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 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:  Do you watch the show?? You can read this. Maybe PG-13ish
Summary: Just how *I* wanted the show to end (My usual twist on the plot: taking out the curse when Angel returns)
Spoilers: "Lover's Walk," of course, and the entire B/A history (Just to be on the safe side)
Author's Notes: I was watching this episode tonight, and I was thinking: That's a *much* too angsty ending! (Like most of Third season)
Distribution: My site, Angel Forevermore, the groups I send them to and if everyone else can just tell me where it's going first. I'll probably say yes!
Feedback? <G> Does Angel look hott wearing leather pants? (All together now, Nod your head "YES!")

It was nightfall until Buffy could get the time and the chance to return to Angel's mansion. She had been thinking about everything that had happened in the past 12 hours. Everything that was said- everything that Spike had said to Buffy and Angel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The last time I looked in on you two, you were fighting to the death." Spike had said. "Now you're back making googly-eyes at each other like nothing happened. Makes me want to heave." He turned away from Buffy and Angel.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Buffy said, folding her arms.

"Oh, yeah. You're just friends." Spike said sarcastically.

"That's right." Angel said, looking at his childe.

Spike faced the two people. "You're *not* friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends." Spike pointed at his temple with his index finger. "Love isn't brains, children, it's blood..." now, he clapped his hand to his chest. "Blood screaming inside you to work its will." And neither Buffy nor Angel had a comeback for that one. For once, Spike was speaking words of truth. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The talk that he had had with Buffy and Angel- the talk that wasn't even a minute long, made Buffy realize things. Things about her and Angel that could probably never be fixed as long as long as they were still going the way they were going.

When Buffy took a step inside the mansion, she looked around for Angel. He was sitting in the atrium, obviously waiting for Buffy to come. He was wearing an unbuttoned shirt, and more than anything, Buffy just wanted for him to hold her for all eternity. To finally have that feeling of security and safety surround her once again. Buffy took a small, tentative step inside the mansion, feeling unwelcome from the darkness and death that surrounded her in the building.

"Hey." Angel said, standing up and facing Buffy." I was wondering when you were coming."

"I'm not coming back." Buffy said emotionlessly, trying to remain calm and levelheaded.

Angel just looked at her, unable to believe what she was saying.

"We're not friends. We never were." Buffy said softly. Even she couldn't believe what she was saying and what she wasn't saying that she should be saying. "And I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself." She paused to catch her breath and shake her head. Was she saying this? "Or Spike, for some reason." She took another deep breath, saying, "what I want from you I can never have. You don't need me to take care of you anymore. So I'm gonna go." She just hoped that Angel would let her go- that he wouldn't press this matter any further.

"I don't accept that." Angel said. He was trying to keep his calm- trying to keep Buffy in his life, no matter what happened.

"You have to." Buffy replied deadpan.

"How can..." Angel began, taking a step towards her. Buffy backed away- knowing that if she didn't, there would be no way that she could stay strong. "There's gotta be some way we can still see each other." He said, desperate for some kind of a positive answer from her- his beloved.

"There is." Buffy said, knowing that was she was getting ready to say would break his heart, something she never wanted to do. "Tell me that you don't love me."

Angel froze, unable to respond to what she was saying. Say that he didn't love her? That was…unthinkable to him. How could he lie to her- say that he didn't love her when the only reason he went on living was to be with her? So his only option was to say, "No, I don't love you"? There was no way that he could admit it- that he could tells lies to Buffy. "Buffy…I can't believe-"

"Tell me, Angel!" Buffy cried out, staring at him. Tears were glistening in her eyes, beginning to drip down the sides of her face. Angel looked across at her, surprised by her sudden outburst. "Talk me out of this…out of loving you. Make me believe that you don't love me anymore- I don't care how you do it! Make the pain- the pain right here, in my chest, stop." Buffy dropped her jacket as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Slowly, Angel began taking small steps towards her as Buffy continued speaking, her tears freely flowing now. "Because *I love you*!" She wailed out at him. "More than I thought I could. More than before my seventeenth birthday. When I'm around you- even for 5 minutes- I'm so choked up that I can barely breathe."

"Oh, Buffy," Angel whispered, walking up to her, hoping that she wouldn't back away from him. Unlike before, Buffy stepped into his loving touch and sobbed against his chest.

"I'm trying to be strong- be the Slayer, be the tough one." Buffy sobbed to him, hugging onto his arms. "I just can't…can't do this anymore." Buffy was unable to talk any longer, too choked up to speak. She cried openly in Angel's arms, releasing all the pent-up emotions that she had locked up inside of her ever since she left Sunnydale. Her knees suddenly gave out on her, and Buffy collapsed to the floor, bringing Angel down with her.

Angel carefully held her, allowing her time to cry and sob in his arms. "Shh…shh, it'll be okay, Buffy." Angel whispered into her ear, pushing her hair back and lovingly kiss her temple.  

Almost an hour passed before Buffy thought about trying to talk again to Angel. She had stopped her crying minutes ago, but neither of the two had moved from their spot. Angel still held Buffy, occasionally soothing her and squeezing her arm that he held to comfort her. "We're just going to keep logic-ing each other out of this, aren't we?" Buffy suddenly asked so softly that Angel almost missed every word she said.

Angel sat back, looking over at her. "What do you mean?"

Buffy wiped her tears away and looked over at him, giving him a very strained smile. "We're just…going to find ways to talk each other out of the fact that we can be together. Just like always." She whispered.

"Buffy…if we ever…" Angel's voice died off. "Went too far, I'd loose my soul again, you know that-"

"No." Buffy said, stopping Angel from talking any further. "That's what I'm saying. There isn't a curse to your soul anymore- no more loophole. But we- we just-"

"How do you know?" Angel asked, looking over at her.

"Willow told me. She said that the spell that…Miss Calendar copied was missing parts. Mostly, the loophole part." Buffy said. "And I trust my friend. I might not have seen her in the past 3 months, but I still trust her."

"And…and you felt that you couldn't tell this to me?" Angel asked Buffy softly, thinking about all the possible reasons why she didn't want to tell Angel something that was this important. Angel stood on his feet, helping Buffy stand beside him. Both of them began walking further into the mansion.

"I…I wanted to, Angel." Buffy said as she walked at his side. "Believe me, I did. I just…after what Spike said-"

"So, now you're listening to Spike?" Angel teased, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Since we did you start listening to what Spike says and taking it to your heart?"

Buffy looked over at him, realizing he was making a joke. "When did you start saying funny stuff?" She asked him. She cracked a small smile, her first real and genuine smile for months. She felt relieved that finally, she was getting a break. Buffy whirled around, looking up at Angel and staring straight into his eyes. "Angel…say it." She said, softly.

Angel was confused for a second, trying to figure out what she was saying. Then it dawned on him: "I love you," he whispered to Buffy softly before leaning down and softly kissing her.

"I love you," Buffy murmured quietly to him, thinking that it felt *so* right to say. The words just flowed through her mouth and past her lips so easily to say to her one, true love. "I've got a feeling that things are getting ready to change for us around here." Buffy said before meeting lips with Angel once again.

Angel picked Buffy up, carrying her like a husband would carry his wife to their honeymoon room, and swiftly carried her back to his bedroom in the mansion, his lips never parting from hers.

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

And when the two lovers woke up the next morning with Buffy burrowed deep in Angel's arms, Buffy immediately knew that everything would turn out okay as she looked up at Angel's peaceful face for the first time. And minutes later, when Angel woke up next to Buffy, both of them knew that things were gonna get better.

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