Rating: TV-PG
Spoilers: Not much. I Will Remember You and sctuff with Riley (possibly)
Disclaimer: They belong to people who aren't me. Please don't sue me unless you aspire to own some Buffy re-runs and an old pair of figure skates.
Summary: Riley finds out about Angel and decides to kill him. (MWA HA HA!!!)
Feedback: Don't make me beg. Ok. PULLEEESSEEEE!!!!
Notes: Bit of B/R but don't worry, it ends up B/A. I HATE Riley!

Part 1

Storm bruised clouds dropped teeming rain into the howling March wind, slanting from the Northwest to batter the grass and gravestones or Restfield cemetery. Most of Sunnydale's residences were warm inside, asleep in their beds. All of them, but two.

Buffy and Riley sat, huddled together, on a oversized tombstone, looking for any sign of Adam or any other demon; there was none. It seemed that the entire demon population of Sunnydale had gone into hiding. Hiding from what? It was anybody's guess. Adam himself certainly possessed a strong control over his new demon family. And the storm wasn't helping either.

"Hey," Riley broke the silence brought on by the rain. "Why don't we go in. There isn't going to be much action on a night like this, and you're shaking like a leaf."

'Shaking like a leaf.' his words echoed in her head. "Angel said that to me once," she had a faraway look in her eyes.

"Huh? Who's Angel?" Riley pulled a blanket tighter around his girlfriend.

"Um. nobody," Buffy leaned back into him as he rubber her shoulders tenderly.

"Are you sure? You haven't really been yourself lately. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"I um." she considered his offer for a moment. She looked up at him, "If I tell you something, will you promise not to get mad and hate me forever?"

"I could never hate you," he spoke sincerely.

"And." she smiled at him.

"I promise I won't be angry," he leaned in and kissed the top of her head.

"This guy, Angel. he's an ex of mine." She stopped. He didn't REALLY need anymore information.

"And?"

"And nothing. He's my ex. That's of the it."

"Come on, Buffy," he squeezed her shoulders. "You know you can tell me anything."

"Ok," she paused. "Before I met you, I was involved with this guy named Angel. He was.. He was kind of a vampire."

"Kind of?"

"Alright. He was a vampire. But he wasn't a normal vampire. He had a gypsy cures that granted him with a soul. He was one of us. part of the goodguy camp."

"And you loved him?"

"I loved him. I loved him so completely that I couldn't." words seemed to fail her.

"It's Ok Buffy."

"When I turned seventeen, we slept together for the first time and he lost his soul. He."

"Turned back into a blood sucking fiend?" Riley interrupted.

"Please don't joke."

"Sorry."

"He tried to kill me. and everyone I loved. He succeeded in getting a friend of mine killed, but I still couldn't bring myself to kill him. It's my fault she's dead," she paused for a moment, considering how much to tell him. "Soon after that, he awakened this demon guy who was going to suck the whole world into hell unless I killed him. Somehow, right before I was going to get it over with, he got his soul returned to him. He was cured. and I killed him. I told him that I'd never stop loving him, and I killed him."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea." Riley shook his head.

"That's not it."

"Ok," he looked puzzled. "Go on."

"Even though I killed him, he still found his way back to me. I found that it was impossible to stay away from him. I couldn't do it. We were together on and off for a year. He took me to prom. he made me feel wanted, like a normal girl." She paused again, choking on her words. "After that, he told me that he loved me too much to stay with me. He said I deserved the right to a family. You know, kids. Before he left, he got really sick He would've died if I hadn't." she paused, pushing her soaking wet hair behind her ears. "The only cure to his illness was the blood of a slayer. I cured him. I wouldn't let him die. After graduation, he left me. It took me a while, and I was angry for a long time, but I eventually realized that he was right in leaving. I still think about him sometimes; I still miss him," she folded her hands in her lap. "He lives in LA now. He runs this sort-of help agency called, Angel Investigations."

Riley was speechless.

The silence between them was uncomfortable, and Buffy dreaded Riley's response to her confessions. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It's just. the Angel issues are hard for me to talk about."

"It's Ok. I mean, I understand."

"So, you're not angry," she grabbed his hand.

"Nope. Everyone had history. Mine may not be as." he searched for the right word, "colorful as yours, but it's history none the less. This thing with Angel happened in the past. He'll always have that part of you, the part that's in the past. But I get the better parts. I get present Buffy, and future Buffy," he pushed his thumb on her nose.

"Thank you," she smiled honestly.

Riley smiled back before leaning in to kiss her gently; it didn't feel right. He wasn't her Angel. After a moment, he pulled away.

"I love you, you know," he brushed some wet hair off her face.

"I. I." she was suddenly very uncomfortable. Although Riley's confession was not completely unexpected, she simply didn't share his feelings. Whenever he was around, she seemed to miss Angel more than usual, which was to say, more than one thought humanly possible. "I have to go. Willow and I were going to do. things."

"But Buffy," he didn't let go of her hand when she stood.

"Bye Riley," she pulled her hand away and ran off towards the exit of Restfield cemetery.

"Bye." Riley frowned in her direction.

*****

It had been fifteen minutes since Buffy had hurried out of the graveyard, and still Riley had not moved from his position atop the gravestone. The blanked that had been wrapped around them was now lying in a puddle of mud at his feet, and without it, the rain had soaked Riley to the skin. To the casual observer, Riley looked fine. A little strange, and wet perhaps, but fine none the less. If one looked closely, however, they would see that he was far from fine. In fact, he was quite the opposite.

The rain had soaked his hair, which was not matted and unruly. His hands were now folded neatly in his lap, and his eyes were starched, his pupils-dilated. His teeth were clenched, grinding back and forth, and an angry looking vein was throbbing from his forehead. In a word, he looked close to homicidal.

Without warning, he abruptly stood from the gravestone and picked up the crossbow Buffy had left behind. He let out a frustrated yell as he tried to snap it across his knee; it didn't work. Instead, he inadvertently shot himself in the foot.

"Dammit!" he dropped the crossbow and reached down to nurse his throbbing foot. After a moment of hopping about and shouting obscenities, Riley sat back on the gravestone and removed the arrow. He snapped in half and pulled it savagely from his limb. "Oh holy Shit!" he bit his lip in pain.

Riley was definitely angry. No. He was beyond angry. He was furious. He couldn't believe HIS Buffy, his sweet little innocent slayer, had hand a love affair with a vampire! Vampires were demons; they were vicious monsters no matter how you looked at it. And HIS slayer, his precious Buffy was in love with one. It just couldn't be. It wasn't right.

He let out another exasperated yell as his head fell into his hands. In his mind, his girlfriend was simply sick. He realized that a part of Buffy would always belong to this Angel guy, and he could never touch that part of her. He could tell by the way she spoke of him that she still loved him, and probably always would.

Riley felt physically ill. He couldn't believe this was happening. He trusted her, and she betrayed him. There seemed to be only one solution-this Angel person, had to die. If he was truly gone, Buffy would eventually forget him and give herself completely to Riley. This is the way it had to be.

He pushed his soaking wet hair back away from his face and stood from the gravestone. "Let's be logical," he spoke into the storm clouds. "Angel is a hostile. As a member of the initiative, it my job to protect civilians against hostiles. I'm going to have to kill him."

Riley hobbled away from the gravestone with a newfound sense of purpose. He left the soaking wet blanket and partially broken crossbow on the ground beside the gravestone. "LA, here I come." Riley went off to his room to collect his tazer gun and a good wooden stake. He had a job to do.

*****

"Willow? You awake?" Buffy tiptoed into her room and softly closed the door.

"Barely," her friend mumbled from under a mountain of blankets. "What's up?"

"Nothing. It's just. Riley."

"Oh?" she tried to sit up.

"I told him about Angel," Buffy took her hair out of the ponytail and sat down on her bed across from Willow.

"How'd he take it?"

"Really well. He wasn't angry or anything," Buffy pulled of her boots.

"Then what's wrong?"

"He told me he loved me. and I don't.I mean I like him. sort of, but I'm still in love with Angel. I dunno, I think maybe I always will be. I just can't let him go."

"I get it," she paused. "I still miss Oz, like everyday, but it gets easier."

"Not for me. Everyday I'm away from him, every time I'm with Riley, I miss him more than I thought was possible," she stood up and began to change into her pajamas.

"Well, maybe it was a mistake getting involved with Riley in the first place."

"I'm beginning to think so," she mumbled as she pulled her pajama top over her head and climbed into bed. "Thing is though, I think no matter who I end up with, I'll always be in love with Angel."

"I don't know what to tell you Buff," Willow snuggled back under the covers. "Maybe you need to talk to Angel."

"Maybe," Buffy curled up into fetal position and pulled the blankets up to her chin. "Goodnight Will."

"Night."

The town drifted off to a restless sleep. Willow's dreams were of a spell she and Tara had attempted and failed earlier that day, and Buffy dreamt of Angel, as per usual. Something was different this time however. Angel was in danger.

Part 2

By the time Riley had returned to his room, it was close to four am. The rain has soaked his hair, clothes and shoes and was making him shiver involuntarily. He quickly changed into some dry clothes and brushed his hair.

After a moment of rest, he lifted up the chair by his desk and snapped the leg over his thigh, making a jagged stake. He pocketed the stake and went to his closet to find the tazer gun he hadn't returned to the initiative's weapons locker. He had a plan: he was going to catch this 'Angel' by surprise and shock him with the tazer with enough voltage to knock him unconscious; then he would stake him. It was the perfect plan. Buffy would forget about Angel and give herself completely to Riley.

After collecting his things, Riley left his room and went to the lobby to the phone book. He needed to find the address of this 'Angel Investigations.'

****

Buffy tossed and turned in her bed; her dreams of Angel were quickly becoming nightmares. Light turned to darkness and a sunny afternoon turned into a horrible story evening.

Angel was alone in his apartment; it was late. His hair and clothes were wet, as if he'd just come in from the rain. He turned on the light in the kitchen and bent down to open the fridge. As he pulled out a package of blood, a figure stepped out from the shadows. Buffy couldn't see his face, but she recognized and object he was carrying-it was a tazer gun. The figure stepped forward and pointed it at Angel's back.

Buffy moaned in her sleep, as if trying to warn her threatened love.

The figure advanced on Angel and pulled the trigger. A shot of lightning flew lit up the room and hit poor Angel in the back; he fell to the ground with an ungraceful thud.

Buffy moaned again.

The figure pulled a jagged stake from his pocket and plunged it into Angel's heart. He turned to dust in a flash, like a sudden clap of thunder and the figure hovered over the dust like a storm cloud. The figure then picked up his gun and retreated back into the shadows.

Buffy sat up in a cold sweat. "Angel?" she gasped desperately. "Angel," she said again, this time in a whispered sob.

"Buffy?" Willow sat up and looked over at her friend, who had her face in her hands. "Hey," she climbed out of bed and hopped over to Buffy. "What's wrong?" she put her hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing. Nothing," she tried to regain composure. "I just had a nightmare."

"What happened?" Willow grasped Buffy's hand.

"It was Angel. Somebody killed Angel, and I couldn't save him."

"Do you think it was a prophecy dream?"

"I'm not sure. It was just so vivid, like it was actually happening."

"Maybe you should go see Giles?"

Buffy thought about this for a moment. "No. I have to make sure Angel's alright," she climbed out of bed and headed to her closet in search of some appropriate clothing.

"You're going to LA now? At four o'clock in the morning?"

"Yea. Angel may be in danger. I have to make sure he's alright," she repeated herself.

"Ok. Well, how are you going to get there?"

She didn't even need to think, "I'll get Xander to drive me."

Buffy threw a duffel bag on the bed a packed some extra clothes, her crossbow, and her faithful friend Mr. Pointy. She zipped up the back and swung it over he shoulder. "Bye Will," she opened the door. "I'll call you when I get there kay?"

"Good luck."

*****

Although the LA sun was beginning to rise, there was still a noticeable and unusual chill in the air. Riley paced the streets looking for Angel investigations. Unfortunately for him, the small firm wasn't listed in the Sunnydale phone book and the only lead he'd gotten as to its whereabouts came from a drunken homeless man.

He turned a corner and began to walk down a lamp-lit street. He noticed an office-type building a few feet ahead of him; some lights were on in the basement. "Well, what do ya know? The bum was right," he shook his head in wonder.

The door to the building was locked. He used the butt of his gun to smash a windowpane, and to his dismay, an alarm went off. "The door is open. The door is open."

"Damn!" he reached in and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and found the alarm pad on the wall. Without hesitation, he ripped the wires out of the panel and the annoying alarm voice was silenced.

"Angel?" Riley heard a female voice call from upstairs.

"It's Ok Cordelia. I must've set it off," a strong male voice replied from somewhere in the basement.

Riley carefully closed the door behind him and tiptoed to the staircase. He peeked around the corner and seeing no one, he climbed down the stairs to the basement. A man was sitting at a kitchen table that had one broken that had been haphazardly repaired with duct tape. The man was reading a thick book of poems by Robert Frost.

"Oooo, he's sensitive," Riley rolled his eyes.

Angel suddenly put down the book and stood from the table. He was taller and more muscular than Riley thought. "No matter," he muttered. "He'll be dust soon enough."

Without realizing Riley's presence, Angel went to a cupboard and pulled out a mug. He then turned to his fridge and bent down to open it. Riley crept up behind him, his gun at the ready.

At that exact instant, and from out of nowhere, the alarm went off again. "The door is open. The door is open!" it boomed. Angel closed the fridge and stood up, while Riley retreated into the shadows.

"Cordelia?" Angel called up the stairs.

No reply.

"She must've gone home," he muttered to himself as he climbed the stairs to the building's main entrance. "Hello?"

No reply.

He got to the top of the stairs and saw that the annoying alarm voice had been right: the door was indeed open. "Hello?" he called out for a third time.

"Angel?"

He recognized the voice instantly. He looked up and Buffy was standing on the stairs a flight above him. She looked beautiful. No, she was beyond beautiful. She looked perfect. She was wearing a simple black skirt and matching tank top with a flowery pattering along the bottom, but they framed her petite figure perfectly. Her eyes were shining and her hair was pulled back away from her face, slightly disheveled from the rain and wind. She looked radiant. Angel had to restrain himself from running to her and showering her with kisses; he'd missed her.

"Buffy?" he was finally able to choke out her name, after staring for a few long moments.

"Hey," she climbed down the stairs and stopped a safe distance from him.

"What are you doing here?" Angel ran his hand though his hair nervously.

"I um." she searched for an explanation that didn't defy logic like the truth seemed to. She gave up. "I dreamt you were in danger. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine."

"Good," she looked at her feet, embarrassed for her irrational actions.

"So, what happened in this dream?"

"You were alone in your apartment, and someone snuck up on you and." she bit her lip, "You went POOF."

"Well, it was probably just a dream."

"Yea," she backed away from him, inching towards the door. "So, I guess I'll be going," she turned away from him.

"Wait," he grabbed her hand.

She turned back to face them and stared down at their hands. The simple touch sent a wave of remembrance though them. The old spark was still there, and possibly stronger than before.

"Sorry," Angel dropped her hand quickly. "I just thought, since you came all this way, maybe you'd like to have a cup of tea or something. It's been a while since I've talked with you."

"Yea," she nodded. "It has been a while. I can stay. Xander won't be back to pick me up for a few hours. He's off gallivanting around LA somewhere."

Her joke lightened the mood.

"Knowing Xander, that probably isn't the best thing for him to be doing."

"For sure."

"My apartment is downstairs," he led the way down the staircase. The only light left on was above the kitchen table.

"Nice place," Buffy looked around.

"Thanks," he paused, also looking around. Something didn't feel right. "Have a seat," he pulled the chair out for her.

"What happened to your table? Buffy noticed the duct taped leg.

"Long story. What do you take in your tea?" he quickly changed the subject.

"Milk and sugar please."

Angel pulled out the kettle and set it on the stove. He then turned to the fridge and bent down to look for the milk.

Buffy suddenly had flashes from her dream.

"Now I know I have milk in here somewhere."

"Angel," she whispered. "Angel," louder. "Angel!" she yelled.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

Before Angel could turn around, Riley stepped out from the shadows and pointed the gun at his back.

"Angel, look out!"

It was too late. Buffy lunged for Riley and succeeded in knocking him over, but not before he was able to shoot Angel. The strong voltage had left him quivering and unconscious on the floor.

"Riley!" Buffy yelled through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, baby. However, Angel needs to die. You're the slayer. I'm sure you understand." He pulled an angry looking stake from his pocket and advanced on Buffy's unconscious love.

Part 3

"Riley! What the hell are you doing?" Buffy ran to Angel's side and lifted his head into her lap. "Angel?" she ran her hands though his hair. "Please wake up," she leaned in and kissed his cheek. She then looked back up at Riley, "How dare you?!"

"He's a vampire, Buffy. He has to die. You of all people should understand that."

"No. He helps people. He doesn't hurt them."

"He's still a demon," he pulled the stake from his pocket and stepped towards Buffy and Angel. "And now, I'm going to finish what I started."

"Get away from us," Buffy tried to slide back along the floor, but was stopped by the fridge. Riley continued his advances.

Finally, Buffy lay Angel's hand back on the floor and moved to stand between him and Riley. "You aren't going to hurt him anymore," she moved into fighting stance.

"I'm not going to fight you, baby."

"Why not? Afraid?"

"No, I don't want to hurt you," he glared at her and then diverted his attention to Angel. "I want to kill him," he pointed his stake at Buffy's unconscious love.

"Hurt me?" she laughed at the idea. "Good luck!" Buffy tried to divert his attention from Angel, but it didn't work.

"Step aside, love."

"First of all, I never was and never will be your love, and second of all, if you want to get to Angel, you'll have to go through me."

"Fine. If that's the way you want it," Riley dropped the stake and kicked it aside. He then put his fists up to his chin and stepped into fighting stance.

"Let's go," Buffy inched forward, but made no move to attack.

Riley tried to step to the side of Buffy, but she mirrored his every move. Finally, he got frustrated and swung a fist. She blocked it easily and kicked him hard in the stomach. Riley doubled over in pain and wrapped his arms protectively around his soon to be bruised abdomen. Buffy took advantage of his vulnerability and hit him with an elbow strike to the back of the neck. The blow knocked Riley to the ground. He groaned and rolled over to the take he'd dropped earlier. He dragged his body toward Angel, attempting to bypass Buffy; again, she stopped him. She delivered a hard roundhouse kick to his chest as he crawled, knocking the wind out of him.

She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to stand again. He didn't.

As soon as he regained the ability to move, he again tried to slide to Angel. Buffy grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him away, she then moved between him and her love.

After trying a few times, Riley was finally able to stand; however, his legs were wobbly and he had to lean against the wall to remain on his feet. "Don't make me hurt you, Buffy," he struggled to even whisper.

"Hurt me?" she laughed, "You couldn't hurt me if I was chained upside down and blind folded!"

"Yea?" he wobbled forward. "Let's see," he swung at her again. She ducked. He swung. She ducked.

"Come on Riley!" she egged him on. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"

He swung his fist again and Buffy caught it and held on. She then threw a hook with her free hand. It connected with his chin and she heard a resounding crack. She dropped his fist and swung again, this time connecting with his already misshapen nose; it too cracked. Blood poured from his now severely deformed nose, and dripped off his broken jaw.

"Are you quite finished Riley?" Buffy put her hands on her hips and rolled back and forth on her heels.

"He has to die," Riley managed to choke out. He advanced again. This time, Buffy showed no mercy. She grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the kitchen table. The force of the blow not only knocked Riley out, but also knocked over the table. The duct-taped leg snapped in two and the corner of the table landed on Riley's head. Buffy didn't bother moving it.

"Angel?" she hopped over Riley's body and landed next to Angel on the floor. He was still unconscious. Buffy sat down, leaned her back against the fridge and pulled Angel's head into her lap. Gently, she rubbed his back and kissed his cheek, trying to will him back into consciousness. "Please wake up," she muttered in his ear. She took his hand and held it to her beating heart. She then whispered words of love to her sleeping Romeo, waiting for him to awaken from slumber.

After a few minutes, Buffy felt Angel squeeze her hand weakly. "Angel?" she lifted her head from his and looked down at his face. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she saw that his beautiful eyes were open and staring back at her. "Hey," she leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. "You had me worried for a while there."

"What happened?" he muttered.

"Riley Finn was born, and twenty years later you were attacked."

"Who's Riley?"

Buffy cringed. She knew she'd have to tell Angel about Riley sooner or later. Better to tell him now, while he was hurt, and couldn't chase her down and kill her. "Riley is. was my boyfriend."

"Oh," Angel's face fell and his heart sank. "Why did he attack me?"

"I don't know. I told him about you and I," she rubbed his hand, "But he took it really well."

"Do you love him?" Angel's eyes betrayed his fear.

"No," she said honestly.

"Did you ever?"

"I thought I did, but it wasn't love. I realized that I could never get over you, and I'd never stop loving you and it scared me. I forced myself to get involved with Riley, and I tried to love him, but I couldn't. I can't be happy with anyone but you."

Angel didn't know how to respond to her admission. His heart swelled but his mind remained somber. So she still loved him. So what? Nothing had changed. He was still a vampire, and she was still human. And he, still, could only cause her pain. He wouldn't break her heart again.

He finally spoke, though his heart willed him to get lost in her once more. "So things didn't work out with Riley. There'll be others, Buffy."

"No," she stated firmly.

"Yes," he interrupted. // Don't do this! // his body screamed. "Look, what we HAD," he emphasized the past tense, "was special, but it's over. You have to move on sometime. I have."

"You don't." he lip quivered and tears filled her eyes, threatening to overflow. "You don't feel anything for me? You don't love me anymore?"

"No," he couldn't meet her gaze. He knew if she looked him in the eye, his heart would betray him. "I got over you a long time ago."

"I thought," she choked on her words. She couldn't believe he was saying this. Her heart shattered into a million pieces and her soul seemed to shrivel up inside her body. "You told me that you'd always love me."

"I'm sorry," he responded sharply. "I didn't know you were going to take me LITERALLY. I guess I was exaggerating. Forever is a long time you know."

Buffy didn't respond. She dropped Angel's hand and began to cry. As her face fell into her hands, she let out animalistic wails of anguish.

Angel felt horrible. Killing hundreds upon hundreds of people while the demon had control over his body could not compare to the guilt he was feeling now. He'd hurt his precious Buffy. He'd lied horribly, and he'd made her cry. He did what he swore he'd never do again: he broke her heart.

Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer. "I'm so sorry, Buffy." He tried to envelop her in his arms but she threw him off her.

"Don't touch me!" she scrambled away from him.

He struggled to stand, and after gaining his balance he hobbled over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged it away roughly. "I said don't touch me!" she yelled between sobs.

So that was it. Even though he'd left her, so that he couldn't cause her anymore pain, he'd succeeded in destroying her completely. And now, he didn't know how to fix his mistake. He didn't know how to make her forgive him.

After a moment, Buffy sniffled and wiped away her tears. She composed herself and looked up at Angel. "I don't." she stopped, unsure how to express what she felt. "I don't care about a normal life Maybe I did at one time, but not anymore. All I want, is to spend my life with you. I can't get over you. I wont. When you left me, you said wanted me to have a normal life. But what you didn't understand, is that by leaving you guaranteed I'd never have one. With our without you, I'll never life like a normal girl, but at least with you in my life, I'll have love. Without you, I have nothing. And now," she stared up at him, anger in her eyes, "I can't tell the difference between love and hate," she spat the words at him. "You've ruined me," she whispered bitterly. "I hope you're happy."

She stood, crossed her arms over her chest, and turned away from him. She bit her lip to keep from crying. After a moment, she turned back to him. "There's something else," she paused. "There's no snag in your curse. Your soul is permanent."

"What?"

"We just found out. It seems Ms. Calendar made some modifications to the curse, but you killed her before she could tell us."

"Oh," Angel wanted to take her in his arms, but he held back.

"Not only that, but I gave you the Gem of Amara (Authors note: eeekkk! I have no clue how to spell that. Excuse me if it's wrong! ^_^) and you got rid of it! You could've taken me into the light like you wanted to, but you gave up the chance. We could've been together, but you're a coward!" she yelled bitterly. "You've always been a coward!"

Riley stirred on the floor and let out a painful moan. Buffy heard him, and silenced him with a kick to the side of the head.

Angel winced.

"You're a coward-like him," she pointed at Riley with her foot.

"Buffy," his mind was racing. "I had no idea, I." he stepped over Riley and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I can't express how sorry I am. For everything."

She still could not meet his eyes. She focused on a piece of table leg that had been casually discarded to the left of Riley,

"And I do love you. I never got over you, I never could," he put his thumb under her chin and forced her to look at him. "You'll always be my girl remember?"

Buffy's chin quivered and she struggled to hold back her tears. "I can't live without you. Please don't make me," she whimpered before her tears began to overflow again.

"It's Ok, baby," Angel enveloped her in his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. "Shhh." he rubbed her back and tried to calm her down. "I love you," he kept whispering.

Meanwhile, Riley had stirred from his pain-induced slumber, picked up his stake, and now stood behind the entwined lovers.

Buffy's sobs prevented Angel from him hearing Riley approach. Riley raised the stake above his head and took the final step towards him. His foot inadvertently stepped on the broken table leg, and it snapped under his weight.

Angel heard the crack of the wood behind him and whipped around in time to see Riley with the stake over his head. Angel grabbed his arms, forcing him to drop the sharp instrument. Buffy, meanwhile, backed away silently. She wanted to watch her Angel kick Riley's ass back to cattle country.

Angel flashed his game-face and Riley instantly lost confidence.

"Get the hell away from my girlfriend!" Riley spat at Angel, trying to hide his fear.

"She's not your girlfriend," Angel spat back before kicking Riley in the stomach. Riley doubled over in pain as dizziness overtook him. To regain his balance and vision, he put his head between his knees. When he opened his eyes, he noticed the stake he'd dropped directly below his feet. He let out a girly-man yell and picked up the stake.

Angel made no move to stop him. In fact, he laughed.

Riley raised the stake over his head and ran at Angel. Angel grabbed Riley's arms and forced the stake into his chest. Riley's body fell to the floor with a massive thud, and a pool of blood began to form around him. He was dead. (Author's note: Woo hoo! )

From behind, Buffy winced. Killing humans with stakes wasn't fun. It always made that icky sound.

Angel turned to face his love. "Are you alright? I mean." he lanced at her dead ex-boyfriend, "I didn't mean to KILL him."

"Hey, no big. He was a homicidal maniac," she smiled.

Angel stepped over the body and enveloped Buffy into a giant bear hug. "Good."

"He was also moronic, dull, pathetic, a mamma's boy, captain of the loser patrol, idiotic, annoying, a bad lover, a crap weasel, self-centered, irritating, weak, cowardly, narcissistic, overzealous, self-righteous, egomaniac, with a bug up his butt the size of a Christmas tree, dumber than your common house plant, and." she paused to take a breath, "a lesbian," she finished.

"Huh?" Angel raised his eyebrows.

"You don't want me to repeat all that do you?"

"Nah. I get the idea."

"Not only that," Buffy continued, "But all he ever talked about was churning butter, bailing hay, and milking cows."

"Pardon me?" Angel laughed.

"The guy defined hick!" Buffy laughed. The joyous sound was music to Angel's ears. He loved to see her happy.

"So," Angel interjected, "We should.um... we should probably talk huh?"

"Yea," she stopped laughing. "We probably should."

Angel reluctantly pulled away from Buffy and led her to the couch. "So." he started.

"Look, let's not make this difficult Ok. You know how I feel about you and what I want. Whether or not we give us another chance is purely up to you. Remember though, I can't be happy without you and I don't want a normal life," she paused and grabbed his hand. "I want you to think of yourself for once. This isn't about me. It's about you and what you want," she stopped and let him ponder this for a moment. "Do you want me?"

His response was simple and clear. He didn't speak a word. Instead, he pushed her disheveled hair behind her ears and leaned in to kiss her.

The kiss felt like dove's wings, or the heat of the sun on your skin; it was gentle, warm, sweet, and so full of love. It was purely Angel.

After a moment, Angel pulled away and looked into Buffy's shining eyes. "I want to be with you forever," he spoke from his heart. "I'll only leave if you ask me to."

"It'll never happen," she smiled before leaning in to kiss him again. This time, the kiss was powerful and full of promised passion. Buffy moaned against his lips and ran her hands though his hair. Angel pulled Buffy as close as he could get her.

Suddenly, he stopped. He pulled away just enough to gaze into her eyes questioningly. She knew immediately what he was asking and nodded. Angel lifted Buffy up, his gaze never leaving her hers, and carried her to his bedroom.

The two stayed together for hours in his bed, afraid to get more that three feet away from he other-as if the small distance would tear them apart again. But, it never could. In fact, nothing would ever come between them again.

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