Rating: umm...I'm thinking along the lines of PG...in the meantime. Who knows what the future might bring:).
Disclaimer: nope, last time I checked, nothing was mine.
Spoilers: well...better safe than sorry: everything up to the end of season 3 can be spoilery.
Synopsis: I have a strange drive to rewrite season 3 of BtVS. I just don't seem to like the way it ended...beats me why. Anyway, so despite the fact that the original plan was to begin with "Helpless" (that's around the time everything really started getting screwed up B/A-wise), as you can see, plan's changed and I'm going to start with "Anne". If you expect to find in this series events/quotes from the original season....I seriously mean it - I'll try my hardest keeping them to the very minimum. But all in all - it's probably a yet another attempt to end the season on a more "positive" B/A level. See how it goes:).
Pairing: the conventional ships: B/A, W/O, C/X. If I decide to torture any/all of them, you'll be the first to know:).
Distribution: ask first.
Feedback: please, yes, please.

Where do I put the books
There's so many I could read
But they all are filled with lies
Where do I put the lies
There's so many I could say
But it seems they're in the books

- Vast, "Here"

***********

"Xander," Willow gasped his name, swiftly whirling around. She gaped at him at loss, as his eyes were burning with disbelief and betrayal. "W-what…what do you want?" she faltered.

"I think you know what I want," he spat. "What the Hell is going on here?! *What* were you two talking about? Or should I ask *who*?"

Willow swallowed, praying inwardly she could disappear then and there. She cast her eyes to the ground and sighed quietly. "You heard-" she murmured.

"I want to hear it from *you*," he interrupted her harshly. He was furious inside. It was anger, pure anger he hadn't even known he was capable of feeling, and said anger was combined with betrayal – the betrayal of his two best friends. He didn't know a way to handle the situation other than snapping at them both and letting that lethal mixture of emotions loose. "How could you?" he hissed.

"You weren't supposed to find out like this," the redhead admitted, shaking her head in mortification. "But it isn't mine to tell," she added, boldly looking up into her friend's eyes for the first time since his voice startled her from behind.

"How was I supposed to find out, then?!" Xander exclaimed, heating up. "Was I even supposed to find out *at all*, I wonder? How could you do this to me, how could *she* do this to me?!"

The witch swallowed hard, then drew in a deep breath. "How was she supposed to tell you?" she asked, her voice low and careful, due to her composed anger, the result of the boy's latter question. "Did you even *notice* how you've been behaving towards her ever since she returned? The things you've been saying about Angel?!" her voice rose with every word that escaped her lips as she advanced him menacingly, all the pent up frustration he had caused in her over the last few months breaking through her placid nature. "Your best friend hasn't talked to you in *months* and it wasn't enough to make you *grow up*, and you think she *had* to tell you? You think you *earned* this honesty?!"

He stared at her for a few moments, entirely speechless, completely taken aback by her abrupt, hardly characteristic outburst.

"You should talk to Buffy about this," Willow spoke again, in a calmer tone this time. "If she decides you should know, she'll tell you herself."

"I'm talking to *you*," he argued.

The witch merely shook her head resolutely, not bothering with a verbal answer at what she thought she had already made perfectly clear, and walked off.

****

"Giles!" Xander stormed into the library, startling the Englishman out of his reading.

The Watcher took a moment to catch his breath and fix his glasses back on his nose. "Good God, Xander, what is it?!" he demanded to know. The boy resembled more a wild animal than a human being and Giles had never seen him like that before.

"Did you know about this?" Xander got right to the point, without wasting any time. Inwardly, he hoped the Watcher had been left in the dark the same way he had, clearly not seeing a single reason as to why Buffy would tell him. At least he would have one ally in that, since he had clearly lost Willow. He wondered who else knew and how long had it been going on; he attempted to dig back in his memory to the first time he should have descried something wasn't quite right, but as much as he tried, he was unable to put his finger on anything in particular.

"A-about what?" Giles didn't understand his question. His puzzled eyes wandered again over the boy, as he was trying to decipher his strange behavior.

"Angel," Xander spat out the name.

The Watcher swallowed, instantly realizing Buffy's secret hadn't been revealed to the boy under the most pleasant circumstances. He wondered if he had gone to confront the Slayer already, but soon realized he couldn't have, since he obviously didn't know Giles had been aware of the truth for quite some time. In fact, he had been informed practically from the start. Also, he could see it in his eyes the boy relied on the possibility he didn't know anything as well, and Giles didn't know how to tell him he did. Xander certainly had a few surprises coming up his way. "I knew," he nodded.

Xander stared at him for a moment, seemingly astonished by his answer though a part of him had expected it. He had expected it just as he had hoped it wouldn't come. Well, that was his first hope to shatter for today.

"Things are different now, Xander," Giles continued evenly, attempting to supply an explanation that would speak to the boy, though bearing in mind his resentment towards the ensouled vampire, it was nearly impossible. "Things have…they have changed…rather drastically since the last time you encountered Angel. when he was returned from demon's dimension, he was returned with a full possession of his soul, and…well, just to say he cannot lose it again. Not the way, he-he," Giles hid a blush with his hand as he rubbed his forehead, "lost it last time," he muttered.

There went his second hope. If whatever Giles was saying was actually true, he most certainly had lost him as an ally. It was common knowledge the Watcher would side the Slayer, especially after he had done it only a short time after Angelus had murdered his girlfriend, saying it was Jenny's wish to restore Angel's soul, thus disregarding everything the demon had done. Xander knew there was no love lost between the Watcher and his Slayer's choice of life-partner, but there was respect, at least with the ensouled version, and there was mutual silent understanding. He didn't know if the two had met after the vampire's return from Hell, but what he did know was that if Giles had indulged him for so long, he wouldn't change his mind now.

"So let me get this straight," he smirked, "this bastard runs loose for months, having the *Slayer* in the palm of his hand and knowing it, murdering dozens of people," he exchanged a pointed look with the Watcher, but before the elder man could insert something, Xander went on. "And when he's finally killed and goes to Hell, where, mind that, he should have been celebrating a bicentennial at that point, he's got the Slayer ceaselessly moping over him. Now, when he comes *back* from Hell, he's suddenly the *victim*?!" he shot Giles a look of utter astonishment mingled with fury. "I can't *wait* to hear your side of the story!"

The Watcher sighed. "*You* are *not* in the position to judge him, Xander," he told the boy, maintaining a grave expression and keeping his eyes on his the entire time. "To *you*, he has never done anything, so your childish behavior is completely groundless." He rose from his seat and walked around the desk closer to Xander. "I'm not sure even *you* know why you hate him anymore." He sighed, and peered gravely at the boy. "I'm not saying…w-what h-his demon did is…" Giles shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "It is hardly the issue here. Fact remains that he is now in full possession of his soul, and Buffy," he paused, rubbing his brow in frustration, "Buffy is extremely protective of him. She *has been* ever since his return. They depend on each other now more than they ever have, I'm honestly not quite sure which one needs the other more. I'm talking to you as one adult to another, Xander," Giles looked the boy directly in the eye saying that, silently praying the latter had been also listening to what he had been saying and that he wouldn't go and do something foolish, given the first opportunity. Knowing Xander, one could never know. Giles had never spoken to him that way before, and now he could merely hope he had succeeded in getting through to him. "Don't go after Angel," he advised him, simply to the point.

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

The Slayer was woken up in the early afternoon by an impatient rapping on the front door downstairs. It certainly wasn't anywhere on the top of her 'best ways to wake up on a Sunday afternoon' list. But seeing as it had been going on for at least five minutes, while which she'd desperately been trying to remain asleep, she didn't have any other choice than completely wake up and let whomever it was in.

Buffy stretched lazily and rotated on her other side, tossing the pillow she had been trying to muffle the ceaseless knocking with off of her head to the floor.

"Oww!" she moaned, when her forehead collided with her boyfriend's protruding elbow, who that very moment was busy rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Good morning to you, too," she joked sleepily.

"Sorry," Angel apologized, brushing his fingertips over the sore spot on her brow.

His girlfriend responded with a half-smile. "I'll live," she assured, then glanced at the window, where tiny rays of light were sneaking into the room through between the blinds. "What are you doing up so early?" she observed, looking back at Angel.

He sat up, rubbing his rear awkwardly and using the opportunity to look away from her. "I should go," he muttered, "before your mother…"

"Mom's not coming back till Tuesday," the blonde Slayer interrupted him cheerfully. "She called a couple of hours after you'd fallen asleep, babbling something about a new gallery opening on Monday and she wanted to check it out…or so I think," she frowned thoughtfully, but then dismissingly waved her hand at that. "Never mind," the beam lit her features again as if it had never vanished. "Which means, you can stay," she announced.

"Are you sure?" he probed, not at all ready to run into Joyce. The last encounter between the Slayer's mother and Angelus wasn't bringing back pleasant memories and he still wasn't ready to confront the woman in his soulful state.

"Well, it's not like leaving was ever an option for you, anyway," Buffy glanced pointedly at the sunlight-proof window again. "So, you stay," she gently shoved him down on the bed and sprawled across his wide chest, snaking her arms around his waist from behind.

Angel breathed in the scent of her hair, and securing one possessive arm around her, cupped her head with his other hand, stroking her skull with his fingertips.

"Angel?" Buffy murmured his name, briefly angling up her head to meet his eyes. "You know…that talk we were supposed to have tonight, that we…never actually got to…have..."

"I know," he sighed, his voice abruptly receiving a somewhat somber note.

The blonde was about to answer, when the loud knocking on the door sounded through the house again and she groaned, frustratingly bumping her head into her boyfriend's chest and reluctantly crawling out of bed. "Be right back," she murmured, indolently pulling on a pair of sweat pants.

******

"Xander," Buffy dryly acknowledged the person at her door.

The boy swallowed hard, preparing to say 'hi', but instead remaining silent.

"Is there a reason as to why you find it necessary to wake me up in this hour on Sunday morning?" the Slayer inquired after a moment of a mutual uncomfortable silence. Then sighed loudly, leaning back against the doorframe and stifling a yawn with one hand. "You're not exactly one of the people I wanna talk to, Xander, so do us both a favor and make it quick."

The boy nodded. "He's here, isn't he?" he probed.

"Who is?" Buffy pushed herself from the wall.

"Your…boyfriend," he uttered the last word with composed abomination.

After a first moment of utter astonishment, Buffy couldn't care less *how* he had found out. "First, don't even *think* I'll let you anywhere *near* him," she warned Xander, her hard menacing gaze making her point perfectly. "And if you lay a *finger* on him, I swear…"

"Who gave you the right?!" he exclaimed, cutting off her speech in mid sentence. "Who gave you the right to put us *all* in immediate danger, by harboring a murderer-"

The Slayer whacked his cheek, causing him to stumble backwards, but more due to the surprise of the blow than its intensity. She looked up, and her large eyes met his, just as large, gaping at her with disbelief. After a beat, she managed to collect herself, still not quite grasping it had come to a point when she would raise her hand on Xander that way. "You can say whatever you want in front of me," she said, making sure to keep her voice calm and steady as she was building up the sentence, "I don't usually stick around to hear it out, anyway," she shrugged. "But under no circumstances, will I have *him* listening to your crap. I won't let *you* hurt him," she told him, studying his eyes for a spell, for any sort of reaction. "I won't let *anyone* hurt him. Do you understand me?"

Xander slowly removed his hand from his burning cheek, not tearing his eyes from the blonde Slayer. "I understand perfectly," he nodded, then eyed her for another moment, as if contemplating over taking back words that hadn't been spoken yet, wholeheartedly knowing what they would bring about once uttered. But, of course, he didn't. "Have fun with your pet," he nodded pointedly to the second floor. "As far as I'm concerned, you've just lost a friend," he hissed, for the first time, with barely discernable traces of woe in his voice. Not willing to stay another second in that house, he swiftly whirled around and shut the door behind him, leaving an agitated and thrown Slayer standing alone in the room.

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