Disclaimer: Last time I checked I wasn't Joss Whedon so they don't belong to me.
Summary: A much happier version of Innocence,
Sorry! I did some of this in italics and then realised hat they don't show up on this.

Angel's apartment:

Buffy stirred from her deep slumber and let her hand wander over the space next to her, looking for Angel. Who wasn't there. She sat up, eyes searching the room. After a few seconds of panic, her eyes came to rest on the pillow next to her. A single red rose lay there, with an ivory- colored piece of paper folded carefully underneath it.

Smiling, she gently picked up the rose and placed it on her lap. He's so thoughtful, she thought, I love him more than I love anything else. If Xander could see how happy I am right now, I'm sure he'd finally except the fact that Angel makes me happy and I don't want to be with anyone but him.

Remembering the piece of paper, she dragged herself out of her thoughts and pulled her attention back to what was lying on the pillow. She slowly reached out her hand to pick up the piece of paper. With trembling hands, she unfolded it and read:

My Dearest Buffy,

I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up, only I have an errand to run. I want to tell you something. Something I know I'd mess up if I said it to your face, so I'm writing it in this letter. I love you. More than I ever thought possible. When I'm with you, I forget what I am. I feel like a man again. It doesn't matter that I haven't seen the sunrise in over two hundred years, because your smile alone lights up my dark world. In your arms I find redemption, and my soul screams with joy because it's found it's mate.

You make me happier than I've been in a long time. At the beginning of our relationship, I denied myself that happiness. I told myself that I needed to be punished for all the atrocities I'd committed. But when you look at me, you don't see a monster. You see a man called Angel.

So I've decided to let go of the past. I'll never be free of the guilt, but I see now that you're right. It wasn't me.

I've called it a curse for the past eighty years, but I was wrong. It's a blessing. Without it I never would have known you. Or worst. It could have been Angelus you met that night in the alley.

I know I sound very corny, but every word is true. I'll be back soon. Before sunrise hopefully, so I won't have to travel in the sewers.

With all the love in the world,
Angel.

Buffy slowly put down the now tear-stained paper and smiled. "I love you Angel." Were her last words before snuggling down into the warm bed -clothes and falling into happy dreams.

At the factory:

"Pet," Spike said, approaching Druscilla, "have you seen anything more about Angel?" She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by a door slamming shut. Spike looked up to see Angel walking towards them. He smiled. "So Peaches! Managed to tear yourself away from Slutty to come and visit us?" Spike was expecting rage from Angel at his comment, but he wasn't expecting what happened next.

One moment he was sitting, comfortably, in his chair, and the next he was flying through the air. He crashed into the wall and slid to the bottom.

Angel marched over to him and hauled him up by the collar of his silk shirt. "Don't you ever talk about her like that! Ever!" He whipped out a stake from his pocket and placed it over Spike's heart. Druscilla wailed, but the pain of another vision hit her and she lay there, unable to move.

Spike smiled confidently. "You don't have the guts Peaches, you never ha…" He stared down incredulously at the stake protruding from his chest. With one last amazed look at Angel, he crumpled into dust.

Angel turned his attention to Druscilla, who was still lying on the table. He retrieved his stake and walked towards the table. When he reached her, she glanced at him dreamily and murmured: "She took you away from me, daddy! She made you happy!" Her eyes wandered to the stake that was clenched tightly in his hand. "What are you doing daddy?" He raised the stake into the air and smashed it into Druscilla's chest. "I'm moving on." He told the pile of dust.

Angel's apartment:

Angel closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping Buffy who was lying in his bed, one hand clutching the rose. He smiled at the sight of her and, for the hundredth time that day, thought how lucky he was.

Removing his clothes, he slipped into bed beside her and slid an arm around her shoulders. A small hand crept up his chest and rested there. Buffy blinked at him sleepily and, with a whispered "I love you." Went back to sleep.

Angel chuckled quietly and placed a kiss on Buffy's head. "I love you too." He whispered. Pulling the covers up to cover them, he laid his head onto the pillow and fell asleep in the arms of his love.

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