* * * * * * * * * *

Empty. Motionless. Ten minutes later Buffy was still standing in the same position as when Angel left. Her arms were still crossed over her body as when Angel had looked at her with intense hatred. Her eyes were still filled with pain as when Angel linked arms with Anna. Her insides were still twisted as when Angel had turned his back on her and walked out without a backwards glance. So many emotions had been brought forth that now she felt ... empty. There was nothing inside of her, she was just a shell. A numb, achingly tired shell.

With a sigh Buffy roused herself from her mindless state, and slowly started up the stairs out of the apartment. Everything suddenly seemed to be so dark and cold, she could not stay a moment longer. As she emerged from the stairwell, a sound in the outer office put her on alert. Stealthily moving to the doorway, Buffy peeked around the corner to see who, or what, was rustling about.

"Cordelia!" Buffy relaxed and stepped into the room. Her former classmate was sitting at her desk, twirling a strand of long brown hair in one hand, the other tapping a frustrated beat on a pile of papers. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"Buffy" Cordelia offered in reply, her expression a mixture of surprise and annoyance. "I work odd hours, but that's really none of your business. What are you doing here? Did Angel finally cave in and tell you he was human, and you're going to get all mushy now? Or did you come to rub his face in your latest boy toy, and leave him in a state of complete wretchedness for months on end? Personally I hope it's the latter, because Angel's wise to you now, and instead of taking your crap he'll kick your ass."

After a slight pause, Buffy forced a smile. "It's nice to see you too Cordy. I uh ... I just happened to be in town, and I ran into Angel the other day. And given that he was in the sunlight at the time, well, I had a few questions."

"And do you think you have any right to the answers? After what you did?"

"Look Cordy, I know that I said some bad things the last time I was here, and obviously you do too, even though you weren't there when I said them ..."

"Wesley told me" Cordelia interjected. "After Angel locked himself away for a week and wouldn't talk to anyone, Wesley explained to me why our boss looked like the love of his unlife had ripped his heart out with her bare hands and jumped up and down on it in front of him. It turned out that, well, the love of his unlife had ripped his heart out with her bare hands and jumped up and down on it in front of him! Then he went into brooding guilt mode, and was going to run back to Sunnydale to apologise. Luckily I was able to talk him out of it, telling him that if anyone had something to be sorry about it was the callous bitch whose name happens to be Buffy." Cordelia ended her angry rant with a blatantly fake smile directed at the slayer.

Buffy had no reply to Cordelia's accusations, because they were true. Shamefully remembering the twisted pleasure she had taken in seeing pain in Angel's eyes, she stood silently as Cordelia returned her attention to her paperwork, obviously dismissing her presence as unimportant. Pacing slowly across the room, Buffy wondered how she could make this right, not just with Angel, but also with Cordelia, who obviously cared for him very much. Opening her mouth to try and explain her actions, Buffy's eye was caught on Cordelia's hand.

"Congratulations." As Cordelia looked up at her with a blank expression, Buffy continued. "On your engagement."

"Oh" Cordelia replied, softening somewhat as she glanced at the small diamond on her left hand. "Thanks."

"So who's the lucky guy?"

"Wesley." At Buffy's look of astonishment Cordelia frowned. "You needn't look so shocked. Wesley's a great guy - he's sweet and thoughtful and loyal. I know we didn't work out the first time, but after fighting icky demons and evil lawyers together we grew close ... and he loves me, and I love him."

"No Cordy, I think it's great. I'm really happy for the two of you. Where is he now?"

"He's in England ... he's packing up the things he still had over there and shipping them back here."

"Ah." Buffy nodded and resumed her pacing as Cordelia continued to scribble on the piece of paper in front of her. A clock ticked loudly in the silence, and Buffy paused. "Cordelia?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled, not looking away from her paperwork.

"Why didn't ... why didn't Angel tell me he was human?" Cordelia sighed, and the annoyance and anger seemed to seep out of her as her shoulders slumped and her pencil dropped to the desk.

"Buffy, I don't know. All I know is that Angel showed up at my apartment one morning, and there he was, all human and everything. The first thing that he said to me, after I stopped babbling senselessly and almost suffocating him in an 'oh my God I can't believe you're human' hug, was 'Don't tell Buffy'." Cordelia stood up from her chair and made her way around the desk to stand in front of the slayer.

"He was very definite on that point. He didn't want you or anyone else in Sunnydale to know. He made me and Wesley swear it, several times in fact. I think he even dragged a 'scout's honour' out of us. I was so happy at the time to see him breathing and not turning to dust that I didn't question him. And later, I was so happy that he'd moved on that I wouldn't have told you even if he'd begged me to. Which he didn't by the way. Actually I don't remember him ever mentioning your name again" Cordelia concluded matter of factly. Choking slightly at the end of the explanation, Buffy swallowed strongly to moisten her suddenly dry throat.

"Mov ..." she swallowed again. "Moved on? You mean ... with Anna?"

"Anna? No" Cordelia waved her hand in a gesture of denial. "No Anna's only the latest."

"The latest?" asked Buffy with mild disbelief.

"Oh yeah, Angel's gone out with tons of women. There was Rachel, and Jane, and Renee, and Michelle ... I can't even remember half of them. But one thing I did notice, in all the gorgeous women who walked in and out of that door with red, brown and black hair, there wasn't one blonde. I guess you turned him off them for good."

Cordelia turned back to sorting through her desk, while Buffy silently tried to digest this information. Angel was human, he was alive, he hadn't told her about this, he'd specifically asked Cordelia and Wesley to make sure she didn't know - and since then he's been dating a succession of beautiful women, so many that Cordelia couldn't even remember their names. Buffy hadn't thought she could feel any worse when she watched Angel kiss Anna, but to know that the brunette was only one in a long line of women that Angel had preferred to her - Buffy's stomach twisted in knots as hurt and jealousy raged within her.

Suddenly Cordelia moaned and clutched at her head, her eyes rolling back and her face contorting in pain.

"What ... Cordelia are you OK? Cordelia?" Receiving no response but grunts and moans of anguish, Buffy could do nothing but ease her down into the visitor's chair, where her violent twitching stopped some moments later. Barely opening her eyes, Cordelia leaned forward to reach a bottle sitting on the desk, from which she extracted a number of pills that quickly disappeared down her throat. "Cordelia what was that?" Buffy asked, as some water soon followed the pills path.

"I get visions OK?" was the angry response. "When Doyle died he passed them onto me. I thought it was just an amazing goodbye kiss, but it turns out that the sneaky demon gave me his visions from the Powers That Be. When I die and see him again, boy am I gonna kill him!"

"Visions?"

"You know - people in trouble, demons to kill. I get the visions, and then Angel goes and does his thing, with some help from me and Wesley."

"So what did you see?"

"A couple of big ugly things beating up a small ugly thing."

"Where?"

"In some alley off Johnston St, near the laundromat."

"And you're OK?"

"I'll be fine when the ten jackhammers stop pounding into my skull."

"Right. Well, Johnston St, I'll go and check it out." Buffy strode out of the office as Cordelia waved her hand dismissively and moved to sit back behind her desk again.

'Pizza place ... hairdresser ... shoes - ooh nice slides ... laundromat.' Buffy slowly moved into the dark alley next to the shop, her eyes quickly adjusting to the gloom away from the streetlights. Rounding some empty wooden crates and half-full rubbish bins, she saw some shadowy figures up ahead, muffled groans and sounds of fighting accompanying their movements.

"Aw come on guys, why didn't you tell me you were having a party?" One small figure was dropped to the ground, and two large shapes turned to face her as Buffy made her presence known. As they stepped towards her their features became more discernable, and Buffy heaved a dramatic sigh. "Great, so it's Jabba's ugly henchmen this time. How come you demons are never pretty?"

The burly creatures stepped towards her, their eyes glowing red in what Buffy took as a sign of anger. Assuming a battle-ready stance, she urged them towards her with a confident hand gesture. Immediately she recognized the error of her cockiness as one drew a gleaming curved sword, and they both lunged at her. Leaping nimbly Buffy dodged out of their path, a forceful kick sideways knocking the metal weapon out of the demon's hand to fall clattering to the ground. Her jump however placed her beside an industrial-sized metal bin, and her opponents used the opportunity to close in, blocking her means of escape.

Kicking high in front of her, Buffy managed to send one of the demons stumbling, several punches to its face and abdomen propelling it backwards. She then turned to face its companion, and the first twinge of fear ran through her body as a hard right to the side of her head caused her to see stars for a moment. Fiercely punching in return, Buffy was frustrated to see the demon easily blocking her blows, its bulk belying its speed. Another strong punch sent her reeling backwards to collide with the first demon, which had managed to stand up and collect itself.

Suddenly finding herself in its strong grip, Buffy moved and twisted frantically, but was unable to dislodge the arm that was pinned against her throat. The second demon stepped forward, and as the first held her down, it rained blows on her body, Buffy's vision clouding over as she continued to struggle futilely. Her hands tearing at the arm around her neck as her lungs screamed for air, Buffy's eyelids fluttered shut, hiding the panic within.

They flew open a moment later as the blows suddenly stopped, and Buffy was greeted with the sight of Angel laying into the second demon. Watching as he twisted and turned, punched and parried, leapt and ducked, a surge of adrenalin ran through Buffy's body giving her the strength to throw the demon off her back. Defending herself against its kicks and punches, she danced on her toes back out of its reach, looking for its weakness.

"Duck!" Buffy responded instinctively to Angel's command, and looking up from her crouch she saw a blade whistle over her head, its smooth motion then removing the demon's. Leaning one hand on the ground, Buffy took a moment to rise, her head still spinning from the fight. Slowly rotating an aching shoulder and rubbing her sore neck, she turned on the spot to see Angel tossing the sword down beside the body of the other, obviously dead, creature. Gazing at him for a moment, she then moved to the figure lying out of range of the action.

Kneeling beside the small demon of undetermined origin, Buffy observed that it was close to death. Its chest heaved in obvious distress, and a creamy white liquid oozed from several gaping wounds. As Angel came to crouch on the other side of the body, its eyes flickered open, and it raised its head slightly.

"It's OK" Buffy said. "We're here to help you. Who were those guys?" Gasping for breath, the demon tilted its head to look at her.

"Scelus ... they were minions of Scelus." With surprise clear on her face, Buffy looked over at Angel.

"That's the guy that Riley's after!" At the mention of Riley's name something flickered in Angel's eyes, before he turned his attention back to the demon, pressing his hand to one of the wounds in an attempt to staunch the flow of ooze.

"Why does he want you dead?" he asked.

"Because" the thing coughed, "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I stumbled across his human name, and he's afraid of being found out."

"So who is he?" Buffy prompted eagerly.

"John Ma ..." Some more of the white ooze dribbled out of the demon's mouth, and Buffy jumped to her feet in frustration as it died before it could give Scelus' full name. The sudden movement sent her head spinning, and through her half-lidded eyes she saw Angel spring towards her as the world went black.

* * * * * * * * * *

A mechanical whirring roused Buffy's mind from its blank state, and a small jolt made her instantly aware of the surrounding warmth. Her face was rubbing against smooth cotton, pressed against the muscle lying beneath. One strong arm was curled under and around her lower thighs, and another was wrapped around her back, cradling her in gentle, supportive embrace. Buffy didn't need to open her eyes to know who was carrying her. While the dramatic change in body temperature was startling, and the rapid heartbeat under her ear was unexpected, the body and its scent was unquestionably Angel.

Another jolt and the whirring stopped. Buffy was shifted slightly, leaned more into Angel's body, held only by one arm and supported by one thigh when the other arm disappeared briefly. The sound of grating metal was followed by the return of the arm to cradling her body, and Buffy felt Angel step forward.

As he continued to walk, Buffy feigned continued unconsciousness, not wanting to leave the encircling warmth. After a brief journey she was slowly lowered to a soft bed, her head coming to rest on a pillow. Her eyes still closed, her breathing deliberately slow and even, Buffy's ears strained to detect any sound, trying to discover where Angel was and what he was doing now. For several long moments she heard nothing, no rustling or footsteps or speech. About to open her eyes in frustration, Buffy felt the mattress tip slightly under her as someone sat next to her on the bed.

A heavy sigh reached Buffy's ears ... and then ... fingertips caressed her cheek, before lifting an errant strand of hair away from her face. As Angel's fingers continued to lightly skim the golden strands, her skin prickled to attention, anticipating his long-denied touch. Unable to control herself any longer, Buffy's eyes shot open to capture Angel's startled brown gaze. His hand froze momentarily, before snapping back to his side. His eyes however ... his eyes didn't move.

Buffy eased herself up into sitting position, careful not to break the connection. As her head became level with Angel's, she frowned slightly to see his eyes become troubled, confused. Lifting the corners of her mouth, Buffy smiled softly to try and ease his concern. Unfortunately the action had the opposite effect, as Angel jumped to his feet and paced away from the bed.

Buffy's hesitant smile became sad as she watched Angel turn his back on her, and disappear from the room. Shaking her suddenly throbbing head, the smile dropped altogether from Buffy's face - why had she thought he would react any differently? Despite the recent fight, and Angel carrying her back to his apartment, she was foolish to think that his attitude had changed, that he would be any less hostile, and less receptive than he had been an hour earlier. She couldn't do this to herself, couldn't allow her hopes to rise and then be dashed to pieces moments later. If strictly professional was the way Angel wanted to play it, then that's what Buffy would be. Professional.

"So, do you know anything about Scelus?" she called, hoping her voice would carry to where Angel had wandered. Silence was the only response, and Buffy continued, attempting to draw Angel into conversation. "When we met in the restaurant the other day, that's what I was doing there. Riley asked me to meet him, he wanted my help to find this guy - he's a threat to national security or something. If only that demon hadn't died before he spilled Scelus' whole human name - there must be hundreds of guys called John whose name starts with Ma ... there'll be John Marshalls, John Martins, probably a few John Marsdens as well. And then you've got Matthews and MacNamara and Mackenzie ..." she trailed off as a strange feeling of déjà vu washed over her. It was almost as if she'd been here before, sitting on Angel's bed calling out to him in another room ... Angel re-entered the bedroom, breaking Buffy's train of thought as she followed his movements, trying to reestablish eye contact. He sat down once more on the bed, but his attention was focused on the items he placed on the blankets next to them.

"It's not just 'Scelus', it's 'a scelus'. Like 'a vampire' or 'a werewolf'. Scelus is the name of the type of demon - it's just that they're so rare everyone gets it confused." As Angel spoke he lifted a damp cloth to Buffy's forehead, and began to clean a wound there.

"They're sort of like vampires, human/demon hybrids. But the first demon who made them - by mixing his blood with a human - he was a different sort of demon to the one that made the vampires. More powerful, more evil if that's possible. They don't mix with others of their kind, and their numbers are small because they are so thirsty for power they can't stand any competition. They only change a human when they feel death approaching, simply so the evil will continue." Angel glanced briefly into Buffy's eyes before applying a dressing to the deep cut. There was a long pause before he continued. "Riley should be worried."

Angel's hand finished its task and began moving away from her, but Buffy captured it in her own. Holding it with one hand in her lap, Buffy used her other hand to gently caress his palm. She watched as Angel stared at their joined hands, his body still and tense.

"Angel". "Angel" Buffy softly repeated as he at first refused to look at her. Almost hesitantly his head rose, and once again their eyes locked. All of Buffy's plans for strict professionalism had flown out the window when his hand touched her forehead, and a burning desire to touch him re-ignited once more. Her thoughts were scattered and incomplete as she eased herself closer to Angel.

'If I just move a little closer ... slowly ... closer so our legs are touching ... if he will just stay still as I lift one hand and place it on his cheek ... if his eyes will just flicker again at my touch as I feel his smooth skin under my fingers ...if I release his hand and it stays warm on my thigh, as my other hand creeps up his arm ... God his strong arm ... and then it passes up his shoulder to tangle in his silky hair ... if he just stays still as I raise myself so I'm kneeling, so I can look at him directly in the eye ... if I just move my other hand from his cheek and gently ... without lifting it from his skin ... move it down his neck to the collar of his shirt ... as I ... slowly ... inch forward 'til we are so close I can feel his ragged breaths fanning my mouth ... we're so close that all it will take is the slightest move before our lips can ...'

Angel sprang away from Buffy and off the bed as the sound of the elevator being summoned to the next floor broke the spell her actions were weaving around them. Her heart thumping almost painfully in her chest, Buffy sank back to the bed. He had been so close ... she had been so close to ... her pained eyes fixed on Angel as he stood in the doorway of the bedroom, his back to her as he watched the elevator descend once more.

"Angel darling!" Buffy almost cried as she looked beyond his taut figure to see Anna step into the apartment. "After Cordelia's call you rushed out of the restaurant so quickly it was as if the devil was after you! What happened?"

"It was business" Angel replied shortly, as Anna approached and stepped close to hug him. Looking over his shoulder, her eyes widened as she caught sight of Buffy sitting on the bed, silently taking in the scene.

"Business?" Anna asked, a wealth of meaning in her voice and eyes as she pulled away and nodded towards the bed. Turning to look at its occupant, Angel continued in an unconcerned tone.

"Yes, there was some business to take care of, and Buffy helped out - she's in the same line of work. She was knocked unconscious, so I brought her back here."

"That tiny little thing is a private detective, and gets in fights with mysterious criminals?" Anna's voice conveyed her disbelief at Angel's explanation, and she raked her eyes over Buffy with obvious disdain. "And if she was hurt, why did you bring her here, why didn't you take her to the hospital?"

Buffy suddenly felt very small. Glancing down at her dirty, worse for the wear clothing, she imagined with embarrassment what this beautiful glamorous woman must be thinking of her. Normally the opinion of someone like her wouldn't matter, but as Buffy glanced up into Angel's inscrutable expression, she was sure he must be making the same comparison, no doubt with an even less flattering outcome. Ignoring the aches in her limbs and the pounding in her head, Buffy rose from the bed.

"Look why don't I leave the two of you alone, you obviously have a romantic evening planned. It was just a small bump on the head, and I'm fine now, so why don't I just ... go." Without looking at Angel, Buffy walked past the couple and through the living room, up the stairs and away from the pain.

* * * * * * * * * *

January 11

"Where exactly are we going anyway?" Buffy looked across at Riley in the driver's seat. The car they were in was a standard military fleet vehicle, dull and nondescript, not drawing any unwanted attention as it wove through the streets of a poorer suburb of LA.

"A snitch called in with a tip on Scelus' location, but he didn't want to talk over the phone - he's probably hoping he can get more money out of us in person. So he gave us an address to meet him at, and from the looks of this neighbourhood he could probably do with the extra cash."

Buffy nodded and looked back out the passenger side window. She wasn't really taking note of the rundown buildings they were passing; her mind was on other things. Two days ... two days and still no word from Angel. After her hasty exit from Angel's apartment, Buffy had scribbled out a note on Cordelia's unoccupied desk, leaving her details if they needed to contact her ... with any information about the scelus demon of course. And that was the only reason why she'd lingered over the note; it wasn't as if she'd hoped Angel would come chasing after her, leaving Anna to feel as alone and wretched as she felt. Nope. Not at all.

Two days ... and no call to say "Hey, how's your head?" - after all, she was knocked unconscious. No call to say, "What do you know, I've found that scelus demon you were after". No call to say "I know I've been really mean to you, but we almost kissed the other day and now I really want to kiss you again". Buffy snorted derisively to herself at that last thought. When had Angel ever been forthcoming with his feelings? It was foolish of her to think that he had changed ... well, except for the whole human thing.

Riley braked slowly and parked the car outside an old apartment block. As she stood on the pavement and looked up at the building, Buffy felt a tingle run through her body. Shaking her head, she followed Riley into the foyer, silently remonstrating with herself to stop thinking about Angel.

Passing the old elevator that stood uselessly a metre above the ground, they headed up the staircase. Reaching the third floor, Riley took the lead as they made their way down the hallway. Eyes flicked from side to side as they checked the numbers on the doors they passed ... eleven ... twelve, with the two barely hanging on by a nail ... and thirteen.

The door of the apartment was slightly ajar, causing both Buffy and Riley to frown. This was not the sort of neighborhood where you had anything less than three different locks on your door, let alone leaving it open for anyone to walk right in.

As Buffy stepped forward, Riley's arm shot out to block her way, while his other hand disappeared into his jacket to emerge with a heavy black pistol tightly in its grasp. Shaking her head in amused disbelief, Buffy pushed Riley's ineffectual arm aside and quietly eased the door wide open, her slayer senses on full alert. There was something familiar ... something ... Buffy moved quickly along the short hallway in the flat, Riley barrelling into her back when she stopped abruptly.

Looking over her shoulder Riley could see a figure lying on the floor, and a man crouched beside it with his back turned to them as he contemplated the body.

"He hasn't been dead long, whoever did it must have left shortly before I arrived." Angel stood and turned to face the newcomers as he finished speaking. Riley moved out from behind Buffy, raising his arm in the process to point the gun at the other man.

"Just put your hands in the air, and step away from the body."

"Riley Finn." Angel observed the military agent with a hooded expression, as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his three-quarter leather jacket.

"Do I know you?" Riley asked, his brow creasing in frustration at Angel's refusal to obey him.

"Riley, just put the gun down." Buffy rolled her eyes at his trigger-happy behaviour. "It's ok, this is Angel."

"Angel". Riley's expression was anything but welcoming, as he ignored Buffy's instruction. Here was the ... thing ... that Buffy had once admitted she'd dated, and despite her protests, who he believed she had dumped him for. "Way I heard it you're all peaceable now. What changed?"

"Quite a bit actually." Angel replied coolly.

"Now what possibly could've happened that would make you lose your soul?" Riley's eyes moved to Buffy, jealousy apparent on his face.

"Put that gun down". Angel took a step forward to enforce his order, but halted as Riley lifted the weapon to point it directly at Angel's head.

"I'm thinking no".

"Riley!" Buffy was suddenly worried about the escalating tension in the room. Angel might still have the demon's strength, but there was no way that he would survive a gunshot to the head, and with the way that Riley was acting, that event was entirely within the realm of possibility. Moving quickly, she reached out and forced Riley's arm downwards, wrenching the gun from his sweaty grip.

"I told you, it's ok. Angel hasn't lost his soul. He's human now. He won't hurt anybody." Reaching behind herself, and tucking the weapon into the waistband of her pants, Buffy continued to Angel. "Tell him."

"Might hurt you." Angel was now visibly tense, as he moved forward to menace Riley with his body.

"Ok, that's enough!" Buffy shot angry glances at the two men. "Riley, Angel's a good guy, he won't hurt you." She punctuated her words with a chastising glance at Angel. "In fact, he can help us a lot. When we ran into some minions of the scelus demon the other day, we found out that ..."

"When you what?" Riley's interjected furiously. "You told him about Scelus?" The word 'him' was accompanied by a disgusted expression, and angry toss of the head towards the offending man.

"Well, yes" Buffy replied somewhat confused. "You know that Angel knows a lot about the demon world, having ... you know ... been one. Of anyone, he would be the most helpful person in trying to find ..."

"That information is classified! This is none of his business. Just stay out of it!" Riley yelled the last line at Angel, his face turning red with the force of his emotion.

"Don't push me boy, this is my business" Angel ground out. "The Powers have sent Cordelia two visions, one that led me to the minions, and one that led me here. And I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine then, we're leaving." Riley took hold of Buffy's arm, trying to lead her towards the exit. Shaking loose of his grip, Buffy stood her ground, as Riley silently commanded her with his eyes to leave. Seeing that she was not going to go with him, Riley threw a frustrated glance in Angel's direction, before hustling an annoyed Buffy into a corner away from the vampire.

"I don't want you talking about this with him".

"You're being ridiculous Riley. And I'm not one of your soldier boys here ok? I don't take orders from you."

Riley took in Buffy's defiant pose and angry expression, and tried to placate her, changing the subject. "Ok, ok. Look about the ball, it's next week on Thursday."

"Thursday?" Riley didn't notice the odd note in Buffy's voice, as he ploughed on.

"Yes. Now, I've arranged for one of my men to pose as your date. I'd do it myself, but I have to keep a close eye on security. This way you'll have backup if you run into Scelus in the crowd."

"I don't need backup from some soldier who'll be absolutely useless against a powerful demon. He'll just get in the way."

"What ball?" Angel had not bothered making a pretence of not listening, and the mention of the scelus caused him to interrupt.

"Some fancy big event the President is attending. Riley thinks that's where the demon is going to strike" Buffy answered. Obviously angry at her for revealing more information to Angel, Riley ignored the interruption.

"Look, I really think you should go with someone. You'll blend in with the crowd much better as part of a couple."

"I'll go." Riley turned at Angel's words, cold anger evident on his features.

"No you won't."

"If this scelus demon is going to be there, then so am I. You can't stop me." Riley looked very much as if he was about to deny that, but Buffy stopped his expected outburst.

"Ok, we have a plan. You said so yourself Riley, you wanted me to have backup - who better to provide it than Angel? He's still a lot stronger than other humans, he can handle himself. And this way, we'll blend in with the crowd, as a couple." While the serious slayer part of Buffy's mind was occupied in developing strategies to overcome the demon, a small part was thrilling at the idea of going out with Angel, even if it was for appearances only.

Riley shook his head in frustration. One look at Buffy's stubborn expression however made him accept the situation. Casting a hate-filled glance in Angel's direction, he moved towards the door of the apartment.

"I'll call someone to come and clean this place up". Looking back towards Buffy, he was surprised to see she hadn't moved. "Are you coming?" She shook her head in response, her gaze darting to Angel who stood impassively watching their discussion. Following the direction of her eyes, Riley paused briefly, before turning on his heel and disappearing without a word.

"Angel wait!" He had started to follow Riley's lead and head for the door, when Buffy's hand on his arm stopped him. Pushing her hand away, he turned to face her, his face not displaying any emotion. Stopping Angel had been purely instinctive on Buffy's part, and she wasn't sure what she wanted to say exactly, except that she had to somehow make things right between them.

"So, about the ball, how are we going to work this?"

"I'll be in touch." Angel turned again to leave, but Buffy stopped him again.

"Angel, look. We're going to have to work together here, to stop this guy. From what you've said, he's one of the worst things we've faced, so we have to work as a team." Angel said nothing, so Buffy continued. "Why are you so mad at me?" He turned away and began to pace around the room. "I don't understand. I know we parted badly, I said some things that ... but still after all these years I don't know why you're so angry, why you didn't tell me you're human." Buffy watched as Angel's movements became increasingly agitated.

"Is it Riley?" Angel snorted with derision at her question, and hope flared in Buffy that this was the source of his behaviour, jealousy. Jealousy that could easily be appeased. "Because you don't need to be jealous of him. We're not a couple, we haven't been for a long time."

Angel laughed - a hollow, terrible laugh. "Riley. Riley Finn. If only he was the problem."

"Well, what is it Angel? I don't understand. We finally have the chance to be together, to be together the way we've always wanted, and you don't tell me! You don't think Riley's the problem, so what is it? What is keeping you away from me?" Buffy was close to tears. All the pain and loneliness that she had felt over the past seven years was exploding within her, surging as she struggled to find the reason for its existence. "Why?" At this word, barely audible as Buffy struggled for control, Angel snapped.

"Because I saw you!" he yelled, his voice anguished.

"Saw me? Angel, I don't understand ..."

"I saw you, I saw you with him!"

"With him? With who? Angel, I told you that Riley and I broke up, we're not going out anymore."

"Not Riley!"

"Well who, Angel I don't understa.."

"I saw you with him! I saw you with Spike!"

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