figure out the truth quickly. "No. It’s September."

The vampire was surprised. He might not like it, but he had all the memories from his previous existence. Why would he be missing three months? "I don’t understand."

Buffy sighed, "It’s been a hard summer. You were trapped and lost. It took me all summer to find a way to locate you." It was the truth, just not all of it.

Angel looked at the pain on his love’s face. And realized it didn’t matter, what mattered was that she had found him. He still did not believe that she would do that. "It’s okay. It was just a shock." He struggled to finish what he was feeling.

Buffy saw the confusion on his face. "What is it?"

"I don’t understand why you would try to find me."

"Angel. I spent all summer without you. I never wanna do that again." Angel had trouble believing that. "Accept it. And then let’s find a way to live again."

Giles sat in his office. Sunlight poured through the skylights and pooled on the large collection of books stacked on the table in the main room. But Giles’s attention was completely focused on the Slayer lore in front of him. He was not afraid of being interrupted. The school library was not the most popular place for students or teachers to spend holidays.

"It doesn’t make sense." He muttered to the world in general. "Why would she think that this was the only way?" Giles pulled out the loose papers that contained the printouts from the Rhianna’s prophecies. He was attempting to fill in the missing pieces. The prophecies were extremely fragmentary.

Unfortunately, Anna’s plan was already in motion. He might not agree with that plan, but he could see no way of changing it. At least, no way that would not make life much harder for Buffy. He did agree with Anna on one point, however. The Slayer could not know anything until after she made her choices.

Sunset glinted off the crystals in the living room. Buffy watched it from the living room windows. She was not afraid that Angel would awaken early, the spell that she had cast would keep him asleep until after the sun was down. Buffy regarded the sun with something akin to awe. She had forgotten how beautiful it was. The previous summer she had spent in darkness, living like her prey in order to kill as many of them as possible. Definitely, not healthy.

The Slayer continued to watch as darkness descended on the town. She felt the stirring of a vampire nearby, and she turned and waited for him to join her. As Angel walked into the room Buffy looked him over carefully. He looked better. She guessed that his wounds were starting to heal.

Angel looked up at Buffy. She was smiling at him wistfully. Looking at the twilight outside the windows, he knew that the sun was down. He also knew that he had been asleep before the sun had risen. Since vampires don’t normally sleep for over twelve hours, he figured Buffy had been playing tricks. "Why did you want me to sleep that long?"

Buffy looked mildly guilty. "The sun can be very painful." He understood what she referred to. The temptation to have everything be over with was strong. But Angel also knew that leaving her would hurt her more than anything else would, and so he would never do it. But it would be painful to convince her of that, so he just dropped the subject.

There was so much that still needed to be said between them. But neither had any idea how to start.

Angel looked down at his hands. He saw the silver ring in his right hand. Angel remembered when he had first put the ring on, long before he told Buffy how he felt. And he also remembered the hatred he felt when he had first reversed that same ring. He looked at the ring for a moment, and then he slipped it off and held it out to Buffy. She gravely reached out and took it. She studied it for a moment and her face was completely serious as she deliberately handed it back to him. Angel carefully put it back on. He loved her, and looking into her eyes, he knew that she loved him. But those words were very dangerous for the two of them.

Buffy looked at her own ring for a moment, and then she handed it to him. Angel gazed at the ring for awhile. He recognized the slow pulsing of a predator’s heartbeat. And he could hear his own heartbeat as easily as he could hear Buffy’s. Angel looked at her face, a question in his eyes.

"I used it to find you. It’s different now. I hope you don’t mind."

Angel just smiled and handed the ring back to her.

Tuesday morning. Dejected students filled the halls. Students that were even more depressed then they would have been on a Monday morning. After all, a three-day weekend may be fun, but it hurts more when it comes to an end.

Three students and one ex-student were clustered around a table in the library. The Watcher was in pace mode.

"So, what do we know?" Willow, as usual, was determined to get the facts straight.

Xander started the fact list. "Buffy’s alive."

"But, where is she now?" Oz asked.

The three students looked at each other. After all it was school, and Buffy should be here.

Cordelia was the first to state the obvious. "She’s with Angel."

Giles looked up from his pacing, and decided to speed up the conversation. "Angel’s alive. Buffy and her friend opened the Hellmouth in order to bring Angel here." He stated the obvious. "Angel was in Hell."

The others digested this unpleasant fact. Willow looked happy, "Then the curse worked." The others looked at her in surprise. "I mean, she wouldn’t have brought him back if he hadn’t gotten his soul back, would she?"

Xander looked like he was about to give a sarcastic response, when Giles cut him off. "No. His soul was restored to him. According to the information I have, he had already woken Acathla up when you restored his soul to him. Buffy had no choice but to stop Acathla, and the only way to do that was to send Angel to Hell."

Four teenagers stared at him in shock.

"How do you know this?" Oz asked suspiciously.

"Anna left me records of what Buffy did this summer."

Giles looked up as the class bell rang. The students prepared to depart. He called after them; "We’ll meet tonight at sunset to decide on patrols." The three waved to him in agreement.

Buffy watched over Angel’s sleep. She wondered, briefly, if Anna had felt this way over the summer. The thought of her friend pained her, and she pushed aside the memories. Buffy was quite adept at that now.

She knew that she would have to face her Watcher, and her friends again soon. She knew that it was going to be painful. But the sooner she faced them, the better. Buffy glanced at the time, 5:58. She glanced back at Angel, and then walked out of the room and headed for dinner. She would go to the library at sunset.

Sunset. Two Slayerettes helped Giles pack Slayage bags. Cordelia had begged off. No one had quite dared ask what she was off doing. They were animatedly discussing patrol plans, when they heard a footfall behind them.

They turned as one to face the Slayer.

She looked a little better than she had three nights ago. Her skin was still pale, and her clothing was still black. But there was also some peace in he face.

"Buffy?" They asked as one.

"Hi, guys."

She also looked tired. Thinking back to what he had read, Giles decided that three days of sleep, if she had managed to sleep, would not have made up for the summer. He indicated a chair, and as she sat down, the others clustered around her. Everyone seemed unsure of how to start, and an awkward silence formed. Giles thought about the situation for a moment and then reached a decision, he turned and ran for the phone. Her parents deserved to know that she was all right.

Buffy looked around at her friends. "I’m so sorry." She wasn’t sure what else to say. Their eyes were full of questions, but she was glad that they didn’t ask them.

Giles emerged from his office.

Silence descended on the room.

At last, the waiting grew too long, and Buffy turned to her best friend. "Will. I wanted to thank you for what you did." A look of pain crossed her face, but her voice was steady as she finished. "It was hard at first, but it worked out for the best, now."

Willow smiled at Buffy. "Your welcome." She pondered for a moment, and then asked the question anyway. "How is he?"

Buffy half-smiled. "Doing better. Luckily Slayer blood is, well, Slayer blood." Her smile grew. "He’ll heal eventually, as long as I make him eat." Willow smiled at her friend’s wry tone of voice.

Xander did not like the way the conversation was going; he started to say something scathing, but looking at her face, he swallowed it. Instead he kept everything except concern out of his voice as he asked, "How are you?"

Buffy rubbed her left wrist, almost involuntarily. The slash had healed, and was now a pink scar. She knew that the scar would eventually fade to the faintest of white lines, but she would always bear it. A reminder of how close she had come to death. "I’m okay." She paused for a second. "I’m sorry I left. I just couldn’t…"

"It’s okay Buff. We understand."

Xander glanced quickly at Willow, who nodded her head. "Yeah. What matters is that you’re here now."

Xander continued. "You’re back." The library doors opened, interrupting anything else he had been about to say.

Joyce and Hank Summers ran into the library. Buffy looked at her parent’s in surprise. She had hoped to put off meeting them, at least until she felt a little more stable. But perhaps this was for the best. She did owe them an explanation, too.

Angel looked up at the school. He knew that Buffy had wanted to spare him meeting the others this soon. But he also knew she was afraid to face them alone. He decided his only course of action was to stand at her side and help her anyway he could. He owed that to her.

"Loo…" Buffy broke off in mid-word. Her eyes instinctively found Angel as he walked out of the shadows. He moved as silently as ever, but she knew that he had just walked in the doors. She smiled at him, unable to hide her relief. It had been harder then she had imagined, dealing with her friends.

The group turned to look behind them, at what had caught her eye. Buffy saw them look at Angel. Saw them freeze, unsure of what to do. She broke the tension by walking over to him. The two stood side by side, facing their former friends and family.

Taking in the stunned silence, Buffy decided she needed to say something, anything, to break the ice. She turned to her parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Angel. Angel these are my parents." The introduction was pretty pointless, but at least it was something.

Angel gave her a peculiar look, before stretching out his hand to her parents. "Nice to meet you." In a daze her father reached out and shook Angel’s hand. He almost flinched as that hand’s temperature registered. But managed to stay inoffensive.

Everyone looked at everyone else. No one knew what to say.

Suddenly Buffy gasped. Angel turned to look at her in surprise, and then he felt it as well. They felt something moving nearby, something evil. Buffy instinctively summoned power and reached out with her senses. Angel allowed his demonic face to show, as he prepared for battle.

The others in the room looked at the two lovers in shock. Buffy’s eyes began to glow and she scanned the room determinedly. Angel’s face morphed, showing his vampiric countenance. He growled low, a warning. He moved to guard the Slayer’s back.

Buffy managed to see it first. The problem was, she was not sure what it was. It seemed to be a power point, and it was radiating so brightly that she figured it would be visible to normal sight. She let go of her spell, allowing her vision to fade. She had the feeling she was going to need all the power she could get, and soon.

Angel saw Buffy tense, her concentration focused in one spot. He turned to follow her gaze. He saw the spark of light floating in mid-air on the far side of library. He was not sure what it was, but he was sure that it was something evil. He noticed that the others were drawing back, staring at them. In order to calm their fears as well as hide from the enemy, he summoned calm and forced his features to return to their human form.

The group of mortals, unsure of what was happening turned to look at what the Slayer and the vampire were staring at. They all saw a faint spark of light. Unsure of what they were looking at, they turned back to the two. Seeing the concern and preparation in both sets of eyes, they edged closer and turned to face the glow.

The spark of light grew and resolved, until it appeared to be a swirling vortex of light, about a foot across.

Buffy, the only one present that had seen something like it before, whispered "Oh my God." But before she could do anything the vortex flared and vanished.

In its place a young, beautiful girl stood. She seemed to be about seventeen years old. Her long, pale blond hair framed a face with elegantly beautiful features. The bronze tan of her skin set off the startling blue color of her eyes. She was dressed in a simple white dress, a dress that was torn and bloodstained in places, although there was no mark on her skin. She wore an expression of pure amazement.

She looked over the group quickly before turning to examine the room. Angel was staring at her in something akin to horror. "Oh no. It can’t be. It just can’t." He was muttering.

"What is it?" Buffy demanded. When she saw that he was not paying any attention to her, To attract that attention she tuned and said, "Angel." But the sound of his name also attracted the attention of the girl.

"Angel." She repeated, intently searching the group. Her eyes locked onto Angel without hesitation. "It is you, Angelus." Then she turned and continued to look around. "Things are so different. How long has it been?"

Angel slowly walked to the front of the group, but he did not cross to the side of the library where she stood. "It’s been almost two hundred years." He looked her over, and continued, "I never expected to see you again, Alec. Darla said that you would never return to this world."

"Yes. Well, not to say anything bad about that girl." Alec smiled at this comment. "But she does not know everything. To tell you the truth, I never thought I would make it back. But here I am." She looked at the others curiously, and then returned her gaze to Angel with a wicked smile. "You always did like to play with your food. Of course that is part of the reason you were my favorite." The smile grew. "It is just wonderful that you are here to greet me, as I return to the mortal realm."

Buffy could stand being silent no longer, she glared at the girl in front of her, and then turned to Angel and "Angel, what’s…" She halted abruptly as Angel held up a hand in warning.

She did not stop soon enough. Alec turned her attention to the Slayer. She frowned in puzzlement. Then looked back at Angel in surprise, incredulously, "She cares for you? And she is a Slayer?" Then she suddenly realized what that meant, and burst out laughing.

Angel looked at her in amazement. Anger at being laughed at showed on his face. "What’s so funny." He growled.

Alec stopped laughing. "Sorry." Not sounding too apologetic. "Did Darla tell you how I could be freed?"

"No."

"Then it is even more amazing." She shook her head. "The terms were this, I would be trapped, there, until a follower of light summoned the powers of darkness to open the path to Hell in order to save a demon. You can see why I thought I would never be free. Who would have imagined." She shook her head again. "And to think, a Slayer, opened the gates of Hell to save you. It is just beyond belief." She twirled in place. "Oh, Angelus, what times we will have."

Angel just looked at her and said, "What do you want, Alec?"

She sighed. "What’s wrong? Don’t you remember the fun we had? Don’t you remember the streets we danced along? The blood that ran in rivers? No one saw us. Oh what fun we had."

"I remember." No trace of pain crossed his expression or touched his voice at the memory of his past deeds. Xander and Willow, who had been watching the girl, turned to look at him in horror. Giles was following the conversation, attempting to discern who this visitor was. Buffy seemed focused entirely on Alec and not on her words.

Alec sighed again. "What I want is your help, of course. The gift I gave you at our last meeting." She began to close the distance between them. Step by step. "Blood to blood. Power to power. Love to love." With her last words she stood before him, and casually laid a hand on his cheek. "That which I once gave you, I now want you to use for me."

Staring into her eyes, less than a foot away, he replied. "Why should I?"

Dropping her hand as if burned, she backed up a step in surprise. "What? I am certainly willing to give you something in return. Did you not like my gifts in the past? Did you think that I would be ungrateful? What is it that you want for such a small favor?"

In a perfectly steady voice he said, "I want to you to go back to Hell where you belong, Queen of Shadows."

The shock of his reply swept across her face, followed instantly by anger. She took another couple of steps backwards, and then glared at him and hissed in displeasure. It was the first sign that she was not human, for that sound could only have come from a cat or a demon. For an instant her eyes seemed to be slitted like a cat’s, and her teeth seemed pointed.

It took her only another heartbeat to regain her composure, and once again a human mask covered her features. She looked at Angel again, this time studying his face, as if she could see something in it that was hidden before.

"Who?" She demanded. Her voice filled with anger. "Who did this to you? You are mine, and I will destroy them for this."

"Time passes, Alec. Even if I didn’t have my soul I wouldn’t be yours anymore."

She laughed. It was an ugly sound. "Insolent boy. You are so young. You should not have forgotten what I am capable of, well, now I will remind you." In a voice of command she ordered the vampire, "Come here."

His face a mask of concentration, he slowly approached the demon. It appeared that he was fighting the movements of his own body, but in the end he stood before her.

"Good. Now kneel."

Angel slowly sank to his knees before her. His eyes were fixed on her face.

Buffy moaned in recognition, and she ran forward to stand at his side. Clearly she was done with being nice. She looked at the girl and her eyes blazed for a moment. But whatever she had intended to do obviously did not work.

A faint shimmering surrounded the Alec and then vanished. The demon turned to Buffy and with a laugh. Her eyes glowed red for a moment, and Buffy was slammed against the library wall. "Is that what you were trying to do, girl? You had better get more practice before you try that again."

She turned her attention back to the kneeling vampire. Her hand reached out gently stroke his face and her voice was almost compassionate, "I am sorry. If you help me, I will not hurt you. I will even promise not to hurt her." She nodded to the fallen Slayer. "But if you do not cooperate, well, I can always make you."

Angel looked up at her. His fear was clear on his face, but he somehow managed to keep his voice steady. "You can’t make me help you. I remember the way it works, what you need must be freely given."

"True. But I can hurt you. And I can hurt your friends." The last word came out with a hiss of displeasure, or disbelief. Buffy slowly pulled herself to her feet and walked back to stand about a few feet behind Angel. "Poor little tortured soul. I can find a way to take it away from you. Then we will both be happy."

Angel glared at her, but refused to comment.

Alec looked up at Buffy for a moment and then returned her attention to the vampire at her feet. The hand on his face began to move in a caress, as she whispered to him in a singsong voice, "Remember, lover."

Willow looked at the Slayer in shock, but Buffy’s entire attention was focused on the demon, if the words registered she chose to ignore them. Of course, Buffy had to be able to ignore a lot of things from Angel’s past, and not so distant past at that.

The demon continued her seduction. "Remember the blood. Remember the way you felt." Angel didn’t move, but a fine trembling seemed to invade him. "That’s right, surrender to me. I will make all the pain go away."

He growled at her, "Damn you!" His face slowly changed to display its vampire countenance.

Alec looked at him delightedly. She slowly dropped her hand, and looking deep into his eyes commanded, "Now. Kill her."

Angel turned his head to stare at his love. A low growl escaped him. Buffy only stared back at him, making no motion to defend herself. Slowly his features morphed again, returning his face to its human form. He looked back to the demon and in a determined voice, "Never!"

The demon hissed again. This time the fangs that she revealed did not disappear with time. She looked at him in pure amazement. Then she looked back at the mortals. "Very well. Kill her." She pointed at Willow. Angel turned again, his demonic features revealed once more. Willow took a step back, as he prepared to spring forward.

His forward progress was halted by a sharp kick to face. Buffy had moved to block his motion. He collapsed to the floor at the demon’s feet. Buffy turned to face the demon, completely ignoring the fallen vampire.

In a voice that should have frozen the air, she commanded "That’s enough. Get out of here." With that she began to glow. It seemed as if she gathered light from everywhere in the room, until she was the brightest thing around. Then the light poured from her in a flash of lighting aimed at the demon.

The demon staggered back a step, before catching itself. In a voice that had lost all trace of humanity, it applauded Buffy. "Interesting, girl. This should be fun." It watched in amusement as the Slayer slowly collapsed to the ground. It then turned its attention back to the vampire at its feet. "We will see, Angelus. You are mine, and you will help me. Remember, everything comes to me in the end." With that the demon slowly turned and dissolved into a black vapor and then vanished without a trace.

The group stared at the place where the demon had stood in shocked amazement. Angel was the first to recover; he stood and walked over to Buffy. She appeared to be nowhere near recovering consciousness. Blood trailed down her face from the corner of her mouth. Angel kneeled by her side and reached down to take hold of one of her hands.

The others slowly approached. Joyce took in the way that Angel looked at her daughter before turning to Giles. "Will she be okay? What happened to her?" she asked worriedly. The Slayerettes were pleading with their eyes to hear the same question answered. . Hank Summers only stared at his daughter in shock. He looked between Angel and Buffy with horror.

Giles sighed, and answered the questions as best he could, "She seemed to concentrate a great amount of psychic power through herself and then threw it all at the demon." The group looked at him in incomprehension. "Do you remember when I warned you about performing the curse, Willow?" Willow nodded. "Well the problem is that a physical body can conduct a limited amount of magic before it breaks down. I fear that Buffy has exceeded her quota."

"But she’ll be okay, right?"

"I don’t know. She survived the experience, but that much power could have burned out her body or her mind."

As one the group looked down at the fallen Slayer in horror. Angel looked up to meet their gaze. "She’ll be fine. She just needs to rest." He informed them.

Xander did not bother to hide the sarcasm in his voice, "And how do you know that?"

Angel just looked at him and smiled sadly, "I just know."

Just then Buffy stirred. All the attention in the room was returned to her. She slowly opened her eyes, but instantly closed them again, groaning in pain. Without opening her eyes, she queried quietly, "Angel?"

He carefully laid one hand along the side of her face, and whispered back, "I’m here."

"The demon?"

"Gone."

"Good." She lay still for a couple of seconds, gathering her strength, before attempting to open her eyes. She looked around dizzily, then looked back at Angel, "Help me up." When he did not respond at first, she just looked at him. With a sigh he slowly helped her sit up. She leaned against him heavily.

She sat still for a moment, then frowned in puzzlement. She closed her eyes and held her breath, she appeared to be listening to something. The crystal earring glowed faintly. Then she sighed and commented, almost offhandedly, "It’s not gone for good."

Angel looked at her in surprise. "No it’s not. Can you sense it?"

"Yeah. It’s so bright I can hardly feel you. But it seems to be able to spread itself out. Its aura covers the entire city. That is gonna make it hard to track down." She smiled at the vampire, "Plus making vampire tracking nasty. Pity."

Giles looked at her in shock, realizing what this comment implied about her powers. He had read about it, but it was something else to hear it from her. Her parents and the Slayerettes looked at her in confusion.

Angel also looked at her in shock, but his was generated by another source. "Buffy, you have no idea what that is. You do not want to go hunting it. Not unless you know some way to get rid of it."

Xander, obviously irritated by this inside conversation, interrupted before the Slayer had come up with a suitable reply. "Alright, just who was the blonde. Remember, not all of us are demons, so take it from the beginning."

Buffy glared up at Xander, but Angel did not respond to the barb. His eyes seemed focused at something from his past. "Alright. I will tell you what I know, but it’s not pretty."

"There’s a surprise." Xander’s voice was full of sarcasm.

"Xander!" Willow put in. "Quiet." She pulled him over to the table and they both took seats. Joyce and Hank knelt in front of their daughter, their concern evident in their faces. Giles seemed lost in concentration, pacing in the background.

Angel did not seem to notice the interruption. He looked up at Giles, "I assume that you have read all the entries in the Watchers’ Diaries about me." Giles nodded. "Do you happen to know where I was between 1803-1806?"

Giles looked at him in surprise. "No, I don’t. There is a large ten-year gap in the diaries there, with respect to you. But there are other gaps elsewhere, I just assumed that it was because you were travelling too much for the Watchers to notice your presence."

"That’s part of it. There is also the fact that I was still quite young then, not quite so dangerous." He ignored the look that Buffy threw him. "But at that time there was another reason. That is when Darla introduced me to Alec. At first I thought she was just another vampire. But it did not take long to figure out that she wasn’t." His eyes were focused on a vision from the past. And Buffy stared at him in concern, unsure about whether she should interrupt or not. "She could walk in the sunlight, and we never saw anything that hurt her. She loved to kill." He shuddered at some image conjured from his memories. "But she never drank blood." Angel took a deep breath and continued, "She tortured people, and she was very good at it. She could read a person’s deepest fears, and use those fears to destroy that person." He started to say something more but broke off.

Buffy, feeling his hands shake, understood the rest. "She taught you, didn’t she?"

He looked at her, "Yes. She taught me. She taught me…" He broke off with another shudder, unable to continue the thought. "Anyway, she had access to some powers that I have never seen since. She could make herself, and others, invisible. We would hunt in the open, and no one would even notice our presence." He stopped; staring into the memories that would not leave him any peace.

Giles looked at Buffy, staring at her love in concern, and then to the vampire. He decided a change of topic would be in order. "So she’s a demon, and her name is Alec?"

Angel looked at him in surprise, and then answered the question. "Yes she is a demon. And she is not like any demon that you have fought. She is one of the Old Ones, a major demon. If there is a way to harm her, I don’t know it. As to her name, she called herself Alec, but it’s only a nickname. She never gave us, even Darla, her true name."

Buffy looked at him in surprise, realizing the importance of that statement. "So if we can find its true name, we might be able to stop it?"

Angel looked at her sadly, "I have no idea. There is also the fact that I seriously doubt her true name can be found anywhere. She was quite protective of it."

Giles had caught another meaning to his words, "Why Darla? You speak of her as if she had some special meaning to the demon."

Angel sighed and answered. "She did. You know how vampires first came to be, right?" Heads moved in agreement around the room. "Well at one point Alec decided that she wanted some really loyal help, so she decided to try it. After all she was a major demon. So she mixed her blood with a human’s. It worked. She had a first generation vampire, Darla." He shook his head. "I don’t know why she never did it again. But Darla was the only one."

Buffy looked at him in shock; "Darla was your sire…"

"That’s right, Darla changed me. Which means that I am the closest to it by blood."

Giles thought this over for a moment and then realized, "Your blood. That’s what the book means when it says your blood is among the purest."

Angel gave a self-mocking smile. "Yes. My blood is very close to a true demon’s."

No one had a response to that statement. Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts, none sure how to ask the questions that they needed the answers to.

Willow was the first to speak up. "Angel?" Angel turned to look at her. "What did she want from you. I mean she clearly wanted something."

Angel closed his eyes, but answered the question. "Right before she disappeared from the mortal realm, she came back. I think that she was being hunted, but I was not present when it was banished. Darla mentioned it briefly and then never spoke of Alec again." Angel shook off his memories. "Anyway, it gave me a gift. I am not quite sure why. It claimed, at the time, that it was a mark of favor." He drew comfort from Buffy’s hand, held in his own. "The gift gave me some powers over demons." He sighed. "Anyway it wants me to open a portal for it." Looking at the surprise showing on the faces of the group, he continued. "Not the Hellmouth. I don’t have that kind of power. But a lesser portal, Alec desperately wants whatever is on the other side."

Xander finally asked his question. "So, what are we gonna do?"

No one had an answer.

Sunset. Buffy had spent the day sleeping. The magic she had pulled through her body had left her sick and exhausted. Given the situation, she slept in the other bedroom, the ones with the windows. She had found the feeling of sunlight oddly comforting. She had lived like a vampire for so long.

Buffy and Angel walked into through the library doors. The Slayerettes seemed to have gotten used to the idea of seeing them together, or perhaps the shocks of the day had been so great that the lesser shocks just did not register.

Buffy took one look around the crowd, and knew something was up. "Hey guys. What’s up?" She walked up to the table that Xander, Willow, and Cordelia were sitting at. She was dimly aware of the fact that Angel had drifted into the shadows at the edge of the room. She wanted to keep him from hiding, but she knew it was too soon for that.

None of them seemed able to speak. Giles was not present. Buffy briefly wondered where he was hiding, and then she heard a noise and figured that he was in the stacks. Finally Willow spoke up. "It’s the demon."

Buffy’s eyes widened. "Where?"

"She was at school."

Buffy took a quick glance behind her, but Angel seemed just as surprised by this news as she was.

Cordelia was clearly in a huff. "Yeah, she just showed up. The new beautiful girl. Now everyone just loves her." Cordelia sniffed. "I mean, instant popularity. We really have to kill this demon."

Xander smiled at her tone. "Cordelia Chase. Always willing to Slay the competition."

Cordelia just glared at him.

Giles emerged from the stacks before anyone else could speak. He caught sight of the Slayer. "There you are."

"What is it Giles?"

"Do you remember the disk the Anna gave me?"

"Yeah."

"Well among other things she said that she left a message for you." The Slayer looked surprised. "She said that it contained information in regard to your powers." Giles looked like he wanted to get into a discussion with her about her powers, but decided to leave it for later. "Did you find it?"

"No. Where is it?"

"She didn’t say."

"Great."

"Anyway, you might want to find it before you make any decisions about the demon."

Buffy and Angel walked through the door to their home. Buffy was muttering under her breath. "A message, now where would she have left a message."

Angel was still reeling from the night’s shocks. "Buffy?"

Buffy stopped looking around the living room. "Hmm?"

"Who was Anna?"

Buffy sighed; this was one of the things she had hoped could wait. But she could think of no way to put off an explanation. "This summer, Anna was my friend." Angel winced at this reminder that he had lost three months of time. For some reason Buffy refused to tell him what, or where he had been. She had only said that she had stopped him from waking Acathla.

His thoughts were interrupted as the Slayer continued her explanation. "Well, she helped me a lot. It’s her blood that is in there." She waved a hand at the kitchen. "Anyway, getting you back required a sacrifice. She made it."

Angel looked stunned. "She’s dead." It was not a question.

"Yes."

"She died for me?" He found this unbelievable.

"Well, in a way. I actually think she died for me. She said that she would do anything to make me better, and the only way to do that was to bring you back."

"Oh, Buffy…" He seemed on the verge of tears.

"Not now, Angel. Let’s just find that message."

Buffy looked around the room another time. Then it hit her. "The computer." Ignoring Angel’s look of confusion, she walked over to Anna’s belongings. The laptop computer was still in its case. She carefully extracted it, and turned it on. Angel looked at her in surprise. She gave him a wry grin. "I saw her use it a lot this summer, I guess some things just sunk in."

Her voice trailed off as she saw the computer finish turning on. What appeared on the screen was a message. She could feel Angel lean over to read it over her shoulder, but she was concentrating on the words too hard to watch his reaction.

"Oh my God." Buffy turned to look at Angel in shock. He seemed just as surprised as she did. And more confused.

"For my sake…"

"No. For our sake." Buffy responded firmly." She shook her head, trying to think. "I need to contact her. See what she thinks about the demon."

"Buffy?"

"Just a moment." Buffy carefully stepped over the edge of the circle and knelt in its center. She pulled a blade from her boot, and made a careful slice on her left thumb. She smeared her blood on the earring, and then closed her eyes in concentration.

Angel looked on. Feeling helplessness and worry.

Ten minutes later, Buffy stirred. She got up unsteadily. She managed a shaky laugh, as Angel rushed over to help her sit down. "Amazing."

"So she’s in there." Angel pointed at the earring.

"Yeah. And she seems pretty concerned over the new demon. She thinks that we need to watch it during the daylight hours, since she has no idea what it might be doing at school."

"I thought Willow, Xander, and Cordelia agreed to watch it."

"They did. But I think that I am gonna have to watch it too."

"I thought you weren’t in school anymore." Angel seemed to be having trouble following her line of reasoning.

"I’m not. But that can change."

Angel looked surprised. "How?"

Buffy reached up to finger her earring, "Magic, of course."

Cordelia and Xander sat waiting at the Bronze. Oz’s band, The Dingoes Ate My Baby, was playing. And Willow had promised to join them. A little Slayerette meeting to figure out what they were going to do. Proposed subjects: Buffy, Angel, and major bad demon. Xander suddenly stood up and walked over to the girl who had just walked in the door.

"Buffy. What are you doing here?" Xander approached the Slayer. She looked better than she had. Like she had had enough sleep. She was still pale, but seemed a little less fragile. She also had finally stopped wearing all black clothing; she almost looked like her old self.

Cordelia joined him.

Xander saw Willow walk in. Willow identified the Slayer. "Buffy?"

Buffy turned and smiled at her friend. "Yeah I’m here."

"What are you doing here?" The Slayerettes were all crowded around the Slayer.

"Well, I got some advice on dealing with the new demon." She paused.

"And that advice is?" Willow prodded.

"Well, I think that I am gonna need to watch it during the day. No one seems to know what its doing in school."

"Buffy, don’t you trust us? I’m wounded." Buffy smiled at Xander’s hurt tone.

Willow, however, grasped the problem immediately. "School."

"Yeah, school." Buffy took a breath, and then plunged into the reason why she was here. "Will you guys help me?"

The three looked at her in surprise. Cordelia recovered first; "We have been patrolling for you all summer. I’d much rather help you in school. If you patrol I’ll help you with anything at school."

Buffy smiled at Cordelia’s tone. "Okay, it’s a deal. I already have help on the patrolling side of life."

The Slayerettes knew what she was referring to, but since they didn’t know what to say, they kept quite. Xander decided to change the subject. "Hey Buffy, do you want to dance?"

Buffy’s first instinct was to decline, but then she decided she needed to get on with her life. She did a quick sweep of the building, assuring herself there were no vampires. As the friends walked towards the dancing, she promised herself that if a vampire showed up, she would go hunting.

Angel watched the crowd at the Bronze. He saw Buffy dancing with her friends. She seemed unaware of her surroundings. But he knew that was a lie. She could feel the life around her, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that she could feel the unlife around her.

He knew that she could feel his presence, but he could not force himself to walk over and join her and her friends. Too much stood between him and that world.

Angel turned and walked out.

He would do some sweeps of the graveyard.

Buffy stood in her mother’s house, facing down her mother.

"Mom. Are you gonna help me or not?"

"What you’re doing, it’s blackmail."

"Yes it is. I don’t want to use the threat though. I don’t want to lose you. But don’t make me choose between you and Angel. Because I already made that choice once, and that choice isn’t gonna change."

Joyce sighed, and surrendered to the inevitable. "Okay. I’ll help you. But, I want to see you, and not just occasionally. You are only seventeen, you’re too young to be making these kind of choices."

"Mom. You still don’t get it, do you?" Buffy looked exasperated. "I love him, more than anything else in the world. But I cannot be with him." Buffy allowed the pain that she felt to show on her face. "It gets harder every day."

"Your right, I don’t understand. If that’s true, why don’t you come home? It would make this easier on everyone involved."

"I won’t do that. Not until I’m sure he won’t do something stupid. I didn’t sacrifice everything just to loose him now."

She turned and walked out the door.

Joyce watched her daughter walk into the night, and wondered how she could win Buffy back.

Angel watched as the Slayer checked graves for vampires. He was constantly amazed by the powers that she displayed. She had changed so much since he had last been a part of her life. Angel felt both pain and sadness at that thought. Sadness because he had not been there to help her, and pain because he had caused so many of those changes. The fact that amazed him the most, though, was that she did not blame him.

Angel shrugged off those thoughts. He had always been good at reading people. Another gift from a demon lover. But, it was more extreme in Buffy’s case. He knew her because he had studied her through the eyes of love and the eyes of hatred. Angel knew how fragile she was at this moment. He knew that she was holding on until he could pull himself together. That fact did not make doing so easy, but it made it possible. Angel also knew that he was much better at causing pain than healing it, but he vowed that he would do whatever he could to help her.

Buffy sighed and straitened up. Annoyed, she brushed back hair that had fallen over her face. "No vampires?" The quiet question came from behind her.

"Nope."

"Maybe there aren’t any."

"No such luck. I killed a newly risen vamp in the morgue when I first came back. Some other vamp must have changed it." Buffy sighed. A thought crossed her mind and she looked curiously at Angel, but then she decided not to ask.

But Angel had caught her glance. "What?"

Buffy shrugged to herself, and asked the question. "How many vamps were left last spring?"

Angel felt pain as he realized what she was asking, but he pushed it away. As she had said, it was time that they started to live again. "About a dozen. I think." He did not add, because of you, but Buffy heard it anyway. She was glad that he had managed the response. She knew what it was like to live in constant pain, and she would not wish it on anyone. Three months of Hell was enough for anyone.

Besides, she needed him. A change of subject was in order. "So, are you okay doing the late patrols?"

Angel was surprised. "Of course. It’s not like I have anything to do during the day." He thought about the plans. "So your mother agreed?"

Buffy snorted. "I didn’t give her much choice. And she is definitely not happy. But she said that she’ll cover for me with the school." She did not add the rest of the argument. Buffy didn’t want him to know that.

"I’m still surprised that she agreed."

"Well, I told her that if she didn’t I would use magic to remove guardianship from her and that she would never see me again." Buffy was not sure if such strong-arm tactics were necessary, but she had not felt like being subtle.

Angel just stared at her in shock.

Buffy knelt in the center of the power circle. Moonlight glinted on crystalline surfaces. The three anchor crystals glowed brightly. Almost as brightly as the earring she wore.

Although Anna was helping her with the spell, it was still the most complicated thing she had ever cast. She was subtly altering the memories of people. She needed to not be noticed when she reappeared at school.

She doubted that she could change the opinions of others, but she could make them forget, or at least ignore the fact, that she had not been there for the first week and a half of school. And that she had missed the end of finals last year.

Her first spell complete, Buffy sat at Rhianna’s computer. She now had to cast the second spell. She carefully logged into the Internet. Anna had kindly told her all of her passwords and accounts.

Then at Anna’s prompting she carefully hacked into the school records. Willow would have been proud of her. Then she let loose her second spell. She watched as her school records were altered. She became an active student. Her grades from last year were completed. Everything was ready for her return.

She hated to think of how Principal Snyder was going to react to this, though.

"So what is the definition of average speed?" The physic’s teacher, Mr. Williams, asked. He looked around the class, searching the room for victims. He found one. "Ms. Summers?"

"It is the distance traveled by the object divided by the time that the object took to move that distance."

"And what differs average speed from average velocity?"

"Velocity also includes information about the direction that the object traveled."

Three Slayerettes looked at the Slayer in shock as she correctly answered the school questions on her first day of school.

The four friends walked out of physics together.

"How did you know that." This was from a stunned Willow. The other two were too busy staring at her to get a coherent question out.

"I have people to help me now."

"Angel helped you study?" Xander was openly incredulous at this claim.

"Not exactly." Buffy smiled mysteriously.

"Are you gonna let us in on your secret, or are you just gonna let us die of curiosity." Cordelia added.

Buffy shrugged. "I read the book."

"When?"

"Yesterday afternoon. I decided it might help if I knew what I had missed. It was easy enough to read an extra chapter or two." She smiled again. "Angel was nice enough to patrol last night, so I could study."

Willow looked at her with burning curiosity, and maybe a tiny bit of jealousy. "Yeah. But who helped you understand it?"

Buffy just smiled and raised a hand to her right ear. "Let’s just say that I have little bird who whispers answers in my ear."

With that, she turned and walked down the hallway to her next class.

After school, Buffy did a quick stop by the library. She informed her Watcher that she would be patrolling during the early evening hours. She also mentioned the fact that Angel would be taking the late shift. Giles looked relieved to know that patrolling would be back in the hands of the Slayer, but she doubted that he was relieved that Angel was patrolling with her. At least he hadn’t questioned that decision.

She said a quick goodbye to her friends. They seemed to understand that she wasn’t quite ready to spend the quality friend time with them. She headed for her old home.

She walked in the front door, and was greeted by the sight of both of her parents. Then she braced herself for the impact.

"So honey, how was your first day at school?" A quick glance assured her that this was indeed her mom, despite the total lack of sarcasm in the statement.

"It went fine. Good in fact. I even answered some questions in class." She said it proudly. Her parents however, seemed unimpressed.

Her dad got to start the lecture this time. "Are you sure you won’t stay here tonight?"

Buffy sighed, and launched into the argument.

As she walked down one of Sunnydale’s streets, Buffy kept a sharp eye out for anyone following her. It was early for vampires, the sun still had about twenty minutes before it set, but she was not ready for her friends to know where she lived.

When she reached her home, she took one more, quick look around before opening the door and walking in. Her eyes quickly looked over the power circle. It seemed to be in order.

She heard Angel’s voice from the kitchen, "Buffy?" She wondered what he was doing, and then she smelled food.

As she walked into the kitchen, "You made dinner? I didn’t know you cooked."

Angel gave flashed her a self-mocking, almost smile. "I don’t. But I figured you’d be hungry. So I tried anyway."

Buffy smiled back. "That’s so sweet."

The two sat down to some form of pasta. Buffy looked at Angel in surprise. "You’re gonna eat?"

"It doesn’t do me any good, but it’s variety."

Buffy gave him a look. He quickly raised his hands in surrender, and went to the refrigerator for a glass of blood.

The two ate quietly. The first meal of the rest of their lives.

An hour after sunset the two walked through the graveyard. Buffy was carefully studying the ground. Angel kept a wary eye out for any demon or vampire that might choose to jump out of the bushes.

"Any signs?"

Buffy looked up from her ground examination. "Not really. It’s a little hard to tell. And you create some noise. There certainly aren’t any recent traces." Angel looked pained at this reminder of his vampiric existence. Buffy sighed and reminded herself, again, that they were both still a little too sensitive to deal with light comments.

"Sorry Angel. It just gonna take me a day or two to learn how to tune you out." Angel looked confused at this expression. "You’re not like other vampires. But you presence obscures any other traces." Buffy looked up into the sky; "Alec does the same. Her presence covers the entire city. I am not sure that I’ll be able to feel vamps at a distance anymore." Angel still did not look comforted by her explanation. "Angel," he turned to look at her, "to be able to feel your presence is a big comfort to me. It makes me whole again."

Angel looked unsure of how to answer that declaration, so he just reached out to hold her hand. And the two continued their patrol, hand in hand.

Buffy was about ready to sleep. She had finished all her bedtime rituals, a quick glance at the clock showed that it was only about midnight. She would get plenty of sleep before school. Of course, she did have an entire summer’s lack of sleep to make up for.

Angel watched her from the doorway. For the first time since his return, she felt the pull of desire. Looking into his eyes, she knew that he felt it to. But they both knew the cost of walking down that road, so they pretended that they did not feel it.

"So you’re gonna patrol?"

"Yeah. I’ll probably stay out until dawn."

Buffy winced at the mention of dawn. She was not sure that she trusted him to be out at dawn. At least not yet.

Angel caught her reaction, and moved to still it. He reached out and touched her face, and said, "Don’t worry. I won’t leave you. I promise."

Buffy smiled weakly at this, but decided to be reassured. Looking into the dark eyes inches from her own, she brought her lips to his. She saw his eyes widen in surprise, but he did not pull away from the kiss.

She knew that it was a bad idea, but in another way, she knew that it had to be done. She felt the passion stir in both of them, but refused to give into it. She knew that he did not put his arms around her for the same reason.

Buffy pulled back from the kiss, and Angel let her go. She smiled at him, a true smile of happiness, and she saw his smile in return.

And then she saw his eyes widen in shock. "Angel?"

Buffy could see the memories return to him. The memories that Anna had bound were released. She could feel tears start to fall down her face. She heard him whisper, "Buffy. I remember." She saw the pain in his eyes, and reached out, trying to still that pain.

"Angel. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do." Buffy was crying harder now. She didn’t know how to stop.

Angel looked at his love in surprise, and then reached out to stroke her face with one hand. His voice held only compassion, "Buffy. Did you really think I would blame you for this? It was my fault, after all." She shook her head in denial. "Yes it is. I’m the one who opened the gate." She only looked at him with haunted eyes. "You made the right choice. The choice I would have made if I had understood the situation. I am only sorry that you had to make it." She continued to look at him. Looking into her eyes he whispered, "I forgive you."

Buffy collapsed, as if the strength that had supported her was gone. Angel carefully gathered her into his arms and let her cry.

When her tears trailed off, he carefully laid her down, kissed her forehead, and told her, "Get some sleep, you have a full day tomorrow." She nodded and closed her eyes.

Angel turned and left the room. He had patrols to do. He wondered though, as he left her presence, if he could forgive her betrayal quite as easily as he had indicated.

Angel slowly walked through the graveyard. He might not be a Slayer, but his vampiric senses were stretched as far as possible. But he found no trace of vampires. He looked up into the slowly brightening sky, gauging the time.

He looked suddenly to his right, where a figure was now walking. He had had no warning of her approach, but he did not allow his shock to phase him. He stopped walking, and turned to face her. He kept his voice calm as he greeted her, "Hello Alec, I thought you had school in a couple of hours."

She smiled in reply, "True. But that is one of the advantages of being a full demon." She laughed just a little. "I don’t need to sleep." She looked around the night. "So your Slayer has you out patrolling. I thought that was her job."

"Yes. Well, that’s part of love. I want to help her."

Alec obviously thought this response was terribly funny. "Found any vampires? I have been looking for a few." She flashed him a taunting smile. "They make such good help."

"No. I haven’t found any. But with you around, I am sure that will change."

She laughed in response. Then her face grew serious. She edged closer to him; he backed away a step. She chose not to follow. "You know you can deny your true nature only so long, why don’t you just give in now, and save yourself the pain?"

He looked at her hard before asking in an almost offhand voice; "Do you know who last asked me that?" She looked at him in shock. "Darla. She came to me, and she tried to get me back. She set me up, and almost had me kill the Slayer. Do you know what I did to her? I killed her. My sire, my lover. She’s died her final death, at my hands."

Alec hissed at him in shock.

"That’s right, your favorite daughter. The creation of your blood. I will never help you. We will always be enemies."

He walked off into the night. She just watched him go.

When he was out of earshot, she smiled and spoke to the night. "Well said, my love. You can deny me, but can you deny yourself? You will always be a demon of my blood, Angel."

Angel slowly walked through the door into his new home. Home, a strange concept for him.

He walked into the living room and carefully set down the bag of Slayage gear that he had been carrying. He walked over to the windows and looked out. The sky was getting noticeably bright, and he carefully shut the light blocking curtains.

Angel turned and walked into the bedroom. He took in the sleeping from of his love. He walked slowly over to stand beside her, listening to her slow breathing and the steady beating of her heart.

Her hair had fallen across her face, obscuring his view of her features. He reached out with a tentative hand, and carefully brushed it away. As he looked at her, his memory flashed back to the last time he had watched her sleep like this. He remembered what he had felt then, and groaned softly in pain.

He turned away from her and looked at the clock. It read 6:23. He knew that he had cut the dawn close, but not that close.

Alone on the top of a hill, the demon known as Alec surveyed her new home. She watched the sunrise, felt its warmth in her veins. Even from this distance she could feel the faint buzz of mortal life. She also caught the faint whiff of predatory life, or unlife, settling down for a day’s sleep.

She contemplated her new enemies. And she wondered if she would be able to turn Angel back to her. She realized that if it were possible it would certainly be difficult, which meant she needed to come up with another plan.

She thought for a couple more minutes and then she smiled. She would play with her enemies. If she could not bring Angel around, well then she would be ready for another course of action in about nine months. After all, what was a year in the face of her immortality?

Back to: The Coming of the Light.