Disclaimer: In my long term absence from the BtVS fanfic world, I have since taken over the WB, Fox and Mutant Enemy and now single handedly run Buffy and Angel so in S6/3 respectively you can expect mush, fluff and lots of ass-kicking, with all our favourite characters back to their old selves, and all the missing good characters back in their rightful place. NOT!

Rating: PG-12

Spoilers: Angelus

Season: 3 (early)

Started: 21st July '01 Completed: 23rd July '01

Teaser: When Angel is made human by a grateful demon, an unexpected catch appears.

Author's note: Yes, Nicola is back on the bandwagon. Don't you gimme that look! It's a good thing! It IS! Nyah to you! Anyway, I won't be churning them out like before, and hopefully my writing 'talent' has improved a bit. I've read some of my other stories and man do they STINK! So you might be seeing a bit more of me. That's a good thing too!

Part 1: Gratitude

A loud scream echoed through the night, and Angel immediately responded. Pacing the silent cemetery with nothing to do had made him a little jumpy, and he sprinted off in the direction of the sound. His advanced senses led him to a dark alley in the centre of town, where three vampires circled a helpless young girl. At full speed he charged in, attacking viciously left, right and centre until nothing but dust floated. He turned to the girl, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"You should go home," he mumbled before turning away.

"Can.can I ask you a question?" she stammered, unsure. Angel stopped, and nodded. "Why do you fight your own kind?" At this he span on his feet in bewilderment.

"What?" he choked out.

"I'm a demon, and I can tell that you are too. Why do you fight them?" she swept her hand about at the ashes on the floor.

"I.I'm cursed," he murmured, not sure why he was telling her. She closed her eyes in deep concentration, before opening them again with a smile.

"A soul," she stated. "I'm sorry. I was just searching for the reason you were so strong, I didn't sense the humanity in you." Her smile was soft and kind, almost sympathetic. "How can I repay you for saving my life?" Angel shrugged and turned to leave. "I know!" the girl exclaimed suddenly, making him stop once more. "I have the perfect way to make it up to you, if you want of course." Angel nodded for her to continue. With a grin, she taunted, "Does humanity interest you?" Angel stared at her, dumbfounded. Even his unnecessary breathing halted.

"Are you saying." he began.

"I have this uncanny ability to access magic that only the most powerful mortal witches can reach. Admitted, I don't usually use this power, but I can make an exception in your case," she smiled again.

"What.what do I have to do?" Angel whispered, scared to speak louder lest he wake up from this dream. The girl shrugged.

"Nothing, I think. Just stand there," she replied. Angel did as he was told and the girl closed her eyes again, and lifted her arms to the air. In a language even Angel didn't recognise she chanted a small spell. The air in the alley began to churn and heat up, making Angel's skin feel tight. With a final whispered line, a small white light appeared in front of Angel and touched his heart, before disappearing again. With a choke he fell to the floor, breathing heavily as his lungs kicked back into use. Every part of his body hurt as foreign blood was moved through his veins, and his heart ordered more of his own. He felt dizzy, and wavered on hands and knees on the filthy alley floor. Slowly he regained his bearings and stood up to thank the girl. But she was gone. In a daze he wandered home, thinking about what it all could mean.

Part 2: Ecstasy

Buffy was worried. She'd gone to bed after completing her homework, knowing Angel was on patrol for her. As usual she stayed awake, waiting for him to come to her window for a good night kiss. He hadn't shown. She'd waited for hours, and fallen into a troubled sleep. All through morning classes she couldn't concentrate. Finally when the lunch bell rang she sprinted out of school, not even stopping to give her friends an explanation. As fast as she could she ran to the mansion, only ceasing when she was inside the doors.

It was as quiet as always inside, which she found comforting. Quietly, she tiptoed through the mansion to Angel's bedroom. She breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw him stretched out on his bed, deep in sleep. Carefully she moved over to the bed and sat next to him, holding his hand in hers.

At first she didn't notice, too absorbed in watching him to be fully aware. But gradually she realised that his hand was warm. As in, generating it's own heat. Hope and wonder fluttered in her soul as she nervously placed two fingers over his jugular. A steady push against her fingers made a grin spread across her face like she hadn't experienced in what felt like years. The touch roused Angel, and he cracked his eyes open slightly.

"Buffy," he mumbled when he saw her. Her face glistened in the light, and he realised she was crying. Slowly he pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes free of sleepy dust. Eventually he turned to her. "Buffy?" he repeated, "What are you doing here? I thought you had school today?" To his surprise, Buffy threw her arms around his neck as sobs erupted from her. Angel instinctively held her close as she cried. "Hush, love. What's wrong?" he murmured comfortingly. Buffy pulled back slowly, the biggest smile on her face.

"Nothing's wrong," she sniffled, "I've never been so happy!" Again she hugged him tight as Angel tried to work out the puzzle.

"If you're so happy why are you crying?" he asked. Buffy grabbed his hand and placed it over his heart. Beneath his fingers he could feel the steady thumping. "It's...it's real?" he breathed, "It's real!! I'm alive! Hahaha!" He leapt out of bed, pulling Buffy with him as they span round and round, before crashing into each other in a fiery kiss of happiness and lust and relief. When they calmed down, Buffy leaned back in his arms.

"You realise what this means, don't you?" she said, "No more fighting, no more darkness. You're free now Angel. You're free." He nodded slowly, leaning his forehead on hers.

"I maybe free, but I'll stay with you forever. I promise." Fresh tears poured down Buffy's cheeks, so happy was she to hear that.

"C'mon!" she cried suddenly, pulling him towards the door, "We have to go tell the others!"

Part 3: Bad Side

"So, Dead Boy's not dead anymore," Xander commented slowly. The Scoobies were assembled in the library, and had been told the great news. In fact they'd seen it. Angel and Buffy had strolled in through the doors with blatant disregard for sunlight.

"Indeed," Giles murmured in reply, still staring in shock at Angel, and the new pink glow in his cheeks. Buffy broke the tense silence.

"Anywho. Now that you all know Angel and I are going to take a little walk in the sunshine," she declared. Angel smiled as he offered her his arm, and they left the library, leaving the others in stunned astonishment.

The park was bustling despite the time of day. The junior school had organised some kind of field trip and there were young children running about everywhere. Buffy and Angel walked arm in arm like the perfect couple, laughing with each other in the summer sunshine. As they passed under a tree, Angel suddenly felt dizzy.

"Wait up Buffy. I don't feel too good," he told. She led him to a bench which they sat on.

"Must be all the sunshine. You're not used to it," Buffy joked. Angel smiled slightly, before clutching at his head in pain. Buffy bent down with him, but slowly he sat back up. "You okay Angel?" Buffy asked in concern. Angel turned his head to her, and gave her wicked smile.

"I'm just fine, lover," he replied with a leer. Buffy looked horrified, and shook her head to deny what she could see.

"Angel, tha...that's not funny," she said weakly, tears already coming to her eyes.

"Aww, poor Buff. Crying cos her li'l dream came to an end," he taunted, "Well guess what, lover. Angelus is damn hard to be rid of, and don't you forget it!" With that he walked off, calm as ever, flirting with two girls as they passed him on the path. Tears rolled down Buffy's cheeks as she got off the bench and ran home.

Part 4: Friend Indeed

Buffy's mother was at the art gallery still when Buffy arrived home, so she called Willow. The witch came over immediately.

"What's wrong Buffy?" she asked anxiously. Angel was human, Buffy shouldn't be crying her eyes.

"It's Angel," she choked out between sobs. Willow pulled Buffy to her, cradling as she sobbed. "He...he...he's ch...changed." Willow stopped rocking Buffy as ice cold dread crept into her stomach.

"Changed. As in," she gulped involuntarily, "Angelus?" Buffy's even louder sobbing confirmed her suspicions. But then a thought occurred to her. "Buffy, calm down. Angel's human, right? Then Angelus can't possibly still be in there. It's probably Angel's subconscious getting used to no background noise. Yeah?" Buffy ceased crying, and thought about Willow's suggestion.

"You're right. Angelus was a vampire. Angel isn't a vampire anymore. It was just a residual effect," she repeated, unsure. Willow picked up on it and smiled.

"Why don't I go round there now and see, yeah?" Buffy nodded, giving her friend a hug.

"Thanks Will," she said sincerely. Willow smiled before she left for Angel's mansion.

She stormed in, angry that her friend had been hurt.

"Angel!" she yelled out, before realising that might not have been the best thing to do if Angel truly was evil. There was a groan and a thump in the direction of the bedroom, before Angel's half-naked body appeared in the doorframe.

"Willow? What are you doing here? What's wrong? How in hell did I get here?" he asked. From his tone of voice she could tell it was Angel, not Angelus. She was about to begin her tirade when his last question hit her.

"You don't know how you got here?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"I was walking with Buffy in the park, I had a really bad headache, then you're yelling my name. I feel so confused," he murmured. Willow frowned.

"Let me fill you in. You went walking in the park when you got a headache. All of a sudden, you turn into Angelus on Buffy, before walking off. D'you know how upset she is? It's hardly a thing to joke about Angel!" Angel stood there, dumbfounded.

"Angelus?" he spluttered. Suddenly his head began to hurt again, and he rubbed his temple with the heel of his hand.

"Angel, are you alright?" Willow asked nervously.

"No," he mumbled, his head bent. Slowly he stood up again, and Willow sucked in a horrified breath. "Well well well! If it isn't the little witch? My, you are brave, coming here for Buffy even with your own fears. I am impressed." He began walking towards the redhead in slow steps, and she in turn moved back.

"Angel, I...I know you're still in there," she said, trying to reach the soul. Angelus laughed, I cold short cackle.

"You don't honestly think that's going to reach the pathetic wimp, do you?" he asked with a cruel smile. Willow's eyes went as wide as dinner plates as her legs hit the sofa. Angelus noticed this, and his smile grew. Without warning he lunged at her. Willow jumped over the sofa onto the other side and aimed to run about it. Angelus also ran in that direction, halting when she did. She tried the other way, and he did the same. Suddenly he launched himself over the sofa. Willow sprinted out of the doors, with Angelus hot on her heels. He stopped just before the sunlight, forgetting for a moment that he was human. It was a moment that allowed Willow to run across the street. Angelus watched as she fled, a smile still playing on his lips before he turned and went back inside.

Part 5: The Diagnosis

Willow didn't stop running 'til she was at the library. As usual Giles was there. Without an explanation to him, she convened the Scooby Gang, minus Angel.

"Would you like to tell me what's going on?" Giles asked when Willow had finished calling everyone.

"Angel's still half evil," Willow said simply, plonking herself in a chair. Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"How can that be? He's human now, we saw it ourselves," he puzzled to himself. Willow shrugged.

"I woke him, and first he didn't know how he'd gotten from the park to his bed. Then he complains of a headache and suddenly I'm being chased around the room. Not nice." Xander and Cordelia chose that moment to arrive.

"Hey gang, what's the newest evil we have to fight?" Xander asked cheerfully.

"Angelus," Willow replied matter-of-factly. Xander stopped dead in his tracks.

"Y'mean they got groiny already!?" Cordy exclaimed with disgust.

"No we didn't," Buffy told her quietly as she walked in. Everyone immediately bowed their heads in sorrow for the slayer. They moved to the table and sat, and Oz immediately did the same as he walked in.

"So if you two didn't, uh, y'know, then how is Angel evil?" Xander asked.

"He's not totally evil. Just half evil. And the evil half happens to get a spin in the body," Willow replied.

"Did Angel get a headache just before he turned," Buffy asked in a business-like manner. She couldn't let emotions get in the way again. Willow nodded. "Then at least we know when to steer clear. Or knock him out," she concluded.

"But what do we do now? We can't have him loose on the streets," Oz said. Everyone was silent a moment.

"I suggest we call him over. Then when he arrives we tranquillise him and, ah, lock him up," Giles suggested. Everyone nodded and the call was made. Then all they had to do was wait.

Angel immediately got the sense that something was wrong as he entered the library. They were all gathered around the table looking at him expectantly, except Buffy. She stared at the floor, not looking up once.

"Uh, hi?" he said nervously. He didn't have time to move as Willow aimed the tranquilliser gun and fired. He was out before he hit the floor. Buffy stayed seated as Xander and Oz dragged Angel's heavy body into the cage and locked him in.

"Buffy," Giles called from the stacks. There was no answer. "Buffy? Buffy!" On the third shout Buffy jolted herself to awareness.

"Huh? What Giles?" she asked.

"Did Angel tell you anything about his transition from vampire to human?"

"No," Buffy replied, "Just that it was a demon he saved on patrol." Giles sighed in annoyance. A groan suddenly came from Angel, and he shifted slightly on the floor before propping himself up on his hands. He looked about, blinking rapidly to clear his vision.

"Okay, does anyone wanna tell me why I'm locked in a cage?" Angel asked.

"Because you're evil. You can't fool us Angel," Xander started, receiving a glare from Cordelia and Willow.

"Half evil, you idiot," Cordy whispered loudly. Angel frowned.

"Half evil? How can I be half evil? I'm human!" he assured everyone. When no one answered him he turned to his love. "Buffy, what's going on? I can stand being locked in a cage, but I'd like to know why." Buffy remained silent, her eyes glistening in the light. Angel sighed, hurt. Giles came down the stairs, a book in his hand, chewing on his glasses.

"I have a book on this sort of thing but nothing specific," he told them all, before looking up and noticing Angel. "Oh good. You're awake. Perhaps you could answer a few questions?" Angel nodded.

"Where were you on the night of April 15th?" Xander joked, receiving a slap on the arm from Cordelia and a glare from Giles.

"This isn't the time to be funny, Xander," Giles chastised him. Turning his attention back to Angel, he began his questioning. "What did this demon look like?"

"Like an ordinary person. Teenager actually. She might come to this school."

"What did you do to earn your humanity from them?"

"I killed a few vampires that were going to kill her."

"What spell did she use? Did you recognise the language?"

"Don't know and no."

"Well that was helpful," Xander sniggered. Angel rubbed at his head.

"Why do I keep getting these headaches?" he thought aloud before his head rolled back. When he looked up again everyone noticed the hard edge in his smile. Stretching like a cat, he slowly stood up, observing the library. "Well now, doesn't this bring back memories. I love this school, it's so...inviting," he grinned at them all, before focussing on Buffy. "Aww, don't be sad Buff! Me and Angel are one and the same. More so now than before."

"Leave her alone!" Willow ordered, immediately regretting it. Angelus moved to get a better view of her.

"Well, don't you get braver every time I see you. How did you like that run earlier? I can make you go twice as fast if you like." Willow sank back behind Oz. Angelus looked him up and down. "Werewolf," he said with distaste, "What else needs to be said?"

"Hey, you two are more similar than you think," Cordelia exclaimed, "No offence Oz," she added. Angelus turned his stare towards her.

"And the dear Ms. Chase once again has my soul attention. Weren't you just the prettiest sight in the trash with all those body parts? I knew there and then that you'd forever be with trash." He looked at Xander on the last word. The boy just glowered at him. "What? No cutting remarks for me? You seem to be full of them for my soul. In fact, and don't tell him I told you, many a time Angel thinks about implementing a few of my...tricks on you. Only the blonde one stops him from doing them. Of course I, on the other hand, have no problems with it." He gave Xander a malicious smile.

"Enough!" Giles cried in anger. Angel sauntered over to the right, directly in front of Giles.

"What's the matter Giles? Do I bring back too many bad memories? I worked so hard to..." he stopped dead, and collapsed on the floor. Everyone looked at Buffy, standing there with the tranquilliser gun in hand.

"We split up and find this demon. Giles, Willow, try to do a locator spell, then beep me. Let's move out," Buffy ordered. Nobody argued.

Part 6: Reversing

"Hello?" yawned the girl as she pulled open the door.

"Rebecca Paige? I'm Buffy Summers. Can you please come with me?"

"What?"

"You recently gave a heartbeat to a friend of mine, but something's gone terribly wrong and we need you to...reverse the spell."

"Oh. Okay then."

Half an hour later, they walked through the library doors. Angel was still out cold, and the others were back already. Rebecca stared at her saviour in sorrow.

"I wonder..." Giles mused.

"Wonder what?" Willow asked. Giles looked at her, then back at Angel.

"I was wondering if the spell was specific enough. Sure, he has a heart beat. We could give him that easily. But did it banish Angelus. Obviously not. So Angelus must have manifested himself into Angel's mind, so that he is, well, schizophrenic."

"Congratulations, you win a free torture session with me, your host, Angelus!" Angel said as he pushed himself to his feet. Nodding to Willow and Giles, Buffy stepped towards.

"So Angel, how is it to be locked in a cage like the animal that you are? To finally be classed as what you are: something lower than us? Huh?" Buffy teased. Willow nudged Rebecca. Sighing, she lifted her arms and whispered something. A small ball of light suddenly appeared, hovering in the air. It moved to Angel, who was so distracted by Buffy he didn't notice it until it was circling around him faster and faster before dive-bombing through his shirt and into his body. He screamed as his heart slowed, making him convulse and choke, before he collapsed again.

Part 7: Sorrow of Loss

Rebecca left the library in silence, and the others followed her. Giles returned to his office, leaving Buffy staring at the still body of Angel. Not even a breath escaped him. Slowly, as if in a terrible dream, she unlocked the cage door and stepped inside, closing it behind her. She slid down the cabinet and sat next to her still lover, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

Angel's first feeling of reality was an intense aching throughout his body, not unlike when he became human. His torso and head hurt the most, but his limbs wouldn't be ignored either. His next feeling of reality were memories of what had happened over the last day, from both his and Angelus' perspective. He felt a presence next to him, and soft hand running through his hair. He cracked open his eyes, looking about him. Buffy sat next to him, tears streaming down her face and the most haunted, miserable look in her eyes. Carefully he sat up, ignoring his protesting body.

"Am I...?" he began. Buffy nodded sadly. He felt his own tears fall, and a sob managed to leave his body. Once one had released itself, another followed, and soon he was openly crying in Buffy's arms. She saw Giles peek through his window, and she could have sworn his eyes were moist too. But she didn't care. She rested her head on Angel's and cried with him. They had lost their one chance of a happy future together, and there was nothing they could do.

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