Disclaimer: Well, last time I checked, my name wasn't Joss Whedon, and I also wasn't a man, and I'm also not some executive from the WB, or Fox, or Mutant Enemy, so I'm pretty sure that they don't belong to me.
Rating: You can watch Buffy? You can read this.
Spoilers: Uh, I guess just to be safe, everything up to the end of BtVS season 4 and A:tS season 1.
Summary: Read the story, cause I really don't know how to explain it...
Distribution: Want it? Take it, just tell me where it's going.
Feedback: Duh! Please? I'll be very happy! And I'd be even happier if anyone could give me an idea for a title while they're at it!
Authors Note: This story takes place at the beginning of S5 of Buffy and S2 of Angel.

The fight had been going on for what seemed like hours, Darla had been putting up a surprisingly good fight, and Angel wasn't sure how much longer he could last. He staked one of her minions, who had snuck up on him just before another slammed a 2 by 4 into the side of his head. Because of his lack of strength, Angel's vision blurred, and he passed out.

"Aw, look at poor Angelus," Darla teased, "deal with him," she told her minions, and stalked away.

Minutes later Cordelia and Wesley rounded the corner into the alley that Angel had been fighting in. It was empty.

"Angel?" Cordelia called; there was no answer.

She looked around, when finally her eyes settled on a lump of ashes in the middle of the alley.

"No…" she whispered and ran over to them.

She knelt next to the pile and picked up a fistful of the ashes and let them run through her fingers,

"No… he's not… Wesley… he's not… he can't be…." She stammered

Wesley knelt next to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Cordelia, but by the looks of things…"

"No!" Cordelia shouted as she stood up abruptly, "He's not! He's not! There's a logical explanation why there is only one pile of ashes here and no Angel! There is! There is! There is…." Cordelia repeated over and over as she broke down and sobbed. Wesley hugged her.

"Why did this happen? He was supposed to become human! He was going to be happy! Why now! Why?!" she sobbed.

"I – I can't answer that for you Cordelia, things happen for strange reasons sometimes, but let's not jump to conclusions. He could already be back at the office…." Wesley suggested, just as much to convince himself as to convince Cordelia. She pulled away from him,

"Oh yeah right! And how would he have done that!?!? We have his car! And where are all the ashes from all of Darla and her little followers Hmmm? Explain that!? Explain that! I don't wanna believe it as much as you do, but… but… but…" she broke down and sobbed again.

"Shhh, it's alright, everything will be okay."

"How can it be okay? Angel's… he's…." Cordelia choked back a sob, she couldn't even say it, "how are we gonna tell Buffy?"

Buffy walked straight into Giles' apartment without knocking.

"Giles? Hello? Anyone here?" she shouted. No answer.

She walked over to his desk and found a note there,

Buffy,

I have gone to get a book someone has found for me. I will return shortly.

- Giles

"Okay then," Buffy said and she sat down on the couch. The phone suddenly rang.

"Hello?" Buffy answered when she picked it up.

"B-Buffy?!" Cordelia asked, sounding as if she was in shock.

"Yeah, it's me, Cordelia?" Buffy asked.

"Y-yeah, hi…." Cordelia replied.

"What's wrong? Are you crying?" Buffy asked.

"Oh god Buffy…." Cordelia cried.

"W-what? What is it?" Buffy asked, slightly frightened now.

"I-It… it's A-A…."

"Angel? What happened to Angel?" Buffy was terrified now.

"He… he…" Cordelia broke down. Buffy heard the phone drop.

"Hello? Buffy?" She heard a British man say.

"Wesley? What's happened?" Buffy whispered

"I'm… I'm so sorry Buffy," he said sympathetically.

"What is it? Tell me! Just tell me!" she pleaded, the suspense making her even more frightened.

"Angel was attacked tonight… he… he's dead Buffy,"

Buffy didn't reply, she just sat with the phone in her hand, completely in shock. Angel? Dead? No, it couldn't be….

"Buffy?" Wesley asked.

No…. Buffy thought, It wasn't supposed to happen like this, he wasn't supposed to die… I am… not him… me… Oh God Angel!

"Buffy?" Wesley asked again, then the phone line went dead.

Buffy had hung up the phone and ran out of Giles' apartment, sobbing hysterically.

Angel slowly woke up to find himself chained to a wall in what seemed like a small prison cell. He tugged on the chains, but couldn't break them.

"Don't bother Angelus, you can't break out of those. They've been locked by magic," Angel heard someone say – Lindsey.

"What am I doing here?" Angel growled.

"Darla brought you here. She forgot to tell you she's working for us? Oh, wait, that's right, she wasn't allowed to," he taunted.

"Someone will find out where I am eventually," Angel told them, "then you'll regret this,"

"Not likely," Angel heard a female say from a dark corner of the room, then he saw Darla advancing towards him, "They all think you're dead, thanks to that minion of mine that you killed," she finished. Angel stared in shock.

"Kinda funny isn't it? You do something right, and it just ends up getting you killed, well, not really, I mean, here you are, but they don't know that," Darla laughed.

"Why is it so important that you have me here? Well, I mean, I know I did kill you Darla, and Lindsey, the hand thing was kinda harsh, but I don't get it…." Angel said.

"Well, first of all, you stand for good, that's something we don't exactly like, and besides, with you out of the way, we can go after some of the more important people…. Seems like Darla is taking a little trip to Sunnydale," Lindsey said.

"What's so important in Sunnydale…. No…." Angel whispered.

"Oh yes, Angel honey," Darla chuckled, "Can't have you turning human and being happy now can we? Besides, I need revenge, it's her fault you killed me, now you won't be there to protect her,"

"And, according to prophecies, you two are supposed to rid the world of evil, can't have that happening now can we? We wouldn't get any business, besides, the world just wouldn't be fun anymore," Lindsey said.

"You won't get away with it, she's grown Darla, she'll kill you for sure, you don't stand a chance," Angel said, somehow hoping that it would keep them from going after her.

"Not so Angel, you think she's actually gonna want to fight with her precious Angel gone?" Darla asked.

"It's not like that anymore, Darla, if you hadn't noticed, we don't even live in the same city anymore," Angel told her.

"Well, Angel, according to sources in Sunnydale, she's taking your "death" pretty badly," Lindsey said.

"You keep her out of this," Angel growled.

"I'm terribly sorry Angel, but she's already in this," Lindsey apologized, more or less in-sincerely.

"Besides, where would the fun be in not killing the slayer?" Darla asked, with a murderous glare in her eyes.

"Why her? Why not me?" Angel asked, preferring to be dead himself then having Buffy die.

"Because… well, it's just more fun that way, we get to watch you suffer, we'll set you free once she's dead. It won't matter where you are then, doesn't matter who you kill, the prophecy will never come true if one of the people in it isn't around to fulfill it." Lindsey replied, chuckling.

Angel growled at them as they exited the room where he was being held captive.

I can't let them hurt her… he thought as he heard the door close and lock behind them.

"So you haven't seen her?" Willow asked.

"Well, no, not since last week…." Giles replied, "Why?" he asked.

"Well, I mean, she's been acting kinda… weird… like… I don't know, she barely talks to me anymore, and I don't think that she's seen Riley all week… it's just weird for her…." Willow explained.

"Yes… I can see how you would be concerned, but she has been in a lot of stress lately, there has been a lot of activity this summer, because of all the demons that were released from the Initiative," Giles suggested.

"But it's not like that Giles, I mean, it's kinda like the way she was when she first found out that Angel lost his soul, but worse. We had a paper due for one of our classes yesterday, and when I asked her what she did it on, she said she didn't do it, and that she didn't care. I mean, I know Buffy has never really been the greatest in school, but last year she'd improved so much! And now…." Willow explained.

"I see… have you tried talking to her?" Giles asked.

"No, she won't talk to me, she doesn't say more than 'hi' when she comes into the dorm. It's scaring me Giles, I wanna know what's happened.

"Well, I'm sure that she will tell us eventually, she can't hide it forever, and who knows? Maybe it'll pass," Giles said.

"I hope you're right…."

"I'm sorry Riley… it's just…. It's just that… I don't think that this is working anymore, I don't feel anything,"

"But-but Buffy, how-how can you say that!? Things were fine just last week!" Riley shouted.

"Well, things change, and this did, I'm sorry, I thought this was what I wanted, but it's not, I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner," Buffy apologized half-heartedly.

"Well, what do you want then?" Riley asked.

"I… I just don't know, but it's not this," Buffy replied.

"What do you mean!? We can talk this through Buffy! We can make it work!" Riley argued.

Buffy just stared at him blankly, the look on her face telling him that she wasn't about to change her mind.

"I'm not gonna let you just walk away from this Buffy, you can't just walk away from this!" Riley shouted.

"I'm sorry," Buffy said again, without really meaning it, and turned and walked away from Riley.

Buffy dragged herself back into her dorm, she just hadn't had the energy she used to since she's heard the news… the news that had completely changed her life, she hadn't even felt it, why hadn't she felt it? They had a bond, they were connected, she would have known, she was supposed to have known…. Unless they had really grown that far apart…. She didn't want to think of it that way, she could never grow that far apart from Angel, no matter what.

She still hadn't told anyone, she couldn't bring herself to. She figured that if she didn't admit it, then maybe there was a chance that it hadn't really happened, that maybe, if she denied it, that he'd come back, like nothing had ever happened… her thoughts were interrupted by Willow coming through the door.

"Hey Buffy!" she said cheerfully, hoping to get a cheery response from her best friend… hoping being the key word….

"Hey," Buffy said in a monotone voice.

"So… how's school been?" Willow asked, hoping maybe that she could get something out of her.

"It's school." Buffy replied, in the same voice.

"Well, that's great! And what about Riley? How's he doing?" Willow asked.

"Don't know, don't care. Broke up with him this morning," Buffy replied simply, not showing an ounce of emotion.

"What?! Are you serious?! W-why?! I-I thought things were going well between you two!" Willow exclaimed in shock.

"Things changed, I didn't feel the same, so I broke it off, 'nuff said," Buffy explained, in the same non-caring, emotionless voice.

"Oh, well, that's too bad… but don't feel bad Buffy! I'm sure you'll find someone else," Willow said comfortingly.

'Someone else'… Buffy inwardly flinched… the only 'someone else' she wanted was… no, she couldn't even think it.

Buffy looked over at her desk, picked up a stake, and pulled her jacket off the back of her chair. She headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Willow asked.

"On patrol, see you," Buffy said and fled out the door, and away from Willow and her questions. Willow looked out the window,

"But it's still light outside…." Willow said to the empty room.

The phone rang in Giles' apartment,

"Hello?" Giles answered while reading from the book that he'd gotten from someone the previous week.

"Giles? It's Cordelia," the person on the other end said.

"Ah, Cordelia, nice to hear from you! How are things in LA?" Giles asked cheerily.

"'How are things?' you ask?! What the hell do you think!?" Cordelia shouted.

"Pardon me?" Giles asked.

"How do you expect things to be without… without… without Angel?" Cordelia asked, her voice turning soft, nearly in tears.

"I have no clue what you're talking about Cordelia," Giles replied in confusion.

It finally dawned on her,

"Oh my God… she didn't tell you…." She whispered.

"Who? Who didn't tell me what?"

"Buffy… she didn't tell you did she?"

"Tell me what?" Giles asked curiously.

"Giles… We talked to Buffy, she was over there, at your place, she didn't tell you? Weren't you there?"

"No, no I wasn't what are you talking about? I haven't seen or heard anything from Buffy in over a week," Giles replied.

"Giles… Angel died last week…."

Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara and Spike all sat in Giles' apartment, waiting for him to explain why they'd all been called over there… without Buffy.

"Well? You gonna tell us why we're here anytime soon G-man?" Xander asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes, that's right… you're here…." Giles mumbled, still in shock about what he'd learned last night.

"Yep, we're all here… missing the daytime soaps! So hurry up!" Anya complained.

"Yeah! Passions is on in 10 minutes!" Spike whined, "I don't even get why you want me here in the first place… you all hate me, remember?"

"Not something we could easily forget…." Xander scoffed.

"Everyone! Please! This is a VERY serious matter!" Giles shouted.

"They'll shut up now, sorry Giles," Willow said, glaring at the other three.

"fine… so, what's so bloody important that you actually have to include me in your little meeting?" Spike asked.

"Well, I think I may have found the cause for Buffy's… strange behavior, lately," Giles explained.

"Well then! This definitely doesn't concern me! Blondie hates me more than the rest of you remember?" Spike said.

"No, you will stay," Giles said forcefully. He did after all, need to know what had happened to his sire.

Spike grumbled and slouched down onto the couch.

"Buffy's been acting weird? I haven't seen her in a week, but last time I saw her she was… well, Buffy," Xander questioned.

"Well, she has, according to Willow, she's been acting, well, slightly, detached, from her life, and I think I may have found the cause," Giles stated.

"Ooh! By the way, she broke up with Riley yesterday, and she went out slaying while it was still light outside! What's happening to her?! We gotta help her!" Willow said.

"She broke up with the Commando dork? It's about bloody time…." Spike mumbled.

"Well, wh-what's happened to her Giles?" Tara asked.

"Uh, yes, well, I received a phone call from Cordelia, last night," Giles began,

"What does that have to do with anything?" Anya asked, not interested in the situation.

"A lot, well, it seems that I received a phone call from her the week before, but I was not here and Buffy answered, Buffy has been acting strangely because of something that Cordelia told her… something that she hasn't told us…." Giles explained, seemingly not able to break the news to anyone, even though he had not been particularly close to the vampire before he'd left.

"What did Cordy tell her?" Willow asked, frightened, anything that could throw Buffy into this bad of a funk could not be a good thing.

"Angel… he's… well, it seems that…." Giles stammered.

Spike finally looked up from his lap,

"He's dead isn't he?" Spike whispered, for the first time not sounding like the badass vampire he was, or was now trying to be.

The look on Giles' face confirmed Spike's assumption.

Spike buried his face in his hands,

"Bloody Hell…" he whispered.

"Angel? Dead? No, i-it can't be…." Willow gasped.

"DeadBoy is… really? He… I… this isn't happening…." Xander mumbled.

"I'm, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I figured that it would be better if we all know, that way we can all help Buffy, this is evidently been very hard on her," Giles said.

Spike got up from the couch,

"Where do you think you're going?" Xander asked.

"To go get stinking drunk, and pretend I didn't just hear what I did," Spike muttered.

"Why would you even care about what happened to Dea… Angel?" he asked.

"You think I don't care?! He was my bloody Sire! I may have thought that he was a pansy, and I may have shoved hot pokers through him the last time I saw him, but it doesn't me that he still isn't my sire! That is why I care! Because I am what I am today because of him! That is why I care!" Spike retorted, then grabbed a blanket off of Giles' couch, throwing it over himself, and running out the door.

"Geez, looks like this is affecting more than one person, in more than one way…." Xander said quietly.

"Yep…." Anya said, she didn't really even know who they were talking about, she had only met him once.

"No wonder Buffy's been acting this way, my God, she must be devastated!" Willow cried. Tara put a comforting hand on her shoulder, suddenly feeling like she shouldn't be a part of this.

"I don't think devastated even begins to describe what Buffy must be feeling," Giles said.

Willow walked back into the dorm to see Buffy lying on her bed reading a magazine. Buffy looked up to see Willow walk in with a tear-streaked face. Before Buffy could even ask what was wrong, Willow began sobbing again,

"Why didn't you tell us?" she whimpered.

"Tell you what?" Buffy asked, confused.

"Tell us that…. Tell us about Angel?" She asked.

Buffy felt her heart shatter into a million more pieces, they'd found out, they knew, now it was definite, and she'd hurt them by not letting them know….

"He's gone, there's nothing to tell," Buffy replied, masking her feeling of pure anguish.

"Nothing to tell?! Buffy you were so in love with him! And I'm sure that you still are! How can you say that there is nothing to tell!? Just because you want to save yourself some pain doesn't mean that you keep something like the death of someone important a secret! How could you?! I can't believe that you'd do such a thing!" Willow shouted and ran out of the dorm sobbing.

Buffy watched as she left, feeling incredibly stupid for not saying anything, then finally, she let the dam break, and let out all the tears she'd been holding in since she found out that Angel had died.

At the Sunnydale bus terminal, a young looking blond woman stepped of a bus that had just arrived. She looked around and smiled wickedly.

"Good old Hellmouth…. Now, where would our dear friend the Slayer be?" she wondered out loud….

Angel stood in the same room, still pulling on the chains that were keeping him tied to the wall, and still having no luck. He growled in frustration then pulled harder. Angel needed to get out of there, to help Buffy. If what Lindsey and Darla said was true, then she was in a lot of danger. He still wondered what this prophecy that Lindsey was talking about was, but it was the least of his worries at the moment, he had to get to Sunnydale and to Buffy before it was too late.

Just when he was about to give up the female Oracle materialized before him.

"Hello again Warrior," she said.

"Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you died," Angel asked.

"I did, but the Powers are allowing me to return to help you, just this once," she replied.

"Help me? How?" Angel questionned.

"I will free you, so you may go to Sunnydale to help the Slayer," she told him.

"But how am I supposed to do that? For all I know Darla could have already killed her," Angel replied.

"Prophecies cannot be prevented from happening Warrior, there is no way that Darla can stop it, but you still must save the Slayer. She is in grave danger, greif has clouded her vision. She is not as aware as she normally should be,"

"But Buffy went up against a prophecy, and she beat it…."

"No, she did not Warrior, it was written that she would die, was it not? And she did, if I remember correctly," The Oracle replied.

"So… you're saying that the prophecy will happen, no matter what?" Angel asked.

"They always do, now I will free you. And you must hurry to Sunnydale," she said.

"But if this prophecy will come true no matter what, why do I need to save her?"

"Because the prophecy involves you as well,"

"But it can't, we can't be together, you know that, you made it that way," Angel replied.

"No, we did not, there is no clause, there hasn't been since you returned from Hell. Of course there was no way of knowing, no one bothered to research the spell that the wicca cast,"

"Are you serious?" Angel asked, now in shock.

There was a flash of light around Angel's wrists and the shackles holding Angel prisoner snapped open.

"Yes, Warrior, now hurry to the Hellmouth…." she said, then she was gone.

Angel broke the lock on the doer of the room then hurried to Sunnydale.

Willow walked back into the dorm the next morning to find Buffy sitting on her bed with a tear streaked face.

"Hi," she mumbled.

"Hi," Willow replied.

"Look, Will, I know you're upset that I didn't say anything, and I realize now that maybe I should have, but well, you were so insistent about me moving on with my life, and forgetting about Angel once he left. And no one else ever even talked about him, so… so I guess I just figured that you didn't care, and that it wouldn't make a difference to anyone…. And I guess it was just hard for me to talk about…. I-I'm sorry, I was being selfish and stupid and I should have told everyone…." Buffy apologized with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry" she choked.

Willow came and sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry too, I was in shock, I never guessed out of all of us that Angel would be the first to… well, you know…. I said some things that I shouldn't have said, I understand that out of all of us that it would be the hardest for you. You forgive me?" Willow asked.

Buffy nodded weakly.

"I miss him so much Will! I-I never got a chance to say goodbye, or that I still love him! He-he thinks that I love Riley! And now I can't tell him…. I should have told him the truth, but I was so set on doing what he wanted me to do…. Why did this happen to us? Out of everyone that it could have happened to! I-I mean, even after all that we went through, and I know that he left me, but… but I always felt, deep down inside that we'd make it in the end, and now he's gone…. I miss him so much!" Buffy sobbed, finally saying all the things that she wanted to say since Angel left.

"Shhhhh, don't cry Buffy, Don't cry," Willow whispered and enveloped her friend in a hug, because she knew no matter what she said, it wouldn't make what happened right.

Part 6

Angel ran into Angel Investigations full speed.

"Cordy? Wes?" he shouted while he ran around his office searching for his car keys.

Cordelia appeared in the hallway and screams

"Wesley! Angel's a ghost! Angel's a ghost and he's haunting the office!" she shrieked.

"I'm not dead Cordy calm down! I'll explain it later! Where are my car keys? I've gotta get to Sunnydale, there's big trouble there," he said.

"Here," Codelia answered and pulled the car keys out of her purse.

"Thanks, gotta go!" Angel shouted and ran out of the office as fast as he came in.

"What? Angel is where?!" Wesley asked as he came from another part of their new office building.

"Oh nothing, forget it, you'll understand when he gets back," Cordelia replied and walked away with the bounce that had been missing in her step for the past week or so.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Willow asked her friend that night when they'd finally finished crying and discussing what had happened over the past week.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I-I'm just gonna go patrol for a bit, it makes me feel better, kicking ass is comfort, maybe I'll find who killed Angel in the process,"

"Yeah, but they'd better hope that you don't find them," Willow said, attempting a joke.

"Yeah, they'd better, cause there won't be much left of them when I'm done," Buffy replied then walked out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy wandered around the cemetery barely aware of what was going on around her. Which is why it was easy for Darla to approach her and jump on her.

"Well hello again Slayer, remember me? Your former lover killed me for you remember? And I'm not at all too happy for that, but then again you would get that, since I did kill him," Darla said while she pinned Buffy to the ground.

"D-Darla? H-how… you killed Angel?" Buffy asked.

"That's right, I killed him, how do you feel about that?" Darla sneered.

"Bitch," Buffy growled and kicked Darla off of her.

"Ooh, I'm scared now, you couldn't kill me last time, and this time, you don't have your precious Angel to save your ass," Darla said, trying to throw her. It worked, tears filled Buffy's eyes and blurred her vision, she was easy to tackle to the ground.

"Say goodbye…. Revenge is sweet isn't it?" she growled as she sunk her fangs into her neck.

Buffy tried to scream but it only came out as a hoarse whisper. She tried to push Darla away but she'd already loat too much strength.

I'll get to see Angel again, I'll get to see Angel again…. She repeated again and again inside her head trying to convince herself that it wouldn't matter if she died.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Angel found Buffy and Darla in the cemetery. Darla was draining Buffy, he was too late.

"No," he whispered then ran to her, he pulled Darla off of Buffy,

"This is for chaining me up and coming after Buffy," Angel said then jammed the stake into her back. Darla spun around to face him and with a look of pure shock on her face she burst into dust.

Angel knelt down next to Buffy and took her in his arms,

"Buffy? Buffy? Come on, wake up, speak to me…. Please," Angel pleaded.

"Angel?" Buffy whispered.

"Oh thank God! Buffy! It's gonna be okay, don't worry," Angel whispered to her.

"Am I dead? Are we together again?" Buffy asked.

"No, no Buffy, I'm not dead, it's okay, I'm gonna take you to a hospital and it'll be okay, just hold on for me, alright? Promise me you'll hold on," Angel said.

"I love you…." Buffy muttered and her eyes closed.

"Buffy? Buffy! No! don't do this! Not now! Not now!" Angel told her, he felt her neck for a pulse, and thankfully found one. He sighed in relief then took out his cell phone to call an ambulance.

Angel sat next to Buffy's bed after she'd been taken to the hospital. The doctors had said that she hadn't lost that much blood and that she should be fine in a few hours. And Angel waited those "few hours" by her side.

"Why isn't she awake?" Xander asked harshly, believing that this was all Angel's fault. He'd called them all from the hospital and they'd rushed over after he's explained what had happened and why he wasn't really dead.

"She'll be fine Xander, just wait," Willow replied.

Just then Buffy groaned and her eyes began to flutter open.

"See? What did I tell you?" Willow asked Xander, "Hey Buffy, how are you feeling?"

"Ugh.." was all Buffy said in response.

"Well that's great! Come on Xander let's go! We were supposed to have sex tonight!" Anya complained.

"Well that was before Buffy was attacked and nearly killed by a vampire who was actually really killed almost 4 years ago now," Xander replied as his face turned red.

"Well, actually, I think maybe we should all go.. I'm sure Angel needs some. to talk to Buffy about some things," Willow replied hoping that Angel had come back for more than just saving Buffy from dying.

"Uh, yes, actually that might be a wise idea. And I can start at researching that prophecy you told me about Angel," Giles added.

"Prophecy?! What prophecy!? Prophecy bad! It isn't a bad prophecy is it?" Buffy asked when she heard Giles.

"Well, we're not entirely sure yet, but I'm sure Angel can fill you in on a bit of it, hope you're feeling better soon Buffy, uh, we'll come to see you tomorrow," Giles replied then they filed out of the room.

"A-are you really here?" Buffy asked when they'd finally left.

"I'm here, for real, I wasn't dead Buffy. It was set up by Wolfram and Hart. and I'm sure you have no clue who they are. but I can tell you that later,"

"I. I was so scared when they told me you were dead, I didn't know what to do, who to tell, I felt like I'd just lost a limb, or an organ or something, but about a billion times worse," Buffy replied with tears in her eyes.

"Shhh, it's okay now, I'm here, for real,"

"Good. And you'd better not leave again! I don't care about any of those stupid normal things, I tried that, and well, it sucks. I want you Angel, not some normal Joe who can take me in the sun. And we can find a way around the clause I mean, I'm sure that maybe Willow or Tara even now c-"

"There isn't a clause," Angel interrupted her.

"What?"

"The clause, it's gone, it was never there.. I guess Jenny took it out when she translated it," Angel replied.

"Really? You mean it?" Buffy asked hopefully. Angel nodded in response.

Buffy smiled, "Yay! So you're gonna stay now right? Cause if you leave after telling me that I'm gonna have to follow you back to LA and drag your vampire ass back here!"

Angel laughed, "I'm staying,"

"Good, now for the probably bad stuff. what's this prophecy that you told Giles about?" Buffy asked with a frown.

"Well, I don't know full details about it, but it has something to do with you and me 'ridding the world of evil' or something close to that. Giles said he'd try to find more details," Angel explained.

Buffy frowned again, "That sounds like a big job.."

"Yeah, it does, but, we can do it together. well, we have to, but I think that might make it more bearable, what do you think?" Angel asked grinning,

"Oh yes, definitely better than bearable" Buffy answered nodding.

"And there's one more thing.." Angel added.

"What? Uh oh, this looks like a big one more thing.." Buffy said, noticing the serious look on Angel's face.

"Well, actually, it's a good thing, just I don't know how long it could take, that could be the bad thing,"

"Well? What is it?"

"I found a prophecy awhile ago, Wesley was translating it and he said it was about a vampire with a soul, that after he completed his destiny he'd. he'd become human," Angel explained.

A huge smile appeared on Buffy's face, "REALLY?! That. that. that's AMAZING! No! It's better than amazing! This. this.."

"Buffy, it doesn't say when it's gonna happen, it could happen in hundreds of years. you. you could not even be alive.." Angel said, not even wanting to think of his life with Buffy dead.

"So? I don't care Angel, I'll wait. I'll wait as long as it takes! I don't care! You get to be human one day! You should be happy! Don't go moping about whether it'll happen soon or not! But I'll wait, no matter how long it takes," Buffy promised.

Angel only smiled in return.

"We'll make it work this time right? We'll make it this time? No chickening out and running away from each other anymore?" Buffy asked.

"No more clauses, no more 'needing time' no more leaving, we'll make it work, I swear," Angel answered.

"Good, cause I don't like it when you're not here," Buffy said.

"I don't like not being here," Angel replied.

"Good.. I love you, you know that right?"

"I know, I love you too," Angel replied, kissing her lightly on the lips.

Buffy smiled, "Now, about that clause being removed. y'know we could test that when I get discharged.."

Well? What did ya think? Like it? Hate it? Tell me! Well, don't tell me if you hated it, I'd rather not hear that. but nice responses and constructive criticism are very much liked!

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