DISCLAIMER: Me= sweet & Innocent. Joss = cruel and evil. Does this story look cruel and evil? No. Therefore, I don't own these poor characters. Damn.
SUMMARY: Buffy has a birthday. Buffy now has wheels *g*.
NOTES: It's about her birthday, so *of course* there's some angst involved. There is a happy ending, though!
THANKS: To everyone who's sent me feedback! I could list all your names, make you feel all special, but that would mean going through all my emails...so thankyou! And to everyone who hasn't sent me feedback, well...send!!
DEDICATION: To Lady Callista - your S3 rewrites were excellent!!

-1-

Angel stroked Buffy's stomach lazily as they lay on the terraced roof of his new building. She sighed softly, her eyes glazing over in contentment as she neared sleep. The summer sunshine always made her sleepy, and in her mind, there was nothing better to do then fall asleep with Angel.

"Hey," he murmured as a cool breeze began to blow. "It's somebody's birthday soon." She could *hear* the light, teasing note in his voice.

"Ugh. Don't remind me. Someone's probably going to *die* now!" She struggled to sit up. "And now I've jinxed myself too. Great!"

Angel tugged a hand through her hair. "Buffy, stop. You're going to have an excellent birthday, I promise. And you will *love* my present."

"What makes you so sure," she grumbled. "Thats just one of the things that can go wrong."

"Since when have you gotten a bad *gift*?" he asked, kissing the back of her hand. "You might have had bad post-birthdays, I know you did, but the presents....they were pretty good, weren't they?"

She buried her face in his chest. "Well, yeah, but my birthdays still suck!"

Angel smiled. "Well, sweetheart, I've celebrated 240 birthdays, 100 or them alone and miserable-" He was cut off by Buffy cradling her head in her lap and kissing him.

"Aww. Poor Angel. You've never told me about your life before me."

He sat up, a bittersweet expression on his face. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. "My life was meaningless before I saw you outside Hemery." he sighed. "I was just existing until Whistler found me."

Buffy looked up at him expectingly, waiting for him to continue. Over the past months, he'd started to open up and tell her about his past, but it was still difficult for him. When he was ready, she'd be there with a shoulder to cry on if he needed it.

He took a deep breath and offered her a weak smile. "For 90 years, I lived as just some other homeless guy in a dirty alley, feeding off rats." Buffy didn't gasp and recoil in shock like he had once expected her to. "That was my life. Then Whistler came, talked to me and showed me you. The rest, as they say, is history."

She smiled. He never talked about when he'd seen her called. It was like he wanted to keep it private, a secret for only him to know. Of course, it gave her the awful thoughts that she'd humiliated herself in some way.

"So that was the 90 years pre-Buffy?" she said carefully. "And before then..." she recognised Angel's slight recoil. "Was Angelus and before that was Liam." With a gentle kiss, she assured him that she wasn't pressuring him to talk.

He smiled lovingly at her. "Soon, beloved. Not quite yet, but soon."

-2-

Angel leant over the desk and shook hands with the dealer. "Okay Mr O'Cadhla, right this way."

Buffy was going to love the present - there was no way that she couldn't. And if she didn't, she'd damn well have to pretend that she did, because it wasn't the kind of thing you could hand over a receipt and tell them to return it if they didn't like it.

"I'm sure you'll be very happy with it, sir." The salesman said, giving a creepy smile.

"Oh, it's not for me," Angel assured him. "It's a birthday present for my girlfriend."

The guy's eyes boggled in his head. "This is a ...gift? And you aren't even married?" he cleared his throat. "You obviously care very much for her."

Angel sighed. "I do. Now, her birthday's tomorrow and I need to get this to a friends house. Would you hurry up?"

-3-

The music drifted through the open door of the apartment and onto the balcony where Buffy sat, inhaling the scent of the bunch of flowers that her father had sent, and watching the summer sunset. Angel recognised the song as the only that had been playing in the Bronze when he'd asked her for coffee.

Buffy hummed along softly, stroking the pale pink petals. Life was good. She had Angel, was staying in L.A for the summer break, and her Dad had remembered her birthday, and she and Angel were going to drive to Sunnydale tomorrow to celebrate with her friends.

"Evenin'," Angel whispered in her ear. She jumped.

"Where did *you* get to? I woke up all alone in that big bed..."

He laughed. "Well, I had a few pre-birthday things to do."

Buffy smiled. "How about we go out to a pre-birthday dinner at the pier, then do a little pre-birthday celebrating?" She asked with a mischeivous grin.

-4-

"Happy birthday Buffy!" Angel called, as he walked into the room holding a tray of breakfast for her.

She rolled over and groaned. "Be careful. Don't drop it on me and start the ball rolling."

Angel nudged her with one toe and placed the tray on her lap. He sat down beside her and placed a kiss on her temple. "Happy 20th, beloved." He murmured.

After breakfast, and a shower, the couple were all ready to go. "Uh, Angel? You don't park the car over there." She tried to pull him the other way. Instead, he placed his hands over her eyes and led her in a different direction.

When she was allowed her vision again, she was standing infront of a white BMW with a red bow stuck on the bonnet.

"Happy birthday Buffy! Your first set of wheels."

She was practically speechless. "M-mine?" she managed to squeak.

Angel blew in her hair. "Yep. All yours, happy birthday, baby."

"Mine?"

"Yes!"

"Really?" She asked in shock. "I mean, really? Really?"

He laughed. "Yes! Really! It's all yours!" He handed her the keys. "And you're driving. If you want to, I mean."

Buffy hopped from foot-to-foot. "Can, um, can you drive most of the way, and I'll just drive in Sunnydale? I don't want to wreck it."

"Sure."

-5-

Buffy managed to park outside the park without scraping the tyres - a first.

The gang walked over and she got out, grinning and pushing up her sunglasses. "Hey guys! You like?"

"Uh huh!" Xander said, his jaw dropping. "But Buffy, stealing is *wrong*."

Angel smiled and put an arm around her. "Happy birthday, Buff." He nodded to Giles and Oz, completely ignoring the staring Xander.

"She got *this* from *you* for her birthday?" Xander asked, glaring at Angel. "Sure, make all our presents look like trinkets why don't you, Deadboy?!"

Willow skipped over and hugged her friend. "Very stylish. I'm sure all the people at UCSunnydale will be wildly jealous!" She grinned wickedly, before her face fell. "Where'll you park it?"

"Already covered," Giles said, smiling fondly at the girl he genuinely considered his daughter.

She looked up at him in bewilderment. "You mean...you knew about this too?"

The two men exchanged grins. Giles removed his glasses, ducking his head slightly. "Er, yes. Well..we had to make sure it would be, er, capable of what you need it for."

Buffy gave him a look. "Driving to LA. Getting around Sunnydale. Most cars will do that."

Everyone looked to Giles and Angel. "Well, I was, um, hoping that you'd be able to collect some things for me in Los Angeles occasionally..."

He waited for her response. "Of course, Giles!" She smiled. "It's not like I won't be driving to LA all the time anyway."

"You sure drive back here often enough!" A voice cut across the carpark. "I come down at 9am, the time you *said* you'd be leaving, and no-one's there!" She paused. "I really hate buses!"

"Cordelia!" Willow cried, hugging her friend. "You came!"

"You're damn right I came! Like I was sitting at home by myself. *These* two were meant to give me a lift, but did they? Oh *no*."

The birthday girl winced. "That'd be my fault, Cor." The brunette turned on her, hands on hips and eyebrows raised.

"Figures. You come back once Angel's human, and all of a sudden, it's 'bye Cordy! Call you when I need some filing done!'. Well, I-" She was cut off as Xander shoved a twinkie into her mouth.

"Don't talk, Cordy." He said, grinning as little cake crumbs flew everywhere as Cordelia coughed and spluttered in an attempt to get the thing out of her mouth.

"XANDER!"

-6-

"So did you have a good birthday?" Angel asked that night as they drove back in the new car.

"Surprisingly, yes." Buffy said, resting her head against the window. "And I got good presents!"

On the leather seat in the back were the other gifts; a vase, CD's, a blessed luck charm from Willow, gift vouchers and a leather bound diary from Giles.

Angel smiled and placed a hand on her knee as he drove. "That's good. You've broken the cycle."

"And a vicious cycle it was too!" Buffy said, laughing. "Firstly, well, y'know. The day after wasn't so fun, but my birthday night...that was *unforgetable*." She smiled up at Angel and lifted his hand to her mouth, kissing each fingertip. "My 18th was a shocker. I *never* want to relive that one. 19 years old brought Ethan to Sunnydale, and changed Giles into a demon. That was awful!"

Angel nodded in agreement and worked *very* hard to keep his eyes on the road and not on his girlfriend. "Uh, Buffy?"

"Mm?" she asked as she slid a CD into the player.

"Don't distract me, or I'll wreck your birthday present." Buffy looked up and gave him a look.

"I'm not *doing* anything, Angel."

He caught her hand. "Try not to be so completely amazing, then I'll be able to take my eyes off you." He smiled at her lovingly and kissed her hand.

"Happy 20th, baby." he murmured. Buffy waited until the lights turned red, and leant across to kiss him. Angel pulled back as the light changed back to green. "You deserve every drop of happiness."

Buffy's expression changed from happiness to love. "So do you, Angel. You always have."

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