DISCLAIMER: Buffy, Angel and the gang belong to the evil Joss and I only own the characters I make up. In a perfect world however I would own all of them, Buffy and Angel wouldn't have broken up and Riley would never have existed.
SUMMARY: Angel makes his decision.
RATING: PG
SPOILERS: General (if any)
TIMELINE: Over 17 years after IWRY
DISTRIBUTION: You want you can have it, just tell me where you put it.

Hope and Angel eventually arrived back at Buffy's house and found everyone except Spike and Buffy had gone. "Where'd everyone go?" Angel asked Buffy, as he walked in.

"They all headed home, but only after I swore on Hope's life that I'd visit them this weekend" Buffy told him.

Spike chose that moment to pipe in, "Hey kiddo, you okay? Peaches didn't bore you to death did he?"

"Nope. Actually Spikey, he's pretty cool" Hope told him, as she sat down next to him.

Spike looked at her strangely and then said, "Peaches must of brainwashed you".

"Spike" Angel said, warningly.

"Well you must have. No normal person likes you" Spike complained.

"William" Angel said, angrily.

"Okay, okay" Spike told him grudgingly.

Hope saw her parents staring at each other and knew they needed to talk. She turned to Spike and said, "I need to train, wanna help?"

"Sure, as long as I get away from peaches I'll go anywhere" Spike replied, following her out of the room.

*

After Spike and Hope had left the room, Buffy and Angel just sat there staring at each other. They both had things that they needed to say but they just didn't know how to say them too each other anymore.

Angel suddenly reached over and kissed Buffy.

"What did you do that for?" Buffy asked, not daring to hope about his feelings.

"Buffy, I need you to listen to me. I have something to tell you" Angel said, trembling with fear.

"Go on then" Buffy said, thinking he was leaving her behind again and waned to get the heartbreak over with as soon as possible.

"It's been more than 17 years since we were together...but the truth is you still own my heart and you always will. I love you" he told her.

Buffy couldn't quite beleive what she'd just heard, she was so happy she was speechless. When she didn't say anything, he continued.

"Maybe I'm taking it for granted that you still feel the same as I do, but I want to give us another chance. What do you say?" Angel finished and awaited her answer.

When one wasn't forthcoming he felt his heart start to break all over again. He started to get up, when he heard Buffy whisper, "Me too".

"What did you just say?" Angel asked, hopefully.

"I want to try again" Buffy replied. "I've been in love with you since I was 16, that's 21 years I have serious doubts that my feelings are going to change anytime soon".

Angel kissed her again and said, "I know you'll want to take things slowly..."

He was cut off when Buffy got, grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs to her bedroom. They weren't seen for the rest of the day.

*

It was dinner time before they came out of the room. After they'd eaten Buffy said she needed to talk to them, so Hope and Spike sat there waiting.

"Buffy and I have an announcement" Angel told them, "We're back together".

"Like we didn't guess that from the shagg-a-thon that you two had this afternoon" Spike replied, sarcastically.

Buffy and Angel both looked embarrassed and totally uncomfortable at Spike's description of the afternoon.

Hope stood up and went over to her parents. "That's great", she said, hugging them both, "But what exactly does that mean?"

Buffy looked at Angel and said, "We haven't figured it out yet?"

"Well when you do let me know? I have to meet Dev" Hope said, getting up and waving before grabbing her weapons bag and leaving the house.

After Hope left, Spike disappeared, so Buffy and Angel decided an early night was in order so that they could do some catching up.

Three Months Later

"So how do I look?" Buffy asked, turning around.

"Perfect" Joyce said.

"Dad's gonna be knocked off his feet" Hope told her.

Joyce left the room to go and take her seat, leaving Hope and Buffy alone.

"So, you can't tell..." Buffy asked.

"No, mom" Hope replied. "However I do think it's so funny that you give me all those safe sex lectures and it's you who gets knocked up".

"Shut-up brat" Buffy said, hugging her. Buffy suddenly turned serious, "How are you?"

"Mom, it's been two months, I'm totally over it and him" Hope told her, totally unconvincingly.

"Honey..."

"I know, I know. I'll never truly be over him, just look at you and dad" Hope repeated the speech she'd been given many times since she and Dev had broken up.

Then a knock on the door occurred, "Buffy it's time" came Giles' voice from the other side.

Buffy grabbed her bouquet and silently said goodbye to the past, as she walked down the isle to her Angel and the future.

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