DISCLAIMER: No. Not mine.
TIMELINE: Post s4/s1 - after my fic 'I Slay Vampires ... But I Also Slept With One!', where Riley got Buffy onto Springer to talk about Angel, who she got back with after various disclosures.
SPOILERS: Prom, IWRY, To Shanshu In LA.
SYNOPSIS: Buffy and Angel go back on Springer to tell everyone 'what happened next'.
DISTRIBUTION: Just tell me where to find it!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: You probably need the first story. It can be found at . Flashbacks in /////////; these are roughly in time order, beginning just after the first story ends.
FEEDBACK: I'm offering a chocolate-covered character of choice for it.
RATING: PG-14.
CONTENT: Slight B/A naughtiness/innuendo, angst, tiny bit of bad language. But lovely fluff as well! And all the way through so you can't just go straight to the end!
DEDICATION: Everyone who gave me such lovely feedback for the first story - thanks!

'Jerry, Jerry, Jerry,' the audience chanted loudly. Jerry Springer looked directly at the camera, and said over the noise, 'Our next couple in our "Springer Got Us Back Together!" special are Buffy and Angel. They got back together six months ago after Buffy's boyfriend brought her on to tell her he didn't think she was over Angel, her ex. And, of course,' he winked, 'It turned out she wasn't!'

The audience cheered, and Jerry smiled, remembering the two well.

'From what we could gather last time they were on, Buffy's friends and family weren't keen on Angel. We'll find out if they've fared any better this time.'

The audience's attention was diverted to a large television, on which that episode was showing; on screen, Angel and Buffy kissed, oblivious to the quiet arguments going on around them.

////////////

Buffy and Angel reeled into the dressing room backstage of Springer, kissing madly, desperate for the taste of each other after a year apart.

'Did I - hear anything about - the curse?' Angel gasped, dropping little kisses and nips on her neck as she arched towards him.

'Yeah,' she replied, pulling his head up to assault his lips with hers again, 'It's all - fine.'

'Good,' he murmured, wrapping his fingers in her hair to hold her head in place for his frenzied attack on her lips.

As she felt the wall come up against her back, she jumped up, and he supported her instantly, grabbing hold of her waist as her legs closed around his own. She rubbed herself against him instinctively and he groaned into her mouth, pulling her even closer and pressing her back against the wall. She panted harshly into his mouth, needing to breathe but unwilling to pull away for even a second, her fingers in his hair, stroking his face, caressing his shoulders, learning the shape of him again, welcoming his dominating weight on her.

He pressed even closer to her, ostensibly to hold her steady as his own hands left their purchase at her waist and skimmed across her toned stomach, under her shirt. She writhed in delight at the feel of his cold fingers gently touching her skin, almost in awe. As he nimbly began to open the buttons of her shirt, her own small hands slipped under his sweater at the back and she explored the hardness of his arm and back muscles.

'Angel,' she moaned, and his mouth closed over hers again, kissing her roughly, and she responded instantly, plunging her tongue into his mouth, where it met and twined with his.

Then there was an angry pounding at the door.

'Ignore it,' Buffy demanded, eager to lose herself in him again. Angel silently agreed, and kept on kissing her.

'Buffy! Open this door right now!' Joyce shouted.

Still they ignored her.

'Buffy, open the door,' Giles said loudly.

'Yeah, Buffy, come on! Stop doing whatever you're doing! We need to talk about this!' Xander yelled.

'What do you think she's going to be doing?' Spike said acidly, 'The poof, probably.'

'What?' said an unfamiliar voice. There was another, more polite knock, then more loudly, 'Miss, you need to unlock this door and come out now!'

Security. Angel pulled resignedly away from Buffy, resisting with no small effort when she whimpered and tried to pull him back to her.

He settled for buttoning up her shirt and then lightly resting his hands at her waist, and said with a half-grin, 'So, you hungry?'

Buffy tore herself away from thoughts of how cute he looked smiling like that, and said, 'What?'

'Are you hungry?' he repeated.

Her eyes flicked involuntarily to his crotch and then back up to see him gazing at her, eyes darkened with lust, but also with amusement.

'I meant dinner.'

She banished embarrassment - this was Angel - and gave him a flirty grin, 'You buying?'

'Always,' he replied, and took her hand, then turning to the door, opening it quickly, and pulling her out.

Immediately they were mobbed, 'Buffy, you gotta -'

'Angel, do you really think -'

'I'm not happy about -'

'I think we should calm down and talk this out -'

Angel pulled Buffy close to him protectively and said over the din, 'We are going for dinner. We'll be back in a couple for hours, and we'll talk about it then.'

There was blessed silence for a moment, and then the clamour began again. Buffy rolled her eyes and pulled Angel away from the crowd and down the corridor.

/////////////

'Please give a warm welcome to ... Buffy and Angel!' Jerry cried. The audience responded enthusiastically, and then the door opened and Buffy and Angel came through, clasping each other's hands tightly and wearing big smiles. Jerry gestured to the stage and they crossed over and sat down, Buffy rejecting her seat in favour of Angel's lap. The audience hooted and wolf-whistled.

Buffy searched the audience quickly, finding Wesley, Anya and Tara and acknowledging them with extra smiles. The two women and Wesley grinned back. Spike was also there, sulking because he hadn't been invited to participate. She suspected he would attempt an illicit smoke, if he hadn't already. Buffy felt Angel squeeze nervously where he had a light grip around her waist, and placed her hands over his reassuringly.

'It's nice to see you two again,' Jerry said, beaming at the sight of them.

'Thanks, it's nice to be here,' Buffy said with a cheeky grin.

'How are you?' Jerry asked.

'We're fine,' she answered again.

'Coming up to six months now?' Jerry probed.

Angel shifted Buffy so he could see Jerry, 'Just over.'

'And it's going well?' Jerry prompted.

Buffy turned to Angel and they shared intimate smiles. She squeezed his hand and said, 'Yeah. It is.'

'No problems at all?' Jerry said in disbelief.

Now the couple shared ironic and slightly weary looks.

'Well, I didn't say that,' Buffy said mischievously.

////////////////

Buffy eyed Angel warily over the dinner table, the initial euphoria of their reunion fading. They were eating (him even seeming to enjoy it), and he'd sprung for a good restaurant, and God but he looked good, but she knew their relationship needed more than a few revelations and a quick grope to fix it properly.

But it could be fixed, and it would be fixed, and she knew that now.

'So,' she said, breaking the comfortable silence unwillingly, savouring the fact that it had been comfortable. They hadn't had that since he'd returned from hell.

'We need to talk,' he filled in smoothly.

'But not here,' she finished.

He smiled at her, really grinned, and the small part of her that wasn't collapsing in lust appreciated that it was the first time she'd seen such an expression on his face, and rejoiced at their naturally finishing each other's sentences.

'You want dessert?' he asked.

She glanced over at the display and forced herself to refuse. If things went the way she planned, she had a lot of empty calories to add into her diet from now on.

He paid, and then stood quickly and came over to help her out of her seat. She was touched, remembering his gentlemanly ways; helping her in and out of the car, opening doors for her, which she hadn't missed exactly, but it was nice to have them again. She was more touched when, again, he reached for her hand; when they'd been together before, he'd never been very affectionate in public, though incredibly tactile when alone with her. She felt some of her worry slip away with the simple gesture, which she thought of as a validation of their new status as boyfriend and girlfriend. Again.

Angel held Buffy's hand tightly and tried to stop himself grinning like the village idiot on holiday in the big city. He knew they had a lot to work out, but he also knew they could do it.

/////////////

'We were always confident we'd work it out,' Angel said.

'This time,' Buffy interjected wryly.

He smiled in acknowledgement, 'But we had a lot of ...' he hesitated, 'Issues when we first got back together, and it took us a while to work through that.'

////////////

'You left me,' Buffy said, quietly and intensely.

'Yes,' he admitted readily, 'And I'm glad I did.'

Her head snapped up and she regarded him incredulously, 'What?!' she gasped, her eyes becoming damp as she fought to keep unemotional.

He reached for her, but she evaded him. Undaunted, he followed her and trapped her in the circle of his arms, tipping her chin up and forcing her to look him in the eye.

'If we want to have a decent relationship, we've got to listen to each other. Instead of assuming stuff before we know everything,' he reprimanded her gently.

She closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them again she was calmer, gesturing for him to sit and following suit, dropping down close to him on his couch.

He looked at her seriously, 'You remember I said you deserved something more than me? Than us?'

As if she could forget any detail of the heartbreaking sewer talk. She nodded.

'I thought that,' he continued, 'For a long time. I always felt inferior to you. You were the Slayer, the epitome of good, and I was this vampire who'd killed hundreds of people and let myself love you even though I knew I didn't deserve that,' his voice wobbled, 'purity of emotion, light, I don't know how to put it. But I knew as much as I didn't deserve the light ... you did. And I was holding you back from that.'

Her lip trembled and her hand found his involuntarily. He gripped it thankfully.

'We were never equal, you and me. Especially after I changed, and came back. And I couldn't,' he narrowed his eyes and exhaled impatiently, searching for the words that would make her understand, 'I couldn't take knowing that. That your friends thought I was bad for you, and your mother thought I was bad for you, and that I thought I was bad for you.'

She pressed his hand more tightly, her voice thick with tears as she said, 'Didn't it matter that I didn't think you were bad for me?'

'It might have,' he told her, 'If I could have made myself believe it.'

////////////

Jerry frowned in concern, 'But you're here now, so obviously you got through that.'

Buffy and Angel exchanged another loving glance, 'We did, and it took a good few hours of emotional discussion,' she revealed.

'But that was pretty much the hardest part,' he said.

////////////

'You never could believe we were meant to be,' she said quietly, staring off into a place he couldn't see. He placed a finger on her chin and turned her eyes to focus on his. He could see tears glimmering, and silently cursed the many tears he'd caused this woman.

'I always knew *we* were meant to be, Buffy. I never thought *I* was meant to be.'

She looked confused, but he carried on regardless.

'But now, with everything I've been doing in LA ... I've helped a lot of people, you know? It's given me a purpose other than you.'

She smiled a little and joked, 'What's wrong with having me as a purpose?'

He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her head fondly, 'Come on, you've been doing psychology. Co-dependence is bad. I needed - a hobby.'

'A hobby!' she giggled.

'You know what I mean,' he said into her hair.

'Yeah, I do,' she said, and relaxed into his hold. They were silent for a minute.

'I've got somewhere now where I feel like a useful member of society...' he quipped.

'I always felt like you were,' she answered.

He carried on as if she hadn't spoken, '...and that means I feel like I can be in a good relationship with you. For you.'

'We will be,' she assured him.

'I needed for us to be something other than Buffy and her boyfriend,' he said.

'Buffy and Angel,' she said.

////////////

'We had a lot to catch up on,' Buffy said perkily, 'Because we'd been apart for so long.'

'Not that long,' Angel protested.

'Felt like a long time to me,' she said.

'Relative lifespans,' he muttered so only she could hear, and she stifled laughter.

////////////

Buffy and Angel lay comfortably on his bed, at right angles to each other, her head on his stomach where he could softly stroke her hair.

Buffy was staring at her upraised knees, unwilling to face him as she confessed about her one-night stand with Parker.

'And then he all but ignored me for the next pretty girl,' she finished miserably, not daring to glance upwards at his expression.

'I'm sorry you had to go through that,' he said finally, caressing her face comfortingly. she relaxed and nudged her cheek into his hand. He continued, 'I'm jealous as hell, actually, about him and Riley ...' he heaved a sigh, 'But I think it's good you had that. With both of them. For the experience, if nothing else.'

She stiffened and sat up. He opened his eyes, surprised.

'What?'

'What do you mean you're "glad I had the experience"?'

He sat up as well and reached for her, bewildered, 'To make, you know, an informed choice about wanting to be with me.'

She stared at him for a beat, 'Relationship experience.'

'Of course,' he said, honestly baffled, 'What did you think I meant?'

She pushed him back down to resume her previous position, mostly so he wouldn't be able to see her face.

'I thought you were talking about, um, in bed,' she admitted.

He was silent for a moment, and she squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment, then rushed on, 'I mean, I know you've had a lot of women, and I haven't had a lot of men, and well, after you changed he said ...'

'Nothing that was true,' Angel swore vehemently.

She gave the ceiling a small smile, 'Yeah?'

'Promise,' he replied, 'You made me - Buffy, I lost my soul. Doesn't that tell you anything about how good you were?'

Her smile turned naughty, and she turned over and crawled up his chest, inching his shirt up as she went. When she reached his head, she looked down into his indulgent smile and said throatily, 'But I'm sure there's still a lot that you could ... teach me.'

He didn't reply, but his smile grew and he pulled her down to him and kissed her passionately, savouring her instant response.

//////////

'Has Angel's former profession cause any problems?' Jerry asked.

The audience gasped, ghoulishly preparing to hear that he had been - well, probably a rent-boy, with that body.

'He was a priest,' Jerry continued, reading from his card. The audience sighed disappointedly and settled back, resigned.

Buffy smiled and nodded.

'I was what?' Angel whispered behind her, outraged.

'Be quiet, honey,' she said, then looked at Jerry, 'No. Everything's been fine.'

'Just fine?' Angel muttered, and she grinned, remembering some of their more ... eventful evenings.

////////////

He was on top of her, naked to the waist. She welcomed his weight and relished the feel of his cool skin as they kissed frantically.

He caressed her arms and muscled abdomen, then grabbed the hem of her sleeveless shirt and ripped it unceremoniously.

'Hey!' Buffy protested half-heartedly.

'I'll buy you a new one,' he said against her lips, and she subsided, helping him to remove the tattered remnants quickly so she could get back to exploring his hard back, her moans as his fingertips skimmed across her hips and torso swallowed in his kiss.

He pulled his mouth from hers and she panted breathlessly, clutching him to her as his lips travelled down her throat, nipping gently and then soothing her with wet kisses. He paused as he encountered the scar his teeth had left on her skin, branding her as his, however long it had taken him to fully claim her. As he sucked the spot, almost as if he were feeding from her again, Buffy's legs came up to wrap around his waist of their own volition and she breathed his name, desire shooting through her.

Her legs tightened as he left her delicious neck and moved his attentions still lower, licking his way across her collarbone. She tangled her fingers in his dark hair and urged him on incoherently.

'Aah, Angel,' she got out, 'Anything happen in your year I should, ummmmm, yeah, kno-oooooh! about?' She didn't really expect an answer.

He raised his head suddenly and she made a tiny sound of complaint and tried to tug him back down. He kissed her once, fiercely, and said with a lopsided grin, 'Well, actually there's this prophecy you should probably know about ...'

******

Wesley grimaced in embarrassment as a delighted scream emanated from Angel's room.

///////////

'I can imagine Riley wasn't too happy about you two getting back together,' Jerry said, then indicated the TV screen, which was frozen on a shot of Riley and Buffy from the first show.

Buffy looked at the screen unhappily. She had felt bad about doing that to Riley, when she had calmed. Especially after wrecking his whole career like that.

Angel stroked her back, knowing what she was feeling. As the clip began to play, he heard a loud 'Booooo!' and hid a smile at Spike's unwitting defence of him.

///////////

'I don't want you to feel you have to leave,' Buffy said in dismay as she watched Riley pack up a car.

'No,' he corrected, 'You don't want to feel you made me leave.'

There was no bitterness on his tone, no anger, but she looked down anyway.

He looked at her and sighed, 'Look, my reason for coming to Sunnydale was the Initiative. My excuse was Professor Walsh. I stuck around for you. And if you notice, all of those things are pretty much over, so ... so is my time here.'

She appreciated what he was saying, but still felt responsible, 'I'm sorry.'

'Yeah,' he said. He hoped she would hug him, or give him a goodbye kiss on the cheek, but she made no move to go nearer and he didn't want to approach her. She gave him one last smile and then turned and walked away.

He couldn't even pretend he'd seen regret in her face.

////////////

'Last time you were on, Buffy, it came out that a lot of your friends didn't exactly approve of your relationship with Angel. Have things been any easier this time?' Jerry asked, with real concern.

Angel gave a low laugh and Buffy grinned.

'They all still hated me at the beginning,' Angel said.

'They didn't all hate you!' Buffy exclaimed. He gave her a look. 'Well, Willow was supportive,' Buffy said, laughing herself.

'Once she'd threatened me with painful death if I hurt you again,' Angel qualified.

'But I didn't get an ecstatic welcome from your lot,' Buffy said, finding Wes in the audience and giving him a good-natured wave. He gave her an apologetic look and then smiled warmly. She grinned back. She ignored Spike, who was leering at her.

'It did take everyone a while to deal with us being together again,' Angel told Jerry.

'It was kind of a "love me, love my unsuitable partner" thing,' Buffy said cheerfully.

'Some had more trouble than others,' Angel said.

Jerry turned to address the audience, 'When Buffy and Angel last visited, we brought her friend Xander out. We'd like to bring him back today.'

The audience clapped, Anya especially hard and Spike not at all. Buffy and Angel turned to the on-stage doorway expectantly.

////////////

'I just can't believe that you're back with him after everything,' Xander said harshly.

'I know it's going to take a while to get used to -' Buffy said.

'I mean, you were doing so well! You and Riley were getting along so great, you were over him,' Xander ranted.

'I seemed over him,' Buffy corrected, 'And as far as Riley and I getting along great goes, all that means is that we were screwing a lot,' she said bluntly.

'There's something wrong with that?' He asked.

'Maybe not for you and Anya,' she snapped. He looked hurt, and she immediately felt bad.

'When you've had your soulmate, you tend to expect a little more from anyone who comes after,' she said quietly.

He just looked at her.

'Even if you don't approve, can't you just be glad I'm happy?' she pleaded.

He stared at her inscrutably, 'For how long?'

Her eyes filled with disbelieving tears and she got up and walked out of the room, giving him one last sad look.

Xander sat down and ran his hands through his hair, suddenly exhausted.

////////////

Xander walked out of the door, and his eyes searched the audience before checking the stage, seeking out Anya and giving her a nervous grin which she instantly returned.

Then he looked at the stage and grinned wholeheartedly at the couple seated together. He walked over, kissed Buffy on the cheek and shook Angel's hand and then took his own - well, Buffy's intended - seat beside them.

'Xander, you weren't approving Buffy and Angel's past relationship last time you were here. How do you feel about it this time?'

Xander fidgeted and glanced at Buffy, who smiled supportively.

'I was pretty shocked. But I got over it, and I'm happy for them,' he said.

Angel snorted, 'Call that the heavily edited version.'

'Look, Deadboy, I tried,' Xander retorted, but Buffy was happy to note that it was more banter - on both sides - than real negative emotion.

Of course, that was there too.

'What did you call him?' Jerry asked innocently.

Xander started - what had he called him? His eyes flicked to Anya, who mouthed 'Deadboy'. Xander's eyes grew big as he realised, then he smiled weakly.

'Um, Bedboy! Because, well, that's where he and Buffy seem to spend most of ...' he trailed off. Anya was grimacing and Spike's shoulders were shaking with barely suppressed hysteria. Even Wesley was raising an eyebrow. Only Tara looked sympathetic. Xander groaned inwardly, unwilling to even glimpse Buffy and Angel.

If he had looked, he would have seen Buffy offering up her own weak smiles and Angel looking very interested in the floor.

Jerry, who was politely bewildered, realised it was time to move on.

'So it took you a while to accept them.'

Xander leaped for the save eagerly, 'Yeah, it's really kind of a funny story.'

Angel snorted again.

'Well, it's a story,' Xander said.

///////////

'I just -'

'Don't want to see me happy?' Buffy spat.

'How can you say that? Of course I want you to be happy!' Xander exploded.

'Then why can't you accept me and Angel?' she shouted back.

'Because I don't want him to be happy!' Xander yelled.

Buffy stared at him, gobsmacked.

'That's ... Xander, that's so ...'

'Fair?' he offered, his eyes flashing.

'No,' she said between clenched teeth, 'So disgusting. How can you stand there and say you don't want someone to be happy?'

'Cuz it's not someone,' Xander returned, 'It's a vampire.'

'He's a person!' she shrieked.

'He's not!' he overrode her, 'He's a vampire who's done some pretty disgusting things himself.'

'When a demon controlled him!' she said despairingly.

'Isn't it the same?'

'No more than you when you were the hyena, or, or Giles when he was turned into the Fyaarl,' she said.

'But neither of us did anything,' Xander pointed out.

'That's not the point!' she exclaimed, 'The point is, you could have done and it wouldn't have been your fault.'

Xander only stared at her stubbornly.

'And what if it turns out the curse wasn't really fixed after all? Have you thought about that? Better keep a stake in your bedside table, Buffy,' he taunted.

Buffy didn't think; simply marched straight up to him and slapped him hard.

He staggered back and looked at her, astonished. She was breathing hard, but she knew she'd do it again. The urge to protect her mate was full blown in her now.

'What's your problem with him, Xander?' she said quietly, desperately, 'Is it still jealousy?' she gestured erratically with both hands, 'Fear? What?'

He straightened up and gingerly dabbed at his cheek, 'I don't trust him.'

Buffy searched his face, glad to see he'd given her an honest answer.

She stepped forward and ran professional fingers over the livid mark where she'd struck him. He let her, wincing slightly, and their eyes met and held.

'I need you to learn,' she whispered.

////////////

'And now we only argue when she's not around!' Xander finished, upbeat.

Buffy frowned, 'Is that true?' she asked Angel.

He looked at her, 'No.'

She narrowed her eyes and hit him gently. He grinned and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Jerry smiled in pleasure; despite what Xander said, he certainly seemed comfortable with the relationship.

The next guest was quite possibly a problem.

'Last time they were here, Buffy's mother was in the audience, but she got a little embroiled in the happenings on the stage. Today she's going to be doing it legitimately. I'd like you to welcome, for the first time, Joyce.'

////////////

'I'm not happy with this new relationship,' Joyce said bluntly.

Buffy leaned back on the island, preparing to be dug in for a while.

'We're going to do better now. We're different people,' she said hopefully.

'Really? Is he an alive one?' Joyce said sarcastically.

'Of course not,' Buffy said.

'Then you've still got all the problems you had last time, Buffy,' Joyce said, exasperated, 'The no-daylight, no-ageing, no-kids.'

'That's what you're worried about?' Buffy said, 'Your grandkids?' It was meant as a joke, but it came out flat and Joyce gave Buffy a sorrowful look.

'I'm worried about what happens when you want some,' she said.

'I'm the Slayer. We tend to miscarry,' Buffy said cruelly, 'Or get killed while pregnant. Or lose the kid. Or die and leave it motherless.'

Joyce balked.

'That's the harsh truth, Mom. You think it's hard for you, imagine how I felt when I found that out.'

Joyce did, and closed her eyes at the thought of the pain she couldn't help her daughter through.

'All the reasons you gave him before Prom, they don't work anymore either,' Buffy said.

Joyce's eyes flew open.

'All that I said to him then ... Buffy, I was just trying ...'

'To do what was best for me. I know. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that I know what's best for me now. And he's it.'

Joyce sighed, 'Buffy, I just think that you could end up regretting it if you don't -'

'Don't what?' Buffy cut in, 'Try normality? Mom, I have. I did. And I wanted Angel the whole way through.'

'I just don't know if I can accept that.'

Buffy looked sad, and Joyce regretted being the one to make her feel that way.

'I don't want to lose you, Mom,' Buffy said in a low, defeated tone, 'But I can't be without him again either.'

////////////

Buffy hurriedly hissed at Xander to move, and by the time Joyce entered, Buffy and Angel were sitting on their own seats. But still holding hands.

Joyce came in, and though she made contact with neither Buffy nor Angel, her smile as she looked at them was warm.

'Joyce, it's nice to have you here on the show,' Jerry said.

'Thank you,' Joyce said over the loud chant of "Jerry, Jerry".

'Have you come to feel better about your daughter's relationship?'

'I really have,' Joyce confirmed, 'I was sceptical at first, but to see them together is ... it's lovely. Buffy's never been so happy.'

'Mom!' Buffy said, choked up. She knew her mother had accepted them, but she hadn't heard her mother openly praise their relationship.

'Oh, Buffy,' Joyce said, and they stood and embraced in the middle of the stage. The audience aaaah-ed dutifully.

////////////

Joyce stood firm in the entrance to the mansion, where Buffy had mentioned Angel was staying again to spend time with her before going back to LA.

She knocked and waited.

Like the previous occasion, Angel was polite, inviting her in, offering refreshment, though he had coffee this time. She refused equally politely, and they both sat, awkwardly.

Angel broke the silence, 'If this is another hard-choices-you-have-to-make speech, I don't want to hear it,' he said grimly, 'I'm staying by Buffy's side until she tells me she doesn't want me there.'

Joyce looked at him, noticing that he had changed as Buffy had said. Always a big man, he looked bigger, somehow. As if he had stopped apologising for himself.

'Good,' she said, half in defeat and half in realisation that he might really be best for her daughter, 'But if you hurt her, I'll see you dusted.'

She was surprised to see him give her a beautiful grin, and more surprised to find herself grinning back.

'You'll be handing Willow the stake, then,' he said.

/////////////

Joyce had sat down again, and Buffy had resumed her place on Angel's knee. Joyce didn't look delighted at this, but was refraining from comment.

'I'm glad to see that you and Buffy were able to work that out. Also in the audience last time was a man Buffy introduced as her mentor. Next we're going to meet Giles,' Jerry announced.

Buffy smiled, but between her and Angel's bodies, she reached for his hand.

////////////

Buffy and Giles sat awkwardly in his apartment. She was nursing tea, staring into her cup. Unbeknown to her, the mug he held contained tea fortified with whisky.

'So your mother is more in favour now,' Giles said, breaking the silence.

'Yeah,' Buffy nodded. The silence resumed.

Then Buffy carried on, 'And Xander's promised to try and be civil to him, and Willow's fine as long as I'm happy. Spike's not happy about it, but I was pretty much expecting that, so ...' she looked up at him calmly, 'The only one left is you, Giles.'

He took a swig of his tea, 'Yes.'

Her voice took on a bitter note as she accused him, 'And given that you held back the little snippet about the curse, I can probably guess you're not in the "go forth and live happily ever after" camp.'

He remained composed, 'At the time I couldn't see that ending for you and Angel whatever happened.'

'Well, thanks a lot,' she shot back, 'Can you see it now?'

'It seems more likely now, yes,' he answered, still apparently unruffled.

She stared at him for a moment, willing him to apologise, explain further, anything to temper what she saw as simple cruelty.

He idly traced the rim of his mug, and considered how best to explain to her.

'I am sorry, Buffy. For the pain you went through.'

'What about his pain, Giles?' she asked quietly, 'Can you imagine how it was for him to live in fear of what he could become for so long? Angelus was worse for him than any of us! When all the time, a few words from you could have fixed it?'

Giles remained silent.

'That was the point, wasn't it?' she said in disbelief.

'No!' he said in shock, 'How can you think that?'

'Then tell me what else to think!' she cried.

'That's not fair, Buffy,' he said warningly, 'I accepted Angel again. I found it difficult, yes, but I was able to work with him and even to trust him, until -'

He broke off.

'Until he fed off me,' she said wearily.

'Yes,' Giles confirmed, 'It was unforgivable of him to do that, Buffy. Putting your life in danger, so soon before the Ascension.'

'I never told you what happened then, did I?' she asked.

'It was quite plain from the bite marks!' Giles snapped.

'He would never have hurt me, Giles,' she said, quietly but passionately, 'He was ready to die. But I,' she sniffed, 'I couldn't lose him. I forced him into vamp mode, and I forced his head into my neck, and I forced him to drink from me. And I've never loved him so much as when he was draining my life's blood from my body.'

'I can't believe that,' Giles said flatly.

Buffy laughed, but the sound contained no humour, 'You sound like my mother.'

She shook her head and stood up, pacing restlessly.

'I don't know if I can forgive you for that just yet, Giles. You purposely held it back. Even when you knew he was leaving me.'

'He left you for more reasons than sex, Buffy!' Giles defended, 'It may not have changed anything.'

'It would have given us something!' she shouted, 'Even if it was just a farewell fuck!'

He winced at her crude language; she was unapologetic.

'I thought ...'

'It was best for me, I know. A lot of people think a lot of things about what's best for me. Pity none of them ever ask me.'

He looked down, ashamed in the face of her anger.

She went on, unstoppable, 'When I think of how I behaved this year. Just the hope would've -'

'Killed you,' he interjected suddenly, driven to speak, 'Forced you to become a shell of what you were, a lifeless robot giving up your life waiting on a dream.'

'Better a shell than a - an evil twin!' she cried, frustrated, 'Don't you understand that I waited on it anyway? I always believed he'd come back to me eventually! This would have made it so much easier!'

She broke down in tears. Dismayed, he went over to offer tentative comfort, and was heartened when she allowed him to place an arm around her shoulders.

'I'm sorry,' he whispered.

'I don't want to have to choose between you guys and Angel,' she said brokenly.

'I know,' he shushed her.

'I know you thought it was the right thing to do,' she said, sniffling.

'And I appreciate it was wrong,' he replied.

////////////

When Giles came in, he kissed Buffy's cheek and shook Angel's hand, mirroring Xander's earlier movements.

When he passed Joyce, he nodded and moved on quickly.

'What exactly is your relationship to Buffy?' Jerry enquired.

'I was the librarian at her high school, and I became something of a, a mentor to her,' he said, glancing at Buffy, who smiled encouragingly.

'Last time you were here it transpired that you'd kept something pretty important from Buffy, is that right?'

'Yes, it is.'

'I assume that's all worked out now?'

'Yes.'

Jerry waited, but when Giles didn't elaborate, he let it go, unwilling to cause this pair any more trouble than he had to.

He turned to Angel.

'So far, you've escaped notice here, Angel. How did your friends react?'

'They were happy for us,' Angel said, 'Eventually.' He smiled at Wesley, who was blushing.

'I'd like to bring on for the second time an old friend of Buffy and Angel's who now works for Angel. Big hand for Cordelia!' Jerry said.

/////////////

Angel looked up from the book he was reading at Wesley, who smiled weakly and pulled Cordelia round in front of him. She offered a huge grin, but neither spoke.

'What?' Angel said after a minute had gone by.

Cordelia sat down in the chair in front of his desk and leaned forward earnestly.

'We want to talk to you about you and Buffy,' she said.

'We?' Angel said, glancing up at Wesley, who smiled nervously.

'Yes,' Cordelia said firmly, 'We're worried that the business is going to go downhill if Buffy makes you miserable again,' she frowned, 'As long as you're keeping the business ... you are, right?'

Angel evaded the second question, as he and Buffy were still unsure about the mechanics of their new relationship. They'd been more concerned with the ... physical. And emotional, obviously. But, mainly, the physical. Which both felt was understandable, given that for two years they hadn't been able to ...

But he had a feeling Cordelia didn't want to hear about that.

'Why do you think we're going to make each other miserable?' he asked, honestly wanting to know, a little hurt that the closest friends he had seemed unsure about the best thing to happen to him.

Then again, it was no more than Buffy was dealing with with her nearest and dearest.

'Well, if you check the history here, it's pretty much a given,' Cordelia said, a little impatiently.

'If you check the history here, it's pretty much a given that we can't make love,' Angel said reasonably.

Cordelia made a face, 'And we all know how much you've been doing that.'

Angel put his book down and swung his feet off the desk, 'It means a lot to me that you guys are okay with this,' he said softly, almost pleading with them to understand, 'Even pleased for me? For me and Buffy?'

'I am,' Wesley said, surprising both Angel and Cordelia, the latter of whom gave him a dirty look.

'Possibly it's because I never witnessed, um, let's say the worst excesses of Angelus,' Wes said delicately, 'But I see you happier than I have yet, and I've seen Buffy in a similar state, so I give you my support,' He cleared his throat.

'Thanks, Wes,' Angel said, touched.

'Fine!' Cordelia said, throwing up her hands, 'Just don't ask me to stake you when it all goes wrong!'

Angel gave her a reproachful look and she was instantly remorseful, 'I'm sorry. I just - haven't had a lot of faith in you guys as a couple.'

Angel gave her a half-grin, 'We haven't inspired it. But we will, Cor. We're going to work this time.'

She answered his grin with one of her own, 'I guess if you've gotten this far ... you have a pretty good chance.'

'Thank you,' Angel said softly.

'Especially if you're still together after that boyfriend she had, and the whole human thing, and Faith and whatever the hell else happened this year,' Cordelia said idly, getting up.

Angel grimaced slightly, 'Actually, I haven't told her about the human day.'

Cordelia whipped round and fixed him with an eagle eye, 'And that was a "yet" I heard on the end of that sentence, yes?'

When he didn't respond, she sighed and leaned over the desk, crowding him.

'It's important, Angel. For - trust, and no secrets and,' she gesticulated, 'When you fulfill the prophecy of forever-humanness!'

'Really?' he said, wanting to share the joy but not the burden of that mad, wonderful, heart-wrenching day with Buffy.

'You have to,' Cordelia said quietly.

'Even if she dumps me and I do wind up begging for the stake?' Angel asked, only half-joking.

'She won't,' Cordelia said with quiet certainty.

Angel kissed her on the cheek, rising and wandering down the stairs.

'Cordelia ...' Wesley said, 'Are you sure she won't?'

Cordelia looked around at him in surprise.

'Oh, yeah. I'm positive she won't.'

Wesley waited for her to continue, than prompted, 'What makes you so sure?'

'Well, she didn't seem homicidal when I told her,' Cordelia said absently, 'Shocked, yeah, upset obviously, but she wasn't having killing thoughts. But then I'm not him.'

////////////

Cordelia came out onto the stage, dressed to kill, but prepared to be more or less ignored, as she had been last time. Unsurprisingly, Buffy and Angel were cuddled together, and everyone else looked comfortable, so she assumed there hadn't been any fights. Not that she had expected fights, exactly. But she didn't know how the Sunnydale lot had reacted except for Buffy's vague reports, which tended to be along the lines of 'fine'.

And one angry call from Xander early in the relationship, but she was pretty sure he'd been drunk, as she'd seemed to be able to hear Anya giggling in the background.

She gracefully took her seat next to Buffy's mother and turned her attention to the audience. or at least the part of the audience which had cameras in front of it.

'I'd like to welcome you back on the show, Cordelia,' Jerry said.

'It's nice to be here,' Cordelia replied politely.

'Angel's your boss ... did you have any trouble adjusting to his new relationship?' Jerry asked.

'Not once I was sure it was what he wanted,' she answered, cutting out tiny, little, insignificant bits of the actual, factual truth.

'So you didn't cause any trouble in the relationship?' Jerry asked without blinking a lid.

'In, in what way?' Cordelia asked nervously.

'Well,' Jerry said, peering down at his card, 'Last time you were here, you said something that caused some shock in other guests,' he looked back up at her, 'Something you referred to as him "giving up humanity". What did you mean by that?'

A confused ripple ran through the audience. Cordelia looked at him in consternation, feeling herself start to hyperventilate.

'Well, what I meant by that,' she paused and breathed out quickly, 'What I was referring to was,' she looked around quickly for help.

Angel took pity on her, 'When I renounced the cloth.' He assumed a pious expression and felt Buffy shake silently with laughter.

'Yes!' Cordelia pounced gratefully, 'Because it had been so important to him, it was his entire life, so obviously that relates to -' Angel cleared his throat noisily and Cordelia stopped, disoriented, then gave a beaming smile and settled back, determined not to talk any more.

Jerry gave a polite, let's-indulge-the-maniac smile and wondered if the girl was on some sort of drug.

'But you didn't tell Buffy when this happened?' he asked Angel.

'No,' he answered.

'So I was pretty mad when I found out,' Buffy added.

////////////

Buffy was staring blankly at the wall of the cafe where she had arranged to meet Angel after leaving her father's house. Though she knew it was unlikely he would be late (he was almost obsessively punctual), she hoped he would be. Still in shock from Cordelia's little piece of news, she didn't know whether she would hug him or punch him when she saw him again.

Saw him. Undead. Without the beating heart and human warmth Cordelia had sworn he had possessed for such a short time.

She felt rather than saw him come in and suddenly, the rush she experienced every time she knew he was near became ever so slightly unwelcome.

He came over quickly and bent to kiss her lips, but she turned so that he found her cheek instead.

He felt a tremor of nerves, but dismissed it, taking the seat opposite her.

'Hi,' he said tentatively.

She did her best to produce a reasonable smile, 'Hi.'

'How are you?' he said.

'Fine,' she replied, and hated the way the lovely ease they had found had vanished, leaving them in a similar state to how they had been just after he had returned from hell, edgy around each other, uncertain of the other's feelings and how to express their own.

He didn't want to spring his speech on her when things seemed to be at a low point, but, part of him reflected glumly, at least things might not get actively worse.

'Are you nearly done?' he said, indicating her untouched coffee, 'Because I need to talk to you about something and I'd rather not do it here.'

She looked at him levelly, 'This isn't by any chance about the same thing Cordelia was talking to me about yesterday, is it?'

He stared at her, 'You know.' It came out softer than a breeze.

She didn't bother to answer as he gripped her wrist and urged her up, guiding her outside quickly.

A part of her hated his high-handed behaviour with her.

But another part was glad he hadn't been going to keep it from her.

************

'I love you,' he said urgently once they were back in his apartment, 'You know that, right?'

'I love you too,' she whispered, 'But for you to hold something like this back from me ...'

His heart plummeted.

She suddenly fixed him with blazing, merciless eyes, 'I need to know everything. Now.'

He looked carefully into those eyes, and then he began to speak.

He told her of the Mohra demon, and its attack which had left them sprawled on top of each other. Then their search in the sewers; his fight with it after she left; and his turning human by its blood.

He recounted his visit to the Oracles and what they told him, and his passionate, awe-filled kiss with Buffy in the sunlight. His voice wavered as he remembered their long discussion in his apartment, and the way that discussion ended, with an unspoken declaration on the table.

She unknowingly gripped his hand, eyes locked onto his expressive face as he told her of their frenzied lovemaking and their later, gentler couplings; their pillow talk and lovers banquet.

Ignored tears ran paths down her face as he described his fight with the regenerated Mohra; his helplessness as she rescued him; his desperation as he realised this was how it would always be for them now, and his final plea for her life to the Oracles, their acquiescence, and his encounter with Buffy as she cried on his shoulder and he cried along with her.

And then his final confused killing of the Mohra demon and goodbye to her, as she walked out not remembering anything of the day, leaving him bereft and alone.

When he finished, he found himself unable to look at her, locked in a private world where he was human and they were fully together.

Until she crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder, muttering incoherently and sobbing in his relieved, adoring embrace.

He stroked her hair and back, murmuring soft endearments, and let her cry herself out, knowing it was the best way.

Finally, when she rose her head and looked at him, he was surprised by the first thing she said.

'I'm sorry.'

'What for?'

'Leaving you,' she said, her eyes filling with tears again, 'I didn't want to go, that day. I wanted to fling myself in your arms and beg you to come home with me.'

'It's not your fault,' he said gently, caressing her lower back soothingly.

'Why couldn't you have talked to me?' she said brokenly, 'To just decide you were better vampire than human ...'

'They said you'd die,' he remembered, 'And it just came out ... the only way I'd ever known to protect you ... all I ever gave to you was your safety.'

'No,' she said tenderly, 'That's not true. You gave me you,' she pulled up his head to look him in the eye and rested her forehead against his, 'I'd rather die in your arms than have more time without you, didn't you know that?'

'We'll have it again,' he promised her.

She kissed him then, and he kissed her back with a desperation she knew had come straight from his memories of that wild day. They kissed with increasing fervour, her legs twining around his waist from her position in his lap, holding their bodies as closely together as possible, she imagining doing this with an Angel who was warm to touch, who she could make as breathless as he made her.

He was surprised when she pulled away from him scant minutes later, but followed as she pulled him up and led him docilely over to the table in the kitchen.

'Here?' she said throatily, imagining the feel of his body covering hers, pressing her into the hard wood of the table.

'Yeah,' he got out.

She looked at him with sleeping fire in her eyes and he stepped closer as she said, 'Show me.'

///////////

'Why did you forgive him, Buffy?' Jerry asked, in the dark as to what it was she had really forgiven him for.

She gave Angel a quick, private look, a gentle smile creeping across her lips. She leaned back into him, curling an arm around his neck and his arms came up to wrap around her slim waist as they smiled into each other's eyes.

Their silent communion was broken by Spike's distinctive catcall from the audience. They smiled sheepishly.

Buffy focused back on Jerry, still waiting patiently for her answer.

'How could I not?' she said softly.

She twisted on Angel's lap to look at him again, and he freed one arm from her waist, bringing it to her palm so he could lift her fingers and softly kiss her hand.

Most of the women in the audience sighed in unison. Most of the women in the audience with their partners turned to glare at them, wondering why they didn't get such obvious affection.

Jerry felt slightly embarrassed at witnessing the touching scene. He wasn't prepared for love on his show. Fights were more usual.

'Our last guest today was Buffy's comforter last time around,' a picture came up on the screen of Buffy crying on Willow's shoulder, 'Now we're going to find out how far that attitude went. Can we bring out Willow, please!'

Willow came out, looking a little shy, but not so much she couldn't give Tara a wave.

She hugged Buffy and Angel at the same time, and also hugged Cordelia as she moved to sit next to her, not having seen the other woman for a few months. She took her seat and leaned forward brightly.

'Angel's already said something about you threatening him if he hurt Buffy again ... is that true?' Jerry asked curiously.

Willow laughed and leaned back to exchange grins with her best friend's boyfriend.

'Yeah, I did. But I know he's trying really hard not to, so I haven't had to follow that through yet.'

'So you didn't approve of the relationship?' Jerry went on.

'Oh, no!' Willow said, 'I mean, yeah, I did, once I'd seen how they were with each other again.'

////////////

Willow lay on Buffy's bed in Joyce's house, watching Buffy prepare for a date with Angel.

'And you're actually going on, like, a date,' Willow said, 'I don't think I remember you guys having a proper, organised date since, well, ever!'

'I know,' Buffy said, throwing her a million dollar smile as she pivoted in front of the mirror, 'It feels pretty good.'

Willow observed her friend affectionately.

'You know, you're shining,' she told Buffy.

'I'm what?' Buffy said, riffling through her jewellery box.

'Shining,' Willow repeated, 'You never shone while you were with Riley. You glowed, occasionally. But you didn't shine.'

Buffy stared at herself in the mirror.

'Well, I guess now I've got a reason to.'

She grabbed her purse from the back of the door and left, blowing Willow a carefree kiss and telling her not to wait up.

'Like it would have done any good to,' Willow muttered indulgently.

**********

Buffy and Angel sat opposite each other in a secluded corner of the restaurant. They hadn't spoken much, but every time they caught each other's eye, they couldn't help but exchange silly grins.

'And you're back in school in two weeks,' Angel verified.

'Yep,' Buffy said, dabbing her mouth with the napkin, 'Back to the grind. I can't believe I chose Psych again. Remind me why that was?'

'Because you left it too late to change,' Angel said, smiling at her.

'I had another end of the world!' Buffy protested.

Angel slipped around the table to sit next to her and massage her shoulders.

'Well,' he said, bending down to kiss her neck, 'Let's toast to a complete lack of world ending scenarios for this year,' as one hand reached to grasp his wine.

'Toasts really work better when one member of the toasting parties hasn't forbidden the other one from having wine,' Buffy groused playfully.

'You're too young,' Angel said, but she could sense he was smiling, and the hand that held the wine came up with perfect co-ordination to tip some into her mouth.

'To a quiet hellmouth!' Angel toasted as their glasses clinked.

'And to fighting whatever does come out of it together,' Buffy added quietly, cupping his cheek as he rested his head on her shoulder.

'Definitely,' he replied, tipping her chin up and around so their lips met in a kiss which was both a sensory pleasure and a seal of love between them.

'Actually,' he said, turning her to face him, 'While we're on togetherness ...'

His hand delved into his jacket pocket and brought out a jewellery box which he offered to her.

She took it and opened it to see a beautiful claddagh, silver with a diamond inlaid into the heart. She bit her lip and smiled even as tears came to her eyes.

'I thought since you lost the other one ...' Angel said, nuzzling her cheek.

'I love you,' she whispered, cutting him off.

'I love you,' he said. They kissed once, hard, and then she offered the box back to him. He understood and removed the ring, taking her left hand and gently sliding it on.

Facing in.

//////////////////

'Let's talk about the future,' Jerry said, 'I understand you've currently got plans to move in together?'

'Yeah,' Buffy confirmed, smiling broadly, 'I'll be transferring to UCLA next semester and we're going to find someplace close to live.'

'What does Mom think about that?' Jerry asked, zeroing in on Joyce.

'Oh, I've long stopped trying anything to keep these two apart,' Joyce joked. The audience laughed, but both Buffy and Angel realised the deeper meaning to it and smiled at Joyce gratefully.

'Any wedding bells on the horizon?' Jerry nosed.

Angel took this one, 'We've got some stuff needs to happen before being man and wife.'

Only those who understood the significance of the word 'man' noticed his soft stress of it. Not all appreciated it; Spike faked a large yawn and made sure his grandsire saw it.

'Well, everyone here wishes you the best of luck,' Jerry said honestly.

Buffy shot an intimate look at her mate, 'Thanks, but we don't need luck.'

The audience broke out in more cheers, Spike in more 'gag me' pantomimes. Jerry smiled at the loving couple fondly and then looked straight into the camera.

'It is a truth that love comes to an end. But as we've seen, it's also a truth that love can endure anything that's set before it. Until next time, take care of yourselves, and each other.'

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