Buffy froze. She felt as though the air had been knocked out of her and she had just been kicked in the stomach. <NO!> She thought. <No, Angel is NOT going to sacrifice himself for this.> She looked at him and couldn't read his eyes. <What is he doing?> "Angel…" she started.

"SHUT up." Glory commanded, pushing Buffy to the floor.

After everything that she had just gone through, Buffy could only sit there on the rocky floor of the caves, watching Glory walk around Angel. <God, no.> She thought. <Angel, I won't let you do this. You've got your own thing…up in LA. You can't die. People need you.> Buffy couldn't even think clearly. <I need you.>

"So…the helper's got a name." Glory said, walking around Angel. "Angel, hmm?" Angel tried to get free…tried to break out of the minions' grasp, but found it too hard. Angel looked down at Buffy. <Get out of here,> he thought. <Buffy…my love, please go.> He was silently commanding to her. However, all she could do was sit there, stunned into silence.

"Ooh, he's a feisty one, I'll tell you that." Glory said. "So…you say you're my key…" Glory stopped and took a second, looking him over and moving in to quickly smell him. "Sorry hon, that's impossible. The key is a PURE thing. YOU are a vampire." She said to Angel. "I can smell it."

"I'm a vampire, so what?" Angel asked back to her. "You think a vampire would help a Slayer? I may be a vampire, but I'm different. I've got a soul." Glory gave him a blank look. "What, you don't know what a soul is?" He asked back to her. "It's my human heart…that *IS* the key. I've been in LA to escape from you. Buffy called me down when you kidnapped Dawn. I'm the key, dammit. Let Buffy go."

<Angel…please, no.> Buffy thought. She couldn't bear the thought of Angel now leaving her too. This was her fight…he shouldn't have even been butting in at all. This was her problem…now Angel was going to get killed for it.

Glory thought about it for a second more. "Fine." She started to walk away from Angel, going back to where her spell supplies were set up. "Jinx, Murk. Tie him up." The two minions began dragging Angel over to the rock where Dawn had once been. "Slayer, get out. I no longer need you." Glory said back to Buffy.

Finally, Buffy snapped out of her shock and uneasily stood to her feet. This was her chance. She could get back to Giles…heal up, and head back out to get Angel. She looked around her at the materials for the spell. What would happen to him? Buffy looked over at Angel with nothing but fear and panic in her eyes. She held onto her right side, supporting her bruised and broken ribs.

"No. Angel! Don't do this." She said over to him, beginning to walk over to him. She could get him out…she could do this.

"Buffy, just get out." He replied, looking over at her. His voice stopped her walking.

"Angel-"

"Buffy!" Angel yelled at her. She actually saw his eyes flash his demonic yellow, signaling that he was both angry and passionate about carrying this out. "Buffy…" his voice was calmer…smoother. "Just go."

Finally, with one longing look back at Angel, Buffy turned and began limping out of the caves. <I'm coming back for you, Angel. I'm coming back.>

As Buffy walked out of the caves, she heard Glory yelling at Angel. Suddenly, Angel let out a scream of pure agony and pain. <Oh God…is she starting already?> Buffy thought. Gradually, her pace turned into a steady run. She ran as fast as she could…faster than the wind, all the way back to Giles' house.

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

Buffy ran back to Giles' faster than she had ever remembered. Faster than she had run after Riley, faster than she had run back to Sunnydale High after her fight with Angelus…faster than she thought was possible. She had to get back to him. She still couldn't believe that she had just left- deserted- Angel like that. She should have stayed and helped- she could have beaten Glory's 2 lackeys. It was Glory that was the problem. Now, who knew what she was doing to Angel- whether he was still alive or- <no! I don't think that way.> Buffy thought, nearing Giles' house. <Angel will be fine, because I won't accept anything else.>

However, Buffy finally knew what she did want. After everything she'd been through in the past 48 hours, she'd realized how precious life really was. Sure, Buffy knew that life was precious before- being the Slayer will do that to you. But now she'd realized that she'd let Angel slip through her fingers too easily. Okay, yeah…two years ago she was an entirely different person, but now, she was more mature. She knew what she wanted, what she had *always* wanted- Angel. The minute she got him out of there, she was going to make this work!

Buffy rounded the corner and neared Giles' house. <Finally!> She thought, walking up to the door. "DAWN!" Buffy shouted out the second after she opened the door. Breathless, bruised, beaten, but still in tact, the Slayer ran inside.

"Buffy!" Dawn shouted back, running up to her older sister. With tears in the each other's eyes, Dawn pulled Buffy closer to her, hugging her tightly. <Thank God she's safe." Buffy thought. Dawn tightened her hold onto Buffy and Buffy suddenly hissed in pain, taking a step back. "Ooh, sorry." Dawn apologized.

"No…no, I'm okay." She looked around the room- sure was quiet. Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn were off in the corner of the room, talking among each other. Everyone else- the Sunnydale Scooby gang- sat around the couches. Everything was clearly divided. "I…I just need to sit…sit down." Buffy croaked out, moving over to the couch and sitting. "Giles?"

"Hmm?" Giles asked back, watching his beaten Slayer very slowly sit.

"Ice, please?" Buffy asked. Giles nodded and walked back into the kitchen. Dawn sat down next to Buffy, holding her hand. Buffy took her other hand and ran it through Dawn's hair. "Are you okay?" She asked her sister.

"Yeah." Dawn nodded. "I'm not the one that just got body slammed."

"You let me worry about myself." Buffy replied. She paused, taking in a breath before continuing to speak. "Did Glory do anything to you? Did she hurt you at all?"

"No…I'm fine. Just a little shaken up, that's all." Dawn replied.

"Here you are, Buffy." Giles said, handing her a pack of ice.

"Thanks Giles." Buffy replied, taking it from him and placing it on her right shoulder and neck area. Buffy rested silently for a minute before standing back up. She was still sore as hell, but managed to climb to her feet. "You guys, we gotta go back there."

A chorus of "What's" echoed throughout the room- even from the Angel team. "Why go back to there, Buffy?" Willow asked. "We got Dawn out, that's all that mattered."

Giles nodded. "And you are in *no* condition to go *any*where." Giles said. "You need to heal up and get some rest- now sit."

Buffy looked as though se were going to protest, but she sat back down on the couch, groaning all the way. Everything was silent in the room- no one was speaking. <Oh God…Angel.> she thought. Her excitement from getting to Dawn had momentarily put Angel out of her thoughts…until everything came crashing back to her.

"Hey, I don't wanna interrupt anything here or nothing," Gunn started. Everyone turned his or her attention towards him. "But, uh, in case y'all haven't noticed, our boss, *Angel* isn't here too."     

Everyone turned his or her heads to Buffy. She could only bury her head in her hands and suddenly let out a sob. <God, I've lost him too. They'll never forgive me…I'll never forgive myself.> Buffy thought. She started crying, crying for another loved one that she had lost.

"Buffy?" Xander questioned, sitting down on her other side of the couch. "Did you see Angel? Did he catch up to you?" Buffy could only silently nod her head.

Cordelia stood up and moved closer to Buffy. The entire time she had been here, she'd stuck next to Wesley and Gunn, her only true friends now. Honestly, she wanted as little as possible to do with Sunnyhell. She wanted to forget everything that had ever happened in this town…she wanted to move on for good. However, if Angel, her boss, best friend, and vampire that would soon Shanshu, was missing, well…Cordy was just as worried as the rest of them. "Buffy? Where is Angel?"

"Oh God," Buffy moaned into her hands. <They're going to all hate me.> "He…he's not coming back…"

"Angel?" Wesley asked, looking over at her in wonder.

"Yeah, when he set me free, he said that you two would be right behind me." Dawn added, looking at her sister.

"What happened, you two get into a fight again? You bitched his mouth off and then tried to stake him again?" Cordelia asked. <Typical Buffy.>

"Cordelia!" Buffy shouted, raising her head and looking at her with tears in her eyes. Immediately, Cordelia softened, realizing what a mistake it was the yell at Buffy right now. She was so fragile, she couldn't take much more. "I…he…Angel's de…"

"Angel's dead?" Cordelia asked. So much emotion went into those two words…everyone was slightly surprised. Instantly, Cordelia thought back to almost a year ago when there was a prophecy… "NO. He CAN'T die!" Everyone turned to look at her, once again surprised by her outburst.

"No way, man. I know Angel…he's got the moves." Gunn added. Everything here was so new to him- he didn't know anyone except his friends that he came with. But the shock of the vampire that he had formed a bond with and worked for was just too much.

"Buffy…What happened?" Giles asked her soothingly.

"I…" Buffy started. "Giles, I can't-" But she looked around at everyone- Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn with their worried expressions, Willow, Tara, Anya, and even Xander with their expressions of worry and pity on their face. They had been through the Buffy and Angel saga before, but this…this was new.

Buffy wiped her tears and started speaking. "Okay…you deserve to know. We…I was fighting Glory to distract her from Dawn so Angel could get her out of there. I…I was down, and then Angel was there…" Buffy stopped talking, pushing back her feelings right now. "Her two minions had him…told her that he helped me…and…then, when Glory threatened to kill me unless Angel told her who the key was, he said it was him. Angel lied…told her that he was the key, got her to believe it…and then he told me to get out. Told me to get back to Giles and forget about him." Buffy couldn't talk anymore…she put her head back in her lap and cried.

"Oh, Buffy…" Willow whispered, getting up and walking over to her best friend. She tried to move and comfort Buffy, but Buffy instinctively moved away, wanting to be left alone.

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

Meanwhile, Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley had left the main room and were now back in Giles' back dining room, talking among themselves. They had heard what Buffy was talking about and Cordelia was mad…OK, that's an understatement. "Oh my God!" Cordelia hissed. "We *just* got him back and now he's gone? Uh huh….well, at least he's keeping up with the consistency! Buffy, once again, driving him insane. Just like NORMAL, he's ready to give up his life for her!"

"You can't blame him, Cordelia." Wesley said. "I mean, this IS Buffy we're talking about. And Dawn was in trouble…and that's his job. To help the ones in trouble."

"And *of course* it's Buffy." Cordelia said sarcastically.

"Who *is* this chick, anyway?" Gunn asked, pointing back out to the main room. "I mean, I get the whole Slayer thing…I'm okay with that. But how come Angel's never come down here to help her out before? And what's with the who air out there?"

"Boy…you have *no* idea, Gunn." Cordy replied, looking at him. "Fine. You want to know the whole Buffy and Angel epic? Okay…here we go…"  

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

"Is there anything I can do?" Dawn asked Buffy back outside. Buffy only shook her head no. "Okay…"

<Oh God, I can't do this anymore.> Buffy thought. In less than one week, the two people that she had loved the most had left her…suddenly, unexpectedly, and unfairly. <I thought we were on the path to being together again. I thought I could work this out. I thought…hell, I don't know what to think anymore.>

Everyone around the room was dead silent. How could they carry on a conversation after what Buffy had just told them. Once again, Angel had been more than willing and able to save Buffy's life by giving up his own. Their love was still there…it would *never* leave.

"Buffy…y'know…everything will be all right." Xander said to her from the chair across from her.

"All right?" Buffy asked, looking back up at him. "Xander…I can't do this…not again."

"This? This what?" He asked to her. He talked slowly and calmly to not sound like he was accusing her or getting upset with her, because honestly, he wasn't. <Poor Buffy,> He kept thinking.

"I lost him…again! This makes it three times…three times that I've lost him." Buffy said. This was what she had been thinking about the whole time. "But at least he came back, or what just two hours away. Glory *killed* him…took him from me, and this time he'll never be coming back." Buffy hid her face, bending over and continuing to cry everything out.

Xander and everyone else looked upon her with pity. Okay, it wasn't fair. Buffy was right, too much had gone on between her and Angel. Shouldn't they get some peace? And although Tara and Anya really didn't fully understand what was going on, they sympathized along with her.

Suddenly, the front door to Giles's house burst open. Buffy stood to her feet, ready for another attack from Glory or her minions. In the darkness, everyone in the room could see a shadow- a silhouette from the moon beaming down outside. Buffy slowly raised her head as her tears continued to fall down her cheeks. <Oh God…>

"ANGEL!"  

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

"Angel!" Buffy shouted. Very slowly, Angel dragged himself inside Giles' house. He came in limping and holding his side- but he was here. He was safe and he was alive, that's all that mattered to Buffy. safe.> Buffy kept thinking over and over. With a sudden burst of speed, Buffy rose to her feet and flew into Angel's arms, not caring what anyone thought- what they saw.

"Buffy…" Angel whispered down to her. Buffy wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly, vowing that she would never let him go. He looked down at Buffy, momentarily forgetting all his pains. "How's Dawn?"

"She's fine." Buffy replied, looking up at him. She had forgotten that they were still wrapped around each other- it was like they were really together again. "She said she's shaken up, but she's fine." Her voice was low, talking only to him. Meanwhile, everyone else in the room kept silent. Willow, Xander, and Giles were used to have Angel and Buffy forget about everyone else when they talked. And Tara and Anya were simply watching, silent also.

"That's good." Angel said back down to her.

Buffy burrowed her head into his chest. "God, I thought I had lost you. I thought you were never coming back…that you had-"

"Shh, I'm right here." Angel whispered to her. "I'm okay. I got out."

Buffy sobbed back tears, relief shining in her features. "I…I couldn't stand to loose you also. Not after everything else." And Buffy raised her head and met lips with Angel's. Everyone else in the room felt as though they should intervene, stop what was happening, but no one made a move. Buffy and Angel pulled apart a second later, still holding onto each other. "I love you," she whispered into his ear. No one else in the room heard what she was now telling him. "I don't care what happens, what we go through, I will always  love you."

Although Angel didn't say the words, his mind was saying the same thing and the way that he looked at her said that he loved her. "Buffy?"

"Yeah?" She asked, slightly embarrassed now that she had shown so much emotion in front of everyone.

"Can I sit down? I just lost feeling in my right leg." Angel said, smiling down at her.

Buffy realized. "Oh, gosh! Of course you can." And carefully, she helped Angel over to the couch, siting him down where she once was. Buffy, still holding onto his hand, sat next to him, her eyes never once leaving his.

And at once, after everything had happened, the questions began.

"What happened?"

"Did Glory-"

"How did you-"

"Is she still-"

"Angel!" Cordelia shouted, coming out from the room behind him. She, Gunn, and Wesley had walked outside after hearing all the commotion in the main room. The three of them were completely surprised by seeing Angel sitting on the couch with Buffy at his side.

"Hey Cordy." Angel replied, giving her a quick wave.

"Angel!" Cordelia said again. "You're okay!"

"I thought we covered that," Angel whispered to Buffy, making her laugh. <Hey, when did he start making jokes?> She thought.

"What happened?" Wesley asked. "Buffy said that-"

"Buffy was mistaken." Angel replied, looking over at her.

"See? I told you nothing could happen to Angel." Gunn said. "Like I said, he's got the moves." Gunn leaned down and patted Angel on the shoulder before going straight into this involved handshake between the two, with Angel smiling the whole time. Xander and Willow looked at each other with this 'what?!' expression on their faces. Both of them were thinking, did Angel get so…unbroody?>

That was when Buffy noticed that he had changed. She had barely seen it when he walked in the door- talking to Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn. But now, as Cordelia bent over, hugging Angel around the neck, Wesley smiling down at him, and Gunn having just cracked a joke with him, Angel had seemed to finally find his place. It was as though he was now fitting in with everyone. He had some good friends- it seemed that they knew him better than she knew him any more. However, she was genuinely happy for Angel, finally being able to fit in with a group: his own Scooby Gang.

"So…I hate to ruin this joyous moment," Giles said, stepping into the conversation he had been watching the whole time. "What happened to Glory? I assume you got free?"

"Glory is gone." Angel replied simply. Everyone, even the Angel Investigations crew, was slightly surprised, a few of them gasping. He had made it sound so simple, as though getting rid of her was easy.

"How?" Buffy asked, looking over at him.

"Well, she tied me up to the rock before you left." Angel began. "And after you did leave, she started doing this spell. I assume this was the spell that would open the key, activate the key, whatever…my guess was that it was simply to release the energy to her. However, since I'm *not* the key, the spell backfired, and something seemed to ripple through her. All of a sudden, it got really bright and she just…died out. Pretty anticlimactic if you ask me." Everyone in the room grinned. "Glory fell over and simply died. And once I got free, it was pretty easy to defeat her minions. Just a few scrapes and bruises here and there. Nothing that won't heal."

Everyone showed signed of relief, especially Dawn and Buffy. Dawn walked over and hugged Buffy, glad that everything was okay. After that, there was a big round of hugs, group hugs, and handshakes. Just like the old days, everyone had been reunited to defeat the big-bad. It was just like old times.

During those few minutes, Buffy managed to grab a hold of Angel and dragged him back into the back room, closing the door behind her. She wanted several minutes to talk to him alone- without an audience.

The two of them walked to the middle of the room and sat down on the couch there. Neither of them spoke up for a second, afraid of what might happen. "Angel…God, I can't thank you enough for coming here Angel."

"It was no problem, really."

"No, I mean it. Angel, I can't even begin to thank you enough. Coming here and helping me, saving Dawn…it means *so* much to me." Buffy said forcefully.

"Buffy, it wasn't that big a deal. You know I would have come here, no matter what. Besides, I'm just doing what I can for…for the woman I love."

Buffy looked over at him. "Love, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Angel replied, before leaning over and kissing her gently. Their kiss quickly increased in passion, Angel running his hands down her arms as Buffy's hands tangled in his hair. Their love was flowing all around them. Finally, the two lovers had been reunited.

"Angel?" Buffy asked, several minutes later. "So…where do we stand?"

"Where do you want us to stand?" He asked back to her.

"I don't know. All I know is that I want to be with you again. I know you're probably going to try to logic the both of us to death, but all I know is that I want you." Angel looked as though he was going to speak and Buffy cut him off. "I mean, I know that would probably think that you being away from me is the best thing for me. Well, it's not. You're wrong. *You* are the best thing for me, you're what I need." Buffy looked at him, expecting some sort of angsty reply.

"I'm so glad to hear you say all of that." Angel said.

Buffy's eyes widened. "Angel, I want to try again. We can do this…I know we can." She was begging now, afraid that he would back out of this and say no. "Angel, we can do the long distance thing."

"Y'know what? That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Angel replied, before pulling Buffy back into his arms and kissing her again. heaven.> Buffy thought, as she felt Angel slide his hands down her back and continuing to kiss her. <WE'RE together.> She sang in her head.

Finally, when the need for air was needed, Buffy pulled back, resting her forehead against Angel's chest. She closed her eyes, taking everything in. A smile stretched across her face when she felt Angel wrap his arms around her and simply hold her- something she had missed for over 2 years. Glory was gone. Dawn was safe. She and Angel were together again. Oh yeah, life was *very* good.

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

Almost an hour later, Angel and Buffy finally walked out of the room. When they walked out, they saw that everyone had gathered around the couch, chatting away. The Angel Investigations crew had blended in perfectly with the Sunnydale Scooby Gang. When Buffy and Angel met eyes, they were both thinking the same thing. It was like just old times.

"Hey guys," Angel spoke up, walking out into the middle of the room. "It's about time to go. Sun's rising in a few hours."

"Thank God," Gunn sighed. "It'll be nice to get back to LA."

"Here, here." Wesley agreed, standing up beside Gunn and stretching.

Buffy moved away from Angel, walking away from the group and going to stand by the door. She figured that Angel would just say good-bye to everyone by himself.

After saying goodbye to Willow, Tara, Anya, even Xander, and giving a slight hug to Dawn, Angel walked over to Giles. Neither of the two was sure what to say or do. After all, Angelus had still killed Giles' girlfriend about 3 years ago. However, Giles had completely forgiven him. Angel took Giles' open hand and shook it.

"It was a pleasure seeing you again, Giles."

"Yes, it was. Please, feel free to drop by again more often." Giles' spoke.

Angel looked back behind him towards Buffy. "I don't think that will be a problem." He replied, smiling back towards Buffy. Buffy blushed from what he said.

Angel turned and began walking out the door behind Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley. "I don't believe this," Cordelia complained as she walked out. "We didn't even need to come at all. What a waste of gas and sleep." She moaned. Gunn and Wesley only grinned at each other and followed her out to the car.

When Angel walked to the doorway, he walked over to Buffy, who stood waiting for him. Angel took her hands and bumped his forehead against her's. Angel rested his forehead against hers now, looking at her straight in the eyes. "I love you," he whispered down to her. Both of them heard the room fell dead silent, but the two only concentrated on each other. "I'm never letting you go, ever again."

"Good." Buffy replied. "Because I really love you…my Angel." Buffy replied, just as softly as he had spoken.

"I'll call you soon, okay?" Angel asked her.

Buffy brightened instantly. <Angel's going to call me…> she processed in her head. "Okay, sounds good to me." She replied.

"I love you." Angel whispered once more, before kissing her forehead. With one last loving look back at his beauty, Angel headed out the door, closing it silently behind him.

Buffy stood there a second before spinning back around to face everyone. A giant smile was plastered across her face as she looked at the surprised expressions on everyone's faces. Willow, Xander, and Dawn looked as though they had just seen Buffy grow a third head. Everyone else was just dumbfounded.

Never in their dreams did anyone ever think that there would be a Buffy *and* Angel again. Everyone, including Buffy's new friends, thought that their love had gone through everything and had been lost. Died out.

But no, everyone was completely wrong- even Buffy. Inwardly, everyone was pleased with Buffy, because now everyone knew that if Buffy and Angel's love could resume anew, then they could beat everything that stood in their way.  

"What?" Buffy asked towards her friends, who were still shocked.

"So…" Willow started, "are we back to a `wow' potential?"

Buffy nodded and burst out laughing. God, it felt SO good to finally be able to laugh. All she had done was cry in the last 48 hours. Now, she was so happy. Words couldn't even describe it.

She looked at her friends and was thinking about Angel as she answered. "Yeah. I think so."

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

It was two days before Angel had the chance to call Buffy. With everything that had been going on up in his town, he just hadn't had much free time. Now that Wesley was the boss, Angel couldn't just do whatever he wanted now. However, finally, after a long day of the usual saving the world and fighting the demons on the streets of LA, he managed to sit down and call up his beloved. He knew that they had many things to talk about.

The phone rang a couple times before someone picked up. "Hello?" A light, feminine voice asked.

"Hello, my love." Angel replied.

"Angel!" Buffy said excitedly. Inside her own home, she walked over to a chair with the cordless phone and sat down, crossing her legs. "Hey."

"How are you?" He asked her.

"Good. What have you been up to lately?" Buffy asked. Honestly, she had expected for him to call her yesterday. However, one day later wasn't the end of the world.

"Oh, nothing big. Just helped Lindsey McDonald get out of Wolfram and Hart, that's all." Angel replied, thinking back as he was watching Lindsey drive off with a "cops suck" sign on the back of his truck. He let out a chuckle just thinking about it.

"What?" Buffy asked, having heard him laughing.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking back to Lindsey leaving town."

"Oh, okay." Buffy replied. <Okay, I'll make him tell me that story sometime soon.> "You'll have to talk to me about Wolfram and Hart soon."

"Okay, how does this weekend sound? You *are* coming up here this weekend, right?"

"Yes, of course!" Buffy replied. "God, I can't believe you own a hotel!"

"I thought we already covered that."

Buffy laughed into the phone. Angel loved that sound- that light and crispy tinsel-sound of her laughter. "I know, I know. It's just…the last time we talked…okay, the last time I *bitched* at you, you were…different than you are now."

"So…you're trying to tell me that I've changed?" Angel asked her. He swiveled around in his chair and put his feet up on the desk he sat at.

"Yeah…but good." Buffy assured him. Good thing Angel couldn't see her, because Buffy was blushing furiously. "Always good."

The line fell silent for a couple seconds, both of the two lovers taking in everything that had been said in a matter of seconds. The two couldn't believe that after everything they had been though, now they were having a normal phone conversation. It was…a first.

"Y'know, Buffy…" Angel started, getting serious. "There's something that I forgot to tell you the other day."

"Oh?" Buffy asked, "what is it?"

"Buffy, I don't know how to say this…" Angel stopped, now becoming unsure if he should tell her everything or now. This could change so much for both of them. "But…there is this interesting prophecy thing I found out about almost a year ago…"

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

Three hours had passed and Buffy was still talking to Angel. She had nearly fallen out of her chair when he had told her about the "human" prophecy. <God, imagine us…> she had thought. <6 years from now, finally able to be together.> It sounded like a dream- a perfect dream.

Buffy and Angel had caught up with each other's lives. Buffy told him about her summer spent in Sunnydale, Dracula visiting her, and most importantly, her on-going battle against Glory that had started when school did. She told him about how she kept loosing against Glory. How she could beat her with a swipe of her hand. She spoke of everything else she had been through, including her Mom. Although Angel had heard some of this when he last talked to her, he listened intently, listening to the soothing sound of her voice.

When it was Angel's turn, he talked about Wolfram and Hart. How they had brought back Darla as a human in order to torment him and drive him crazy. He spoke of how close he was to saving her, how she had accepted her eventual death, and then how she had been ripped of everything when she was sired. He blamed himself…just another soul he failed to save. Later, as a vampire…Darla had continued Wolfram and Hart's plan. He even told her that it had almost worked, but now he was back on track. Angel told her of Dru coming to town, ruining everything, firing the Angel Investigations gang and eventually finding a way back into their hearts.

Buffy glanced at the clock. 10:30- time for her patrol and a check-in with Giles. "Angel, honey…I've got to go." She said, interrupting Angel's talk.

"Oh, wow…guess I lost track of time." Angel replied. "I should get going also. Cordy, here, is making faces at me and motioning for me to hang up."

"No, I am not." Buffy heard Cordelia say in the background.

Buffy laughed. Inwardly, she was thanking Wesley, Gunn, and Cordelia for being there for him and keeping him tied to the world. There was no doubt that he would still be brooding today if it weren't for his friends working with him. Angel was about to say something before going back to talk to his crew.

"Wes…no, I'm talking to Buffy. Wesley! C'mon!" Angel complained. Buffy laughed again when she head him complain and whine like a baby. "Okay, I'll say goodbye. Give me 5 more minutes."

Buffy heard Wesley say "Fine," in the background.

"Sorry about that, Beloved. My *boss* wants me to say good bye." Angel apologized.

"All right," Buffy replied regrettably, knowing she would miss him terribly until she got to visit him in 3 days. "Take care of yourself, okay? I don't want you to get dusted before that prophecy kicks in."

Angel laughed- not a small chuckle, but a full, happy laugh. Buffy wanted to melt into a pool of Buffy-goo right then and there. She made him laugh; that sexy, smooth, laughter that was entirely Angel. And suddenly, she felt an entire 4 years younger. Never in her whole life, had she ever felt more…alive and full of life. "All right, Buffy. You do the same."

"You know me."

"I sure do, that's why I am telling you." Angel replied. "I'll see you Saturday."

"All right." Buffy paused. <OK, do I tell him?> "Oh…and Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I love you." It felt almost perfect rolling off the tip of her tongue. It was so easy to say those three words to him- it felt so right.  

"I love you too, Buffy." Angel replied, smiling as he heard those words. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye…" she whispered before hanging up the phone.

Buffy sat in the chair by herself for a few seconds, still as a statue. Everything was perfect. Once again, Buffy's knight in shining armor had saved her. He'd calmed her after her mother's death, she'd risked his own life to save her's and Dawn's. Now they were back together- the way they should be.

The way they should *always* be.

The past week had been a hurricane- from her mother's death, Angel's possible death, and now reunited with Angel. However, during that week, bits and pieces of the old Buffy had broken through that shield she had placed around herself more than a year ago when college started. And Buffy knew that in the entire process, she had managed to finally find herself.

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