Part Six

"Don't lay our love to rest
'cause we can stand up to the test
We've got everything and more
than we had planned"

~All For Love

Giles stood outside the mansion waiting for Buffy and all of her friends to return from the hospital. Buffy had called him from the emergency room, sounding both concerned for Angel and angry that they had been attacked in broad daylight. She was right in assuming that there was more to what had been happening than random attacks and had demanded that Giles would come with some answers.

Now Giles stood outside the front door, several of his books with him, waiting for everyone to arrive. He hoped that Angel was okay. If he wasn't, Giles knew that he was at least partially to blame. He should have told them everything from the beginning. However, he had not wanted to worry them when he wasn't sure whether there was truly a reason to be concerned, and if there was he hadn't known at the time the reason behind the threat.

Now, however, Giles knew the answers to both these questions. As he waited, Giles only had to consider how he was going to tell them. And how much of the prophecies they should know. Giles had been waiting for about a half an hour when Oz's van pulled up in front of the mansion. The group of teenagers climbed out, followed by Angel whose bandaged shoulder hampered his movement. Buffy moved at the head of the group, carrying Angel's bloody shirt in one hand and his keys in the other.

"Hey, Giles," she said as she ran up to open the door. Everyone hurried inside. "You've got something to tell us, right?"

"I do," Giles replied, pulling out his books.

Angel closed the door behind him as he entered. "Could you hold on a second, Giles?" he asked. "I want to go put on a shirt."

Giles nodded.

"I'll help," volunteered Buffy, following Angel out of the room. He looked at her curiously. "You're going to need to help to get a shirt on over those bandages." The two of them disappeared into Angel's bedroom.

Everyone else made themselves comfortable on the couches. Giles took the books he brought and put them on the table. Willow picked up a book of prophecy from the table and quickly flipped it open to the correct page.

Xander was watching her strangely. "What are you doing, Will?" he asked.

Willow looked at Giles for a moment, her expression clearly saying "can I tell him?" Giles nodded.

"I'm going to be a Watcher," Willow declared with a smile. "That is, I'm learning. Giles is teaching me."

"Really?" asked Xander in surprise. "Didn't we say you'd make a good Watcher?"

Willow nodded.

"Cool," said Oz.

There was a moment of silence. Xander had a thoughtful look on his face. "Giles," he asked finally, "I thought you were a Watcher because like your whole family were Watchers or something."

"True," Giles replied, "but not all Watchers are from families like mine. Sometimes new people are brought into the Watchers on the recommendation of another Watcher, usually if that Watcher has no family to continue their tradition."

Everyone nodded their understanding at that as Buffy and Angel returned to the room. Angel had put on a white, buttoned shirt. "What's going on?" asked Buffy.

"Willow's going to be a Watcher," declared Xander.

"Really? Wow," said Buffy.

"Good luck," Angel added.

Willow just beamed.

Oz moved over to allow Angel a seat on the couch. Buffy took a seat on the table, now in the center of everything. "Well?" she said once everyone was settled. "What's up Giles?"

Giles took his glasses off, cleaning them while he thought on how to begin. Everyone except Willow stared at him expectantly. "I should have told you this earlier," Giles began.

Buffy glared at him angrily at that. "Giles," she said slowly, "this isn't going to be like when I died, is it?"

"No, no, of course not," Giles assured her. She didn't look appeased. "When you first announced that you were engaged, I looked into the records to see if any Slayer had ever gotten married. None had."

"Right, you told us this," Buffy said impatiently.

"What I didn't tell you is that one Slayer did get engaged."

Silence met this remark, a silence that Angel was first to break. "What happened to her?" he asked softly.

Giles sighed. "She was killed. Both she and her fiancé died a month before their wedding. It was a demon attack, one no one saw coming." Buffy was about to speak, undoubtably to demand why they hadn't been told of this earlier. Giles held up his hands, answering her question before it could be asked. "I didn't want to say anything until I knew more. It could have just been chance."

"That seems unlikely, doesn't it?" muttered Xander.

"Correct," Giles replied smoothly, "especially now that we have seen similar increased activity. But I still did not know the . . . reason behind it."

"You mean besides the fact that the bad guys hate us?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, Buffy, besides that. If that was the only reason it still wouldn't explain the drastically increased activity that we're seeing. The question is really 'why now'."

"I assume you found an answer."

"Actually, I did," Willow said, holding up her book. "Giles and I found a whole bunch of references in places like the Pergamum Codex-"

"I hate that book," muttered Buffy.

"-and other books of prophecy to the 'wedded Slayer,'" Willow continued as if Buffy had not interrupted. "Mostly just little events and stuff, but I did find something that would be why they wouldn't want you to be the wedded Slayer." Willow pointed to a passage in the book she had opened. Reading aloud she said, "Neither her natural enemy nor their inhuman allies shall bring the destruction or death of the wedded Slayer."

Silence met her pronouncement. "That would be vampires, right? The Slayer's natural enemies?" Xander asked.

"And lesser demons is the implication, yes," Giles replied.

Oz smiled. "This is good, right?"

"Yes . . . and no," replied Willow. "Good for us: Buffy won't be killed by a vampire or demon if she's 'the wedded Slayer.' Bad for them: evil sees her as undefeatable. Bad for us: evil tries to stop Buffy from being 'the wedded Slayer.'" After a pause she added, "And it doesn't say that they can't defeat her, just that they won't."

"Way to look on the bright side, Willow," Buffy said sarcastically.

"Just looking at all sides, like I'm supposed to," Willow explained.

A silence fell over the group once again as everyone thought about what had been revealed. "So what do we do now?" asked Buffy.

"What would happen if they got married sooner than planned? Like ASAP?" Xander asked.

"Aside from giving my mother fits?" Buffy remarked.

Giles shook his head. "Probably not a good idea."

"To give my mother fits?"

"To hurry the wedding," Giles clarified. "Who knows at this time what is still to be released against you? If you rush the wedding, everything may be thrown at us at once . . . with disastrous consequences."

Everyone thought for a moment longer. Angel spoke. "What if-" he began.

"Don't even say it!" Buffy demanded. "Don't you dare ask 'what if we cancel the wedding' or something stupid like that!"

"Buffy," Angel explained softly, "I want nothing more in the world than to be married to you. But if it comes to making a choice as to whether you live or die, I'd rather not be married to you and have you live."

Buffy nodded reluctantly at that, but Willow shook her head. "I don't think that works, either," she said. "They're already trying to stop you. I don't think they're just going to go away. What's to stop the two of you from running to the courthouse one day and getting married?"

Giles cleared his throat. "This is not the only mention of the wedded Slayer, and we can assume that whoever or whatever is leading these attacks has access to the same prophecies we have," he added. "Some of the other instances make it clear that this refers specifically to the two of you, and not just any Slayer who happens to get married."

"Really?" asked Buffy in surprise.

Giles nodded.

Buffy had a very strange expression on her face. "Are you alright?" Angel asked her.

"Yeah," she said, "yeah, I'm good. I'm happy, I'm just not sure what to think of being in a prophesized relationship. It's really weird. Destiny is cool and all, but . . . ." She shook her head slightly. "I'm off topic . . . . I'll concentrate on that later. So Giles, what do we do now? Do we just continue as we have been?"

"There's not much else we can do," he replied.

"We can get help," Xander offered. When everyone looked at him blankly, he explained. "We all know more people . . . and things . . . that fight evil. Wouldn't some of them help if we asked?"

"Like Kenneth!" exclaimed Willow.

"Yes," Giles said with a nod. "I can get a hold of him."

"Anyone else?" Xander asked.

"Cordelia." Everyone looked at Angel in surprise. "She helped me in L.A. for a year. She can fight evil alright."

"How about the woman with the sword? You know, the one who passed through town a couple of summers ago and helped fight vampires. What was her name?" Oz offered.

Willow thought for a second. "Colleen?"

"Alright," said Giles. Then, after a moment, "Does anyone know how to get in touch with Ms. Cunningham?"

Neither Oz nor Willow had a reply for that. Much to their surprise it was Angel who provided an answer. "Cunningham?" he asked. "I know someone else with that last name, maybe she's related. I know a Robin Cunningham, a self proclaimed vampire hunter. She doesn't deal with other types of demons, but she'd probably help, too. She's already invited to the wedding."

As everyone stared at Angel dumbfounded, Buffy laughed.

"What?"

"Do you know *everyone,* Angel?"

Angel smiled. "I've been around," he replied.

"Well," said Giles, "any other helpers anyone can think of?" When no one replied, he stood. "Then we'd best be leaving. It's been a busy day."

Everyone nodded as they made their way towards the door. Buffy stood. "I should be going, too," she said. She kissed Angel briefly on the lips. "You rest. Doctor's orders." Then Buffy walked with Giles out the door.

Once outside, Buffy turned to Giles. "What else did the prophecies say?" she asked softly.

Giles regarded her seriously. "Only bits and pieces. Most of it is unclear now, and none of it is of immediate consequence." That all was true.

Another pause. "It's good, right? We're going to make it?"

"It's good, as far as I can tell."

Pause. "Giles?"

"Yes?"

"If you found something bad, you'd tell me, right?"

"I would tell you, Buffy." And that was also true.

"Good."

Part Seven

"When I rearrange the pieces of the puzzle of my past
I sigh at the heartaches, relive the laughs
And I think about the moments that have left their mark
And the too few faces that shine a little light in the dark"

~Babysitter
Harry Chapin

As the month progressed, encounters with demons and multiple vampires became routine. The no longer caused the same worries - now they were just one more obstacle to overcome. It was the wedding plans which caused much more stress, as Buffy and Angel rushed to book a church, a place for the reception, catering, flowers, invitations . . . plus manage to keep up with school and work, not to mention slaying.

The combined tensions of demons and planning mounted. Buffy had once remarked that when they got together it was always a "blood thing." To provide a balance and a calming break, Buffy and Angel made sure they spent at least one evening a week together where both slaying and preparations were not the reason to gather, and they could just be a couple. It was a new experience for both of them, and for Angel at least it was a constant joy.

Angel smiled at the smell of cooking food permeating his kitchen. It was a far cry from his meals of the past. He was actually getting good at this - cooking, that is - he thought with a touch of pride. At least, the food was edible. The only other person he'd had around to tell him how it was was Buffy, and her opinions were probably a little biased. One thing Angel was doing for sure was enjoying himself.

An appreciative sigh in the door to the kitchen announced another presence in the mansion. A moment later arms wrapped around Angel's waist. "Mmm," said Buffy appreciatively, "smells good."

Angel stopped stirring for a moment to kiss her on the cheek. "Hey," he said softly. "How was your day?"

"Okay," she replied. "I mean, no weird occurrences, none of my teachers died mysteriously, and I only had to slay one vampire on the way over here." She sighed. "That's good, right? And you?"

"Pretty much the same."

For a moment they simply stood there together, Angel's arm around Buffy's shoulder, and he gave her a small hug. "I'm glad you're here," he said with a smile.

"Wouldn't miss it," Buffy replied with a grin, and kissed him in return.

They were interrupted by two things at once. One, Angel's phone began ringing. At the same time, the pot of water on the stove began to boil over. Breaking from what had been an easy, relaxed moment with each other, Buffy and Angel sprang to action, Angel taking care of the near food disaster while Buffy ran to get the phone.

Rescuing the meal quickly, Angel couldn't help but smile again as Buffy answered his phone. It felt so nice to love and be loved. He had spent so much time lonely, and not that long ago had resolved himself to continuing alone. But he wasn't alone. He had friends . . . he had Buffy. It was nothing less than amazing.

Buffy was speaking to whomever was on the other side of the phone. "Hello? . . . No, this is the right place." A pause. "This is Buffy." A longer pause this time. "Oh, hi! He's in the kitchen . . . . Cooking dinner. . . . Ravioli, why?" Buffy was standing in the doorway now, the cordless phone held to her ear. After a moment of silence, she laughed lightly. "Hold on, he's right here," she said into the phone, then handed it to Angel.

The meal now under control, Angel took the phone and propped it on his shoulder. He wondered who it was - not many people would call him. "Hello?" he said.

"Hey, Angel. This is Robin," came the female voice on the other end.

Angel was pleasantly surprised. Robin Cunningham-Baker was from L.A., a friend and amateur vampire hunter that he'd fought side by side with on occasion. They'd met when Angel had rescued her from a gang of vampires with a grudge. In the continued excitement, he had forgotten to give her a call and ask for her help. "Hey there!" he said with a smile. "How's it going?"

"Real good. The restaurant John and I bought is doing great. How about yourself? Everything going well? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Never better," Angel replied sincerely. "What's up?"

"Well," the voice came back cheerfully, "I went and checked the mail today and found this lovely invitation to a wedding in some town called 'Sunnydale.' Since someone I knew left for that town several months ago and this is the first I'd heard from him, I thought I'd better give him a call."

Angel laughed lightly, feeling a tad sheepish. "Sorry I haven't been in touch," he said. "will you forgive me and come to my wedding?" My wedding. Now that was something Angel thought he'd never say.

"Of course we'll be there!" replied Robin. Then, after a pause, "That is, if *you'll* be there?"

"Hmm?" Angel was confused. "I'm sorry, I don't follow. Why wouldn't I be there?"

Robin sighed. "Let's see," she said. "I have here an invitation to the wedding of Buffy and Angel . . . no last names given . . . at the Sunnydale Church of God. December 18th at noon." She paused again, then said, "I think it was the 'noon' part that really threw me for a loop. Awfully sunny, isn't it?"

Now Angel really felt sheepish. "Oh. I guess I *really* haven't been in touch."

"No, Angel, I'm guessing not," Robin replied with a laugh. "So," she continued, "I figure this is either the legendary underground church . . . which still requires you to have developed a tolerance for crosses, you've rejoined the land of the living, or a mistake was made on the invitation."

"Um, option number two, actually."

"Really?" Robin sounded genuinely pleased. "Well, in that case I suppose dual congratulations are in order, on your engagement and on your new found humanity. No strings attached, I assume?"

"No strings," Angel replied with a happy sigh. Just Buffy standing in the doorway watching him with a smile was a delight. He'd been so caught up in the joys - and occasional frustrations - of being human again he'd forgotten to tell someone who'd really understand. "It's . . . it's amazing, Robin. I've never been happier."

"I can tell. I've never heard you sound so happy." Angel knew she understood better than anyone else could. When he had first met Robin she had been a bitter, sad young woman who had no desire in life but to take as many vampires with her as she could before she died. Not long after she had met her husband, John, and now they only fought to live. Perhaps she saw a similar change in Angel, a joy where there had been no hope. If nothing else, he knew she understood.

"Well," she said finally, "I don't want to keep you from your fiance any longer. Or your dinner, for that matter." She paused for a moment. "Anyway, congratulations, Angel. John and I will be at the wedding, even if we have to close the restaurant to get there."

As she made as to end their conversation, Angel remembered. "Robin, wait," he said urgently.

"What?"

Reluctantly Angel asked, "Um, do you think you could come to town a couple of days early?"

"For fun, or am I fighting vampires?"

"Vampires and assorted nasties, actually," Angel said, a touch sadly. "We're having a bit of trouble, and it's only going to get worse. It's going to be worst right near the wedding, and I don't know that we'll be able to handle it."

"Of course we'll help," Robin assured him. "Don't know how early we'll be, but we'll be there."

Angel smiled in relief. "Thanks," he said. Suddenly he remembered why Robin had come up in conversation in the first place. "Um, one more thing. Do you have a relative named Colleen?"

"Yeah. My sword wielding, occasionally vampire slaying cousin. You met her at my wedding."

"Oh, I remember her now. Do you think she'd help?" "If I can find her. She's a bit hard to track down, though, she's quite the wanderer." A muffled voice spoke in the background. "Listen, I have to go now. We'll try and get there early."

"Thanks, Robin," said Angel. "It was nice hearing from you. Goodnight."

"You too. Keep in touch this time, alright?"

Angel smiled. "Will do. Bye."

Buffy stood watching Angel from the doorway. She smiled at him, and he smiled back lovingly. "Well," said Buffy, "I'm guessing from what I heard that you forgot to include a 'by the way, I'm human' note to Robin."

"Yeah."

"Angel," Buffy said with a laugh, "I think we need to work on your communication skills."

Angel smiled in response. "How about I start with 'dinner's ready?'"

"Sounds good to me."

The dinner was quiet, but that was the idea. They spoke about the newest show at the museum a bit, and how Buffy was doing in her psychology class, but mostly they were comfortable together in silence. As she finished her meal, Buffy looked at Angel still eating and chuckled.

"What is it?"

"You," replied Buffy in amusement. When he looked at her curiously, she explained. "You once thought you'd have trouble adjusting to being human, but once you decided to, you sure didn't do anything halfway."

Angel laughed slightly, finishing his meal. True, he supposed. "What brought that on?"

Buffy shrugged, smiling. "Well, it could be that you seem to be doing your best to become a gourmet cook. You used to have the barest kitchen ever. Now, there's a mirror hanging in your bathroom. This house in the daytime is filed with sunlight, and if you're home I usually find you out in the garden. You don't sneak around like you used to. You've got a job . . . ." her voice trailed off. When she continued her voice was no longer teasing. "Sometimes, it's like you're a different person. Not in a bad way . . . . You used to always look sad inside, and you very rarely talked about your feelings . . . or anything else, for that matter. You smiled more now, and even laugh on occasion. And talking isn't *quite* as much of a problem." She laughed then, sounding a bit nervous. "Did I really just say all that?"

Smiling, Angel continued. "You forgot about being so completely in love with an incredible woman that I want nothing more than to have a family with her, to grow old with her. And now that that's actually possible . . . . I hope she likes the new, happier, daytime me." Angel tried to make that a joke, but his voice showed that he really was concerned.

Buffy reassured him without even realizing he had been worried. She was grinning from ear to ear. Getting up from her seat, she said, "You were talking about me, there, right?"

"Could be," Angel replied with a small smile.

Buffy leaned over to kiss him, and for a moment there was nothing and no one else in the world. Angel held her tightly. When they broke the kiss, Buffy sat herself in his lap and grinned. "You know," she said, "I've decided I like destiny."

*****

The man was angry enough to throw things. Deadly things. If he'd been able to act against them, his very anger would have killed the Slayer and her dark man. Unfortunately, he suffered under certain restrictions. Instead, his minions hid from his anger.

The darkness fumed as well. "You said she would wear down."

"I know."

"That she'd never see it coming."

"I know!"

"She knows what's going on, now. She's seen through your attacks."

"I KNOW!"

The darkness fell into an uneasy silence at his outburst. One did not raise his voice to his master.

"Not to worry," the man assured in a softer tone, "it's not over yet."

Part Eight

"And I can't feel
Much hope for anything
If I won't be there
To catch you if you fall"

~Something's Always Wrong
Toad the Wet Sprocket

Buffy and Angel drove up to the address Buffy's father had given them shortly before noon. It was a tall office building, and neither of them said anything as they got out of the car and entered. Buffy was nervous. She hadn't seen her father in a long time now. When she'd called him to say she was getting married, that had been nerve wracking enough. If forces of evil couldn't stop her from getting married, then her father wouldn't either, but it was still important to both Buffy and Angel that he approve of their wedding.

So today they had arranged to meet for lunch while Buffy and Angel were in town. Buffy was going shopping for bridal gowns, Cordelia having promised to show her all the finest shops, and Angel wanted to get some things he'd left in his L.A. apartment. First, however, there was the lunch with Buffy's father.

Buffy approached the reception desk a bit nervously. "Hello," she said, "I'm here to see Hank Summers?"

The woman behind the desk looked at her with a serious expression. "And you are?" she asked.

"I'm-" Buffy began.

"My daughter," said a voice behind them.

"Dad!" Buffy turned around to find her father right behind her.

"Buffy," he said, giving her a small hug. "It's been a while."

"It's good to see you, too," Buffy said with a smile. Stepping back, Buffy noticed Angel standing somewhat awkwardly by the reception desk. "Dad," Buffy said, gesturing for Angel to approach, "this is Angel. Angel, this is my dad."

The two of them shook hands seriously for a moment. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Summers," Angel said.

"The pleasure's mine," Buffy's father replied. They let go of each other's hands and there was an uncomfortable moment of silence. "Well," Mr. Summers said finally, "I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starving. How about we continue this somewhere nicer than the lobby?"

"Sounds good to me," Buffy replied with a grin, and the three of them made their way back out of the building.

The lunch at least started as a tense affair. Aside from her mother, no one in Buffy's family had met Angel prior to their engagement. Not having spent much time in his daughter's life in recent years, Hank Summers had been more than a little surprised when she announced she was getting married. Angel and Mr. Summers tried to get to know each other during lunch, but circumstances made that difficult. So much of Buffy's and Angel's relationship was tied up in her secret Slayer identity. There was only so much she could tell her father without mentioning vampires. She and Angel had come up with a story to explain what they could, but somehow Buffy felt that her father knew they weren't telling him the complete truth. As the meal ended Mr. Summers did something surprising. "What are you doing after this?" he turned to Buffy and asked.

Buffy glanced at Angel for a second, then replied, "Angel's going to get some things he left in his apartment, and I'm meeting a friend to go shopping for my dress." She looked at her father curiously. "Why?"

"If you don't mind the company, I'd like to go with you."

Buffy looked at him in surprise. "You mean that?" It went unspoken, but Buffy finally felt her father's approval. After a moment, she frowned. "What about work?"

"They'll get along without me," Mr. Summers said. "I haven't been part of your life much lately, and I'll only get to be part of your wedding once."

*****

Business was obviously closed. Angel stood on the sidewalk, looking at the small office. A discolored spot near the door showed where a sign had hung. The curtains were closed as they had always been, so he could not see inside, but he knew everything in the office had been cleared out. Cordelia had told him that she and Doyle had closed up shop as soon as they knew he wasn't returning. She'd finally gotten an acting job at the same time, and still helped people occasionally, though in more mundane ways than before. Doyle had gone somewhere, presumably, but she didn't know where.

The building didn't have any new tenants yet. The office had been packed up, but Cordelia said that most of Angel's stuff he'd left was still there. It was only a matter of time before everything was gotten rid of, however, and there were a couple of things he wanted. Opening the door, Angel entered the permanently darkened interior.

It was strange entering the office from the bright light of day outside. Oddly, the place looked almost exactly the same as it had when Angel had first entered the place. He didn't care about anything that had been here. Instead, Angel descended the stairs to the basement apartment that had been his residence.

Angel flicked on the lightswitch to find the room exactly as he had left it. There wasn't much here he wanted - he had plenty of clothes in Sunnydale, he'd been fighting demons less since he'd lost his vampiric strength so the weapons were sort of pointless, and there wasn't much else in the apartment.

A couple of boxes were left behind from when the office had been packed up. Placing an empty box on the couch, Angel started filing it with the couple of books he wanted to take with him. Once he'd gone through those, he debated his collection of weapons. Even if he didn't use them often, Buffy, Giles, or another Slayer might find need of them. Finally he put a couple of swords and other weapons in a box as well. The two boxes he placed in the elevator to take back up. That done, he glanced around the living area, then made his way into the bedroom.

This area had only a couple more things that he wanted to keep. There were things here that he had brought with him from Sunnydale in the first place, things that he'd wanted near him. Mementoes and other items that had some meaning to him went into a third, smaller box.

As Angel sat for a moment on the bed, he noticed a picture on the nightstand. The frame had been knocked over so it lay face down, but Angel knew what it was. He picked up the picture and looked at it with a smile. It was a sketch of Buffy, one he had drawn soon after moving to L.A. He'd wanted to at least have an image of her if he couldn't be near. Sure, he'd done a lot of good in L.A., but it had been a lonely year.

Now, he didn't need the picture to have her near. Not with their wedding less than two months away. Still smiling, Angel laid the picture in the final box.

In a moment Angel knew he was not alone. It didn't take vampiric senses to know there was someone else in the apartment. Just plain human senses did that fine. It also didn't take vampiric senses to guess who it was.

Angel waited until the footsteps came to a stop outside the bedroom door. "I was wondering when I'd see you again," Angel said calmly.

"Well, it's not like you've needed my help lately," the Irish accented voice replied from the doorway.

Angel turned around, smiling slightly. "Nice to see you, too, Doyle."

The half-demon smiled. After a moment he said, "I figured you'd be back here sooner or later. Of course, originally I thought you were only going to be gone for a week at the most."

"Plans changed," Angel replied.

Doyle nodded. "Yeah, I got that. You know how it is - I had a vision a couple of days after you left. Got a glimpse of you and your lady-love taking a sunlit stroll to go with the headache. Figured you wouldn't be back after that." He chuckled briefly. "I told you not to distance yourself from the human race, but I wasn't expecting you to go to the opposite extreme."

"What can I say, I finally listened to you," Angel quipped. "Buffy says I never do things halfway." After another moment of silence he stopped smiling. "I'm really glad to see you, but since I never heard from you these last few months, I've got to assume you've got some reason to talk to me now."

"Hey," Doyle scolded, "you're the one who dropped out of touch, not me. Left Cordelia and I sort of at a loss of what to do." Angel began to apologize, but Doyle waved him off. "No, you're right. Besides, we both got new jobs within the week, and it was 'meant to be' after all. That's not the point - I've got a message for you."

Angel began to protest. "I'm not staying, Doyle. We're heading back to Sunnydale tomorrow."

"Nothing like that," Doyle assured. "This is just a warning for you and your Slayer. There's hard times ahead."

"I know. They've already been trying to stop the wedding."

Doyle shook his head. "It's not just that. There's more going on than any of us know, and . . . ."

"And?"

"The two of you had better be ready."

Go to Part 9