Buffy stared down at Angel for a moment before repeating slowly, "You knew."

"Right."

"From the department of obvious questions comes this message -- Why didn't you take it?" Buffy was gesturing wildly at Angel, the door, at some vague area that symbolized the world outside. "How could you do this? How could you refuse to be human -- God, Angel, human! -- without even asking me about it?"

"I did what I had to do."

"You had to do -- what? Did you just decide that my opinion wouldn't matter?" Hurt and outrage were making her shake now. "Angel, don't you want to be with me? Or does that just not matter to you?"

"Buffy, no. It's not that. Don't you see?" Angel said tiredly. "It's a test. Another stupid test for my disloyalty or weakness or whatever they want to find. If I'd used the blood, they'd have thrown me out the next day --"

"First of all, nobody's throwing you out while I'm around," Buffy said, angrily ticking off her points on her fingers. "Second, it's not a test. It was -- you can't tell anybody this -- it was Frances. She was worried that you and I were going to -- well, you know. She figured it would be better to give you the blood, so we'd be safe. Which I thought was a pretty damn nice idea. Sorry you don't agree."

"She could be lying --"

"What is WITH you?" Buffy cried, undone. "This is it, Angel. This miracle I've wished for about a billion times -- we have it. Our big chance, and you can't accept it --"

"Buffy, you do not know what the Council is capable of," Angel said. He threw his legs to the side of the bed, paced the length of the room twice before stalking into the front room. Buffy stared at him as she followed; he was as agitated as she'd ever seen him, his body tense and his voice harsh. "The things they've done over the years to try and get me to screw up, to take one little step out of line so they can throw me to the wolves. They caught Spike in Paris, Buffy. There was no reason in hell to bring him back here to die except to see if I'd try to break him out. Dru -- Dru they caught here, but they couldn't just kill her outright. They wanted to try something -- some magic, they said. An experiment, just to see if it works. The experiment failed, of course -- any spell that takes two months to kill a vampire is worthless, no matter how satisfying it is to watch her suffer --"

His voice was breaking, but the words kept spilling out. "They'll hurt people, too, Buffy. Naomi -- a woman I -- they exiled her. Trumped-up charges, and they couldn't have had anything against her -- just to see if I'd break -- I would have, too, except that she made me swear --"

"Angel," Buffy said soothingly, controlling her own reactions. Her anger was breaking down at the sight of Angel's fear and distrust; she hadn't realized, until this moment, how deep the scars of a century of isolation truly went. She got up slowly, put her hands on his chest. "It's okay. I understand, all right? Just calm down --"

Angel shook his head. "You don't understand. Remember why you're here, Buffy. They want to destroy me, and they'll destroy you just to get it done."

"Listen to me," Buffy said. "I know why they brought me here. But things have changed since I arrived. Haven't they? You're patrolling again. Watchers besides Ishak are listening to you again. The people out there care about you. You have friends in this building now, and so do I. I happen to believe Frances, but even if she were lying -- it wouldn't matter, Angel. The situation's not the same anymore."

"You really think two months is enough to change all that?" Angel smiled a grim, bitter smile. "They tolerate me now because of you."

"And I'm not going anywhere," Buffy insisted. "Angel, you're power-freaking here, and if you've been keeping all this bottled up, then I see why. But stop and think for a second, will you? Why wouldn't they want you to --"

Buffy's voice trailed off. Ishak, she thought. Ishak likes him better than anybody, and he doesn't want him human. He knew, and he didn't say. Or did he? "Angel, how did you know about the blood? Did -- did somebody tell you about it?"

"No, I found out when it turned me human the first time. That day you keep saying never happened? It must have been real after all," Angel sat down heavily on the sofa. Buffy sat beside him. "The way I remember it, I got into a fight with a Mohra demon, and some of his blood got into a wound I had from the battle. Just this small trace of blood, so little I barely noticed it. So little it took hours to turn me human. But it did. Came to find you in the park -- you were standing in the sunshine, and when you turned around and saw me there --"

"Okay," Buffy said. "You win, the day happened, the monks erased it or something. But stay focused, all right?" Her mind was spinning as she tried to calculate how much of Angel's fear was paranoia -- and how much was not. Hating the necessity of her words, she spoke slowly, "Angel -- did you know that Ishak knew about this?"

He raised his eyebrows, bit down on his lip. "No," he said shortly. Then he shook his head. "That surprises me, and I thought I was past being surprised."

"Frances said it was because he thought you were too valuable to lose," Buffy offered, the words sounding even lamer to her now than they had before.

Angel started to laugh, a broken, jagged sound that almost scared her. "Do you know what he always says to me, Buffy? He says -- he says I keep him honest."

"That bastard. And I thought he was okay." Buffy looked at the still-shaky Angel. "You had to at least want to use it --"

Angel pulled himself together, looked at her. "It wasn't hard to resist, at first. I knew it was just another of their tests, a way to get rid of me. The ultimate test, really -- any other time before this, I would have used it. Used it and run away however I could. But there was no way I was going to let them throw me out with you here. You were so scared, Buffy, so lost --"

"I remember," she said, taking one of his hands in her own.

"Later on it was difficult," he said. "Especially after we were together again, and I wanted you so much. That night after the big festival, I almost broke down. But then you helped me make sense of it all."

"I don't remember consulting on this decision."

"That's not what I meant.You told me you understood, finally, why I was a vampire -- that we were both condemned to go on forever, but at least we'd have each other --"

"Oh, that! Screw that," Buffy said. At his wounded expression, she shook her head. "Angel, don't get me wrong. That thought comforted me a whole lot. But for both of us, that is just the consolation prize. I don't want to hope that maybe, someday, in the 92nd century, we get to see each other again. I want a real life, like anybody else. And I want that life to be with you. We have our chance, Angel."

He looked at her, and for the first time she saw a glimmer of hope. But Angel's tone was still serious as he said, "You wouldn't have me to patrol with you or protect you."

"First of all, you can patrol and help me just fine as a human," Buffy said. "Xander and Wil and Giles always did, didn't they? And you've got centuries of training and experience they didn't have. Second, we're not exactly short of muscle around here. You can't swing the proverbial dead cat without hitting a Slayer."

Angel considered that for a moment. Hesitantly he said, "And -- you really think Frances was telling the truth?"

"I'm sure of it."

Angel opened his mouth, then closed it again, and she saw the light in his eyes dim. Finally he said, "Did she steal the blood?"

"Yeah, she did," Buffy's own spirits dropped as she realized the implications of what Angel had said. If they really were still out to get Angel -- and, after learning about Ishak, Buffy thought Angel's assessment might be right -- then the theft could ruin everything. They could frame Angel, throw him out of the Keep, perhaps out of London -- "They wouldn't put you in jail, would they?"

"There are some humans in the Tower, too," Angel said. "Very few crimes will land you there. Betraying the Council is one of them."

"There has to be some way to work around this. We need -- leverage," Buffy said. She thought for a few moments, then began to smile. "The Museum raid."

"We offer them the Elgin Marbles in trade for the blood?"

"Excuse me, I make the inappropriate jokes around here. I mean, the British Museum -- that's big stuff, Angel. If we pull this off, we're going to have killed hundreds of vamps. Wiped out the biggest lair in all of London. And maybe we'll have convinced them to have magic on our side. If we pull that off, Angel -- they'd have to take notice."

Angel sat back, considering this. "Something on that scale might make a difference. Though that could only be temporary --"

"We only need temporary. Right after we polish it off -- make a big splash, get everybody charged up and happy -- we'll go to Ishak together. We'll just tell him that we know about the blood and we want his permission to use it. We can kinda skim over that little detail where we already have it."

"I hope he has the decency to be ashamed of himself," Angel said.

"I hope so too. Because if he is ashamed, then he'll just be dying to make himself feel a little less guilty. And he'll say yes."

"And if he doesn't?"

"We cross that bridge when we come to it," Buffy said. "Maybe you and I take that transport out one night and don't come back. Where else could we go?"

"There's -- there's a colony in Manchester -- they might stand against the Council to get a Slayer of their very own --"

"Okay then," Buffy said. "We have a plan A and a plan B." She sighed deeply, and then felt her old joy bubble back up inside her. "Angel -- just think -- this time next week, we could be together. I mean --"

The slow smile spreading across his face told Buffy that Angel knew exactly what she meant. "At last," he said shakily.

Buffy kissed him passionately; he returned her fervor, holding her so tightly she feared for her breath. When their lips parted, she gasped in some oxygen. "About time that shanshu got here --"

To her surprise, Angel shook his head. "You shouldn't use that word, Buffy. That's not what it actually means."

"Yes it is," Buffy said. "Frances told me. The Mohra demon came to them and said the Powers commanded him to supply the blood for your shanshu. It means turning human after all."

"What?" Angel's mouth hung open slightly, and he stood up as if in a daze. "This -- this is shanshu?"

"Now in family-size bottles," Buffy said. "Angel?"

He didn't answer. He was pacing around the apartment, as if trying to take it all in. Buffy might have been worried if it weren't for the shadow of a smile on his face. Then she saw that he was blinking back tears.

Angel caught sight of the portrait of Wesley, and he looked up at it. "They made me doubt you," he said to Wesley's image. "They told me you were wrong, and I believed them. Forgive me."

"Angel, are you okay?"

He came to her, knelt at her feet. When he spoke, his voice was rough with emotion. "Buffy -- shanshu means more than just turning human. It means -- I'm forgiven. I never thought I could be --"

Buffy let him rest his head in her lap, held him as his shoulders started to shake. "You can be forgiven," she whispered. "I could have told you that a long time ago."

**

"Hey, Big Aggie, this is Mrs. Gordo, do you copy?"

Agatha's voice came over the transport's CB. "Yes, Buffy, I hear you. Why do you persist in using those nicknames?"

Instead of steering them carefully through the London streets, Angel was looking at Buffy a little strangely. She sighed. "I guess I'm the only one who grew up watching 'Convoy' in endless reruns on the Superstation. How are you guys doing for the night?"

"Xiaoting's been splendid; she took down seven all on her own. I'm afraid my own aim seems to be suffering a bit. Only got three."

"That's still three fewer vamps than we had before," Buffy said. "We've still got a while before sunrise. I was thinking this might be a good time to take that recon run by the Museum."

Xiaoting spoke over the speaker this time. "I thought we scheduled that for two nights from now."

"Well, yeah, but I'm just -- really anxious for this to go well." She glanced at Angel. "Really, really anxious."

Agatha had the CB once more. "We shall still need to go back with Sky and Sumiko later, but I suppose it could do no harm to get our first look at the place."

"Cool. We can be there in -- what, Angel?"

"Maybe ten minutes," he said.

"We, ah, copy that," Agatha said. "We are only a few blocks away, and we shall wait for you one block to the north."

"Gotcha. Buffy out." She snapped off the speaker and looked back over at Angel, who was once again concentrating on the road. "Any new thoughts on the big night?"

He began speaking very quickly. "Of course -- I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it a lot -- all the time -- but I don't want to, you know, plan anything. We've waited a long time for this, and we're both bound to be a little nervous, but I think once we have some wine and relax, we're going to -- what?"

Buffy made herself stop laughing. "Angel, I meant the attack on the Museum."

"Oh. That big night." He looked at her sheepishly as she collapsed into giggles again. "When I'm human again, you'll be able to see me blush."

"Yet more to look forward to," Buffy said.

When they arrived near the Museum, Angel parked them a few meters from Xiaoting and Agatha's vehicle. The other two Slayers stepped out at the same time Buffy and Angel did. "You know the only place free of vampires in London?" Xiaoting said. "Right here. We haven't seen a vamp go in or out."

"Most of them are probably on the town," Buffy said with a frown. "And the only ones left will be the guards, right?"

"Right," Angel agreed, but his voice was distant as he stared down the street at the silent Museum. "You wouldn't leave a nest of this size or quality unguarded. But -- this is weird."

"What do you mean?" Buffy said.

"Let's get closer," he said.

They separated from each other slightly, quietly moved toward the Museum. Buffy began heading toward the south entrance -- she'd check out the windows and doors in back -- when suddenly Angel deviated from the plan. Instead of moving westward, as they'd agreed, he began heading for the main entrance. Agatha motioned over at Buffy, bewildered; Buffy could only shrug.

Angel paused at the doors, listening, watching. Then he opened them. What the hell is he doing? Buffy thought. She began hurrying up the steps toward him, to pull him back.

Just as she got to the top step, Angel turned back toward her. "They're not here," he said in a normal tone of voice.

"Can you please keep it down?" Buffy whispered. "Of course most of them are gone --"

"I mean, they're all gone," Angel said. "And they have been for days. There's no smell of fresh blood, or alcohol, or sex. Nothing. They've abandoned it."

"What?" Buffy said, her voice at full volume now. And then, a little louder, "You have got to be kidding!"

"Are you both fit for Bedlam?" Agatha said, hurrying up behind them, crossbow at the ready. Xiaoting was bounding up the steps right behind her.

"They've run away," Buffy said dully. "Angel, are you sure? It's a big building --"

"Yeah, but this is the entryway. Any scent that comes into this building comes through here." Angel looked grim. "They're gone."

"You mean hundreds of vampires, after spending decades holed up in this place, just decided to leave overnight?" Xiaoting said. "And now they're scattered throughout the city."

"No big kill for us," Buffy said. Her disappointment was so great, so overwhelming, that she had to duck her head so the others couldn't see her face. Angel touched her arm, no doubt intending to comfort her, but it only created another pang of loss.

"Take heart, Buffy," Agatha said. Though she could have had no inkling as to why Buffy was so disappointed, her motherly nature made her grasp at any means of comfort. "Why -- perhaps they did all go to the same place. A new lair we can find."

"Where else would hundreds of vampires go?" Xiaoting snapped.

"I can think of places," Angel said. "The Royal Albert Hall, maybe --"

"We should investigate," Agatha said. "They may have left clues of some sort."

Buffy managed to smile. "I can work with that," she said, pushing the doors open and striding inside. "Follow me --"

She felt something pull taut against her ankles, then heard the whoosh of motion and threw her arms up instinctively, protectively. Then she heard screaming, but she didn't know if it was Agatha or Xiaoting or herself --

After a couple of black, quiet moments, pain lashed its way up her left arm, shocking her back to her senses. Buffy was lying in the entryway to the Museum; Angel knelt beside her, and behind him Xiaoting and Agatha were staring down. "What the -- ow --"

"Buffy, lie still," Angel said. His voice was grave. "Your arm's torn open, and I think you hit your head pretty hard."

"What happened?" she said weakly as Angel finished bandaging up her wound with what had been the sleeve of Xiaoting's tunic.

"They set a trap," Agatha said. She leaned over, inspecting the remains of the trap. "They designed it to drop this big rock on whoever opened it --"

"The big rock in question used to be the Rosetta Stone," Xiaoting said. "Now it's in pieces. I just love vampires. No offense."

"None taken," Angel said. "It didn't hit you head-on, Buffy. If it had, it would have killed you. As it is -- can you move your arm?"

She managed to lift it slightly. "It's not broken," she assured him. "But, as an experienced victim of wounds, I can tell you this one's pretty bad. I'll need two or three days to heal."

"How's your head?"

"Dizzy, but I think I'm concussion-free. I'm only seeing one of each of you."

"You're probably weak from blood loss," Angel said. "Can you sit up?"

He helped her, and despite an aching in her ribs and a new twinge from her arm, Buffy felt reasonably stable. "Sitting is a go."

"Good," Angel said. "I'm getting you back to the Keep. A doctor should look at that arm."

"No," Buffy said. "We have to investigate this."

"You're in no shape to investigate anything," Angel insisted.

"Not arguing that. But think about what we found here. The vampires abandoned their lair overnight. They booby-trapped it before they left. All this just days before we were gonna crash their party. Do you really think that's coincidence?"

"Probably not," Xiaoting said. "What do you think it is?"

"I hadn't had a whole lot of time to think about it, what with being nearly crushed by falling museum exhibits," Buffy said. "But it looks like somebody warned them. Told them we were coming."

The others considered this, their expressions dark. "How well do you know this witch you spoke of?" Agatha said. "Are you certain she is trustworthy?"

"I'm sure," Buffy protested, but the deep doubt in the others' faces and the lancing pain in her own arm undercut her belief. "I thought I was sure," she amended.

"We'll go with you to talk to them tomorrow," Xiaoting said. "But we can see if there's any evidence here."

"And I'll get back to the Keep," Buffy said. "I've watched you steer the transport a lot, Angel. I can do it on my own."

Angel shook his head. "You're in no shape for that. Besides, I thought I remembered that you were a terrible driver. Didn't you fail the licensing test?"

Buffy thought fast for a moment, then looked innocent. "There goes that memory of yours, playing tricks on you again. No idea where you got that one."

Angel stared at her suspiciously. She continued, "I promise not to hold it against you, forgetting what a great driver I am. I mean, 350 years -- it's a long time."

"You really shouldn't be alone, hurt like this."

"No doubt," Buffy said. "But it's just for a few minutes. I'll take the short way back, off the main road. It's not like I have to worry about traffic. And I really, really want you guys to figure out what happened here."

"We will," Angel said. He shifted to her other side, put her good arm around his neck, then lifted her. As he carried her to the transport, he said, "If you get at all confused about how to work the controls, or you start feeling bad, call the Council. Don't wait until it's desperate, all right?" Buffy nodded. "The minute you get inside the Keep, I want you to call Frances to come take a look at that arm."

"I will," Buffy said. "What about you, Mr. Protective? There could be other traps. Do you promise to be very, very careful?"

He half-smiled at her. "Yes."

Once Angel had gotten her into the driver's seat, kissed her and gone on his way, Buffy gingerly started up the transport. Sure enough, the simple steps she remembered got the vehicle moving right away. "And they never gave me a driver's license in California," she said. "Fools."

She steered quickly toward the Keep. Buffy grimaced as she realized that her path would take her right by the building Tam was living in; it would take all her willpower not to jump out and start screaming bloody murder. In her heart of hearts, Buffy felt that Tam herself hadn't revealed their secret. Something about the woman's gentle, fearful face just didn't match up with the idea of conspiring with vampires. But Tam had claimed that all her friends were trustworthy, and that obviously wasn't the case.

Time to start yelling about betrayal in the morning, Buffy thought. And how come they don't mount some flamethrowers on these transports? That would be terrific.

As she rounded a slight bend in the road near Tam's building, Buffy gasped. "Oh, God," she whispered. "Not another burnout."

But there was no denying what she saw. People were running, screaming, carrying what few belongings they owned in their arms. They ran about wildly, obviously seeking any place that might offer shelter from the dangerous night. Yet none of them ran toward the transport.

No, no, no, Buffy thought. Whoever betrayed us -- they turned in Tam and her friends, too. The vampires are after all of us --

At that moment, Tam staggered into the street. She was bleeding from a wound to her head, but she kept moving. She was only a few feet away --

"Dammit," Buffy said. She stopped the transport and jumped out, ignoring the rush of dizziness brought on by moving so quickly. "Tam!" she called. "Tam! Quick! Get in!"

Tam stared at her as if from a great distance. Then her face twisted in rage. "You convinced me to trust you," Tam said, her voice shaking. "I should have known better."

"Tam?" Buffy said, disbelieving. She fumbled at her belt for her blaster, in case any vampires attacked. The blaster fell from her clumsy, numb hand, and Buffy instead pulled a stake from her belt. Tam took two steps back, her face a mask of terror. "Tam, please!" Buffy pleaded. "What's going on?"

Tam opened her mouth to answer, then cried out and clutched her chest. Buffy stared, aghast, at the arrow that was pointing through Tam's flesh, at the spray of blood flowing down her body.

Tam's eyes looked at her accusingly, then went dim. Her body fell, face forward, into the ground.

Behind her, crossbow at the ready, was Sky.

*

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