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.

Touched
You say that I am too
So much all of what you say is true
I'll never find someone quite like you again
I'll never find someone quite like you like you

- Vast, "Touched”

****

"You're doing it wrong," Angel observed, walking behind his girlfriend and taking her hands in his. "The entire point of Tai-Chi is to clear yourself...find your inner essence," he said, placing his palms under hers and slowly lifting her arms to both sides of her body, as Buffy's eyelids gradually closed. "Your problem," the vampire whispered, still holding her arms up in mid air, "is that you don't allow yourself to yourself let go. You need to stop thinking," he started gently guiding her hands upward, "lose yourself to the motion, lose yourself *in* the motion. Allow it to take over you," he brought her palms to meet above her head, and momentarily stopped, glancing down at the Slayer, whose eyes were shut, eyelids twitching a bit to indicate she was not completely gone, but merely in some sort of self-evoked trance. He moved closer to her, and lowered her left hand down and to the front, sustaining it in the air with his palm underneath her forearm. "Let it guide you," in a fluent circular motion, he folded her left arm across her chest, while bringing her right one down and away from her waist, then he unfolded her left arm and crossed it above the right, angling both her palms up. "Feel nothing," he whispered in her ear, gradually bringing both palms down and in to her midsection.

"Why did you stop?" the Slayer inquired inaudibly, without opening her eyes, after the vampire behind her halted the sequential motion when, without letting go of her hands, he wrapped her waist with his arms, burying his face in her neck.

"I'm doing it wrong," Angel murmured the answer into her hair.

"Really?" the blonde Slayer uttered the words in a soft sigh, eyes still shut. "I thought you were doing it just right…"

"I can't stop thinking," the vampire raised his head and gently turned her in his arms, keeping his eyes closed the entire time.

"What about?" Buffy probed, in a husky low voice, drawing closer to him and angling her chin up until her lips all but caressed Angel's.

"This," he whispered, and plugged her mouth in a soft kiss.

Buffy freed her hands from between their bodies and reached for his neck, securing them on his rear and urging his head down, just as he propped hers up with one hand, while the other roamed her back.

"Angel," the Slayer breathed out his name as she broke their kiss, her lips, slightly red and swollen, curving up in a content smile. "Wow," she exhaled.

The vampire inhaled a deep breath, then released it. "You're late," he murmured, completely off topic.

"I am?"

"School," he pulled back just a little, but didn't unwind his arms from around her waist. "You should…go…"

"Right," she nodded, but remained touching foreheads with him, then she abruptly broke the connection and looked up, "I'm not that late," the words rushed out of her mouth in the split second it took her to press it to his, engaging him in another fervent kiss.

Angel tightened his arms around her, stumbling backwards as she jumped on him, securing her legs around his waist, her craving hands groping the smooth pale skin of his bare back. He knew that he was rapidly weakening under her touch and in a moment he wouldn't find strength in him to resist her. And he also knew he couldn't do what she wanted him to just yet. "Buffy," he tore his lips from hers, panting, and turned his head to the side, casting his gaze down on the floor. "Please," he whispered.

The Slayer beheld him intently for a few seconds, then released a sigh, and climbed off of him, moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue as she looked away. After a moment, she looked back up and turned his face to her, rising on her tiptoes, and met his lips in a brief soft kiss. "I love you," she smiled tenderly, stroking his cheek with her knuckles, then she stepped back, her hand sliding gradually off of his face, the further she was retreating from him.

Angel took a couple of deep breaths to collect himself, then followed his girlfriend into their bedroom.

**

"I'm sorry," he whispered, stopping in the doorframe.

Buffy threw him a glance over her shoulder, "Could you tie it up for me?" she gesticulated at the loose back strings of her top.

Angel wordlessly entered the room and walked up behind her to do as asked. After he was done with her shirt, he put his hands on her shoulders and gently kissed her neck, inhaling her scent.

Buffy reached her hand up and dug her fingers in his spiky hair. "It's okay," she smiled, her eyes fixed on the mirror, where she found no one but herself, until she whirled around, wanting to look into his face instead. "Angel, I don't want you to do anything you don't wanna do," she explained, brushing her palm over his face. "But when you do…I can promise you I'll be here."

The vampire drew closer and gently kissed her forehead.

"When will you be home today?" he asked, after he'd pulled back and she'd revolved back to the mirror to apply her make up. Angel picked up a brush and began mildly combing her long blond locks.

"As soon as I can," she flashed him a promising smile, "but I told mom I'd drop by on my way home. Now that the denial phase is over and done with, she's still a bit…shaken, from…you know," she pointedly nodded to the side, speaking of the events of the recent few days. "It hit her pretty hard, I guess."

Her boyfriend leaned in a planted a kiss on her skull, putting down the brush and tucking her hair behind her ears, smoothing it back.

"I think I'll be home around five…something like that, maybe sooner, maybe later. I'm not planning to stay at mom's for too long, so it mostly depends on Giles. The sooner we finish training, the sooner I'll be home."

Angel nodded, his expression turning serious. "I want to patrol instead of you tonight."

"You mean *with* me."

"I mean *instead* of you. I want you to stay home."

Buffy turned her head and looked up at him, grinning knowingly. "Honey, it's really *not* necessary-"

"Let *me* decide that," he interrupted her.

The Slayer released a sigh, knowing it would be better to postpone that conversation for the evening, because in the little time they had at the moment, she was going to lose the argument.

****

Giles was sitting in his dim office, thoughtfully beholding the box in front of him on his desk. He was so engrossed in his musings, his heart almost jumped out of his chest as he bolted to his feet, when he finally shook them out of his head and turned his face to the door, finding in it no other but his Slayer's vampire boyfriend.

He cleared his throat and nervously removed his glasses, almost dropping them to the floor. "Angel," he gasped, swallowing hard and clasping his hands into fists in attempt to keep them from trembling. The Watcher stiffly sat back down into his chair and started nervously polishing the lenses of his glasses. It was the first time he was seeing the vampire ever since that day Faith had attacked him in the mansion, and he most certainly wasn't prepared.

Angel looked down, then back up at the Englishman, then back down, his eyes restlessly darting across the floor. "I need to…I need to talk to you," he mumbled, without looking up.

"I imagine so," Giles nodded, finally having some luck in containing his bouncing nerves. "It's the...middle of the day, how did you?..."

"I used the sewers. Can I…can I come in?"

"Please," Giles motioned into the office, looking up for the first time, but still unable to direct his gaze at the vampire. "Come in."

After a brief contemplation, Angel stepped into the room. " It's about Buffy."

The Englishman frowned, suddenly putting all his fears and anxiety aside. They couldn't have been thinking about the same thing…but one glimpse into the vampire's eyes revealed to him that he was only somewhat wrong.

"What's happening to her?" Angel asked, proceeding further into the office.

"W-w-what d-do you mean?" endeavoring to appear as calm as possible, Giles was, in fact, doing the exact opposite.

"Something is wrong with her, I…I can sense it. It's been going on for some time now, and lately, she's been losing from her Slayer's power as well. Her aura is weakening…*she* is weakening. I can feel it, even though she claims she's fine. You're her Watcher, you must know what's wrong."

Giles gulped, looking down from the vampire. "I…I noticed it, too," he muttered, knowing the Slayer's boyfriend was too concerned to believe him if he said he knew nothing. But under no circumstances could he tell Angel all about the test his girlfriend must go through on her eighteenth birthday. Looking at Angel now, he wouldn't be surprised at all, if the vampire went after the entire Watcher's council, if he only knew what was truly going on to his girlfriend.

"Do you know what it is?" Angel questioned, inside, absolutely sure the Watcher knew at least *something*, but doubted he would tell anything.

Giles looked up, straight into his eyes. "No," he replied. "It's been on my mind, too. But…I don't know anything…I honestly don't. Perhaps, it's a demon she was fighting…"

"She patrols with me almost all the time," Angel quickly dismissed that possibility.

"Well, then…I can't imagine-"

"She's your Slayer!" Angel hit the desk with his open palm, unable to take anymore of what the man had to say, knowing he was most likely lying. However, he composed himself quickly, seeing that act alone caused the Watcher to jump in his seat, both out of fear and nervousness. "She's *your* Slayer , whose powers are slipping away," he lowered his voice again, focusing his gaze on the Watcher, "and you're telling me you don't *know* anything?!"

"Angel, I-"

"Call the council," the vampire demanded, glancing at the phone.

"I…I can't," Giles refused.

Angel held his gaze for a long moment, not saying anything, and Giles did the same, but unlike the vampire, he had no choice, because Angel's eyes captured his in such intensity, they simply didn't allow him to look away. The thick tension in the room only came to an end with the ringing of the bell.

Angel stepped back, tearing his gaze from Giles' and the Watcher looked down on his desk, rubbing his suddenly aching head with one hand, as he removed his glasses with the other.

When he looked back up, the vampire was gone.

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