Part 17

"Uh ... hi." Dawn looked mildly surprised and she rubbed her tired eyes when she saw the two visitors in front of the door. It wasn't even nine o'clock and she knew that Cordelia wasn't the early type. "What's the matter?" she asked and clamped her hand over her mouth when she had to yawn.

"Can we come in, it's important," the brunette said simply and then without waiting for an invitation brushed past the slayer's sister.

Willow gave the girl and apologetic glance, and then smiled, "Sorry for disturbing you so early. I know it's Saturday and all, but this is really important."

"Sure," Dawn smiled back. "It's no problem. But Buffy's still in bed," she said, when she followed Cordelia into the living room, Willow on her heels. "She had a busy night."

"I know, I know. Eleven vampires, I've already heard it," Cordelia stifled a yawn.

"Actually, it was 13 in the end," a voice came from the stairs and only seconds later the slayer walked into the living room, blinking against the bright sunlight. There were two more when Dawn and I went home after reporting everything with Giles." She tilted her head and eyed the brunette closely, "You don't look too good, Cordelia."

The former cheerleader groaned, "No, I don't feel good either. Might be lack of sleep, or the fact that a certain vampire brushed into the mansion right before dawn."

"Angel?" all weariness was instantly forgotten, Buffy's eyes were shining, "Angel's back already? I thought he was coming back tonight."

"She's got all the symptoms alright," Cordelia exchanged a glance with Willow. "And to answer your question. He got everything done, so he decided to come back earlier, seems he can't stay away for long. And I think he doesn't trust Spike."

"Shut up," came a loud voice from the basement. "He'd better appreciate my sacrifice for her."

"Still cranky as I see," the brunette chuckled and the other grinned. "Poor vampy. Got your ass kicked."

"Sod off," he barked. "And lower your voices. A vampire needs to sleep."

Dawn giggled, "His ego got a big crack. Its all that macho-stuff. I'm going to make coffee," she announced and disappeared towards the kitchen.

"You know," Cordelia said, looking thoughtfully into the direction the girl had just disappeared, "I would be careful with Spike around her. After all this family has a tradition with vampires. And this one hasn't even got a soul."

Buffy's face wore a shocked expression for a moment, before she shook her head, "No way. Dawn likes Spike, but not that way. Besides, she's just 14 years old."

"And what did you dream of at that age?" the brunette asked, then waved her hand, "No, don't bother. I don't want to know, even if you could actually remember." There was a smile on your face and the tone of her voice said that it was only friendly teasing.

The slayer smiled. She looked at Willow, then back at Cordelia. "Now. Why are you here?"

They looked instantly uncomfortable, exchanging glances, shifting on their feet, studying the carpet, then Cordelia took a deep breath, "Angel made us swear not to tell you," she began. "And we... both... had all intentions to keep that promise, but now the situation is changed and we just feel it isn't his personal problem anymore. I, that is, we, Willow, Wesley, Gunn and I-"

"And Tara," Willow reminded her.

"And Tara," Cordelia agreed, "We all think you need to know about it."

Buffy pointed at the sofa and the chairs and as soon as the women had sat down, she asked, "To know what?"

"It's... uh... about Angel," Willow began hesitantly, hating the fact that she was betraying the vampire's trust. But Cordelia was right, this wasn't just about Angel, it was about the world and anyways, Buffy had a right to know all about that particular subject.

"Yes, you..." the blond stopped, then alarm entered her eyes, "He isn't ill, is he?"

"No," the witch reached out and touched her friend's arm. "He's fine." She saw Buffy relax and smiled. "Before we tell you this, I want you to know that Angel loves you. He really does and that the reasons why he choose not to tell you about it, have nothing to do with his feelings for you. Well, in a way it does, but not the way you might think. I mean-"

"Willow," the blond stopped her best friend's babbling. "Just tell me."

"Uh... yes. Maybe I'm going to start. You remember when you asked me to look into his curse. Right. So I did. I, Tara and Anya. We thought a former vengeance demon couldn't hurt and it showed that it was the right decision. Anya speaks ancient Romani."

"Romani?" Buffy's eyes went wide. "Like the gypsies who cursed Angel?"

"Exactly," the witch smiled again. "I gave her a printout of the original curse, the one that was used on Angel hundred years ago and then the English translation Jenny had made. You have to know, that I'm really blaming myself for never reading the English version properly. After Angel was re-cursed, and later when he..." she stopped herself the last possible minute from saying, 'went to hell', and said instead, "left you, there wasn't any particular reason to do it."

"Why... should you blame yourself?" the slayer asked, then looked up when Dawn returned with mugs filled with steaming coffee and cocoa for herself.

The girl looked around, "You mind me staying here?"

"No," Willow shook her head and Dawn sat down beside her sister. "Anyways. Anya did. And she told us there was no happiness clause in the translated version." She stopped and looked at Buffy, waiting for her reaction.

It needed a moment for the words to sink in, and then the slayer gasped. "But that..."

"That's what I thought too," the witch nodded approvingly. "You can't imagine what I felt after finding that out. There was joy, but at the same time, I felt miserable for not realizing it earlier and saving you two so much pain. But I found out I was wrong. Tara and I went to tell Angel the next day. We were really excited only to find out that it wasn't true."

"But how..." Buffy's eyes darted from Willow to Cordelia.

"He reverted into Angelus in L.A.," the brunette replied. "An actress drugged him. A drug inducing bliss... and check, there he was again. The annoying demon, speaking nothing but the truth, insulting everyone and..." she took a deep breath and shook her head, "sorry, I got carried away, but I really can't stand that guy."

"I feel your pain," came the British accented voice from downstairs.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else," Willow suggested. "I don't know ifSpike..."

She broke off when she saw Cordelia waving her hand, "It doesn't matter. He's going to hear about it sooner or later. Where was I? Oh yes. So we knew that there was still the clause."

"Yes," the redhead continued. "I was devastated that I'd been so wrong, but then we realized what had happened. At least I think we know. While I was re-cursing him, some gypsy-spirit must have used me for channeling. Oz - that was my boyfriend - said that I started out in English, then my voice and the language changed. So Tara and I figured we just needed some sort of protection spell to prevent it from happening again."

"Happening again?" Buffy frowned, then it hit her, and her eyes widened, "You mean you just curse him again. Willow that's," she faltered and her face fell. "Why do I have the feeling that's just a part of the story?"

"Because you aren't as dumb as I thought," Cordelia said with a smile. "There's more than one thing. First, I think Angel is afraid. Of the whole thing. He doesn't like curses in general and talking about them, especially when it comes to himself, makes him... jumpy. He thinks that it might not work to re-curse him and that he'd end up as Angelus."

"Yeah," Willow confirmed, remembering the day when she'd told the vampire about her discovery. "He refused to even talk about it at first. I said we'd just re-curse him with the old thing, if the new version doesn't work, but he wouldn't listen."

"He's stubborn as a mule," Buffy muttered, but the others had heard her and giggled.

"You can say that," the brunette agreed. "But there is another thing," she quickly glanced at Dawn, not quite sure how to bring up the subject. "There's still the... uh... procedure to remove the current curse. To lift his soul so to say. The... uh... moment of true happiness." Seeing the expression in Buffy's eyes she held up a hand, "A drug won't do it. It's not true happiness, just synthetic. It'll wear off. The soul's not lifted, the demon just gets the upper hand for a while."The slayer nodded slowly. "I see," then more understandingly, "I see," she exclaimed. "You mean we both would have to... I mean," she stopped looking at Dawn much the same way Cordelia had just before.

It had her sister rolling her eyes, "You've got to be kidding," she said. "I got sex education in school. As gross as it might be to actually picture... but that doesn't mean I don't know what happens."

Buffy held her sister's gaze for a moment, then sighed loudly. "So much about sparing her the gory details. Okay, so we both, I mean Angel and I would need to..."

"Uh... yes," Willow confirmed. "To remove the curse. From what you told me it doesn't happen immediately. So there would be enough time to chain him down and hold him there to curse him again. I would do it, as I know how to, and Tara would create a protective field around me, so that whatever sprits want to disturb won't have a chance. Or at least that's what we hope will happen. Theory and actually doing things aren't always the same," she said in a matter of apologizing in advance.

"And... and he refused?" Buffy asked.

"Yes. Quite firmly," Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You have no idea - or maybe you have?" she frowned. "I'm not quite sure what you remember. But anyways. He's so stubborn, so thickheaded. You want to take something very hard and hit him on that protruding forehead of his."

"It's a nice forehead," the slayer protested instantly, making her sister giggle again.

"Huh?" the brunette looked as if the slayer had lost her mind. "Whatever. He thinks he can't ask you to do that, with you not having your complete memories."

Now it was the blonde's turn to roll her eyes, "Oh, I've already heard that. You're not fit to decide if you don't know what you're deciding," she imitated his voice.

"Yeah," Cordelia chuckled. "That's what I mean. Up to a certain extent I can understand his doubts. But that's not the point."

"There's more?" Dawn put her cocoa down.

"Unfortunately yes. As I said Angel came back, this morning and he had news regarding this 'gate'-stuff. He'll tell you tonight and he can do this so much better than I, so I'm saving you from it for now, but one thing I understood loud and clear and it's the reason we came." She turned to look at Willow and the redhead nodded.

"You remember when we were talking about this law-firm in L.A., Wolfram & Hart?" The blond nodded and Cordelia went on, "It seems they've combined forces with some ancient vampire, they gave him the prophecy and in return he promised them something they want desperately," she took another deep breath. "He promised to remove Angel's soul. They know about the sort of curse that had been used to install it in the first place."

"But then he needs to get the new curse done," Buffy exclaimed instantly. "Doesn't he see that?" She looked incredulously at the former cheerleader, "He still refuses it?"

"Yep," Cordelia nodded, "I think he even got to the point where he sees the advantage of it, where he'd risk it, but he doesn't want to get you mixed up in this."

"Oh that... that stupid idiot," the slayer angrily shook her head. "I told him I loved him. He said he loved me-"

"Really?" Dawn asked not hiding her excitement.

Buffy's voice softened, "Really," she said quietly, and a smile crept over her lips. "I'm going to talk to him," she got up and was already halfway up the stairs when Cordelia's shout stopped her. She turned and looked at the brunette who was standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Yes?"

"Don't be too hard on him. He really loves you, you know. And he's hard enough on himself," she saw Buffy nod and smiled, "But of course you can hit him once or twice, might help to get his mind back on the right track. Away from that 'I-need-to-pay-for-sins-I-couldn't-help-happening'-routine."

The blond smiled back, "You know, Cordelia. I have no idea if I liked you before the amnesia or not, but I really do like you now."

The former cheerleader stared at her retreating back, then shook her head and laughed. Maybe she was wrong; maybe Buffy was exactly what Angel needed.

Part 18

Angel felt the tingling sensation in his dream. He'd felt it before. His dreams of Buffy had always been vivid. New was the smell. He could actually smell her. And she smelled good. Like vanilla and some other herbs. And like flowers, like a meadow full of spring flowers. And most of all she smelled like sunshine. Like his own personal ray of sunshine.He sighed in his sleep, welcoming the dream, like he was welcoming the relaxing slumber. Maybe due to exhaustion, he guessed. At some point his body had to give in. And now it obviously had. Besides, this was so much better than just laying awake and thinking about things that might never be.

Her hands were running through his hair now, then trailing down the skin of his face, tracing his brows, his lids, his nose, his mouth, then replaced by warm lips breathing over his cold ones.

God, this dream was vivid. Maybe he was losing it. Finally. But at the moment he didn't care. He wanted more, wanted everything, and wanted the redemption that was Buffy. He reached out, his arms encircling her tiny form, pulling her closer. He could hear her moan and chuckle against her lips. They curved into a smile. He could feel it. And in response he smiled as well.

The attack of her tongue on his earlobe was so unexpected after this that he had to suck in a sharp breath. A hiss. He could hear her giggle, feel her lips tremble against his ear. God, this was heaven. Her hands were flat on his chest, the warmth of them almost branding his skin, making him shiver allover. He needed to get closer, and closer. For a second he was afraid to crush her, but this was a dream, so no worries there.

He sighed again, giving himself up completely to this dream, and began to remove the straps of her tank top, when she suddenly sneezed. Against his ear. With a giggle and a muffled "sorry" and he wanted to smile when it hit him. He felt... actually felt... the wetness behind his ear.

With something between a shout and a groan he bolted upright in bed, his eyes flying open, while a person was almost catapulted to the floor.

"Hey!" she protested. "I really liked it there."

Buffy.

"Wh- what are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes staring at her in shock, one of his hands clutching the sheets to his waist, for the first time regretting his habit to sleep without clothes. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

As a response she smiled. Wickedly. Angel couldn't believe it. What was the woman up to? "Not yet," was all she said, then - God help him - licked her lips. Slowly. Then with a sigh found a comfortable spot at the bottom of the bed and stretched there. Like a cat. Angel clutched the bed sheet closer.

"Would you please tell me, what this is all about?" he almost shouted, almost grateful that he could feel anger rising. Anger was good. It was emotion. And it would cover up all the other emotions he was feeling right now. Emotions he mustn't feel. Emotions that were dangerous.

"What does it look like?" she asked simply, still smiling. Catlike.

**Oh man!**

The last possible second Angel suppressed a groan, but he felt his body respond and at the moment it really didn't help. "What happened to you? Is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" she shrugged. "What do you think could be wrong?" Pulling her legs under herself, she sat up, looking at him. "Or do you think the little fact that you tried to hide from me what Willow found out. That tiny, completely unimportant detail about your soul?"

"Wha-," he had to clear his throat. No, she couldn't know, could she? **Dear God**. He licked his suddenly dry lips, "About my soul?"

"Don't do this," her voice was sharp as a whip. "Don't play dumb. Willow and Cordelia told me about the possibility of fixing your curse. Why?" she asked, locking her eyes with his. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Buffy, I-"

"And don't give me that crap about me not being able to decide. I'm 20 years old, I'm a legal adult, amnesia or no, I have a mind on my own and it's still working properly." Her eyes never leaving his face, she got on her knees and crawled closer. "I love you, Angel. And you said you love me. What's wrong with it?"

"Buffy, please." There was pain in his eyes, but there was love as well, and longing, such terrible longing that it almost broke her heart, and suddenly she understood. Suddenly it wasn't difficult anymore.

"Do you want me?" she asked huskily, her hands on his knees. "Angel, do you want me?"

"More than anything," he replied, lost in her hazel orbs.

"I'm not going to send you away. You're not going to lose me again. Whatever happens, I love you," she promised.

"God, how I want to believe that. But you can't say that, Buffy," his voice was loaded with emotion. "You can't say that without knowing all the facts."

"You think so? I think love is enough, and I don't believe that I ever stopped loving you, that anything could make me stop loving you. You're in me," she put a hand over her heart. "Here, deep inside of me. A part of me. How could I remove a part of me from my life?"

He closed his eyes, fighting the emotions raging inside of him, trying to hold them at bay. His hands curling into fists, so hard, the knuckles went white. "Please, Buffy. Don't. I can't," he tried to reason, but even then he knew he had lost. He was falling already, fast and deep, with no net. All he could do was hope that she would catch him. Forever.

"Shhh," he heard her voice. Opening his eyes he saw her face only an inch away from his, his eyes involuntarily flying to the soft curve of her inviting mouth, then back to her the hazel orbs that followed him into all his dreams. "Don't be afraid," she whispered. "I'm here. And you're not going to lose me. We'll never be separated again. I promise." Her hands were cupping his cheeks, while her lips were brushing over his. "I love you," she whispered against them. "So very much."

It was over. He couldn't fight it. Not anymore. Not with her being near, not with the possibility of forever in his head.

((Forever. How does forever sound for you?))

But there was still a small rational part of him and he was glad he had the strength to summon it now. "Buffy, we need to prepare this," he said urgently, cupping her hands with his, pulling them down and looking at her intently. "If we're going to do this, we need Willow to prepare."

She smiled again. Lovingly, knowingly. "She already has. Everything is set up," she informed him, her heart beating frantically, her soul singing with joy. "You don't think I came unprepared, do you? That I would try to persuade you and leave you to build all those walls again. No way buddy," she suddenly grinned, "Outside, Gunn, Cordy and Wesley are waiting with the chains."

"Oh fun," Angel sighed, but he was laughing at the same time. He had given up fighting this and it felt... good. It felt wonderful. He felt free. There was danger coming to Sunnydale, there was an ancient vampire on its way but at the moment he didn't care. All that counted was this warm, loving, beautiful woman who offered forever to him. His face softened, his eyes filled with love. Letting go of her hands he cupped her face in his, then he kissed her, gently, softly. "I love you," he whispered. **And God help us**, he prayed when he pulled her on top of him."I love you," she said again, her lips searching for his mouth, her tongue darting out, tracing his lips, her teeth nibbling, teasing, wanting.

With the ridiculously small bit of rational mind he pulled back for the last time, "You're absolutely sure about this?" he asked, hating that he couldn't just let him push ahead, whether she was sure or not. But he had to. This was Buffy, and he had to know.

"I should be asking you," she answered, one of her hands caressing his chest, "but I won't. Because you would try to argue again and we can't have that now. Living is risking things, Angel, and I'm ready. Life without you is worth nothing, this is our chance, and I'm not going to miss it, whatever the risks are."

The remaining fear vanished into the air. She was right. It was worth any risk. He would die for her, and he would do this. For her. For himself. For them. Together you are strong. The Mohra's words still rang in his ears as if it had said it yesterday and not on a day, long forgotten, alive only in his dreams. "I love you," he whispered and then the world around them was forgotten

Part 19

"Come on, rise and shine," Cordelia stood beside Angel's bed in the mansion, the keys for the chains dangling from her fingers, while her eyes never left the person, secured and bound to the bedposts. Buffy sat on a chair on the other side; Gunn and Wesley were hovering in the doorway while Tara and Willow were getting ready for their tasks.

The redhead was muttering the lines of the curse under her breath, while her lover was busy lighting up candles. They were placed in a half circle, four white and four black, and in the middle there was a red one, that would be last to light and to extinguish. The moment Angel's or rather Angelus' eyes popped open, the blond witch began to chant.

"What is this?" Angelus grinned wickedly noticing the chains holding him to the bed. "You're getting kinky, lover?" he asked, turning his head towards Buffy. "I really need to say this. You didn't learn a lot since the last time, you know. That ex-boy toy of yours has got to be a real loser." He laughed, and evil, hollow sound, his eyes only a depth of nothingness.

"Shut up you scum," Cordelia hissed at him, stepping back. Buffy's face was an impassive mask. They had told her she should try to keep her cool. The slayer had just nodded, and then revealed that she was now remembered most of her times with Angel. She even regained some memories about Angelus. And now she knew why the vampire was so afraid of his evil self.

"Tsk,tsk,tsk," the demon shook his head, "what choice of words. And that from the girl who wanted to be someone. Really, Cordelia it sounds more like a gutter rat." He laughed again when he saw her flinch.

The brunette bit her lower lip. She wouldn't let him get to her. This was for Angel, she reminded herself, her friend. Angelus was just a temporary nuisance. A big one for sure, but if Willow's plan worked... She turned her head, "Are you ready?" she asked the redhead.

"One more minute," the witch replied, sitting down, the Orb of Thesulah resting on the ground in front of her. Wesley was burning some herbs and Cordelia wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Oh, oh," Angelus grinned again, that evil, wicked grin, Buffy wanted to wipe from his face. The grin she remembered now too clearly. "You're going to try to re-curse me again. Well, good luck. You know it'll all be in vain. I'm going to get free sooner or later. They're coming and they're going to set me free forever."

"Over my dead body," Buffy spat. "You're going to vanish into thin air you twisted bastard."

"Angry, lover?" he taunted. "Oh, come on. We could have fun. Just think what fun we could have with your stamina and my experience. I could show you things you wouldn't dare to dream about today. That soul-boy loser of yours would never do that, too much of a gentleman, that idiot," the last words were a disgusted snarl.

"I'm not interested, thank you," the slayer replied coolly. "And don't call me lover. I'm not your lover."

"But you are," he contradicted. His voice lowered to an intimate whisper, "I know every inch of your body, baby. Just several minutes ago I..."

"You disgusting animal," Gunn shouted suddenly from the doorway, not able to listen any longer to the demon's vicious taunting.

"Oh, the world's self declared savior," Angelus attention quickly swapped to the man. "You should've listened to your sister, my boy, you don't know what you missed. But instead you killed her, didn't you? To put her out of her misery. You have no idea. I'm sure she enjoyed it tremendously. The initiation is like nothing else."

The demon in his friend's body lowered his lashes, his whole face taking on a sensuous expression, showing what he had meant saying the word 'initiation'. And at that something inside of Gunn exploded. He saw Alanna, sweet, lovely Alanna, with her face contorted in panic, in the knowledge what would happen to her soon. With a cry of outrage he hurled himself on chained creature and only after two blows Wesley and Cordelia were able to restrain him.

"No, Gunn, no," the former watcher's voice was a sharp command. "Don't let him do this to you. That's exactly what he wants. His only aim is to hurt people and seeing it work gives him the satisfaction.

"He's right, Gunn," Cordelia held her friend's arm.

The African American shook his head to clear his mind, then nodded, "Alright, I'm okay." His head snapped around again when he heard Angelus snicker, and the demon's lip flickered out to remove the blood from his tongue Gunn's punches had caused.

"Just go," Cordelia nudged him towards the door. "Stay out there. We can handle this, we're used to it."

"Are you, may queen?" Angelus wasn't one to back down. Not under any circumstances.

"I'm ready," came Willow's voice. Tara lit the red candle to complete the protective field and then the redhead began to chant, completely concentrated and not listening to the demon's foul cursing, his cruel swearing, his threats.

"Not dead, nor not for the living

Spirits of the interectum I call"

"THIS WILL NOT HELP YOU," Angelus barked. "I'M COMING BACK. AND THEN YOU'LL ALL PAY."

"Return to the body what distinguishes Man from the beast!

Restore this being's soul"

"I WILL FIND YOU. YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD. AND YOU LOVER, YOU REALISE THAT YOUR BELOVED SOULBOY WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE WITH YOU, YEARS AGO? AND HE GAVE IT BACK. WITHOUT ASKING YOU," he shouted, hating the weakness he was starting to feel. This time it was even stronger than usual. And more than everything, Buffy's steady gaze on him irritated him. She didn't even flinch at the words he had thrown at her.

"That which was lost will be found

I implore you Lord, ignore not this requestNot dead, nor not of the living!"

"YOU WILL BE DEAD IN THREE DAYS. AND THEN THIS WORLD WILL BELONG TO US, THE DEMONS. YOU ARE NOTHING BUT PATHETIC HUMANS, NOT FIT TO LIVE," he shouted again.

"Let this orbit be the vessel that will carry his soul to him.

It shell be his forever. Not to remove by anyone.

So shall it be!

So shall it be!

Now!

Now!"

The whole room almost shook with the intensity of the spell, the power that went through the glowing orb, the impact that hit Angel's body, the way his eyes began to glow with the same light, his sharp intake of breath. Everyone except the witches gasped, somehow feeling the magick as well.

Then the light faded from Angel's eyes and the same moment a strange wind blew out the candles, bringing Willow and Tara out of their trance. "Did it work?" were the redhead's first words when she turned her head and looked at the slayer.

"We'll know for sure when he opens his eyes," Buffy replied, anxiously studying her lover's face. Her lover. She made a short mental pause. Yes, he was her lover now, and hopefully would be from now on. And involuntary smile lifted the corners of her mouth.

"I don't even want to know what you thought right now," Cordelia slightly shook her head, but then gave the slayer a smile. Seeing Gunn appear in the doorway again she smiled at him too. He didn't smile back, his face a mask, much the same way most people felt when first confronted with a demon like Angelus.

"Angel?" Buffy's soft voice brought everyone's attention back to the bed where the vampire's eyelids began to flicker. "Angel, can you hear me?"

"Buffy?" His eyes opened at last, immediately searching for the blonde's face. "What happened?"

"Everything went well," she informed him, smiling. "You're now in possession of a safe soul."

He closed his eyes for a moment, emotions threatening to overwhelm him, "You're sure?" his voice was barely a whisper, the fear and hope in it almost tangible.

"Yes," Willow said, coming to stand at the bottom of the bed. "It worked. We have you as a first proof. You don't feel evil anymore, do you?"

He had to grin, it broke out involuntarily, but he didn't mind. "No, Willow. I feel like normal. I can sense the demon inside of me though."

"Of course you can, it's still there. All right, so that's the first point. Then the candles. They were blown out. Second proof. Tara?"

"Y-yes," the blond witch came to stand beside her lover. "They e-extinguished like clockwork. I'm sure it worked."

"It looked very professional," Wesley added, giving his chained friend another smile. Everyone seemed to smile, Angel realized. It felt good, so good.

"God, Buffy," his eyes locked with hers. The others were instantly forgotten.

"Well," Cordelia cleared her throat audibly. "I say this was good work. I'm going to unchain you now and then let you two... whatever you're planning to do. But seeing that it's still daylight, I'm pretty sure what this is going to be." She opened the second lock on her side, and then tossed the key to Wesley, to finish the task. As soon as it was done, Cordelia clapped her hands.

Buffy's and Angel's heads jerked around, two pairs of eyes staring at the former cheerleader. "Oh, good," she smiled sweetly, "you're still in there. We're going now. Be good, kids."

"Yes, Mom," Buffy giggled.

"Thank you," Angel said, looking from one face to the other, his gaze finally resting on Gunn. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I never-"

But his friend waved him off, "I know. It wasn't you. Nothing could show it more clearly. Enjoy your girl," he grinned. "She's a hottie."

"Gunn!" Cordelia exclaimed in mocked shock. "We're going," she repeated and then ushered the others out of the room. "See you later. We're going to have some lunch." She was about to close the curtain to his room, then peeped inside again, rolling her eyes when she saw that the two had already retreated in their own little world again. "I'm taking your credit card," she announced.

She laughed when she closed the heavy curtain for good. Angel hadn't even reacted to her words. That really had to be love.

*

"How do you feel?" Buffy asked as soon as Cordelia was gone.

"A bit weak, but... good," he reached out, taking her hand, "Really, really good."

"I love you," she told him with tears in her eyes.

"I love you too," he replied without hesitation. "You're okay?"

"Yes," she nodded, the tears spilling over. "And I remembered more while we... uh... you know," she blushed delicately, and Angel felt his body respond immediately.

"What did you remember?"

"All the feelings I had for you, when you left me, all the pain and heartache and... And I remembered Riley." She saw him tense, and she squeezed his hand, "It was nothing like that. I liked him. I even wanted him at certain times. He was comfort, security, and peace. But he wasn't you. He will never be you. Nobody could be you," she said and leaned forward to kiss him.

"Nobody," it was like a vow from his lips. "Nobody can be like you. Being with you makes me whole, Buffy. Loving you is such an extraordinary experience."

She saw the awe in his voice and felt a shiver running through her body. "Maybe," she whispered, "we shouldn't waste time talking. Maybe we should just show each other. You know, test Willow's magick."

He chuckled, "You're insatiable, Miss Summers."

"Uh-huh," she grinned, "Slayer stamina, you know."

Wrapping a hand around the back of her neck Angel pulled her against him and with a shriek she landed on top of him, laughing with pure joy, a sound that made his undead heart weep with the sheer power of emotions. "Angel," she gasped when his hands made their way down her back.

"You really shouldn't have bothered with dressing," he all but growled, making her giggle against his neck.

"Well, I thought you might not like having Wes and Gunn staring at me  the whole time." She giggled again, when the growl increased. "Or Angelus making nasty comments."

He stilled instantly, all playfulness forgotten, "Did I... Did he say something? I'm still not quite clear."

"He said a lot alright, but he can't hurt me, Angel. I know it's not you. Although I always feel the urge to pummel him," she joked.

A flicker of pain was her response and before he said the words she knew what he was thinking. "Gunn did," he said, touching his lips with his hand.

"He's okay, Angel. He was the only one who hasn't seen your evil self before, well, Tara hasn't either, but Angelus wasn't interested in her. Gunn is your friend, but Gunn knows you aren't the same," she tried to assure him.

"I truly hope so," he replied. "I can't believe it really worked. I was so afraid, Buffy, so afraid to hope," he whispered.

"I know," she said, stroking his cheek, "I love you. I want to make love to you."

These were the last words spoken in the bedroom.

Part 20

Giles' small apartment was already full of life when Willow and Tara joined the rest of the gang around nine o'clock in the evening. The two watchers were deeply buried into books, Cordelia was searching the net again, and even Dawn had been given a task with reading through one of the older watcher diaries.

Willow raised a brow at that, so far, Giles had always refused to let her know the real terrifying facts of life, but then this situation was urgent and every pair of eyes was needed. Dawn even seemed to like what she did, her forehead was furrowed in concentration, and her nose wrinkled from time to time, the witch guessed whenever she found a rather disgusting detail.

Xander sat next her, also reading a book. He seemed oddly pale and tired. And didn't look up when the door closed behind the witches.

With a sweep of her head, noticed that five people were missing. "Hi," she announced her presence, and Tara beside her gave the others a smile. "Where's the rest?" Willow asked.Giles looked up from his book, "Buffy and Angel are on patrol, as are Spike and Gunn -"

"And we all hope they don't kill each other," Cordelia cut in without taking her eyes from the screen. "Gunn can't stand people or non-people who talk too much."

Dawn giggled, Xander didn't. Well he usually didn't giggle, but he didn't even look up, or anything. No smile.

"And Anya?" the redhead wanted to know.

Uncomfortable silence. Giles cleared his throat, while Dawn and Cordelia seemed extremely busy with reading or searching the net. "What happened?" Willow demanded. "Oh God, she wasn't attacked, was she?"

"No," Xander finally looked at her and she stifled a gasp the very last moment. His eyes were red-rimmed, his face strained. He shrugged, tried to control his voice, "She ran. Did what she knows best, running in the face of danger. I shouldn't have been so surprised. She did it before."

"Oh, Xand, I'm so-"

"No," he held up a hand, giving his childhood friend a sad smile. "Don't say you're sorry. I'm sorry enough, and I'm not sure I can stand pity at the moment," he said, turning his head back to the book in his lap.

Willow's eyes met Giles' and the watcher just shook his head. Yes, she thought, he was right. This was not the time to try to help Xander. He was hurting, feeling betrayed, and certainly not ready for comfort. The pain was too raw, too new. Seeing Giles smile at her understandingly, she felt a stab of guilt. Giles was the only one who had no idea what was going on with Buffy and Angel so far.

She and Tara hadn't seen them either after the events of that afternoon. They'd gone straight back to the dorms, feeling drained and exhausted, needing rest. Casting spells or curses, especially such powerful ones, was a hard thing to do. Tara had been tired as well, and told Willow that she had felt the attacks against the protecting field and had a hard time keeping it intact.

Spike and Dawn didn't know what had happened either, Willow guessed, but they were present when she and Cordelia had talked to Buffy in the morning so they at least knew about the plans. Giles on the other hand was completely in the dark, and that, Willow decided, wasn't right. Still it wasn't her place to tell him. This was Buffy and Angel's story, she did her part in it, but she felt she had nothing more than a supporting role.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she joined Cordelia at the table, opened her notebook and connected it to the net. The women exchanged a short understanding glance, then the witch whispered, "How are they?"

In response, the brunette rolled her eyes, "What do you think? All over each other. It was almost sickening. When we came back they still weren't out of his room and when Buffy finally gave an appearance she was glowing. Literally."

The redhead chuckled, "I'm happy for them."

"Yeah, I'm too, but you don't have to live with them. I swear, they even forgot all the trouble around them," Cordelia shook her head again, then turned back to the screen.

*

They heard the voices before the door opened. Well, actually they heard Spike, Gunn just grunted. And it sounded rather annoyed.

"That's just not the point mate," the blond vampire was saying when he pushed the door open. "Oh, look, Red and friends are here too," he smirked. "Just the two lovebirds still outside, I see." He caught Willow's warning gaze. He shrugged and gave her a wicked smile, already thinking about how to break the news to Giles, when the witch turned to her lover.

"You know, Tara, I just remember that spell we found yesterday," she said casually, smiling when she saw that the blond witch had understood immediately.

"Y-yes. You mean the one that can turn a man or a vampire into a toad. Yes, I remember," she nodded at Spike, then smiled sweetly.

The vampire narrowed his eyes, studying them, trying to figure out if they were telling the truth. But then, they were both quite powerful now. It would be fun getting to the watcher, but becoming a toad wouldn't. With a shrug of his shoulder he turned towards the kitchenette to get some blood and heat it.

Gunn grinned at Willow and Tara, and removed his coat. He caught the watcher's eye and Giles asked, "How did it go?"

"Alright, although I thought vamp-boy here, with all his super powers wasn't that impressing."

"Hey!" Spike protested, but they all ignored him.

"We dusted eight, but man," Gunn shook his head, "they're not like the vamps I'm used to."

"What do you mean," Giles wanted to know.

"Some of them were bloody stupid," the bleached blond vampire returned, holding a mug in his hand. "They were stupid the last couple of nights, but tonight hits the floor. Who ever made them had not even the slightest idea how. Angelus would turn away in disgust."

"I thought you were just his grand-childe." Willow looked up from the screen, suddenly interested.

"Sure, Dru made me," Spike replied, "but she was so nuts already, no way she could teach me how to behave, or to hunt. Angelus might be a real bugger, but the Poof really has style."

"As interesting as this may be," Giles cut in, "but can we please return to the matter at hand. So you killed eight vampires."

"Yeah," Gunn nodded, walking over to the counter and taking a can of coke. "You know the vampires in L.A., some of them have style. Living like human beings - mostly. In apartments, big houses, they drive expensive cars and hire the more expensive lawyers. Around here you get the idea they're second-class. Some of them are actually living in crypts."

"Hey," Spike shouted again.

When Gunn turned confused eyes on him, Dawn explained, "Spike sometimes lives in a crypt. Whenever Buffy's cross with him, he moves out of our basement."

"You mean he lives in a crypt?" the African American chuckled, ignoring the vampire's growl, "And living in your basement is actually an improvement? Oh man," he was laughing so hard by now that he had to put his coke down, that was in danger to spill over. "You should've told me earlier."

"Shut up," Spike muttered, walking to the television and switching it on, shutting the others out.

Dawn giggled again, then turned her eyes back on the book.

The same moment the door opened again. Buffy was the first to step in, her eyes shining, a smile lighting up her whole face. Angel came behind her, his fingers tightly entwined with hers. His smile wasn't quite as huge, but it was there and his eyes... Cordelia had to look twice. They were actually smiling too.

"Hi everyone," Buffy greeted enthusiastically. "The slayer is back from patrol," she joked, trying to stand like a soldier, although she was laughing all the time. "Dusted 15 vamps... but it was cake. All of them were incredibly stupid."

"Fifteen?" the book almost fell from Wesley's lap.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Giles muttered. "That makes 23 together."

"You had eight?" Buffy turned towards Gunn and when she saw him nod, she grinned, "We win!" She looked at Angel and he couldn't help but chuckle. They were about to enter a dangerous situation, but her happiness and excitement was infectious. She'd always been good to seize the moment, and this time was no exception.

He entangled his fingers from hers and shrugged off his duster, throwing it into a corner as all chairs - except one - were already occupied. Maybe it was involuntarily, but they had saved the loveseat for them. With a slight smile on his lips, Angel sat down. "I've never seen such stupid vampires. They aren't even like fledglings, they're just plain stupid."

"You had no problems killing them?" Giles asked again.

"None," Buffy shook her head. "Giles, they almost begged to be dusted. They didn't even threaten us. I think some of them didn't even know what a slayer was." She sighed and then without thinking placed herself in Angel's lap, resting her head against his chest.

Maybe it was Angel's arm that almost automatically wrapped itself around the slayer's waist or the fact that nobody in the room looked particularly surprised, but Giles voice sounded more than slightly irritated, when he asked, "Could anybody explain what's going on here?"

Willow's head came up with a jerk, "Wrong?" she asked, "Did something happen?"

"I think the watcher's referring to the fact that soul boy got his hand on the slayer's intimate parts," Spike said with a smirk, then turned back to his favorite soap opera. There were certain disadvantages to living in a crypt he had to admit.

"Spike, shut up," Buffy shouted, but didn't try to change her current position. Then - looking rather uncomfortably all of a sudden - she turned to Giles, "Angel and I are an item again," she admitted hesitantly.

"You're what?" the watcher came off his chair like a rocket, not able to sit anymore.

"Before you get all excited, Giles," Willow cut in, "you should probably know that Angel's got his soul for good. No happiness clause." She almost crumpled in her chair when he directed his glare towards her. "I just thought this would help... uh... shutting up now." Quickly her eyes darted back on the screen.

"Could somebody please explain all this," the watcher looked back to the vampire and his slayer. Then his gaze swept to Wesley, who cleared his throat. "You," he asked incredulously, "were in this too?"

"Er... yes," the younger man admitted.

"Maybe I should think about my decision to install you as Buffy's future watcher. Because I get the feeling you're all bloody mad!" he shouted. "Willow."

The witch's head jerked up again, she was staring at him through wide eyes. "I... uh... found the curse Jenny had translated. And we suddenly understood what happened three years ago," she explained hastily. "When I was re-cursing Angel for the first time. As soon as we knew where the problem was, we had no problems to solve it. This afternoon we removed the old curse and used Jenny's version. It was actually quite easy," she was eager to add. "Really."

Giles closed his eyes for a moment, and then took a deep breath, "You are not only bloody mad, you're worse. Are you aware that we're going to face a serious battle in only two days and you've got nothing better to do than playing with curses," his eyes went back to Angel and Buffy, "and God knows what," he added with a pointed look, that made the slayer blush. "This was absolutely-"

"Before you're going to drown us with all your righteous anger, Giles,"Cordelia's sharp voice interrupted him, "you should probably know that part of the threat will be that they were going to remove Angel's soul. So we thought we should fix it now rather than later. Don't you think?"

The watcher stared at her, as if he'd seen her for the first time, took another deep breath, and tried to calm himself. Shouting rarely helped. Then with slow, controlled movements, he sat down, pulled his glasses off his nose and began to clean them. Not looking up, he said, "So what you're telling me is that you investigated Angel's curse, found the problem, removed the old version and restored his soul with the new. With the result that there aren't any clauses anymore, the soul is now his forever?"

"That's right," Willow confirmed, her voice sounding small and a bit guilty.

Giles put his glasses back on, and then looked at Buffy and Angel. For a long moment, he didn't say anything, then, "I'm sorry," he said honestly, "I... just don't know what to say. If we'd found out earlier, we could've saved you from a lot of heartache. Both of you."

"There's no need to apologize, Giles," Angel's reply was heartfelt the watcher could see it in his eyes. "Nobody could've known that. When Willow told me what she had found I couldn't believe it at first. Not in my wildest dreams had I thought this possible." As to emphasize his point he planted a gentle kiss on Buffy's skull.

The slayer smiled at that, "Angel's right, Giles," she said, "Whatever we went through is over, I can't even remember half of it. I regained more of my memory today, but the most details are still fuzzy. Angel and I talked today. A lot. I even remember sending him to hell," she told her friends. "But just the act. The actual emotions are still missing. But if my memory loss has taught me one thing it's that the past is where it belongs. In the past. This is the present, and hopefully we're going to have a future, but for this we need to plan and research, right?" She gave Giles a warm smile.

The watcher blinked several times, then cleared his throat, "Right," he nodded. "Wesley already told me some of the details you found out in L.A.," he said, his gaze on Angel, "Gunn filled in the rest. I agree, it's very disturbing. And more so as we have no idea who this ancient vampire might be."

The dark-haired vampire nodded, "I asked Cordelia to search all the databases, but she came up with nothing. It's too bad Lindsey wasn't told the name. But that also tells us that it was top-secret and there has to be a reason. I assume this vampire might live with some sort of fake identity. The way lots of the vampires live in L.A., almost like humans."

"Yes," Giles agreed. "Gunn already told us about that. And of course he isn't eager for everyone to know about it. We should really-"

He was cut off by a knock on the door. The persons in the room looked at each other, irritated, Xander even looked a bit hopeful, then Dawn got up to see who was there, Gunn hovering over her back, ready to strike if some demon would try to attack them. The slayer's sister pulled the door open and gasped. "H-hi," she managed to stutter.

"Hi Dawn," came Riley's voice. "I know it's been a while, but I really need to talk to Giles and Buffy."

Part 21

"Riley?" Buffy whispered almost to herself, her head jerking around looking at the man entering the apartment. He wasn't alone, there was another man with him, she didn't recognize. She felt Angel's arm tighten around her waist and put a hand over his that was resting on her belly, squeezing it assuring.

He looked nice, Buffy decided. Not too bad. Nothing special, but still nice. Friendly blue eyes, not a bad body, certainly, he looked like the one she remembered this afternoon. She slightly tilted her head. No, no feelings there, whatever had been between them, it was in the past. She hadn't regained the full memory of her time with Riley, only bits and pieces, but enough to understand what they shared and that what she had with Angel now was so much more, she wouldn't exchange it for anything. Content with herself, she leaned back at Angel's chest.

The commando shifted a bit uncomfortably on his feet, exchanged a short glance with his Graham, then simply said, "Hi everyone," his eyes staying on Giles for a moment. Angel and Buffy were sitting behind him occupying the seat closest to the window, so he hadn't noticed them so far.

"Riley," the watcher stood, walked over to the younger man and reached out his hand. The commando took it, "This is... er... unexpected," Giles said a bit awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you. Our squad was moved back to California because there were reports of increasing energy from the hellmouth," Riley replied, his face serious. "We were told we'd be needed here."

"And you think without all your drugs and stuff you can actually help?" Spike asked acidly without even looking at the human.

The commando ignored him. "I thought it was best to check the situation with you, to coordinate our actions."

"That's a really good idea," Giles said. "Your informants are correct. We're already researching the problem," he explained. "And you might see some new faces around here. That is Gunn," he introduced the African American, "he has a lot of experience with hunting vampires. This is Cordelia," he nodded at the brunette, who was staring at the commando with barely hidden curiosity.

The watcher turned slightly, "And this is a former colleague of mine, Wesley Wyndon-Price, they're all usually working in L.A."

"L.A.?" Riley raised a brow, not liking the feeling that instantly entered his gut.

"Yes," Giles confirmed, "And of course there's Angel," he pointed towards the loveseat, "but I think you've met already."

The commando turned slowly but still wasn't prepared for the sight of his ex-girlfriend sitting in the lap of the vampire. He had to summon all his self-control not to lose his countenance. "Hello Angel," he managed to say, and then his eyes rested on Buffy. "Hi," his voice softened.

"Riley," she nodded at him. When she saw Giles surprised gaze, she added, "I... uh... remember him, or at least parts of it."

"I see," the watcher nodded at that, then turned back to the commando, "We've had some problems around here the last few months," he explained to the confused man, "As a result of a confrontation with Glory Buffy suffered a memory loss and is slowly regaining bits and pieces of it back."

"Amnesia?" the commando asked.

"Sort of," Buffy replied, "It's much better now. I remember you. I mean the fact that we were together. But only partly." Was she imagining it or did he suddenly look relieved. Making a mental note not to forget that she asked, "And you came to help? Your... squad?"

"Riley is part of an organization that hunts vampires," Willow explained.

"Yeah, and then they torture them, perform tests and implant chips," Spike remarked.

"You were hunting vampires in Sunnydale?" Buffy's eyes went wide. "But I'm in Sunnydale. Why would there be more hunters needed?"

"It was due to the hellmouth that the Initiative - that's the name of our organization - was located here," Riley explained, smiling slightly. What exactly did she remember, he wondered. And what not? "We met in college," he added.

The slayer nodded, and then turned to look at Angel, "What do you think? Another sweep through the graveyards, with all those vamps around here, we could do a second round."

"That might be a good idea," Giles agreed, smiling at her, realizing that she wanted to leave the high tension.

Slayer and vampire stood, and without even looking at Riley again, they left the apartment. The tension seemed to dissolve the same moment. The commando took a deep breath, "Are they... together?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Isn't it obvious?" Cordelia said with a grin. "It's gross, I know, but I suppose we can't do anything but endure it."

"But... I thought..." Riley stuttered helplessly looking at Xander, who just sighed. The commando knew he had absolutely no right to be angry, he had left Buffy months ago and it wasn't his business with whom she was or not. But to see her with Angel again ...

"I told him about the curse," Xander explained, seeing the questioning gazes of the others.

"Oh," Willow smiled broadly, "We solved that little problem this afternoon. And I would say it's a safe bet that they're an item again."

"I see," the commando said slowly, exchanging another glance with Graham who hadn't said a word so far. "Alright, I'll inform our squad to keep away from him. Angel, I mean. They already know about Spike, but we wouldn't want Angel to be taken by accident."

"No we wouldn't want that," Gunn said from his spot near the door. "Actually we wouldn't want that at all, and I guess the result would be a seriously pissed off slayer. I'm off for patrol," he added, taking his coat. So that was the Buffy's ex-boyfriend, he thought. No wonder he hadn't been able to keep her. With a sigh he reached for the door, then turned his head, "You with me, Spike?"

"Why not," the vampire replied, getting up. When he was passing Riley he stopped, smiling, coolly putting a hand on the commando's shoulder in mocked sympathy, "I know it's hard to watch, but you of all people should know how addictive vampires can be." Patting Riley's shoulder again, he barely suppressed a grin, and then followed Gunn into the night.

***

"You don't like Riley," Buffy said after she and Angel had walked in silence for a while. They were just entering the Restfield cemetery and immediately had spotted two new empty graves. "Look at that!" she pointed at them.

"Yeah," he replied, scanning their surroundings. "But they're gone," he told her after a moment. "And to answer your first question. Do you actually expect me to like your boyfriend?"

She had to giggle, his voice held pure jealousy and the sound of it sent a jolt of arousal through her body. She was the slayer, strong, but that didn't mean that she didn't like a bit of male possessiveness. Especially from Angel. "Ex-boyfriend," she reminded him gently, taking his arm, stopping him. "He's my ex-boyfriend, and I feel absolutely nothing for him."

His expression relaxed, "Riley and I," he said, pulling her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist, "had a very unfortunate meeting over a year ago. I came to Sunnydale, after... A problem occurred in L.A. and you came to help. We didn't part in the best of terms. I was shouting at you," he admitted a bit sheepishly, "and you weren't very nice either. After that I came to Sunnydale to apologize for my behavior and ran straight into Riley and his friends."

"Oh, was that the memory I had? You know with you and Riley glaring at each other?" she asked.

"That was a bit later. I came to your dorms and then he showed up, holding his stun gun in my face. The situation got a bit out of hand and you... uh... had to go between us."

"Testosterone competition, I see," she giggled again and saw him smile. "What's a stun gun?"

"Riley and his friends use them, they work with energy I think, they immobilize vampires, to catch them and bring them to their labs. As Spike said, to use them as some kind of lab rats," he took a deep breath and pulled her closer. "I know there's no reason to be jealous, but I can't help it."

"Oh, I don't mind," she replied, grinning. "Actually I think it's nice. Not always of course, but from time to time. I might be the slayer, but I'm female too and we like our boyfriends macho - in tiny doses."

"Macho, huh?" now he grinned as well.

"Uh-huh," she was rising on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and about to kiss him, when he was suddenly pushed towards her, both of them landing on the ground, Angel on top.

"Ugh," she made, while Angel was rolling away from her, turning towards their attacker.

"Slayer," the vampire hisses.

"Oh - fine, now at least someone knows who I am," Buffy joked staring up into the eyes of what seemed not the usual fledgling. "But you didn't tell me your name. No manners in the vampire community these days," with a little shake of her head she was on her feet, Angel already in fighting stance beside her.

"And the pet-vampire is with you again," the demon mocked, already in full game-face. "But I didn't come to fight you tonight," it laughed, "that'll come soon enough. No, I'm here to give you a message from my master. He wants me to tell you that he'll be looking forward to initiate a slayer very soon."

Buffy heard Angel's deep growl beside her and then he launched himself forward, but the vampire evaded him, stepping aside quickly. No, this wasn't your average vampire. Angel's movements had been fast, unpredictable and yet this vampire had been faster. The slayer began to feel slightly uneasy. And it wasn't the master.

Angel recovered quickly and was on his feet in a flash, his demonic features showing in the pale moonlight, and he was still growling deep in his throat.

The vampire laughed, an evil, hollow sound, seeing the shock on the slayer's face, then with a fluent motion its leg connected with Buffy's chest, sending the blond flying backwards against a tree.

"Buffy," Angel shouted, and attacked again, but he was no match for this vampire. It was strong and old, older than Angel himself was, the ensouled vampire could feel the power radiating from it, when he was flying through the air, his body connecting painfully with the ground.

The vampire came after him, pinning him to the ground, holding him there, "You didn't expect this, did you?," it asked. "I know who you are, Angelus."

Suddenly the vampire's body was pulled back, "Yeah, I know him too," a voice came from above, "he's my bloody grand-sire," Spike shouted, he and Gunn freeing Angel from the other vampire's grip. Because it was outnumbered, the demon decided to let it go for the night.

"This isn't over yet," it shouted. "See you in two days!" The vampire saluted, his evil laughter sounding through the night.

Angel took Spike's offered hand and the bleached blond asked, "What was this all about? Who was the bugger?"

But his grand-sire didn't answer, his eyes immediately darting to Buffy, the concern in his eyes fading when he saw Gunn helping the slayer on her feet. He walked over to her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied rubbing her back, "Who was that?"

"I have no idea," Angel looked at Gunn who shrugged, "But it said its master was near. And this one was damned old already."

"Yeah," Spike confirmed with a nod, "I'd really not like to meet the master."

"This doesn't look good, man," Gunn rubbed his blank skull, "I think it's time for reinforcement. I've called the guys, and then there's her ex with his friends, but somehow I have the feeling it might not be enough."

Angel considered his friend's words for a moment, quickly glanced at Buffy, then nodded, "You're right," he said, pulling the cell phone from his pocket."

"What are you going to do?" Gunn asked.

"Calling Kate," the vampire replied, while dialing already. "I think it's time to get another slayer over here."

Go to Part 22