Angel also wasn't there. For a moment Buffy's heart felt like it was in her throat to find herself alone in the bed. Only for a moment, though, for then she heard someone moving around in the kitchen. Buffy smiled, stretched, and climbed out of the bed. She grabbed the nearest piece of clothing - Angel's shirt - before leaving the bedroom.

Buffy grinned at the sight that greeted her. Angel was standing with his back to her wearing nothing but a pair of pants. She cleared her throat and Angel turned, smiling at her.

"I was hungry and I didn't want to wake you," he explained. He gestured at the pan on the stove in front of him. "Eggs?" he asked.

"Sure," Buffy replied, crossing the kitchen to his side. She wrapped her arm around him, loving his warmer-than-usual skin. "So, *hungry?*" she asked with a grin.

"Yes, hungry," Angel replied, serving the eggs onto two plates. He paused to kiss her lightly on the forehead. "You said you'd explain what Willow did to me."

"Well, I was kind of distracted," Buffy chuckled.

"I noticed," Angel replied. He passed her a plate. "How about you explain over breakfast?"

"I can do that." Buffy did not move from where she stood at Angel's side.

He looked at her for a moment, then *looked* at her and chuckled. "I like your outfit," he said.

"Oh, really?" Buffy held the plate away from herself so she could lean in for a kiss. Angel leaned down to meet her and.

Cordelia screamed from the stairs. "Oh my god!"

Buffy pulled away from Angel a bit sheepishly to see a very wide-eyed Cordelia and Wesley on the stairs. She put her plate down on the table and pulled on the bottom of the shirt she wore. "Well, I'm suddenly feeling a bit underdressed," she muttered. "Uh, hi guys." When no one said anything she continued. "I'll just go put some pants on."

Angel just smiled. "Stay," he said loud enough for Cordelia and Wesley to hear him. "Your breakfast will get cold." Buffy tugged her shirt down as far as she could as she sat, still highly embarrassed. Once she was sitting Angel looked at his two guests once again. They gaped at him from the stairs as he grabbed a plate and sat next to her. "You guys need something?" he asked Cordelia and Wesley.

Wesley gathered his wits first and walked the rest of the way into the kitchen. "Well," he started a tad uncomfortably. "Cordelia and I went to breakfast.to give you two some time alone.to work things out."

"Which apparently you did," Cordelia muttered from behind him.

"Yes, well.when we didn't hear anything Cordelia thought we should come down and check on you." Angel nodded and continued to eat his eggs contentedly. Wesley's eyes went even wider as he took notice and Cordelia gaped openly.

Wesley cleared his throat again. "Angel, I know it's not our place."

"Hell yeah, it's our place!" Cordelia yelled, finally finding her voice again. "Especially after last night. What the hell are you thinking?"

"Calm down, Cordelia," Angel said tolerantly. "Things have changed.since we spoke this morning."

"I should hope so," Cordelia said with her arms crossed firmly. "So, Angel, what *exactly* has changed?"

Angel smiled. "Why don't the two of you sit down? Or is this an interrogation?"

Cordelia and Wesley glanced at each other then sat at the two remaining kitchen stairs. They looked at Angel expectantly. Angel turned to look at Buffy. Buffy sank a little lower in her chair under the sudden attention.

"Does this feel awkward to anyone else?" she muttered.

Angel chuckled.

Buffy put her fork down and sighed. Angel clasped her hand warmly in reassurance. "Willow did it," Buffy said finally.

Cordelia started slightly and Wesley looked surprised. Angel was unfazed; he already knew this much.

"You've already figured out that Angel's soul isn't going anywhere," Buffy said a bit sheepishly. "Willow could explain a lot better than I could; I wasn't paying much attention to details. What I got. She made Angel live again. He still has his demon, reacts to crosses, but he also has a heartbeat and breathes." She smiled at his affectionately.

Cordelia made a show of rolling her eyes.

"So.what does this mean, exactly?" Wesley asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Willow didn't know exactly," she explained. "She said this spell has never been used like this.on a vampire.before. She's not even sure what the full results will be, but she thinks it will make him like half-human."

There was a long moment of silence, but it was merely thoughtful. Most of the discomfort in the room was gone.

"So," Wesley said calmly, his attention on Angel, "what are you going to do now?"

Angel leaned back in his chair. "I don't know," he said. "I need to figure out what this means for me. I need details." He turned his attention to Buffy. "I need to speak to Willow."

Buffy grinned. "Sounds like we're heading to Sunnydale."

"So, it worked?" Tara asked excitedly, sitting on the edge of Willow's bed.

Willow nodded. "Definitely." She was looking at the crystal they'd used for the spell. It was still growing, and brighter than before, attesting to the ever-strengthening nature of the spell. "You should have heard Buffy when she called. I haven't heard her so happy in a while."

Tara nodded to herself. "Good."

Willow was about to reply when a knock came at the door. After taking a habitual look at the sunlit windows she called, "Come in!"

The door opened, revealing the sounds of laughter before the faces came in the doorway. "And here we were hoping to test the invitation thing!" Buffy's voice rang out, followed by a male chuckle from the hall.

"Buffy!" Willow said in surprise, jumping to her feet. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon! You said you were going to call."

Buffy was grinning from ear to ear. "I wasn't expecting to be back so soon, either," she said. "But Angel wanted to talk to you."

Willow looked up at the handsome vampire standing behind her roommate. He was smiling as well, an expression Willow wasn't sure she'd ever seen on his face. He also looked uncomfortable, out of place, standing awkwardly in the bright corridor fiddling with a pair of black sunglasses. She smiled at him warmly. "Angel," she said in greeting, then on impulse stepped past Buffy to give him a quick hug.

Angel was more than a bit surprised. After a moment he returned her brief hug. "Hi Willow," he said.

"So are you two just going to hang out in the hall all afternoon or are you going to come in?" Willow asked, teasing.

Both Buffy and Angel followed her into the dorm room. Buffy didn't move more than a couple of inches from Angel the whole time, clasping his hand firmly until he sat down next to her on the bed.

"Do you want me to go?" Tara asked after a moment.

"No, stay," Willow said quickly. She moved to introduce her. "Angel, this is Tara. Tara helped me with the spell." She paused for a second. "Which is what I assume you wanted to talk about?"

Buffy sighed. "Here comes the magic talk that I won't understand a bit of," she said wryly. She stood up, kissing Angel lightly as she went. "I'll be right back."

"You want us to wait for you?" Willow asked.

Buffy shook her head. "Just knowing that the spell works is enough for me," she said with a grin, then left the room.

There was a moment of silence when she left. Neither Willow nor Angel was certain where to start talking. Angel had come here for a reason, but now he seemed uncertain as to where to begin. He fiddled with the sunglasses in his hand as he thought, causing Willow to chuckle.

He looked at her with questions in his gaze.

"The sunglasses," Willow said by way of explanation.

Angel grinned. "I'm not about to go sunbathing," he explained. "It's uncomfortable, and it bothers my eyes but I drove here in the sunlight." His voice betrayed a hint of wonder, and Willow found herself smiling in response.

"I want to give you something," Willow said suddenly.

"You don't." Angel started to object.

Willow cut him off with a shake of her head. She turned to Tara, who handed her the large, growing crystal with a smile of encouragement. Willow then sat across from Angel again. She held out the stone to him and he took it hesitantly. His eyes betrayed his surprise at its unexpected warmth. "This crystal is the key part of the spell we cast," she explained. "Your life is sort of connected to Buffy's through this. The more you're together, the stronger the spell will be. The stronger the spell is, the brighter the crystal will grow." She smiled a bit hesitantly. "You should have it."

Angel looked at the crystal in silence for a moment. He cradled it in his hand very lightly, almost as if he was afraid to break it. "Willow." he began softly.

"Angel," Willow said almost sharply, "are you mad at me?"

"What?" Angel asked in surprise. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"For not asking you. For casting this spell on you without telling you about it first, or even knowing everything about it?"

"No, I'm not mad at you," Angel said firmly. He looked at the crystal in his hand and smiled. "You're a good friend and an amazing person. Willow, you've restored my soul, and now my life. How in the world could I be mad
at you?"

"I guess it's silly," Willow acknowledged.

"You cast the curse?" Tara asked in sudden surprise.

"The second time," Angel answered for her with a grin.

Tara looked slightly confused. "Second time?"

Willow shrugged. "I didn't tell you the whole story last night."

"Story time later," Angel insisted. "Right now, could the two of you explain what spell you cast? I need to know exactly what this will mean . now and in the future."

Buffy walked slowly through the corridor of Stevenson Hall, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. Things had moved very fast in the last twenty-four hours. It was almost strange to think of how different she'd felt a bit over a day ago. Obsessed with being normal, she'd been closing herself off from anything having to do with her previous three years. For one, she'd practically been avoiding her friends in favor of new and "better" things. It had been easy to simply not think about Angel.

Angel. All it had taken was a couple of words, a song, and the memories they'd sparked and she had been running to L.A. once again. Now.they were in a situation that was delightfully new. Returning to Sunnydale only hours later, her normal life seemed surreal.

Actually, that was the way *everything* felt at the moment. Buffy had lost hope of having a relationship anything near normal with Angel long ago. Then she had resigned herself to never having a relationship with him at all. She never thought she'd have a night like she did last night. It started with a frightening surprise encounter with Angel's evil, demon side. It had ended stepping into the sunlight with the knowledge that they were truly together.

Were they moving back into a relationship too fast? Buffy barely gave that idea any thought. They had been given a wonderful opportunity that might be too good to last. They would not waste any moment that they could be together. They'd learned that lesson over Thanksgiving

Buffy smiled remembering the look on his face when they'd stepped out of the office. Never mind that he had gotten to see the sunlight twice since he'd moved to L.A. almost a year before. They'd never expected to be standing like this again. He'd had this adorable look of discomfort and wonder on his face. It made Buffy smile just to think about it.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that it barely registered when she bumped into someone in the hall. "Sorry." Their eyes caught. "Riley! Oh, I." she stuttered.

"Buffy!" he said with a surprised smile, and Buffy felt instantly guilty. "I was just coming to see you. You ran off so suddenly yesterday. I was worried."

Buffy sighed. "We have to talk."

An odd look crossed Riley's face. "Okay," he said, and began walking towards her dorm room.

"No!" Buffy said suddenly, causing Riley to stop in alarm. "Uh.Willow's got a friend over. Let's talk in the lobby."

"Okay," Riley said, smiling slightly, following her down the stairs.

The silence stretched between them uncomfortably as they walked. Buffy's stomach was tied up in knots. She cared about Riley, really she did but she'd never had with him what she'd had - did have - with Angel. She just didn't know how to tell Riley.

"You said we need to talk," Riley said. "You're right, we do. The whole thing with Faith, I."

Buffy shook her head. "This isn't about Faith," she said, "though that really didn't help. It's I can't see you anymore, Riley. I want to break up."

Riley was silent for a moment. "I see," he said. He paused, looking confused. "You sure this has nothing to do with Faith?"

Buffy nodded. She didn't know how to tell him this without hurting him more than she would already. In the end, though, she just had to tell him the truth. "I . There was someone else I was involved with in high school, off and on for three years. It.didn't always work very well. There was a lot in the way between us. There were some very bad times. We finally decided it would never work and he left."

She paused and looked at Riley very seriously. "I always loved him, though. Even through all the bad times. Even when he left me. I still love him." She met his gaze and did not blink. "That would have always gotten in the
way between us, eventually. Even if."

"Even if what?" he asked softly.

"Even if I hadn't gotten back together with him."

Riley sat very quietly for a moment. Something flashed in his eyes - anger or hurt, she wasn't sure. "When?" he asked finally.

"This morning. I had something to ask him. I went to see him, and.things happened."

"Really. Things. What.sort of things?"

Buffy just looked at him pointedly.

"Oh. I see." Riley looked back at her, his expression gone cold. "You know, Buffy, you can be as mad at me as you want about Faith, but at least I didn't know I was cheating on my girlfriend."

"I didn't plan for this to happen," Buffy said apologetically.

"Neither did I," Riley said, obviously angry.

"Oh, come on!" Buffy yelled finally. "How could you have not known that it wasn't me? I mean, let's see. Faith dresses in leather and goes all bad girl in my body, and you just think Buffy's turned kinky?"

"That's not how it was," Riley protested weakly. "Can you honestly say your old boyfriend wouldn't have done the same?"

Buffy stood up, angry as well. "Yes, I can. Angel's my soulmate - he would know me no matter what body I wore." She walked a brief bit away before turning to look at him again. "I said I was sorry it happened this way, but you know what? I'm not. I'm tired of being sorry for the things that are right for me. And this - Angel - this is right for me. I'm only sorry that you ended up in the middle." Buffy turned around then, heading back to Angel, and never looked back.

"So where is she?" Xander asked for what seemed like the hundredth time

Willow shook her head firmly. "She said she'd be here," she said, then took another sip of her soda.

Xander glared slightly at her. "Yes, you said that. But where is she now? Or I guess the question is where has she been?" Willow didn't answer. "You know Giles was looking for her."

"I know," Willow replied simply. She allowed herself a small, secretive smile.

"You're not going to tell me where she is, are you?" Xander said, annoyed.

"Nope," Willow agreed with a smile.

The old friends went back to sipping their drinks and watching the crowd of high school and college students. Xander's eyes scanned the dance floor for any sign of Buffy. Willow watched the band, grinning and moving slightly to the music. Anya mostly just watched Xander.

It was Anya, then, who was facing in the right direction to see the action begin. Over Xander's shoulder she saw the doorway, and in the doorway was Riley. "Oh," she said, not entirely interested. "Riley's here."

"And where Riley goes, Buffy is soon to follow," Xander stated with certainty. He turned to see Riley shuffle into the crowd alon, with a none-too-happy look on his face. "So, uh.where's Buffy?" Xander asked no one in particular.

"She's not with Riley," Willow said softly.

"Well, that's obvious."

"No," Willow said clearer. "She's not with Riley.anymore. She dumped him."

"What?" Xander asked in surprise. "Since when? I mean, they were like attached at the hip."

"Uh.you really should ask Buffy. I shouldn't say," Willow deflected the question.

"Come on, Willow, we're bestest buds! You can tell me!"

Willow shook her head.

"She dumped Riley for tall, dark and handsome," Anya said with certainty.

Willow looked at her in surprise, while Xander practically spun around in circles trying to find what had caused her to make such a comment. Buffy's apparent date was the last person Xander expected. Not so for Willow, obviously, who smiled and waved, announcing their presence.

"Haven't I seen him before?" Anya asked briefly.

Xander sunk lower in his chair, dreading the next few minutes. *Well, there went my pleasant evening.*

It didn't take Buffy and Angel long to cross the crowd to their table. Both were grinning from ear to ear. "Hey!" Buffy said brightly in greeting.

"Hey!" Willow called back. "Where were you? You're late."

Angel sat at one of the remaining chairs at the table. Buffy ignored the last empty seat to sit in his lap, still talking. "Sorry," she said, not sounding at all apologetic. "We were having a picnic. We stayed to watch the sunset." She smiled a bit more - if that was even possible - and tilted her head back to look at Angel. He held her tightly, both of them momentarily oblivious to the fact that they weren't alone.

"See, told you," Anya said after a moment.

Buffy looked at her as if surprised to see her there. Maybe she was. She'd seemed far too wrapped up in her undead ex-boyfriend. Or was it, judging by what she'd said, ex-undead boyfriend? "Told you what?" Buffy asked curiously.

"You dumped Riley because you found someone *much* better," Anya explained. She looked at Angel appraisingly. "Nice choice," she said.

Angel squirmed slightly under her gaze.

Buffy chuckled. "Angel, you remember Anya, ex-vengeance demon, recent addition to the human race and Xander's girlfriend." It wasn't until that moment that she noticed Xander gaping at them both. She grinned at him. "Hey, Xander."

Xander stared at them for a couple of moments before he managed to find any words. "Okay, I'm dreaming, right?" he muttered. "No, wait, this is a nightmare."

The whole table looked at him tolerantly. "No, it's not a nightmare," Buffy said finally, her smile somewhat faded.

Xander looked really confused. "But I did hear you correctly, right? Angel's really here, you've dumped soldier boy, and you and Dead Boy just went on a picnic. A daytime picnic."

Buffy tried to glare at him for his use of nicknames but ended up smiling instead. "Yes, you heard right."

He just blinked at her. "And this doesn't strike anyone as odd?"

Willow shook her head and spoke up. "Actually, I already knew. I'm the only one who knew earlier. Oh, and Tara." She looked at Buffy and Angel. "You haven't told anyone else?"

Buffy shook her head, but Angel said quickly, "Actually, Cordelia and Wesley know."

"How could they not," Buffy muttered, and blushed slightly.

There was an odd moment where no one spoke. "Are you ever going to explain what's going on?" Xander asked pleadingly.

"Maybe," Buffy teased him back.

"Buffy." Xander whined. "Come on, Angel, man, will you tell me what's going on?"

"I-" Angel began, but any explanation he might have had was cut off by an unexpected arrival.

Giles.

"Giles!" Buffy said brightly. "You've come to party with the kiddies?"

He stood, breathing heavy and did not smile in response. "I have been looking all over for you. Where have you been all day?"

"Hi Giles, it's nice to see you too."

"Yes, well." He stopped, suddenly seeing who was serving as Buffy's chair. "Angel." he greeted a bit shakily.

"Hey, Giles," the not quite vampire replied with a grin, shifting Buffy on his lap. She looked at him oddly at the sudden movement. "My legs are falling asleep," he explained.

"Oh, sorry," Buffy said and reluctantly moved from his lap. Finally sitting in the last chair at the table she looked at Giles once again. "So, what's the dire?"

To his credit, Giles collected himself quickly, then told them the situation in hushed tones. "A group of teenagers were attacked last night at the beach. It seems there is something dwelling in the caves again. We need to find out what it is. And kill it if possible, of course."

"Now?" Buffy whined.

"Actually, this morning," Giles said sternly, "but you were no where to be found."

Buffy sunk slightly in her chair.

"What about the Initiative?" Willow asked. "I mean, if it's been a day already, wouldn't they have taken care of it?"

Buffy shook her head. "They're going nuts right now just with the demons in the middle of town. I doubt they're worried about an unpopulated area like the beach." She stood abruptly. "I'll gather weapons and patrol." She looked at Giles again. "We don't know anything more about this demon thing? It is a demon thing, right?"

"No, we don't know any more," Giles said reluctantly. "And yes, it is a demon thing. Under other circumstances I wouldn't want you going alone, but."

"I'm going with her," Angel said quickly, taking her hand as both of them walked from the Bronze.

Anya laughed into the silence left by their departure. "Like a lot of demons are going to be found on that patrol." Everyone just looked at her. "What? You don't think they'll go to the beach and have sex?" She looked at Xander for a moment. "How come we've never had sex on the beach?"

Xander cringed. Choosing to ignore his girlfriend's later comment, he said instead, "No, Buffy and Angel would *not* do that."

Willow seemed to sink a bit in her chair. "Well, actually, they.um.could," she said.

No one said anything for a long moment. Looking at Giles, Xander found a completely dumbfounded expression on the ex-Watcher's face. Sure that their faces matched, he chuckled. "Well, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one out of the loop for once."

The night was cool for near summer, with a gentle breeze as they got closer to the water. It was quiet, peaceful, with an unusually bright moon. It was a perfect night for love.and demons.

Buffy smiled, alert more to the man beside her than any demons in the area. In one hand she held a stake. The other hand was entwined with his, delightfully warm in her own. She sighed.

"What?" Angel asked softly.

"I missed this," Buffy explained lightly. "Patrolling with you, having someone to watch my back, to fight demons with." An equal.that's what she had been missing. A love.

"What about Riley?" Angel asked after a moment.

Buffy laughed at that. "When he first found out that I'm the Slayer he informed me.and quite proudly, I might add.that he had killed 'seventeen hostiles.'"

"Ah."

She turned to him then, making him face her with barely any space in between. "Besides, I don't love him," she explained. "So it could never have been the same."

Angel smiled sweetly, and then they were kissing again, tender and sweet. It only lasted a moment, then they simply stayed where they were, as close as they could be, their foreheads touching. "Nothing could be the same," he agreed in a whisper.

Buffy knew she was in danger of becoming lost in his gaze, in his embrace. She wouldn't have cared in the slightest except that they weren't out here alone. Somewhere, a demon lurked. She pulled away reluctantly. "We have work to do," she said in a whisper. "Let's get it over with."

They pulled away only as far as their entwined hands would allow them and continued towards the beach. They were silent; nothing to say, no words needed at all. Buffy couldn't help but think of other starlit nights, patrolling near the beach with Angel at her side. She'd missed this feeling of partnership and safety far more than she'd realized.

It didn't take them much longer to reach the caves. They finally had to break hands, fully focusing on the dangers ahead. They said nothing, climbing into the caves side by side, mirroring each other's movements. They were alert for anything ahead or behind them in the cave. Buffy held the flashlight to scan the darkness ahead of them, while Angel's gaze was intent as he opened every sense to the creature they were searching for.

They had been walking for quite a while when Buffy finally stopped. No longer able to hear the ocean, she turned to no longer see the opening of the cave. She turned back around to see Angel looking at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

Buffy shook her head. "Shouldn't we have found it already? I mean, if it's attacking people on the beach I'd think it would be living closer to the water."

"Maybe it's living deeper in the caves to be safe. To avoid people like us."

"Or maybe we missed a side cave," Buffy protested. At Angel's continued hesitance, she gave him a pleading look, knowing that he could see it in the dark. "It couldn't hurt to check, right? And I don't like knowing what we're up against. Come on, let's go back, watch for side caves, and if we don't find anything report to Giles." She smiled slightly. "This is not how I wanted to spend this evening."

Angel smiled. "Alright. We'll go back."

No sooner had they turned around, though, than a rumble shook the cave. Buffy had barely the time to register that this wasn't an earthquake when the sound became deafening. She dropped her flashlight in shock, it's clatter inaudible under the sound of falling rocks. It broke on impact, and that combined with the cave-in plunged the cavern into darkness.

Angel coughed into the dust that hung heavy in the air. He blinked, but the total darkness for the cave was hard for even his vision to penetrate. Waiting for his sight to adjust and the dust to settle, he climbed slowly back to his feet.

"Buffy?" he called softly into the darkness.

"Over here," came Buffy's pained voice.

Still unable to see little more than the basic shape of the cave, Angel followed the sound of her voice. As the dust cleared he also smelled her blood. For a moment Angel felt his heart pound in renewed fear, but there wasn't a lot of blood and aside from that everything he sensed from Buffy was fine. Still, he moved as swiftly as he could across the uneven floor to reach her side.

He found her leg caught under a couple of the fallen rocks. Saying nothing, he started to free her from the rubble. Buffy hissed in pain as he was moving the last rock.

"Sorry," Angel whispered.

"No problem," Buffy said, sounding slightly sarcastic. "Just get me out of here, honey."

Angel grinned at her use of that name even as he continued to free her. "I'm working on it, dear."

Buffy chuckled, and then the last rock was gone. She sighed at relief from the release of pressure and started to sit up, but Angel held her arm firmly. "You've got a bad cut," he explained, examining her leg by touch. Suddenly Buffy flinched and bit her lip. "And I think you've got a broken leg."

Buffy lay back down where she was with a sigh. "Well, it had to happen sooner or later," she said wearily. "So, what happened? We getting out of here?"

The dust had cleared enough for Angel to really see the cavern, and he shook his head. Realizing she couldn't see that he said, "The cave-in completely sealed off the way we came. We're not getting out of here without a lot of work."

"I thought these caves were supposed to be safe," Buffy said after a moment. "You know, except for the monsters."

"They are," Angel agreed. "I think something set that cave-in deliberately. We're pretty effectively trapped here."

"Just what I always wanted," Buffy muttered. "To be a sitting duck."

Angel stood up from Buffy's side. "I'll get us out of here," he assured her, and began the long, tiring task of moving rocks.

It was a tense and quiet group that sat in Giles' apartment waiting for the Slayer and half-vampire to return. Willow had finally explained the spell she and Tara had cast upon Angel, so Giles and Xander were no longer quite so confused. They may have had their reservations about a renewed relationship between Buffy and Angel, but with no loss-of-life concerns they were willing to let things play out on their own.

So instead of worrying about the Slayer's love life, they were researching cave dwelling demons. After all, they had no clue what they were up against. Buffy should have been back by now if all they were doing was trying to figure out what the demon was and what it was up to. But there was nothing her waiting friends to do but scour the old books and be patient.

Not that they were having much luck. Especially when they didn't know what exactly they were looking for. All they had was a cave, an ocean, and the vague description of a couple of terrified teenagers. Not exactly much to go on.

It was Willow who eventually found something, though tiredly she did not even see what it was at first. With a yawn, she said, "Another one. Ad it to the pile.cave demon.traps." She yawned again.

Giles perked up slightly. "Traps?"

"Yeah," Willow acknowledged. "A smart demon, I guess."

Giles seemed to snap alert and took the book from her hand. He scanned the text quickly. "Well, it fits the physical description we have," he said distractedly. He began to read out loud. "'Prefers to lure and trap its prey as opposed to hunting it. Known to cause cave-ins and wait until its victims are weak before feeding at their leisure."

"Glad we're not up against that," Anya replied.

With the exception of Anya, the group of them exchanged worried looks. In unison they stood, gathering their things and hurrying from the apartment. For a moment Anya sat alone in the room. "What?!" she called after them.

No one answered. They were already heading down the street.

Climbing over the fallen rocks, Angel tried to dislodge a boulder near the roof. It moved slowly. He wouldn't have been able to move it at all if it hadn't been for his vampiric strength. As it was, he was breathing pretty hard as he tugged on it with all of his strength. In other situations, he liked that recent change. Here it was a disadvantage.

Finally the rock came free of where it was lodged so suddenly Angel stumbled backwards. It didn't do much good; another portion of the cave's ceiling just proceeded to collapse, a shower of smaller rocks and dust filling up the passage again. Angel coughed and blinked as it settled.

"Angel," Buffy said after a moment. He didn't reply for a moment. "Angel!" she called again.

Angel cleared his throat of dust before he answered. "Yes?"

Buffy sighed in relief. "It's no good," she said after a moment. "Come.sit with me. Please?"

Angel crossed the cave floor easily, coming to sit on the floor next to her. He leaned against the wall as well. Buffy inched closer, leaning into his shoulder, and shivered slightly. Angel put his arm around her shoulder and she smiled slightly into the darkness.

"Thanks," she whispered. "You know, if we weren't trapped in this cave this would almost be nice."

Angel chuckled weakly.

"So what do we do now?" Buffy asked after a moment.

"Everyone's sure to notice how long we've been gone," Angel assured her.

"So, we wait?"

"We wait."

"And if the demon comes back?" Buffy asked, biting her lip slightly.

Angel knew she hated feeling helpless, and with her broken leg that's exactly what she was. "Then I'll fight it," he said doing his best to reassure her.

Buffy smiled weakly, and they sat together in the silent darkness, trying to be reassured by each other's presence.

The group of them weren't exactly thinking straight when they tore out of Giles's apartment in the middle of the night. It wasn't until they reached the beach that it sunk in how strange they must have looked. There they were, four college age kids and a middle aged librarian walking towards the beach.at nearly 2 a.m. In Sunnydale, where the only things about after midnight usually fed on the things that liked sunlight, they walked - not drove, either - completely unarmed.

Xander stopped short just as they reached the beach. "Uh.what exactly are we doing?"

"We're rushing to the rescue," Willow replied after a moment.

"Do we have a plan for this wonderful rushing to the rescue? Because being plan-less is sort of what got Buffy and Angel in trouble in the first place."

Giles seemed to blink at that, startled. "Well.um."

"You know, he does have a point," Anya pointed out helpfully.

Giles glared at her, but it was only half hearted.

"Yes, so, um.plan?" Tara tried helpfully.

"Of course, well. First we'd best find out if we are indeed dealing with the demon I think we are," Giles said.

"And how are we going to do that?" Anya asked.

"Well, we could go into the cave and see if they're in there.see if they're actually trapped," Willow suggested.

"Yes, and if I wanted to walk straight into a demon's trap, that would be first on my list," Xander replied sarcastically.

"Wait," Tara said so softly they barely heard her, "we don't have to go in to find out if they're in there."

"How then?" Giles asked as the entire group turned their attention to the witch.

She shifted uncomfortably but continued anyway. She looked at Willow to avoid everyone's gazes. "We can track our own magic. I mean.Angel does have the crystal with him, right?"

Willow nodded. "I assume so. I mean, I don't think he'd have left it anywhere.if he had anywhere to leave it. But, I don't see."

Tara smiled at her reassuringly. "We can try, right?"

There was no change in the darkness where Buffy and Angel sat together, but Angel could still tell that morning was only a couple of hours off, now. Still the demon hadn't shown. It was almost enough to make Angel think that perhaps this hadn't been anything more than a random cave-in after all. But then, this was the Hellmouth. Coincidence was unheard of.

The longer they went with neither demon nor escape in sight, the more Angel became worried. Mostly, he worried for Buffy. She had spoken little since Angel had come to sit with her, and the smell of her blood was strong to him. He was afraid that the cut on her leg was worse than he thought, and he couldn't do anything about it when he could barely see it. Even if he did find a way of getting them both out of here, carrying Buffy out while she couldn't walk would be a problem.

Angel moved carefully from her side, meaning to take one last look about the small room of a cave they had become trapped in. Perhaps there was a back way out that he hadn't found. As soon as he moved though, Buffy grabbed his arm with considerable strength.

"Don't," she whispered. "Just stay right here, with me. Help will come, right?"

Settling back beside her, Angel tried to comfort her. "Shh," he whispered, "don't talk now."

She didn't question him, but curled up as bet she could against his side. Angel sighed slightly. One more concern, one he never would have even thought about a day ago. If he was the demon that had trapped them, if he had truly wanted to weaken them.why not just wait until they ran out of air? Angel had never given much thought to death by suffocation.

He gave it thought now.

"There!" Willow cried triumphantly when she and Tara came out of their trance. "They're in there!"

"Are you sure?" Giles asked urgently.

Tara nodded. "Both still alive, and they haven't moved, so I guess you're right. They are trapped."

"Alright, then," Giles said, and faced the entire group of them seriously. "The two of you, stay here. Keep an eye out for the demon. Anya, run back towards town and find a phone. Call 911 and tell them that there's people trapped in the caves near the beach. Xander.you and I will try and find another way into the cave." For a moment no one moved. "Well, come on then!"

"Slayerettes to the rescue!" Xander called enthusiastically as he rushed towards the beach.

It was enough to lighten everyone's mood a bit.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Angel found himself fighting sleep as the time passed with nothing happening. He supposed it was only natural as he was used to sleeping during the daylight hours, and today he'd been doing anything but. Actually, this was probably his busiest *day* ever with the sole exception of the one that never happened. And last night had hardly been restful. He and Buffy had been planning to make this an early night. They certainly hadn't been planning on spending it in a cave waiting for a demon to come a finish them off.

Buffy shifted against Angel's side. She sighed, making Angel more alert.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Oh, just my luck," she said, sounding tired as well.

"We'll be fine, you'll see," he said, assuring her as much as he was assuring himself.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed half-heartedly. She shifted again, pulling away slightly. Angel got the impression that she was trying to look him in the eye, but that was near impossible in the total darkness. "but Angel.how long has it been since we got back together. 18 hours, maybe? And already we're in a life-or-death situation. Why can't we ever catch a break?"

"Maybe tomorrow we will," Angel said, semi-seriously.

Buffy chuckled. "Yeah, maybe tomorrow."

Angel couldn't help but laugh with her. Sure, it was forced, but it was needed. Didn't they say laughter is good for the soul?

After a moment Angel stopped laughing suddenly. "What is it?" Buffy asked.

"Shh," Angel said softly. "I thought I heard something."

"Is it the demon?" Buffy asked, her worry clear even in the total dark of the cave.

"I don't know," Angel whispered, then Buffy followed his cue and fell silent.

Only Angel's vampire hearing had enabled him to hear anything, and even then it was too faint to be made out. Slowly, though, it sounded like.voices? Angel stayed as still as he could, trying to hear what it was.

"Hello?" it came again, faint with distance and echoing so that it wasn't clear where it was coming from. Male as well, and definitely not the demon. Buffy started slightly when she finally heard it. They waiting tensely for the voice to become clearer, not wanting to possibly alert the demon lurking somewhere still.

"Buffy? Angel?" the voice came again. Both of them relaxed in relief, and Buffy chuckled again.

"We're here!" Angel called very loudly into the echoing cave.

"Angel?!" the first voice called - Xander's, apparently.

It was joined by a second voice, slightly accented even through the echoes. Giles. "Are you alright? Is Buffy okay?"

"We're okay!" Buffy called, and Angel could hear the smile in her voice. "We'd like to get out of here."

"Xander and I are trying to find a way to get to you," Giles's voice called back.

"Buffy's hurt," Angel said quickly. "We're going to need some help getting out of here." Next to him, Buffy sighed in frustration.

"Anya's calling 911," Xander called, his voice still muffled by the rock but no longer echoing as badly. They must have been close. "There should be someone here soon."

"Just.sit tight, alright?" Giles added.

"Not really a problem," Buffy muttered.

It was a very relieved Scooby Gang that watched the surprisingly capable Sunnydale paramedics get Buffy from the cave. Fortunately Xander and Giles had been able to find a second entrance into the cave, and the demon still had not made an appearance. It would show up sooner or later, certainly, but now it was daylight again and they knew it would not be making an appearance.

Willow and Tara stood next to the entrance to the cave, watching them carry a surprisingly alert and happy Buffy to the waiting ambulance. Angel walked beside her, blinking a bit uncomfortably in the early morning sun. Both of them looked a bit worse for the wear, but they were more or less alright. Not counting Buffy's broken leg, of course.

The paramedics carefully loaded Buffy into the ambulance, but started to stop angel when he went to follow her. After all, he was completely uninjured, and Buffy had a nasty leg injury. Buffy clasped his hand firmly when they tried to push him away. "I want him with me!" she said quickly.

"I'm sorry," one of them replied, "but he'll have to follow us."

Buffy looked panicked, and Willow remembered how much she hated hospitals. She looked at Angel wildly, trying to come up with a way to get him in the ambulance with her. "He.he's my husband!" she blurted after a moment.

The paramedic looked doubtful and Angel looked stricken. Everyone else was stunned by what she'd decided for an excuse. "Buffy." Angel replied in a shocked whisper.

A mischievous twinkle entered Buffy's eye that was visible even from where Willow stood. "What?" she said, grinning. "You did give me a ring an all. And maybe it *does* mean all the things you said it means, and now they're just given as, like, serious friendship rings, but someone once told me it's also a traditional wedding ring, that particular ring." She smiled even wider. "They don't come much more traditional than you, Angel."

Angel was simply gaping at her, completely shocked to speechlessness.

Buffy chuckled at the look on his face. "Of course, I'd still like a real wedding. You know, with a wedding dress and big party and all that." She seemed to falter for a moment, loosing some of her bravado. "That is, I mean.if you'd.

Angel started to chuckle at the same time as the paramedics stood aside to let him into the ambulance as well. "Why, are *you* proposing marriage to *me?*"

Buffy smiled back easily. "What can I say, I was never one to be traditional. If I waited for *you* to ask *me* who knows when you'd get the nerve up to ask!" She squeezed his hand as he sat next to her. "So, Angel, *will* you marry me?"

"That's it, you're delirious," Angel teased her lightly.

As the doors closed on them both, Willow faintly heard Buffy's annoyed reply. "Angel!"

Then the doors were shut and the ambulance was headed towards the sunrise, leaving a number of highly amused - or confused - friends behind them. Walking back towards the town, Willow looked at Tara. Silently laughing, both in the relief of finding their friends alright and amusement at the final scene Buffy and Angel had put on, the Slayerettes looked forward to a hopefully demon and disaster free new day.

The End

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