Part 4

We walked back to my house silently, both lost in thought.

I stopped abruptly, clutching at his arm.

"What is it, Buffy?" he asked, worried.

"You are staying with me, right? You're not going to leave me now, are you?" I begged hopefully.

"I'll never leave you, Buffy, never." He stepped closer to me. "Not even if you kill me."

I gave a startled yelp, and backed away quickly.

"What's wrong, Buffy?" he asked quickly, looking scared. "Are you okay? Is the demon bothering you?"

"No." I managed to gasp. "It's just that the thing you just said was in one of my dreams after I killed you. I said, 'Stay with me.' You answered, 'I'll never leave, not even if you kill me.'"

"Buffy, that doesn't mean anything. It's just a coincidence." he said, trying to calm me down.

But I was beyond hearing. "No! Stay away from me! The dreams- my dreams, they're driving me crazy! Don't touch me! I can't think- the-" I couldn't take it any longer, and collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

* * *

"She's coming around!"

"Buffy, can you hear me?"

"Move her away from the window! Do you want her to spontaneously combust?"

"Shh, be quiet! She'll be a little groggy."

"Groggy? Are you nuts? She's a vampire! Vampires don't get groggy!"

"Guys, shut up." I muttered, opening my eyes. "I'm trying to gracefully come of out of my faint, and your comments aren't helping. Now-" I sat up and looked around, asking, "Where am I?"

"Your living room, lying on the couch." Angel answered. He, Willow, and Mom were looking at me, relieved.

"How long I been out?" I said groggily.

"You've been asleep for about 12 hours." Angel replied, grinning.

"What happened?"

"Apparently the combined trauma of switching bodies with Angel, breaking up and getting back together with him, and the coincidental qoute Angel used that just happened to be from the worst part of your life, was too much for you, and you fainted." Willow supplied cheerfully.

"Gee, thanks Giles." I muttered sarcastically. "What time is it?"

"8 o'clock." Mom answered.

"Ick!" I whined. "In the morning? I have to go to school."

Angel cleared his throat. "No, you don't, Buffy. Remember, body switching thing that lasts until about 8 o'clock tonight? I'm going to school in your place."

I groaned loudly. "So I'll be stuck in this house all day? Oh, geez, I'll go stir-crazy!"

"It's okay, An- uh, Buffy." Mom said nervously. "It'll be fun. Just like being sick all day."

"Mom, grow a brain!" I shouted angrily. "It's like I have some rare disease where I can't even go out in the sunlight! It's going to suck! I can't believe I just said that! What a horrible pun!" I moaned, and rolled over, hiding my face. "Alright, fine Angel." I muttered. "Go to school, be me, and hey just for fun, don't tell anyone who you really are. Oh, and try to act ditzy. If you don't, then the gang will know something's up."

"Yes, Buffy." he said, laughing.

"One more thing." I spun around quite suddenly, and grabbed Angel to me. I frenched him brutally, enjoying the taste of his mouth and his blood in my own. I pulled away, and growled, "Don't ever break my heart again. Or you will suffer Mr. Pointy in your heart once we're back in our bodies." My whole body screamed, You're mine. I won't ever let you go. Don't forget that. But all I said was, "And believe me, that doesn't compare to how my heart felt when you ripped it out of my chest and smashed it before my eyes. The stake would only be about 1% of that pain. Promise me, Angel."

His eyes were mine, but they were distinctly his as well. I saw the deep guilt and his old soul clearly. He kissed me tenderly, that one gesture saying what words could not. "Always." he whispered. "I'll stay with you always."

"I love you, Angel." I said dreamily, but bursting with happiness. That kiss had sealed it. We were officially back together.

"I've loved you since that first day I saw you called." he answered.

We could have stared into each other's eyes all day, but Angel had to go to school.

He left to go get dressed, making me realize that he must have watched over me all night. No wonder his eyes were all puffy and bloodshot. He forgot to go to sleep.

I felt a small pang of regret for chewing Angel out, but it was very small. He deserved every word. My stomach growled loudly, and I moaned softly. I was hungry. And the only things vamps could eat was. . . Oh, god I felt like barfing at the thought of drinking blood.

"Mom!" I yelled.

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm hungry." I said pitifully.

"I'll get you some chicken soup."

I stared at her in frank amazement. "Mom." I said through gritted teeth. "I need-"

"Blood." Angel filled in as he opened the front door, Willow close behind. "She needs blood." He grinned at me apologetically. "Sorry, Buffy. I haven't eaten in about 2 days."

"It's fine." I said sarcastically. "I'll just wither away and die while you're at school."

"You're not going to die. I can go a week without blood, because I'm so old. You'll survive. I'll pick something up on the way home. Do you prefer pig's blood cold or warm?"

"Either way I'll puke my guts out."

"No you won't. You're a vamp now. For them, it's like mother's milk."

"Thanks for the visual. Go away before I bite you. Try your best to have fun."

"Don't worry, I will. I'll ace all your exams for ya." He winked at me, then he and Willow left.

I glared at my mother smiling like a Barbie, and sighed impatiently. It was going to be a long day . . .

Part 5

I wiped my sweaty palms together nervously. I had to admit, it was very weird to have sweaty palms, let alone be nervous. But for some reason, I, a 245-year-old murderer, was nervous. But what was there to be nervous about? Sure, it was my first day at school, and I was pretending to be someone, who, though I sometimes felt I knew her better than she knew herself, I was not. I was not Buffy and I never would be. Did I remember to mention that Xander was staring at me suspiciously?

See why I was nervous?

But I was in French. I was good at French. Better than good, actually. Fluent in French, German, Italian, and Portuguese. I'd have no problem. I shifted in my chair uncomfortably, but really wanting to get out of Buffy's body. It was unsettling to have a heartbeat. With Buffy's advanced hearing, and I not being used to her supernatural skills thus unable to control them, my heartbeat was unbelievably loud in the quiet room. My slight movement caught the attention of the teacher, and she called on me to translate a phrase she had written on the board.

"Oh, that's easy." I scoffed. "It says 'Life is a good adventure, and you have much excitement coming your way in the next few years.' You misspelled 'adventure' and put the accent on the wrong e in 'excitement'. I assume you did it on purpose, Mademoiselle?"

She gaped at me in astonishment. She looked back at the board and reread her own sentence. "Why, so I did. Buffy, that's very good. Is there anything else you can tell me about this phrase?"

"It's a common enough fortune in France. I mean, it used to be." I said hastily, coughing slightly. "Fortune tellers used to tell that one to any dumb fool willing to spend some money."

"Um, yes. That's exactly correct. How do you know all this?"

Luckily, the bell rang before I could answer.

I gathered up my stuff quickly, and was out the door before the teacher could call after me.

"Buff, how did you know all that stuff?" Xander asked in amazement. "You're notorious for flunking French."

Willow gave me a knowing glance and a little smile.

"I uh, I-I" I stuttered.

Willow came to my rescue, and said, "Buffy and I studied a little last night."

Xander whistled slightly. "Wow, Willow, you must have really pounded our Buffster."

"Yep." she said cheerfully. "You know me. Don't like to let my friends fail anything."

"Yeah."

"Well, let's go." Xander said, switching his backpack to his other shoulder.

"Where?" I asked.

He gave me a duh expression. "Lunch, silly. It's time to eat."

"Oh." I said lamely. I grinned quickly. "Lunch. Neat."

"There's the Buffy I know!" Xander crowed as we headed to the cafeteria. "You've been major with the big words all day. Now you're back to your old self."

"Hmm." I said thoughtfully, belatedly remembering what Buffy had said about acting like a ditz. That hadn't worked out. One of the things I'd said when I'd talked to Xander earlier that morning was, "Xand, you are such a pessimist about everything. You always think you're going to die."

"Earth to Buffy!" Xander shouted, jerking me out of my reverie with a start. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Xander." I answered, looking around to see where we were. "I was just thinking." We were in the cafeteria, and about to sit down at a table where Oz and Anya were waiting.

"Hey, guys." I said, waving.

"Hey." they said in unison.

We sat down.

My eyes lighted on a candy bar Anya was chewing on.

"Can I have a bite?" I asked pitifully.

She raised one eyebrow. "No." she said shortly. "Go get your own. They're 50 cents in the vending machines over there." She pointed to the vending machines in a corner of the room.

"Thanks!" I replied gratefully.

I went to the vending machines, and bought a Snickers and a Milky Way.

"God, you have no idea how much I've missed chocolate." I said as I opened the Snickers. "When I was little, we only got chocolate once a month. Sometimes not even that often. And when we did get it, it had to be saved for a long time because it was so expensive in Ireland." I munched contentedly on the candy. "This is so good." I breathed, in ecstasy.

Everyone stared at me, except Willow who was holding her head in her hands, trying not to laugh.

"I mean, uh that's just something Angel told me." I said quickly.

"Interesting. How is that vampire I hear so much about but have never seen?" Anya asked curiously.

"He's doing pretty good. I'll draw him for you if you want." I said cheerfully, still on my sugar high, ignoring the frantic gestures Willow was making telling me to do the exact opposite.

Xander chuckled. "Like anything you drew would look remotely like Dead Boy."

I gave him a pointed stare. "You'd be surprised, Xander. I have hidden talents."

Anya gave me some paper and a pencil, and I swiftly drew a sketch. I have to admit, it wasn't one of my best since I hadn't drawn anything since the Angelus days.

Of course, the drawing had to have Buffy in it. I took special care to craft her carefully, wanting to get everything about her perfect. In my picture she was standing in a graveyard, stake ready. A vampire was sneaking up behind her. Then I drew myself coming to her rescue. I made sure to draw my face carefully, so Anya would be able to see what I looked like. When I finished, I wrote in calligraphy, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, the vampire with a soul." I would normally never be that formal, but I had to make it seem like I was Buffy.

Xander was speechless when he saw what I'd drawn. "Gosh, Buff, guess I was mistaken. You can draw. Very well."

I shrugged modestly. "It's not one of my best. I was in a hurry."

Anya looked at the drawing with a critical eye. "So that's Angel. I like him. He's dark and handsome." She looked up at me. "You do eyes really well, Buffy. I can tell even in this picture, that Angel feels greatly guilty for some grave sins."

"Really?" I asked incredulously. "Just from that drawing?"

"Yeah."

"Wow." I said, impressed. "I've never realized that I put so much feeling into eyes."

"You do. And you do it extremely well. I'm curious. How old is your vampire counterpart?"

"245." I answered.

"He's that young?" she scoffed. "God, he looks so much older! I'm 1120!"

"Hey, he'd be 27 if he were mortal." I said defensively. "And plus, he's had a history of being the Scrounge of Europe."

"Yeah, Angelus." Xander jumped in, obviously tired of being ignored. "He was a real badboy."

"Believe me, I know." I said softly. "I remember."

Xander caught onto my change of voice, and said quickly, "Buffy, I didn't mean anything. You gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine. I just- you know, the demon was so cruel. He was always trying to kill us, he killed Ms. Calendar, he scorned that night of heaven where Angel and I made love, those are the kinds of things you don't forget." I surprised everyone, including myself by starting to cry. I guess I'd never realized how truly difficult it was having to carry the burden of a demon in my head 24/7. Add to that all the memories of how Angelus had tortured and insulted Buffy for months right before my eyes, and me unable to do anything about it- mix all that up, and you've got a lot of pent up emotions inside me waiting to tumble out. Thinking about it that way I was surprised I hadn't cried about this earlier.

"An-Buffy?" Willow asked, concerned. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." I sobbed, looking down at the table. I sniffed loudly, trying to regain control of my emotions. It seemed that being in Buffy's body also came with all her human frailities. I suddenly wanted to cry so badly that I felt if I didn't, I would die. "I'm fine." I repeated, not sounding convincing at all.

Willow reached across the table and touched my arm. "Buffy, look at me."

I looked into her eyes, taking deep quivering breaths.

Anya broke in with, "Hey, what's the deal, Buffy? Your eyes have the same deep guilt and age you drew in Angel's eyes. Are you sure you're only 18?"

Willow and I ignored her.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked, worried.

I tried to tell her, but kept being interrupted by my involuntary sobs.

Willow stood up, and pulled me with her.

"We'll be right back. I have to help Buffy."

She steered me to the bathroom, where, luckily for us, there was no one inside.

Willow asked bluntly, "Angel, what is it? Why are you crying?"

"I don't know!" I sobbed. "I don't know. But you know how I'm 245?"

She nodded.

"I'm 245, and my life had no meaning until Buffy came along!" I shouted hoarsely. "Then everything was different. We fell in love, I was happy for the first time in my life. Then we made love, and the demon came out. I had to sit, and watch that demon mock and hurt and insult the one person I love most in the entire world. And you know what the worst thing was?" I was hysterical by now. 3She asked softly, "What?"

"The worst thing was that I couldn't do anything to stop her pain! This thing that looked like me, and walked like me, this thing that wasn't me was tearing her to shreds, and there was nothing I could do! I love her, Willow. I love her so much that sometimes I feel like I should stake myself because I can cause her that much pain. You can tell me that it wasn't my fault, that I had no way of knowing what was gonna happen, but you'd be lying. I should have known. So don't tell me to not feel guilty because I have to. I need to feel guilty."

"Why?"

"Because I've hurt her when I was under control, when I was Angel, not Angelus."

"But you won't anymore. You're staying, you've made up with Buffy, Angel, you've got your life back on track." She giggled slightly. "You've even got the chance to be human for a day."

"Don't get me started on that. I'm inhabiting her body, while back at her house, she's struggling with the demon. She's probably-"

"Shut up!" she interrupted. "I'm tired of it! Poor me, poor me with my tortured soul, with my Slayer I can't make love to, boo hoo! Angel, would you stop mourning for all the things that are past, and for heaven's sake stop whining about feeling guilty for borrowing Buffy's body for a day!"

I stared at her in astonishment. "Uh, but she-" I began.

"Not another word! She's happy to give you this chance to be human for a day, and that's all there is to it."

"But-"

"Not another word!"

"Yes, Willow." I said meekly.

"Good. Now dry your eyes, and go back in there, and tell them who you really are, if they haven't guessed already by all these moronic things you did."

"Hey, that picture was pretty good."

"The drawing was fantastic, Angel! It just reeks of you. You drew Buffy with such love and affection, any dumbo who knows you can tell who you are. Even Anya had a clue, and she's never met you."

"But what about what Buffy said? She told me not to tell anyone who I was."

She fixed with one of her resolve faces, and said severely, "Buffy was having a major panic attack over the thought of being cooped up in her house all day. She didn't mean anything she said."

"Okay, okay." I said impatiently. "Let's go."

I tried to jerk a paper towel out of the dispenser, but to no avail. It was stuck.

"Damnitt!" I yelled, and I angrily got my paper towel.

But not before I'd pulled the whole box out of the wall. "Oops."

Willow laughed, and herded me out of the bathroom.

"Let's go face the music. Before you do something else that gives you away."

Part 6

"I'm soooooooo bored!" I screamed, frustrated. "And I'm sooooooo hungry!" I angrily vamped out and threw a punch at a nearby lamp. It broke immediately, the little bit of destruction easing my anger.

Mom came rushing into the living room from wherever she'd been hiding all day. "Buffy, please try to calm down." she said. "Angel'll be home in a few hours."

"But I want him now! I want to drink blood, as digusting as that sounds, and I want to cover Angel with kisses! But I can't do either of those things cuz he's not here!" I growled loudly.

She jumped back in fright when she saw my face. "N-now Buffy, don't hurt me!"

"Mom?" I asked in confusion, unaware that I still had my game face on. "What is it?"

"Buffy, I have to tell you something. This probably isn't the best time, but it's got to be said." She took a deep breath and said in a rush, "I went to see Angel a few days ago. I told him he should break up with you. I'm sorry."

"You did what? How could you do that? How could you make that choice for me?"

"Because you're a little girl. You need to be protected. Angel isn't good for you."

I laughed bitterly. "Not good for you?" I crowed. "That's a good one, Mom. The one freaky thing in my freaky world that makes sense to me isn't good for you. Oh man, that coming from my mom- god! I don't know whether to beat you senseless for trying to destroy the best thing in my life, or laugh maniacally. Since the beating you senseless part would kill you, I'm just going to go into our basement and beat the crap out of something down there until I forget that my own mother betrayed my trust." I turned away and was about to head for whatever passed as a basement when my mother said, "We don't have a basement."

"We don't?" I echoed.

She shook her head. "No, we don't."

My jaw dropped. "I've lived here for 3 years, and I never noticed that we don't have a basement?"

She shrugged. "You're gone all the time."

"Good answer, Mom." I replied sarcastically. I let out a loud roar of frustration. "Look, Mom I love you, but right now I am just itching to hurt you right now. I'm so furious I feel like I'm gonna burst. The demon inside is just barely under the surface. My suggestion to you is to stay away from me until I'm back in my body. Okay? Go away."

She turned, and ran back to wherever she had been cowering in fear in the first place.

I paced the room, wondering what I could do to calm myself. I was struck by an idea. I could jam to Limp Bizkit! I ran upstairs to my room, suffering minor burns and grabbed my cd "Signifacant Other". I popped it in the stereo, and skipped to "Break Stuff".

Its just one of those days when you don't wanna wake up. Everything is fucked. Everybody sux. You don't really know why but want justify rippin' someone's head off. No human contact and if you interact your life is on contract. Your best bet is to stay away motherfucker. It's just one of those days!! (chorus) its all about the he says she says bullshit. I think you better quit lettin' shit slip or you'll be leavin with a fat lip. Its all about the he says she says bullshit. I think you better quit talkin that shit. (Punk, so come and get it) its just one of those days feelin' like a freight train. First one to complain leaves with a blood stain. Damn right I'm a maniac. You better watch your back cuz I'm fuckin' up your program. And if your stuck up you just lucked up. Next in line to get fucked up. Your best bet is to stay away motherfucker. Its just one of those days!! (chorus) I feel like shit. My suggestion is to keep your distance cuz right now im dangerous. We've all felt like shit and been treated like shit. All those motherfuckers that want to step up I hope you know I pack a chain saw. ill skin your ass raw. And if my day keeps goin' this way I just might break somethin' tonight...break your fuckin' face tonight!! give me somethin' to break. How bout your fuckin' face. I h! ope you know I pack a chain saw, what!!...(chorus)

Willow and Angel came in at the end of the song.

"Buffy!" Angel shouted over the music. "I brought food!"

"Oh, hey guys!" I yelled back as I paused the CD. "How are you?"

"Fine. You?"

"Oh, you know, wanted to kill my mother for not telling me what she said to you yesterday, but other than that, same old, same old. I smashed a lamp." I said, pointing to the broken lamp.

"Interesting." he said absentmindedly. He did a double take. "For what she said to me yesterday? She told you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. So I kinda got mad and wanted to beat her senseless, but got myself under control. She's hiding in our den."

"You were under the influence of the demon?"

"Nope. It was all me. The demon wouldn't have minded killing her, though."

"Okaaay. I'm gonna ignore that and just give you this." He threw me a sack of blood.

I tore into it and drank it in an instant. "That was yummy." I said when I was done. "Got any more?"

"No, that's all you had money for."

"Damn." I cursed, but stopped when I saw Willow's ashen face.

"Willow, what is it?"

"You-uh, the blood, it's-"

"What's Willow's trying to say, Buffy, is that you have blood all over your mouth and chin. As a matter of fact, you look like you've just finished a violent kill."

"Oh." I said sheepishly.

I went into the kitchen and got a paper towel. I walked back into the living room, wiping my face. "Did I get it all?"

He chuckled, and smiled that halfsmile that was uniquely Angel. "No, you just made it worse." He stepped towards me and took the paper towel. "Let me help you."

Before I completely lost myself in Angel's eyes, I said, "Willow, maybe you better go. You look like you're about to barf."

She left without delay.

Angel gently wiped the blood off my face and chin. When he finished, he stood looking at me.

"What is it? Do I still have my game face on?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah, you do. But I didn't even notice it. I'm just looking at myself."

"And?"

"I didn't know I was so handsome."

"I could have told you that." I grinned, making my vamp face come on. I stepped nearer to him, resting my head against his shoulder. "I've missed you." I whispered softly.

"I've missed you too. More than you know."

His voice was strange, and I looked up at his face, for the first time noticing the tearstains under his eyes.

"Angel?" I asked uncertainly. "Have you been. . . crying?" I was surprised and shocked when he nodded at my question. The only time I had seen my lover cry was when he was about to kill myself, and that was only a few tears.

"What happened at school today?" I asked, concerned. "Why were you crying?"

"I told them who I was at lunch. They were unsurprised." he said, ignoring my question. He rummaged in his pocket, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "I drew this at lunch. They said they knew who I was when I finished the drawing. They recognized the handwriting. They also realized it when they noticed how carefully I had drawn you." He showed the picture. It was a touching reenactment of one of the times when I was still a careless Slayer, and Angel had to save my ass from major death. I was drawn with painstaking care and love.

"Angel," I breathed, in awe. "This is amazing. I forgot how well you could draw."

He shrugged modestly.

"It's okay. It's not one of my best."

"You have others?"

"Yeah. When I'm not brooding, I'm drawing you. Or you and me, happy in the sunlight."

"I had no idea. But you haven't answered my other question. Why were you crying? You never cry."

He smiled grimly. "Sure I do. All the time. Just not around you. I never cry around you. I don't like to show weakness around you, Buffy. Anyone else, fine. But not you. Never you."

"Angel, I've seen you weak. I've been the cause of your weakness. Please tell what made you cry."

He said reluctantly, "We started talking about Angelus. I brought him up."

I inhaled quickly, and asked sharply, "Why?"

"I was trying to impress Anya. I said, 'Yeah, Angel used to be the Scrounge of Europe.' Then Xander was like, 'Angelus. A real badboy.' Then I said, 'I know. I remember.' Then. . ." He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what happened. I just felt like crying."

"Of course you did." I said, understanding. "You were remembering what Angelus had done."

He shook his head, rasping, "It was more than that. Buffy, I wanted to cry and cry and never stop. And I don't know why. That scares me."

"Does it have something to do with what Angelus did to me, Angel?" I asked gently, not wanting to push him.

He nodded gratefully. "I think so. It was like I was feeling all these emotions all at once. I wanted to scream and shout until everything he did was erased. I wanted to cry my heart out because I needed to feel guilty. But I also. . ."

"Yes, darling? Tell me." I begged. "Tell me even if you're scared."

"I was happy at the same time. I was glad because I had a chance to see you in the sunlight, to enjoy food again. And I felt bad for feeling that way."

"Why?"

"Because while I was enjoying myself in the sun, you were here stuck in this house with an angry demon."

"Don't worry about it." I replied nonchalantly. "I coped." I was struck by a naughty lustful thought. "Angel," I said flirtatously. "Is the curse on your body or just your soul?"

"My soul. Why?"

"You're not in your body right now. No demon. So we can- you know, we should be able to-"

"Make love? Are you sure?" he asked, trying to keep the hope out of his voice.

"I've got the demon now. My soul doesn't have a curse on it. I won't lose it. I think we can-"

He kissed me fiercely, cutting me off. "Yes." he said passionately, breaking away. "God yes."

We took hands and ran to my bedroom. Angel closed all the curtains, and locked the door.

Then that one night in heaven we got that I never thought we would get again. . . We got it a million times over.

Part 6

After Buffy and I had made love about a million times, it was twilight. We got dressed reluctantly, and went to the graveyard to kill some vamps.

Except we kept stopping to make out.

"Angel," she said finally. "This isn't going to work. In a few hours we're gonna be back in our bodies. Then we're going to want to make love again, and not be able to."

"It'll be fine, Buffy." I said playfully. "We'll find a way to- Look out!" I shouted. A vampire was creeping up behind her.

She turned and staked the vamp like he was just a fly.

"The shaman who pretended to take my soul told me that it was permenant." I said uncomfortably.

She blinked. "What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to. But you told me you needed a break, then Willow got kidnapped, then the Mayor and Joyce convinced me to break up with you. All this stuff happened where I couldn't tell you." I said lamely.

Buffy nodded, accepting my lame excuse. "That's great."

She bent to kiss me. We embraced tightly for a long time. White light swirled around us, and our souls were returned to their proper places. The 24 hours had passed.

I pulled away from Buffy, now myself again.

"Buffy?" I asked uncertainly.

"Angel?" she asked in the same tone.

"Are you," I chuckled slightly. "you?"

"Are you?"

"I think so. I know so." I answered joyfully. I hugged her.

Her tears spilled onto my shirt in a tender sea of relief.

"You alright?" I asked, getting used to having a deep voice again.

"Yes." she sobbed. "I'm just happy. Very happy." She asked in a small voice, the one I hated to hear her use, "Angel?"

"Yes, Buffy?"

"Everything you've said to me over the past day. . . You meant it, right? You're staying?"

"Every word. I meant every word. I will never hurt you again if I can help it."

"Thank you, Angel. You don't know how hard it is loving you. You can hurt me so much, but I still love you." She broke off, crying loudly.

"Buffy." I said, turning her head up to my own. "Please don't cry. Please. It's okay. I'm staying. I'm staying."

"A-angel. . ." she said pitifully. "I-"

I captured her lips with my own, unable to bear her sad eyes looking up at me. I broke away, and repeated roughly, "I'm staying. I'll never leave you."

"I-I believe you." she whispered softly.

"I love you, Buffy." I whispered tenderly.

"I love you too, Angel."

And, with our belief and trust in each other, love conquered all.

Go to the sequel, Repercussions

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