Disclaimers: If I owned them, would this be called fan fiction?
: My story "Phoenix." Starts immediately following that story and then proceeds into an alternate season 5. None of the Angel episodes after "Sanctuary" happened.
Content: B/A, of course! Have I written anything yet that wasn't?
Notes: Yes, you have to read "Phoenix" for this to make sense, because it picks up literally just hours later. This is for everyone who begged me to write a sequel to "Phoenix." Here's hoping I can bring all of those loose ends to a close to everyone's satisfaction.
Feedback: Oh please oh please oh please!

****

One

Angel woke slowly, sore and still exhausted, but for the first morning in months he awoke content. He had absolutely no desire to move. One of his arms was draped over the shoulder of a beautiful blond, and unlike when she had first arrived in his apartment a month and a half ago he knew exactly how he'd met her and just how much he loved her. His night had been haunted by visions from his past, and for the first time ever he welcomed them. As many regrets as his past might hold, he never wanted to lose sight of it again.

Several minutes after Angel had awoken, Buffy began to stir as well. She yawned. "Morning," she murmured.

"Morning," Angel agreed. He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. "Well, just barely."

"It was a long night," she explained.

"Speaking of, how are you feeling?"

"Better," she said. She grinned up at him and let her hand wander across his chest. She traced the scar she found there with her fingers. The image of a bird, its wings spread in flight. "Great, in fact. How about you?"

Angel let out a lone sigh. "I'm…very good. Well, except for having more bruises than I can count and sore muscles I didn't know existed."

Buffy chuckled. "I'll bet," she agreed. "That was quite a battle last night. You're lucky you don't have more than bruises to show for it."

"Mmm," Angel acknowledged. He let his mind wander to the strangeness of the night before. Strange to think that twenty-four hours age he'd lived in ignorance of his own past, let alone things of darkness and his own strange possible future. It was a lot to process.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Buffy asked, obviously concerned.

"I was just thinking," he evaded.

Buffy looked at him in understanding. "It's about what that weird lady said last night, isn't it?"

"Jadwiga," Angel said, still slightly distracted.

"Whatever," Buffy said dismissively. She shifted, making herself comfortable against his chest. "It's bothering you, isn't it? All that stuff she said about destiny and power and the Phoenix or whatever?"

Angel did not look at her, but nodded. "Yes, it's bothering me. It's bothering me that her words felt true, yet I have no idea this morning what they mean."

Buffy was silent for a long moment. "I'm sure it will be clear eventually," she assured him, though she didn't sound so sure of it herself.

"Yeah," Angel agreed softly. He gave her a gentle squeeze around her shoulders. "And, if what she said was true, she'll be back."

Buffy shifted uneasily. "Angel…"

"What?"

She pulled away from him slightly, leaning against his chest so she could look him in the eyes. "I don't trust her," she said strongly.

"I do," Angel replied, certain of that at least. "I don't know why, but I do."

For a moment Buffy looked like she was going to retort. Then she sighed. "Well, I guess we'll find out eventually," she said. "I only hope it's not the hard way."

Angel was about to reply to that when he heard footfalls on the stairs. He made a quick shushing motion at Buffy and sat up with her still against his chest.

"Hello? Are you guys decent?"

Both of them chuckled and slid out of bed. "It's safe, Cordelia," Angel called even as he reached for his robe. He glanced over at Buffy and smiled.

Cordelia was at the bottom of the stairs when Angel emerged from the bedroom. She looked at him a bit oddly at seeing him in his bathrobe, but that was nothing compared to the look on her face when Buffy emerged. "Nice outfit," she teased.

Buffy pulled somewhat awkwardly on the bottom of Angel's huge shirt that she wore to sleep in. "So I didn't bring an overnight bag," she muttered.

"Speaking of," Cordelia said, looking amused, "you know that guy you're staying with this summer?"

"Dad!" Buffy blurted in shock. "I didn't return home last night! I have to call him. He's got to be worried sick!"

"That he is," Cordelia replied smugly.

"Huh?"

"He's waiting for you upstairs."

Buffy let out an 'eep' and dashed back into the bedroom. Both Cordelia and Angel couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. Cordelia looked at Angel with a smirk.

"What are you laughing at?" Cordelia teased him.

Angel looked at her curiously.

"You don't think Mr. Summers is going to want to meet you? The man corrupting his little girl?"

"I'm not corrupting her," Angel defended himself.

Cordelia just laughed. "Go get dressed," she said.

Angel dashed back into his bedroom. He could hear Cordelia's laughter all the way up the stairs.

****

Buffy's steps were very slow as she made her way up the stairs. She really was not looking forward to confronting her father. Not having seen her father much in the last couple of years, in had been nice to spend the summer with him. She hoped that whatever good standing she had with him hadn't completely disappeared when she hadn't gone back to his apartment last night.

She nearly jumped when Angel placed his hand in the small of her back. "Hey," he said gently. "I'm right here with you."

Buffy smiled at Angel gratefully, and they walked into the office side by side.

Mr. Summers jumped out of his seat as soon as they made their appearance upstairs. "Buffy!" He rushed over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Buffy smiled slightly. "I'm okay, Dad."

He looked at her a bit doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

Suddenly Buffy realized how she must look. She hadn't had any choice but to wear the same outfit she's been wearing last night. It was smoke stained and disheveled. The bruise on the side of her face from when she'd been knocked out had faded significantly, but Angel sported quite a large, colorful bruise on his jaw. They looked quite the beaten up pair. "Um, really, we're fine now," Buffy protested weakly, running her hands over her once nice outfit.

"What happened?"

Buffy just looked at him for a second, unable to come up with a good excuse. "Um, we were mugged?"

Mr. Summers' expression became even more doubtful.

"Buffy," Angel said gently.

Buffy jumped, and felt rather silly for doing so. "Oh," she said sheepishly. "Dad, this is Angel."

The two men shook hands briefly. "It's nice to finally meet you," Angel said pleasantly.

"And you," Mr. Summers replied, but he wouldn't be distracted from his question. "So what happened to the two of you, really?"

Still, Buffy was flustered. "It's…kind of a long story."

"I've got time."

Buffy looked at Angel, silently pleading with him to come up with a good excuse. He shook his head slightly. "I think you'd better tell him. Everything."

"Everything? Angel…"

"Your mom knows," Angel pointed out.

"Yes, but my mom's first reaction was to kick me out of the house," Buffy retorted.

Both Angel and Mr. Summers looked at her in shock. "You never told me that," Angel said softly.

Buffy shrugged. "Well, there are a couple of months of time that you and I don't talk about at all." She tried to cover up the darker emotions that lurked right under the surface of that statement, but Angel could see it in her posture and hear it in her tone of voice.

"Buffy," Angel said gently. His eyes were pained.

Mr. Summers cleared his throat loudly. "Not that this hasn't been fascinating, but you haven't answered my questions." Both Buffy and Angel looked at him in surprise, having been so caught up in old miseries that they'd forgotten his presence. "No, wait," he said suddenly. "New question first. Are the two of you…together?"

Buffy and Angel looked at each other and exchanged identical uncertain looks. "I don't know," she said.

****

"How do you think he took it?" Buffy asked herself hours later. She was back in Angel's apartment, sitting at the kitchen table.

Angel leaned against the kitchen counter. "It looked like he took it rather well."

Buffy looked up at him in surprise, as if she had forgotten he was there. "Sure," she said after a moment, "he seems to be taking it well. Just wait. The real reaction will come when I go back to his apartment tonight."

Angel tried not to let the disappointment on his face, but once Buffy turned her attention to him she did not miss a thing. Standing, she walked over to him and looked up at him in concern. "Angel? What is it?"

He shrugged. "It's…I don't like to think of you leaving, even for a day. I've missed you."

Buffy smiled tolerantly, brought out of her worries over her father by Angel's simple statement. "Angel," she said calmly, "I've been here for nearly two months now. How could you have missed me?"

"Before that, I hadn't seen you except for once…twice…in an entire year," he reminded her. "These two months…I didn't know how much I'd missed you until today. I'm making up for lost time."

Buffy grinned at him. "I missed you, too," she replied. Looking him in the eye, her grin faded as quickly as it had appeared. "About what my dad said…"

"What?" Angel asked, not quite sure which part of the afternoon's conversation she was referring to.

Turning her back on Angel, she paced the kitchen for a moment. "Are…are we together, Angel?"

Angel looked down and sighed. Things had been moving so fast in the last twenty-four hours that they hadn't really gotten the chance to work such things out. "Buffy," he whispered. He waited for her to turn before he spoke again. Letting his emotions show clearly, his hope and his love, he reached out his hand to her. "What do you want?" he asked gently.

Buffy hesitated only a moment. "I love you," she said by way of an answer.

"And I you," Angel said easily. He smiled at her, and she stepped towards him again until they were merely a hair's breadth apart.

"But," Buffy faltered hesitantly. "I have to go back to Sunnydale for class in just a week."

"Yeah," Angel whispered back. "And I have things to do here. Plus…"

"A new destiny to figure out," Buffy finished for him. Tilting her head up to look him in the eyes, she could feel his breath on her face. "So…" she breathed.

"So…"

"We try again?" Buffy asked hopefully. "Long distance? One day at a time?"

Angel tilted his head towards hers and caught her lips in a brief but searing kiss. "One day at a time."

****

Part Two

"And so he said, 'You mean we've never gone out to dinner together before?'" Buffy told, laughing.

Willow grinned back at her. "So what did you say?" she asked, leaning forward.

"I said we'd never exactly been a normal couple," Buffy replied with a smirk.

Instead of pointing out that Buffy's facial expression looked remarkably like one she'd seen on Angel, Willow just laughed. "So, what's it like?"

Buffy took a sip of her soda. "What's what like?"

"Being a normal couple. You and Angel."

Buffy leaned back in her chair and frowned. "We didn't exactly have much time to be a normal couple," she explained. "You know, classes starting and all."

Willow nodded. "I know. So what are you going to do now?"

"Well," Buffy said slowly, "we're going to do the long distance thing. See each other on weekends…you know, see what happens."

Willow chuckled. "That's great, Buffy, but that's not what I was talking about."

"Oh," Buffy replied, sounding embarrassed. "Now I feel silly. What were you talking about?"

"What are you going to do this semester?" Willow clarified. "I mean, last year you didn't know what you wanted to study. Have you decided on a major yet?"

"Actually," Buffy replied slowly, "I'm thinking about sticking with psychology."

"Really?" Willow asked in surprise.

Buffy nodded. "This summer, when I was with Angel and he had amnesia…I really wanted to do something to help, you know? But I didn't know what to do. And it's not like we could just take him to a typical psychiatrist."

Willow chuckled slightly. "On account of his…unusual background. Wouldn't he have some…interesting stories to tell a doctor."

Buffy couldn't help but grin at that. "Yeah, well, that and the fact that he was wanted by the police."

Willow grinned at her. She'd missed Buffy over the summer. It had been very quiet in Sunnydale while she was gone. Even the demons had been laying low. Now Buffy was back, and her attitude was a sharp contrast from when she had left. She was no longer withdrawn and depressed, instead if anything seeming a little bit lonely. She didn't show it often, and it didn't seem to bother her much. Instead she threw herself back into her life: her friendships, her slaying, even apparently her coming schoolwork. This was the Buffy she had missed those weeks before she had left to spend the summer in L.A.

"Are you upset that Giles and I didn't tell you that Angel was alive?" Willow asked after a moment.

Buffy was silent in thought. She sighed. "If I was going to be angry," she said, "I would have been angry right when I realized you knew and hadn't told me. My reaction at the time was shock. So, no, I'm not angry." She paused. "Though why didn't you tell me?"

"Giles…wasn't sure of how you'd react," Willow explained.

"Yeah, well…" Buffy chuckled. "Maybe he was right to worry about that."

"So," Willow said after another long pause, "are we going to see Angel any time soon? I'd like to see him, especially human and all." Willow was pretty eager at the concept, actually. She couldn't even picture Angel in the sunlight.

Buffy shrugged. "I'm not sure." At Willow's puzzled look, she tried to explain. "There are some things going on…in Angel's life that may take a while to figure out. So for now I'm going to be visiting him."

"Oh," Willow said, slightly disappointed.

Buffy smiled. "He'll be here eventually."

****

Angel stared at one of the candles sitting around his apartment. Its flickering flame was the only light in the darkened room. All the shadows beyond the table the candle sat upon were harsh and deep. One would never have guessed that upstairs sunlight flooded through the window.

He sighed. The exhalation of air made the candle flame flicker and nearly die before springing to life once again. It was his breath that did that; his natural breath, not any unknown force.

Then what was it that put out the torches? Angel thought to himself. It wasn't just chance that stopped those men from burning Buffy at the stake before I could rescue her. I know it wasn't.

"The Phoenix is ruled by fire," a familiar voice said from behind him. "In return…there are certain advantages."

Angel nearly jumped, then spun to face the woman standing at the bottom of his stairs. "I couldn't stop her. She just walked right in," Cordelia said apologetically, running down behind her.

"It's alright," Angel said gently, staring at the woman. "I've been expecting her."

Cordelia gave him an odd look, then went back up the stairs leaving the two of them alone.

For a long moment they neither moved nor spoke. At last, Angel stood and began turning on the lights. "You know," he said with his back to her, "it's rude to just read someone's thoughts like that."

"I'm sorry," Jade said, sounding sincerely apologetic. "It's nearly as easy for me to hear your thoughts as it is for me to hear your spoken words."

The lights turned on, Angel turned to look at the white haired, ageless woman. He could not help his curiosity overcoming his distrust of her. "My thoughts in particular?" he asked.

Jade nodded.

"If you're going to come in here unannounced," Angel said after a moment, "you might at least take a seat."

Jade entered the rest of the room nervously, as if uncertain her welcome was genuine. Rightly so, Angel mused, seeing as how she had worked with a man who had purposely stripped him of his memories and had tried to kill Buffy. Still, it was obvious that she knew much that Angel needed to know about his new situation. At the same time that he remembered Jade wielding a knife and cutting into his chest, he remembered that without her both he and Buffy would most likely be dead.

To say that Angel's feelings about her were mixed would be an understatement.

As Jade sat on the couch, Angel wondered what his feelings about her would be at the end of the day. He really wanted to trust her…. "What were you saying when you came in here?"

"About fire?"

Angel nodded.

Jade sighed. "The Phoenix can be – and nearly always has been – destroyed by fire. In return, while it – you – are alive, you'll have some minor control over it. When you're fully trained."

Angel wanted to ask her what minor control meant, or what her idea of fully trained was, but first things first. "Nearly always?"

"I told you – you broke the cycle."

"Well, I was more than a bit tired when you told me," Angel replied pointedly. "Tell me again." Tell me how I became this 'Phoenix,' he added in his head.

"You didn't become the Phoenix. It's what you've always been," Jade answered his thoughts. Angel glared at the intrusion, but she ignored him. "When you came of age, when you were ready, there should have been someone there to train you, to help the Phoenix come into power. There wasn't, and instead you became a vampire."

Angel sat back and took in what she was saying. He wasn't sure he believed all of this, but he knew that he needed to hear it. "Someone like you should have been there," he said, half questioning.

Jade nodded. "For the Phoenix, there has always been…a guide. Someone to help with the transition and to step in when help is most needed. Right now, I am that someone, yes." She paused for just a second, having answered Angel's unspoken question once again. "Like the Phoenix, that being is nearly immortal."

Angel coughed in surprise. "What?!"

"Oh, we didn't get to that yet?" Jade asked, but her eyes were amused.

"No, we didn't," Angel replied testily. And you know that full well.

The corner of Jade's mouth twitched into a smile, but she didn't comment on his thought for once. "Yes, well…. I said nearly immortal, anyway. The one that came before me was killed shortly before you should have come into your power, and by the time I came you were lost."

"Became a vampire, you mean," Angel said in understanding.

"Yes," Jade acknowledged. "The Phoenix – its power, its spirit that you posses – was trapped. Even if it wasn't, it could not be reborn again for nearly 500 years. The world lost a force for good and gained something terribly evil in exchange."

Angel didn't even comment on that. He knew what he'd been.

"So…that brings us to where we met at last," Jade said. "It was a step in the right direction when you regained your soul, but I had no way of knowing whether – when you finally met a final death – whether the Phoenix would be reborn as it was in the past, or simply disappear. So, you see…when the time came, and the Phoenix had lived in you for 500 years, I had no choice but to force the rebirth. I worked with a man determined to see you dead anyway and saw that both you *and* the Phoenix were reborn…given a chance to start over."

It was a bit too much for Angel to take in all at once; he'd have to sit and digest it all later. Well, at least it would be productive brooding… "500 years?" Angel asked in confusion.

Jade sighed. "It's the life cycle of the Phoenix. At least, it was the life cycle. The spirit lives in someone – always male, in case you're wondering – and becomes a…Warrior is the term you like?…for 500 years. When that time is passed it one way or another finds its death by fire and is reborn again in someone new."

"But," Angel pointed out, feeling a flash of triumph, "I wasn't around for 500 years."

Jade just looked at him. "How long were you in Hell, Angel?"

Angel swallowed. "I don't know."

"Exactly. The Phoenix was alive in you, dormant but there, for 500 years. Now, you're both reborn, to live another 500. In your case, really live this time."

"Unless I die first," Angel muttered, beginning to understand.

"No Phoenix had ever died before the 500 years had passed before you did," Jade said honestly. "Now, are you going to let me teach you what you can do, or do you want to repeat what happened the last time?"

Given the choice between life and death, Angel would easily pick life. He just wondered how his friends were going to react to this whole 500 years business.

Or…dear God….Buffy.

****

Part Three

It sounded a bit like someone was fighting when she arrived, but not quite. Coming down the stairs, Buffy could hear rhythmic blows and an occasional grunt. Then there was a particularly loud 'creak' from the chain on the punching bag, and Buffy winced.

"Is that punching bag anyone I know?" Buffy asked with a chuckle.

Angel stopped his workout abruptly and turned to face her, smiling. "Well, that depends," he said, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow. "It could be the random client that walked in today wanting me to find out if her husband was cheating on her. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was, but I'm not that kind of detective. Or, it could be Jade and her latest 'lesson.'"

Buffy frowned at the mention of the strange woman. "I'm going to guess it's the later. What's she up to?"

Angel sighed. "She showed up a couple of days ago. Now she's determined to train me to 'utilize all the abilities of the Phoenix.'"

She tried not to laugh at his imitation of the woman's odd, accented voice. "It's more than that."

"It's just…three days, and she is already really getting on my nerves. She keeps using the word 'potential.' I didn't realize it was possible to hate a word so much."

This time Buffy did chuckle. "I hate that word, too. It's always followed by the word 'but.' As in, 'Your daughter has great potential, but…'"

Angel smiled back.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Buffy said after a moment. She crossed the apartment quickly and flung her arms around Angel's neck. "Let's try that greeting from scratch."

Angel grinned, then wrapped his arms around her and gave her a brief but passionate kiss. He pulled away after a moment, smiling even more. "Was that better?"

"Mmm, much."

Not pulling away a millimeter, Angel spoke. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

Buffy shrugged and gave him a mischievous grin. "I told my professor I had an appointment and had to leave early."

"Buffy…"

"What? It's not like we were doing anything important; she teaches nearly word for word from the textbook. And if I'd waited until after class it probably would have been another hour and a half before I could catch a bus." She looked at him a bit nervously. "You don't mind, do you?"

"God, no!" Angel replied quickly.

Buffy fought a smile from returning. "Because, you know, if you had an important date tonight I wouldn't want to get in the way."

"You know what? I do have an important date."

"Oh, really?"

Angel nodded with a smirk. "Yeah. This really gorgeous young woman. I'm taking her out to dinner, maybe some dancing, hopefully no demon killing."

"Well, then whatever shall I do while you're gone?" Buffy replied with a smirk of her own.

Angel laughed outright at that. Such moments of good humor had become more common since he'd returned to the land of the living. "I'd never leave you anywhere," he said as he removed her arms from around him. "Just let me go shower."

Buffy made a fake pout. "And here I thought you'd never leave me anywhere," she said as he walked away, her tone playfully suggestive.

Angel turned around to grin at her again. "You keep that up, and I'll never *take* you anywhere, either!" he retorted. "At least, not tonight."

Buffy grinned back. "Go! Shower."

Angel got in one last parting shot before he disappeared from view. "You love me, sweat and all."

The truth? She definitely did, more every day.

****

"500 years?" Buffy asked weakly.

Angel tried not to cringe. "Yes," he said softly. Then he amended, "If I don't get killed first."

Buffy pushed herself back slightly from the table. "That's….wow."

"Yeah," Angel agreed softly, though in his heart he didn't agree at all.

Buffy picked up his mixed emotions quickly, though. "I know it's not what you hoped for," she said, "but isn't it better than where you were months ago?" She leaned forward and added softly, so as not to be heard by other people in the restaurant, "A vampire?"

Angel thought about the meal they had just shared, the days and nights they had spent together, the sunlight in the morning that was no longer forbidden to him… He smiled very slightly. "Yes, its better. Better to have an unnaturally long life than any length undeath, but still…."

Buffy glared at him.

"What?" Angel asked, fighting the urge to chuckle at her expression.

"I bet I know what you're about to say," Buffy declared. "I know that this complicates things for you, but can't you ever be happy with what you have? I am."

"Buffy…" Angel began to protest.

"No, listen to me for a second," Buffy interrupted. "If you still have any arguments after I'm done, feel free."

"Okay," Angel agreed a touch reluctantly.

Buffy smiled at her small victory for a moment. "I live for today, Angel. I have since before I was called," she began to explain. "I know you like to think long term – probably something to do with the fact that you've seen a couple of centuries – but I may not even have a long term."

"Buffy…" Angel tried to interrupt.

"Hey!" Buffy cut him off. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to go seeking my death, but I could die tomorrow as easily as ten years from now. So I try not to think too far into the future. I want to be happy now - and right now living two hours apart is more likely to cause us problems than any issues of mortality or immortality."

She leaned forward then, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Besides," she said, amused, "let's say I do live to be seventy. Do you really think I'm going to object to being thought a cradle robber if I've got a gorgeous, sweet guy like you helping me around?"

Angel couldn't help but chuckle at the image she presented him with.

"So, did I kill all of your arguments?" Buffy asked.

"Pretty much," Angel agreed.

"We said we were going to try this relationship thing again," she reminded him. "So, we're never going to be a normal couple. That's nothing new. Don't start having doubts so early, okay?"

"I promise," Angel agreed.

Buffy smiled at him tolerantly. "Don't make promises you can't keep, honey."

Angel smiled. She knew him so well. He wasn't going to let go so easily this time, though, he promised himself. If Buffy was still so determined to give him a shot, in spite of their long painful history, his most recent news, their differences, and the last year apart, then by god the least he could do was return the favor.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked at last, holding out his hand across the table and smiling slightly.

Buffy laughed, delighted. She knew that she'd on for the evening and that this subject would not be brought up again. "Definitely," she declared, rising from her seat.

Angel rose with her, and the two of them walked hand in hand out of the restaurant.

"So," Buffy said, obviously quite pleased with herself, "where to now?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, I'm your guest. Do you have a big night on the town planned or are we heading back to your apartment?" Buffy asked with a smirk.

Angel couldn't help but grin in response. He was about to answer when something distracted him: one figure, shortly followed by two more, heading towards the corner of the building. "How about the restaurant's back lot first?" he replied at last.

Buffy saw what he was looking at and made a disgusted sound. "Fine, but you'll have to make it up to me. This was supposed to be our night."

"I'm sure I'll come up with something," Angel replied even as they followed the vampires around the building. He took a stake out of his pocket and glanced to see that Buffy already had one in her hand. "How do you hide stakes in that outfit?" he asked.

"Practice," Buffy retorted as they turned the corner. There they both saw two vampires, a male and a female, that had cornered a young woman in a waitress uniform who'd apparently come outside to smoke a cigarette. "Angel," Buffy said loud enough for both vampires to hear her, "I didn't know this restaurant had take out."

The two vampires turned at her words, and the waitress took advantage of their distraction to run back into the restaurant. The female vampire saw the girl's escape and growled in anger. "Look what you did!" she cried.

"Aw, I'm sorry," Buffy replied. "Did I make you lose your lunch?"

The female vampire wouldn't take any more taunting and dove at Buffy. Then the battle was joined and Angel lost sight of Buffy as he faced off against the other vampire. The vampire was pretty strong, but Angel was quite pleased to find he was stronger. The vampire fought well, but he wasn't much of a threat. Angel and him traded blows easily, Angel just looking for the best opening to get his stake in.

He had just about gained a clear upper hand when he heard Buffy cry out, followed by a dreadful metallic clatter. He turned quickly, which let his opponent get a good, solid blow into his side, staggering him. Angel spun on his attacker, no longer wasting any time in staking him, and was rewarded with a shower od vampire dust.

He did not rejoice in his victory. "Buffy!" he called out, looking frantically for her. He spotted her quickly, fallen amidst an overturned garbage can and various debris. The remaining vampire was pressing her advantage before Buffy could get to her feet.

If she was expecting an easy kill, she had a surprise coming. When the female vampire bent over her, Buffy suddenly kicked out with both legs, sending her careening to the ground near Angel.

The vampire was stunned by its fall and didn't even notice Angel until a second before the stake struck its heart.

That done, Angel scrambled over to where Buffy had fallen. Helping her up, he asked, "Are you okay?"

Another voice interrupted her before she could answer. "You two make quite a team, don't you? I can see why you're the talk of…well, everyone."

Angel sighed, but kept his attention on Buffy as she picked her way out of the trash. "What are you doing here?" he asked the new arrival.

"You're here," Jade replied simply.

Angel rolled his eyes, earning a chuckle from Buffy. "Are you sure you're okay?" Angel asked her again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…ew!" she replied, still brushing herself off from her fall in the garbage.

Angel smiled and finally turned to face Jade. "New rule," he said calmly. "I know you've been without a charge for a couple hundred years, and maybe your people skills have suffered, but…don't interrupt us when we're on a date, okay?"

Jade scowled and looked like she was about to retort when Buffy stumbled and clung to Angel wildly.

"Whoa!" he said in surprise, grabbing her as she regained her balance. "I thought you said you were okay."

"I am," Buffy retorted, though she didn't loosen her grip on Angel's arm. "I just got really dizzy for a second."

"You should take her home," Jade said quickly.

Angel glanced at the white-haired woman calmly. "That's where we were going before you showed up."

There was an odd expression on Jade's face. "You don't understand what I mean," she said.

Angel didn't have a clue what she meant. At the moment he was more worried about Buffy though. "You can tell me later, then," he said, and with that he began to walk Buffy back to his car.

Jade's small cry of exasperation followed them out into the night.

Go to the Part 4