~~~

They talked for hours, sitting on the edge of the cliff wrapped in each other's arms they spoke about all the things they had never quite dared to mention before. About the love they felt for one another, the loneliness they felt when they were apart, their hopes and fears and dreams and the future they wanted to spend together. And they talked about the pain they had endured, savouring the freedom to talk openly about everything that had happened, secure in the absolute certainty that there would be no blame, just understanding and love.

There was an honesty between them that was unlike anything that either of them had ever known, an acceptance of all the things that they had never been able to share for fear they would be misunderstood or rejected, and with the sharing of their innermost souls came peace. The guilt that each of them felt over the events of the past faded, not gone, it would never be gone, but softened so that it was no longer an ever present torment that cut deep each time they closed their eyes. Instead it was banished to the past where it belonged, a source of deep regret but no longer of anguish.

It was with some surprise that they heard Jenny's voice and noticed the lengthening shadows around them. The day had passed them by unnoticed as they talked and it was with reluctance that they got to their feet and moved towards her.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "but it's time for you to go now." She embraced them both and she and Buffy both had tears in their eyes when they parted, "Goodbye for now, I'll see you again but not for many, many years I hope." Blinking her tears away she forced herself to return to business, "Angel, just imagine yourself waking up back in your apartment and you'll be returned there."

"What about Buffy…? How does she?"

Before Jenny could speak Buffy said, "Just call me, I'll come as soon as I know that you're beside me."

A slight frown creased Angel's brow, "If that's all there is to it then why didn't you come before?"

"Because I'd given up. I didn't believe that there was anything left for me, couldn't believe that you'd be able to forgive me, so I'd drawn into myself. I didn't hear you calling, didn't know anything except my own despair."

Angel kissed her tenderly, a kiss of dedication not passion, and then drew back to say softly, "I'll never leave you. No matter what, my soul is always with yours."

~~~

Angel's eyes snapped open and he jerked upright, going from sleeping to waking in an instant. The demon was within him once more, though it seemed oddly distant, and everything he had just experience could easily have been nothing more substantial than a dream but the sense of peace and happiness remained and he knew, with the same certainty he reserved for his love of Buffy, that it was not.

The thick blinds were drawn over the windows but an instinct honed by over 200 years of fearing the light told him that the sun would not set for another half hour and he imagined that since the world between realms was formed of their thoughts, the setting sun had been no more than a signal that their time was running short. Unable to wait he grabbed his coat, left the apartment and made his way into the sewers. When he reached the access closest to the hospital he waited impatiently until the sun sank far enough below the horizon to cause him no more than slight discomfort and then quickly made his way to the room where Buffy lay.

Giles, Willow, Cordelia and Oz had all drawn up chairs around Buffy's bed during the course of the long day and the three teenagers were slumped in their seats, fast asleep. The numerous empty cups testified to the amount of bad coffee that they had consumed but in the end it had proved insufficient.

Only Giles looked up when Angel opened the door and when he saw who it was he got wearily to his feet and said quietly, his voice heavy with grief, "Nothing's changed, the doctors don't hold out much hope that she'll ever wake up."

"You're wrong, Giles," Angel said softly without looking at him, his attention riveted on Buffy, "everything's changed."

Ignoring Giles' confusion, he moved aside the chair that the Watcher had vacated and took one of Buffy's hands in his. "Buffy," he said insistently, his voice loud enough to wake the others, "Buffy, I'm here now. Come back to me, come on, come back to me. Open your eyes and look at me!"

The others looked on sadly at what seemed to them to be Angel's futile attempt to reach his love but their sorrow turned to disbelief and then to joy when Buffy's eyelids flickered and her hand tightened around Angel's. Everyone held their breath and Angel continued to call her to him, afraid to make a sound lest they disturb the miracle.

The beeping of the monitors grew louder as her vital signs grew stronger and Angel bent down to press his lips gently against hers. At first she lay passive beneath his kiss but then her mouth worked under his as she responded and when he finally drew back so that she could breathe, the others saw that her eyes were open and aware as she looked up at Angel with a smile of pure love.

"Welcome back, Beloved," Angel murmured with a smile.

Reaching up, Buffy wrapped her arms around him and said softly, "Welcome *home *, Angel."

They held each other for a long moment and then, as he straitened, Buffy glanced past him at their friends and said with a smile as she reached out towards them with both arms wide, "Hi, Guys, are you just going to stand there?"

That was all it took and an instant later she was swamped within a massive group hug. Angel stood off to the side at first but then Buffy and Cordelia reached out at the same moment and yanked him forwards until he too was engulfed in the happy mass of bodies.

A sudden bright glow broke them apart and they turned to see the glowing form of Jenny Calendar standing in the corner of the room.

Buffy and Angel smiled at the sight of her while everyone else gasped in awe.

"Jenny!" exclaimed Giles brokenly.

"Hello, Rupert," she said gently, "I am here to say goodbye."

"Goodbye? But why are you…?"

"You no longer require my guidance; the hatred engendered by my death is gone, the sins of my people amended, my task in this world is now completed and I may ascend. Don't mourn for me, I am happy and we shall all meet again when the time is right. Please remember that I love you and let go of the pain, you deserve to live a long and happy life before you follow me."

Giles' eyes were filled with tears but he was smiling as he nodded, "I love you too, Jenny, I'm glad that I got the chance to tell you that."

"I know, I always knew." She looked round at the rest of the group, "Be happy, all of you," her gaze settled on Buffy and Angel and she said, "The path you follow will ever be difficult but you possess the rarest of all loves, the bond of true soulmates. Cherish the love between you for it is unique and will carry you through all adversity.

"Thank you, Jenny," said Angel, speaking for both of them, "without you, this would never have been possible."

"Just be happy together, that's all the thanks that I require." She stepped forwards and wrapped her glowing arms around Giles and kissed him passionately before stepping back. The glow around her brightened for a moment and then she was gone, leaving Giles with a dazed expression in his eyes and a dopey grin on his face.

For a moment silence reigned as they looked round at each other and smiled, then Buffy moved to get up and in the process disconnected herself from one of the monitors, which began shrieking an alarm and brought several doctors running.

~~~

From the moment she opened her eyes, Buffy's recovery was so rapid that it baffled doctors. Medical staff from all over the hospital found excuses to come and peer at the medical miracle in their midst. By all medical reasoning she shouldn't have been alive let alone awake, and since she was awake, she should have been so weak that she could barely move yet within twenty-four hours she was virtually impossible to keep in bed and agitating to leave. Angel was able to persuade her to stay one more night for observation but after he left in the morning it wasn't long before Giles conceded defeat and signed her out of the hospital.

The doctors muttered warningly against it but they could offer no valid reason for her to stay and Giles and the others paid them no mind, believing – correctly – that the most effective medicine Buffy could have was a large dose of Angel's company, something that she could get more readily at home without sunlight and doctors constantly chasing him away from her side.

It was just before midday when the paperwork had finally been dealt with and Buffy stood on the pavement outside the hospital, surrounded by her friends, breathing deeply to rid her lungs of the lingering scent of antiseptic. Giles, Willow, Cordelia and Oz looked at her in delight, she was still so thin as to be little more than a walking skeleton but compared with the life that filled her eyes it was barely noticeable and she was positively glowing with happiness.

The empty shell they had watched and worried about for so long was finally gone and Buffy, *their* Buffy, was back.

Giles had offered to drive her home but the other's had all wanted to be there when she left the hospital so when they drove off in the direction of the apartment, where Angel was waiting impatiently for them to arrive, it was with an honour guard of Cordelia's shiny red sports car in front and Oz's van behind.

~~

After a single teasing comment from Buffy about the decrepit state of Giles' car, the short journey was made in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Giles' heart had swelled at the sound of her laughter and he kept shooting glances in her direction as he reflected that he would never again be able to take her ability to find happiness and laughter in the small things of life for granted.

As they pulled up outside the apartment, he removed the key from the ignition and was about to get out of the car when a light touch on his arm stopped him. Turning to look at her he was shocked to see tears in her eyes but before he could grow too concerned she gave him a tremulous smile, which reassured him that nothing was seriously wrong.

"I…I just wanted to thank you," she said softly, "for always being there."

"I don't… I didn't..." Giles began, then broke off and said simply, "You're welcome."

Despite the rather awkward confines of the car, Buffy reached out and gave him a hug, holding him so tightly that he thought for a moment that his ribcage might buckle under the pressure but he wouldn't have complained for the world. A few seconds later she released him and wiped her eyes with a sniff, before glancing through the windscreen and saying with a little laugh, "We should go. The others seem to be wondering what's going on."

Somewhat to Giles' surprise, there were no questions about what had transpired in the car, though that could have been because the moment Buffy got out her gaze flew to the shadows near the entry to the building and she gave a joyful squeal before hurling herself into the arms of the tall figure who had been standing there unnoticed.

Laughing, Angel swung her up into his arms, holding her tightly against him as his head bent to hers and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

The others stood watching, transfixed by a combination of the tender scene before them and Angel's laughter – a sound that none of them had ever heard before. They knew that they should look away, that this was a private moment, but the love between the couple seemed to almost light the air around them with a glow so beautiful it was almost painful to look at, even as it was impossible to resist.

When Angel at last raised his head, Buffy was breathless and both wore slightly dazed expressions. For a moment he pressed his forehead against hers as they struggled to regain their composure, then, remembering the others, he invited them to come inside before turning to lead the way still carrying Buffy, who seemed content to remain in his arms, though she had fought against being treated as an invalid by anyone else.

~~~

They sat in the small living room – Oz, Cordelia & Willow on the couch, Buffy & Angel in the single armchair and Giles on the chair he had moved from its place by the desk – and after talking about nothing in particular for a short time, by silent agreement the subject turned to the events of the past few days. Those who had not been there were keen to hear everything Buffy and Angel could remember about the world between realms and their encounter with Jenny there.

For the first time, Giles found that he was able to speak of her without the pain of her loss overwhelming him, her visit having laid to rest the final ghosts about the way she had died, leaving only a haunting regret for what might have been. For the first time since her death they began to reminisce about the past, the too-brief time they had known her and everything that had happened in their lives since Buffy first moved to Sunnydale, smiling as they remembered the good times that they had spent together.

It was strange, in retrospect, how many things came under the heading of 'good times'. The battles they had fought together had been hard and frequently terrifying but those events, and particularly the last few days, had forged a bond between them that could never be broken.

Inevitably, as they talked about the past, Xander's name was mentioned, casting a shadow over the previously happy group. Silence threatened to engulf them but Giles refused to allow it, knowing that it gave him a power and significance that he did not deserve. Slowly, hesitantly, they began to talk about his betrayal and the feelings of pain, anger and disbelief that it had triggered in all of them.

At one point Angel tried to apologise for having been the catalyst that had driven the previously close friends apart but the moment he did everyone spoke at once in their determination to point out that no true friend would have acted as Xander had done, regardless of his personal animosity towards Angel.

With the benefit of hindsight, they all agreed that they should have recognised how deeply his hatred for Angel ran by the way he had almost gloated about the fact of Angelus's return, seemingly unconcerned by Buffy's pain, as he used it as evidence that he had been right all along.

For the most part, Buffy remained silent as they talked, content to simply sit and listen from her comfortable position on Angel's lap, feeling that there was little she could add to the discussion. The knowledge of Xander's betrayal had come at a time when her already overburdened emotions could stand no more. His treachery had been a single drop of pain in an ocean of agony, which, after her initial fury had burned itself out, had become insignificant as her spirit broke under the weight of the burden she carried. Now that Angel had returned to her side where he belonged and her soul was whole once more, she found that she could no longer bring herself to care about Xander. He was nothing, not worth the effort of hating and she refused to allow him to poison her new-found joy with bitterness.

And so she told the others when they all looked at her after Angel, concerned by her silence, asked quietly if she was all right. She was rewarded by the tightening of his arms around her and the smiles of agreement – if not yet acceptance – from everyone else. Then, changing the subject, she announced to everyone's great delight, "I don't know about the rest of you but I'm starved! What have we got to eat around here?"

The answer, as it turned out, was 'very little' except the blood that Giles had provided for Angel. In the end they ordered take-out and a party atmosphere developed as they celebrated Buffy and Angel's return with pizza, soft drinks and, after a quick trip to the store by Oz and Willow, a plentiful supply of ice-cream.

They left early, despite Buffy's yawning protests that she was fine and not in the least tired, which would have been more convincing if she had been able to keep her eyes open as she made them. Weary, but immensely happy, they made their separate ways home, carrying with them the warm glow that came from knowing that, for the first time since Buffy's 17th birthday almost a year before, all was right in their world.

~~~

Buffy blossomed under Angel's loving care and quickly regained the weight and muscle tone she had lost. For the first few days after leaving the hospital she allowed Angel's fear for her safely to keep her at home with her friends for company while he made brief patrols without her. She knew her own limits though, and as soon as she felt she would be able to hold her own in battle and not prove a distraction that could compromise his safety, she insisted on accompanying him. And so, each night they patrolled the streets and graveyards of Sunnydale together, two hunters whose thoughts and fighting styles complimented each other so perfectly that they were sheer poetry to watch and so deadly that no opponent stood a chance against them. The demons and vampires who had come to town at the news of the Slayer's seemingly inevitable demise soon fled to safer hunting grounds with their numbers greatly reduced when it became clear that her weakness had passed and she was now stronger than ever.

Buffy didn't return to school, saying that there was no way that she was going to stay back a year, particularly with Snyder constantly looking over her shoulder. Instead, heeding Giles and Angel's advice that if she abandoned her education altogether she could later come to regret it, she signed of for several correspondence courses in subjects which interested her and being able to work to her own schedule instead of attending classes proved to be a great advantage whenever the Hellmouth acted up.

The knowledge that Angel was more than wealthy enough to keep them both living comfortably meant that she could study for the sake of interest alone and lifted the burden of trying to live two conflicting lives in two conflicting worlds. Since Angel was, of necessity, bound to the shadows, it wasn't long before Buffy's own internal clock adjusted to match his so that they were both at their most alert during the hours of darkness and slept in each others arms through a large portion of the sunlit hours.

This arrangement did nothing to weaken the bond between them and their daylight friends, if anything it grew stronger and they met most evenings – and in the apartment, or shady place with easy sewer access – to research the latest threat presented to them by the Hellmouth, or to go to the Bronze, or to just sit and talk about the simple everyday details of their lives. Nor did Buffy completely shun the sun, often meeting Willow and Cordelia during the afternoon for coffee and shopping or going to Giles' to talk and occasionally train with him for old times sake, though he had gladly surrendered that as a regular duty, saying that Angel was far better equipped to handle it than he.

At first Angel had been hesitant about his place in the tight-knit group but none of them allowed him to remain on the outside and it wasn't long before he was truly 'one of the gang', forced by their actions to accept that they were not merely Buffy's friends – they were his as well. His place in the group seemed to evolve naturally into that of a trusted older brother to everyone except Buffy, just as Giles had been adopted as the father figure for the group. His relationship with Giles was a firm friendship built upon a foundation of mutual respect and common interests and the two often got together to talk while Buffy was out shopping with Willow and Cordelia.

Almost without them being aware of it the small but diverse group of very different people had become a family - a family not of blood but of choice and in each other they found all the love and support that had been so conspicuously absent from their lives until then.

~~~

It was several months before Xander finally learned that Angel had returned and reunited with Buffy when he saw the two of them dancing together at the Bronze and hatred consumed him at the sight of them. He blamed Angel for his expulsion from the Slayer's circle and everything else that had gone wrong with his life and he became obsessed with the idea of finding a way to get rid of the vampire once and for all without facing him directly, since he knew that he could never beat him in a fight – fair or otherwise. His search was hampered by Giles' refusal to allow him access to the library and, as months passed without success, frustration made him careless. The vampire that had cornered him recognized him as having been an associate of the Slayer's and, thinking that he might have knowledge that would prove useful, decided to turn him instead of just draining him as a snack as he had originally intended. To the vampire's frustration, Xander could tell him nothing that would help to defeat the Slayer and he turned the fledgling away to fend for himself. Less than three weeks later, Xander received a stake through the heart when he and five other fledglings attacked Buffy and Angel outside the Bronze. In the midst of the battle, Angel never even realized whom it was that he had staked.

Because Xander's greatest desire had been to do harm to another, his soul was condemned to spend eternity in the dark realm where hatred and torment ruled. His obsession kept him in the world between realms until the moment of Angel's death but, since reality there was shaped by the nature of the soul, that too was a dark and desolate place and he could do nothing but watch impotently as Buffy and Angel found peace and happiness together.

Joyce never forgave Buffy for not being what she had wanted and it wasn't long before she moved away without leaving a forwarding address. Buffy had cried over the knowledge that neither of her parents had found her worthy of their love but the gang had rallied round and been so constant in their support that it wasn't long before she realised that she already had everything that she had ever wanted from her parents embodied in the people around her.

When Oz and Willow decided to marry right after they graduated from Sunnydale University it was to their friends that they turned instead of their parents, asking Buffy and Angel to stand up with them and Giles to give the bride away. Two years later their little family gained a new member when Cordelia, who had attended University of a loan provided by Angel after her parents lost everything, met and fell in love with a half-demon by the name of Doyle, who received visions from the Powers That Be and slid so seamlessly into the group dynamic, that it was as though he had always been there. When they also married a year later, she insisted that both Buffy and Willow stood up with her while Oz and Angel did the same for Doyle and Giles, once again, gave the bride away.

Giles never married, but the others never gave him much chance to be lonely and, as honorary grandfather to Willow and Oz's daughter and Cordelia and Doyle's son, one of his greatest pleasures in life was spending time with the children and it was probably not a coincidence that both grew up to develop a great love of books and reading.

With a half-demon, a werewolf and a witch amongst their parents and a vampire and a Slayer for their godparents, it was hardly surprising that the children were aware of the existence of the supernatural almost from the moment they opened their eyes onto the world and from their extended family they gained the knowledge, confidence, strength and discipline to survive in the world despite all the dark things that dwelled there.

Buffy and Angel never had a formal marriage service, feeling that no ceremony could be as profound or meaningful as their experience in the world between realms. The matching Claddagh rings they both wore never left their fingers, the hearts forever pointing inwards to show the world that they belonged, body and soul, to one another. In their hearts, they were husband and wife and the lack of a formal ceremony never made them any less so in the eyes of their friends, all of whom firmly believed that the couple had been married by heaven from the moment they first laid eyes on one another.

For over twenty years, they fought to protect the largely unsuspecting population of Sunnydale from the evil that lay beneath it and stood as guardians to the rest of the group. Through the years they were never apart for more than a few hours at a time and being together made it possible for them to find joy in the smallest of things. Their love sustained them through the dark times, keeping hope alive when it seemed that they must fail and darkness triumph. And somehow, with the help of their friends, they always found a way. They were an unbeatable team whose reputation was so feared that even the presence of the Hellmouth couldn't induce many demons to enter the town that they protected so fiercely.

Occasionally the Watcher's Council passed on information about demon-related disasters in other parts of the world or Doyle had a vision of events outside Sunnydale and they would leave long enough to take care of the threat but for the most part they remained where they were and the Council left them alone, reluctantly acknowledging that they had no control over this particular Slayer, her Watcher, her friends or her Guardian Angel. Only once did they attempt to interfere, sending a team to remove the 'vampire influence' from the Slayer's intimate circle - it was a mistake that they never tried to repeat and Giles quit the Council in disgust, severing their last avenue of influence over Buffy and rendering them completely powerless.

EPILOGUE

Death finally exacted its inevitable price of history's greatest Slayer just three days after her thirty-ninth birthday. She had outlived the longest-lived Slayer on record by over seventeen years and those around her had begun to believe that nothing but old age would ever claim her, but it was not to be. In one of those sick little twists that fate finds so amusing, she was killed, not by a demon or some great evil that she was fighting, but by a drunk driver who shot through an intersection at nearly ninety miles an hour as she was crossing the street to meet Willow and Cordelia.

Angel had felt it the instant that Buffy's soul left her body; his own soul crying out in agony at her loss and he delayed just long enough to arrange for their funeral before – as the others had known he would – walking out into the sunlight to join her in the world between realms where he knew she waited for him - for neither of them could ever find heaven without the other by their side.

Reunited once more – for eternity this time – Buffy and Angel turned back to say goodbye to their friends just before they crossed over into the other realm, knowing that, even in heaven, they would miss them. They appeared before them, glowing with light just as Jenny had done so many years earlier, and were enfolded in one final group hug that contained all the love that had held them all together for so long.

Then they were gone, never to return, but their sorrow was muted, as was the sorrow of those they had left behind, for all knew that this parting was only temporary and that, when the time was right, they would meet once more in a place where no pain could ever touch them again.

Yes, it's finally finished! I'm sorry that the end isn't exactly the pure fluff people were hoping for but I couldn't think of a better way to end it and this had this added bonus of making it impossible for me to write the sequel a couple of you have asked for. I've enjoyed writing this but enough is enough and I want to move on to other things!

Thank you to EVERYONE who sent me feedback, I've never had such a great response to a story before and you guys are the only reason I didn't quit half-way through.

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