Disclaimer: Do I own them? Nope. See, my name is RACHEL, NOT Joss. None of these characters belong to me. I'm not making money off the them, blah, blah, blah. Do you really think I would put B/A thru all of this and have Buffy sleeping with Riley? YUK!
Rating:  I dunno. PG-13ish I guess.
Summary: I changed the ending to Becoming, because basically, the ending Joss made up totally sucked!
Spoilers: "Becoming Part 2"
Distribution: My site and anyone else can just tell me where it's going first please!
Feedback? <G> Does Angel look hott wearing leather pants? It's like a drug to me…and makes me write faster!

Buffy was ready. Finally, she had come to terms with the fact that her Angel was never coming back to her. However, she could set things right as best she could by sending Angelus to hell where he belonged. As their swords clashed right and left, Buffy only increased in the fire that kept her going. She was going to send his ass to hell.  She kicked him and sent him flying through the door. When he landed, Angelus rolled to a stop. Buffy leaped in a swung her sword at him before he could get back up onto his feet. In another second, Angelus was on his knees at the feet of Acathla, grasping his hand that Buffy had slashed. She raised the sword, ready to kill him. <I can do this, I can do this...> she thought to herself.

However, suddenly, Angelus gasped in pain. Buffy stared at him in confusion <What is he doing? What's he up to now?> Buffy stopped herself from killing him when she saw his eyes glow yellow before he collapsed onto the floor. Buffy didn't move a muscle. <This has to be a trick. This has to be.> Angel looked back up at her, his eyes filled with tears as he looked into Buffy's eyes.

<No...this can't be...> Buffy immediately thought. "Buffy?" Asked Angel so softly and carefully. "What's going on?"

<What IS going on?!> Buffy thought. She still didn't move a muscle, didn't lower the sword. She still wasn't sure if this was a trick or not. Angel looked around behind her before climbing to his feet. "Where are we?" His voice...so different than when he is Angelus. "I...I don't remember."

<Oh God....the curse...> Buffy lowered her sword and took a step closer to Angel. "Angel?"

Angel looked down at her arm and grabbed it. "You're hurt." Buffy looked down to where he touched her arm. <No...it's him. My Angel...> Angel pulls her into his embrace tightly, hugging her. "Oh Buffy....God..."

<IS this a trick?> Buffy thought wildly. <PLEASE let it be a trick> However, she leaned into his arms, accepting the hug. "I...I feel like I haven't seen you in month." She breathed out a sigh. This WAS Angel...her Angel had returned to her. The curse had worked. "Oh my God, everything's so muddled. I..." She felt his arms tighten even more around her waist. Angel sighed deeply and kissed her on her shoulder. "Oh Buffy..."

<NO!> Buffy started crying on his shoulder. She hugged him back tightly, aware of what else was going on around them. She opened her eyes and saw Acathla's face grow even more grotesque. His brows angled down evilly, his mouth glowed red and orange, and the swirling vortex to Hell began to open. It grew steadily in size and glowing bright reds, yellows, and oranges.

<God no, this can't be happening now!> Buffy thought. She let go of Angel and looked up into his face. <So handsome...>

"What's happening?" Angel asked. He was so confused. He had no clue what was going on.

"Shh. Don't worry about it." Buffy replied, brushing her fingers over his lips and across his cheek. Placing her hand over his cheek, she kissed him, softly first and then growing more and more passionate. Just as the vortex behind them also grew. <There's got to be a way.> Buffy thought as they kissed. <I CAN'T send him to hell! I JUST got him back! WHY are you doing this to me? Whistler said something...what did he say? I need his blood...ONLY his blood?>

Finally, Buffy broke off the kiss, sobbing for only a second. She couldn't let him see that anything was going on behind him. "I Love you." She whispered.

"I love you." Angel repeated softly before Buffy ran her fingers over his lips once more. <Just in case this doesn't work...all I want to remember is this...> she thought.

"Close your eyes." She whispered, nodding to him so he would do so. She tried not to cry. <I can't cry. I have to...I have to be strong. I'm the Slayer...> She tried to be strong, but for once, failed. Buffy kissed the only man she had ever loved on the lips, possibly for the last time. She took a step back, drew her sword in front of her, and thrust...right into Angel's chest.   His eyes popped open in surprise right before Buffy pulled the sword back out. She pushed Angel out of the way and threw the bloody sword right into Acathla's gut. The vortex enlarged a foot more before sealing up in a white flash. Buffy stared at the face of Acathla once more before putting her hands to her face and sobbing. Sobbing for what she almost lost, what has happened in less than 6 months, how everything in her life since her 17th birthday had gone wrong.

"Buffy?" Angel asked cautiously from behind her. "What's...what's wrong? What's going on?"

Buffy looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Angel..." She jumped into his arms, kissing him madly. <Angel…Oh God, oh God, oh God.> That was all she should think. Tears fell down her cheeks in rivers as she kissed him. Finally, she stood back, staring at whom she had lost months ago. "It's you…it's really you." She whispered. <Thank God everything worked out all right.>

"Of course it's me…do you want to tell me what's going on here?" Angel asked, wrapping his arms around her waist. <She feels so thin,> Angel thought. <What have I missed?>

"You mean you don't remember?" Buffy asked, her eyes going wide. Angel shook his head `no.' "Well, what is the last thing you remember?"

"All I can remember is your birthday…the night you and I made love." Angel said sincerely. "God, Buffy, that was the most incredible night of my whole life. You made me feel…I don't even know how to say it. You made me feel as though I could touch heaven and all the stars in the sky. I felt like a man…the most loved man on earth."

Buffy's heart swelled at what Angel had said. Instantaneously, all her fears and worries and stresses about what Angelus had said to her flew out the window. This was the Angel that should have greeted her the next morning. "I love you…so much."

"I love you more. I don't know what I ever did to deserve you." Angel said, kissing her once again.

"Say you'll never leave me." Buffy said. With everything that she had gone through, her heart still needed mending.

"Never." Angel replied. "I'll stay with you forever. That's the whole point." And he sealed his promise with a kiss.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"No Giles! He didn't remember *anything*!" Buffy shouted at him. After getting Angel back home to his apartment, she rushed over to the school. Millions of questions raced throughout her brain. What happened? Why doesn't he remember anything? Will he remember it all later? And most importantly…Is the curse now permanent? She walked into the library, immediately asking him these, demanding for an answer. Everyone else had gone home, so now it was just Giles and Buffy herself.

"All right Buffy…let me look at the spell Willow did again." Giles walked back into his office and returned holding a sheet of paper in his good hand. "Well, I don't really know what this means…since I don't know Romanian." Giles put on his glasses. "However, if…if it put his, uh, soul back into his body from the moment it was ripped away…it-it would make sense that he wouldn't remember anything after that night. All he would remember was…being with you…wrapped in your arms, I would suppose. That's why he was so intimate with you as soon as Willow recursed him." Giles paused. "So he doesn't remember anything about Angelus coming?"

"No." She replied. "I even tried to ask him and hint towards the fact that he was here. He only remembers being Angel." Buffy said softly.

"And-and Acathla is dormant? You stopped him?"

"Yes, Giles. Everything is okay now. I stopped him…by almost sending Angel to hell."

"I truly am sorry about all of this Buffy." Giles said, removing his glasses. "If-if it gives you any consolation, I have no grudge against Angel. I imagine Xander and possibly Willow might have problems with him around, but I will always be `on your side' as you'd put it."  

"Thank you." She said, smiling softly. "Now…about this being permanent or not…"

"Now that I know for fact. Buffy, the curse is permanent. Willow told me this afternoon before leaving for home. It seemed to be Jenny's wish that you two find happiness…and that the demon never resurface."

"Really? Wow…" Buffy said in awe. Finally, a little good news in her happy life. "I'm sorry for everything that has happened Giles…with Jenny…Angelus."

"Buffy…don't blame yourself with this. I don't blame you, and I am sure no one else will either." Giles remarked, smiling at her. "Now get out of here…you don't want to be spending your Friday night in the school library."

"You're right…I sure don't! Thanks again Giles." Buffy said, moving towards the door to leave. "Good night."

"Night Buffy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy knocked on Angel's apartment door. A second later, Angel greeted her with a hug and long, tender kiss. "Hey," She said.

"Hey. I missed you." He replied, smiling.

"Ditto." She walked in and lay her bag down on the floor. Together, the Slayer and vampire walked over to his bed and sat down.

"Buffy…I get the feeling that some stuff has gone on. In fact, I know stuff has since it's now June and your birthday was in January. What's up?"

Buffy's face paled. She couldn't tell him. If she did, he would blame it on himself. He already had enough blame with his first acts as Angelus. No, she wouldn't tell him unless she was forced to do so. "Look Angel, yes some time has passed since my birthday. But I can't tell you what it was. Please don't make me relive it by telling you."

Angel could clearly see the pain in her eyes. "All right. I'm sorry for whatever it was."

"Don't be. It was in the past." Buffy said. She tucked her hair behind her ears. "And I was…I was wondering if I could stay with you tonight." <Please say yes. I have missed you too much.>

"Sure you can. Isn't your Mom going to care?"

"She out of town again. There was this art showing in LA. She couldn't miss it." Buffy said. "I'm all by myself."

"Never. You'll always have me." Angel said, looking at her in her eyes.

With those words, Buffy started crying again. It seemed she could never stop these days. Even with Angel back, there were still steps to go before everything would be all right in her world again. "Hey…shh," Angel whispered, wiping the tears off her face. "No more tears beloved." That only made Buffy sob harder, remembering the time when they were possessed by ghosts and he had whispered the same thing to her.   She raised her head to meet lips with his. She was shaking with the need for him. It had been so long… Just like a replay of the night of her 17th birthday, the two lovers fell back on Angel's bed, kissing each other over with only whispers of "I love you" echoing throughout the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, Buffy woke up early. She nervously glanced around the room. Angel was nowhere in sight. <Oh God…no, this can't happen to me. I couldn't take it if Angel turned…> But then she saw him walking back towards her from the bathroom wearing only his boxers.

"Hey," He greeted her, kissing her forehead before climbing back under the covers with her once again.

"Oh God, I thought you were gone." She said, breathing a sigh of relief before settling down with him once again.

"Nope." Angel replied softly. "Just to the bathroom." He added, grinning. He hugged her tightly and she welcomed it.

"God, I've missed you." Buffy whispered softly so Angel wouldn't hear her.

"Since I was gone for a second?" Angel asked. <woops> He had heard her. "Or from what happened that you refuse to tell me?"

Buffy lowered her eyes. "I…I can't talk to you about this…I can't…"  

"You can talk to me about anything Buffy. Please. Tell me what happened."

Buffy didn't want to do this. She didn't want to ruin everything. <Why can't everything just go back to the way it was before I turned 17?> She thought. "All right. Angel, what I'm going to tell you…you can't blame yourself, okay? Please don't blame yourself with this."

Angel straightened up. "Sounds serious."

"It is…" Buffy started. "So, on the night of my 17th birthday…" And with that, she told him the whole story of what had happened after Angel lost his soul.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So now you know…" Buffy said softly. She had explained everything that had gone on…the teasing, killings, torture…everything. Now she only hoped that Angel wouldn't blood about it forever and do something crazy.

"I really did all of that to you?" Angel asked several minutes later.

"No!" Buffy shouted. "YOU would *never* do something like that to me. It was Angelus…the demon. You are the most caring person I have ever met. You wouldn't hurt a fly…unless it hurt me first."   Angel managed to crack a small smile. "I love you. Forever and ever." Buffy said. "I'll never forgive Angelus…but you, I love you more than words can ever say."

"I love you too Buffy." Angel replied. Their lips met over and over, as if they were kissing the pain and hurt away. Buffy was still covered with scars: all emotional. But she would pull through, just as long as she had her Angel by her side.

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