Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Oh yes…they are ALL MINE! (Sarcastic) Haha, right…like I'm gonna damn Buffy and Angel for all eternity and let Buffy sleep with Riley and Angel sleep with Darla. I'm THAT evil! (No…but Joss is!)
Rating:  Do you watch the show?? You can read this. Maybe PG-13ish
Summary: Secretly, the LA crew and the Sunnydale gang plot together to get Buffy and Angel back together again.
Spoilers: Nothing major: Let's just say the entire BtVS and AtS history, but only up to 4/1 seasons.
Author's Notes: Takes place during the VERY beginning of season 4 and season 1. But I'm kinda changing things around here. In a way, it's only "City Of" that has really happened. (So…no "Freshmen") Cordy and Doyle are working for Angel and the Scoobies are getting ready to go into college. Xander is back from his short-lived road trip, but no Anya, no Parker, Initiative, or big bad evils yet.
~ *______* Signifies italics (stressed words) and <_______> signifies thoughts
Distribution: My site, Angel Forevermore: http://angel4e_more.tripod.com/ (THE NEW ONE!), 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 hot wearing leather pants? (All together now, Nod your head "YES!")

~*In Sunnydale*~

It had almost been 4 months since Angel had left Buffy. A new school year at a completely new college was beginning. Buffy, Willow, and Oz were getting ready for college. Xander was getting ready to begin one of many new jobs to come. Giles was living in his apartment, pretty much beginning a relaxing and librarian-free type of life.

However, things were not all right in the world of the Hellmouth. Although Buffy didn't show it, she was slowly dying inside. Four long and agonizing months without her Angel at her side- watching her back, looking over her, and simply being there for her. Inwardly, Buffy was a shriveled up ball of Buffy-mess, ready to fall down and simply give up or give out. She hid it from her friends- crying herself to sleep, smiling fake and exaggerated smiles towards her friends, and talking about anything that couldn't be somehow related or thought back to having something to do with Angel. Buffy had become a completely different person now.

However, unknown to her, her friends did notice. Willow could see that far away look when no one thought they were looking at her. Xander could see some of that spirit gone- vanished forever if she couldn't have her heart's desire. Oz, although the quiet and a newer member of the Scooby gang, could see the Slayer's solemn facial expressions, which was something he never remembered her looking like. Buffy was always exuberant and bright. Giles, although he pretended not to, could see a change in his Slayer. All patrol and no fun- her dedication towards Slaying had picked up, almost to a state where he was beginning to worry about her. If something wasn't done, Buffy could and most likely would, wear herself out to death.

Obviously, no one from the Scooby gang wanted to see this happen.

That's why now, as soon as they possibly could, something had to be done. When Buffy wasn't there, the core members of the Scooby gang were planning ways to get her to open up. The only time she had talked to anyone about Angel was to Willow and Giles about the breakup, and she had talked to Willow a couple more times after he left town. However, now she had shut up and shut everyone out. She refused to talk about Angel because it just brought up too many painful memories for her.

Things were getting serious. It was time for some action, because they couldn't loose the Slayer to something like this- something that could be so easily fixed.

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

~*In Los Angeles*~

Angel was a new soul in the City of Angels. He had just moved here after moving away from Sunnydale. Along with him were Doyle, a half demon and a messenger for the Powers That Be, and (believe it or not) Cordelia Chase. She and Angel had actually met up accidentally, but Cordelia started working for him and, along with Doyle, the three had been working together, saving souls in LA. This was Angel's mission- to save souls so in some way he could save his own.

And that was part of the problem. Both Doyle and Cordy had been noticing it. Their boss was acting a little bit more broody than usual. He was a strict fighter, not talking about it or fooling around. Angel had closed up. Sure, he was *never* "share my feelings boy" but he had become a shell of what he used to be. Cordelia, who vaguely knew him in Sunnydale, could sense a change within him. Now, he fought as though he was taking his anger (or some other kind of emotion?) out on the demon in front of him.

Doyle, although not really aware of Angel's entire past with Buffy, knew that this was the source- the Slayer. Angel hadn't exactly been out in the open with his emotions when Doyle first came along, but the reason for this: the fighting, silent treatment, and actions all had one origin.

Buffy Summers, the Slayer that had really managed to slay Angel's un-beating heart.

Apparently, she Slayer had managed to affect Angel more than he let on. It was Angel's decision to leave her- mostly male ego, pride, and love. Yes, his love for the Slayer ran deep. He would gladly give up everything so she could have that normal life- the "All American Dream." However, sometimes, when Angel was alone in the dark office, he began to second-guess himself. Maybe he was wrong? Maybe giving up Buffy for the greater good was the wrong thing to do? Maybe, for once, he was being *too* noble and shouldn't have let her go without a fight first.

Anyway, behind Angel's back, Cordy and Angel had been talking. They needed their boss back- a responsive and able-to-talk type of boss. Now, their only problem was: What were they going to do about it?

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

~*In Sunnydale*~

"Okay you guys." Willow began, talking to everyone from the Coffee Pump. It was already a little bit past dusk, and Buffy was already hitting the graveyards. Around her sat Xander and Oz. Together, the three of them were trying to come up with some way to get Buffy cheered up. "We have a problem. Slayer in a depression, all sad and lonely.  What can we do to solve this?"

Xander and Oz both thought about this. Apparently, Willow was in charge with this problem. Xander raised his hand in the air. "Ooh, what about a demon? Find a demon, Buffy slays? Problem solved. She's all happy."

"No…don't think so." Willow said. "Have you noticed that she seems to be doing that *too* well? She's like…Slaying to the death, not caring if she gets killed."

"Slayer's got a death wish?" Oz asked quietly, processing everything through his brain.

"Maybe…" Willow said. "I don't know, this doesn't say `Slayer problem' to me." She crossed her arms and pouted. Man, this was going to bug her all night and day until she got it solved. "Oh no…are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" She said, groaning to the group.

"Uh…you should have gotten the café latte instead of the cappuccino?" Xander asked, taking a sip of his own mocha latte drink.

"No, Xander." Willow said, lighting slapping his arm. "This is an `Angel problem.' Not a `Slayer problem' at all." She hit her forehead. "Man! Why didn't I see this before? She's been moping over Angel ALL summer! And now she's starting school without him around- she just can't take this."

"So, it's an `Angel problem'?" Xander asked. "There's not that much we can do about it. I mean, the vamp's in Los Angeles now. *Hours* away from us." He thought about it for a second. "Aww, what a shame. Oh well, I'm sure Buffy can move on."

Willow glared silver daggers at Xander. She had always known that Xander had a thing against Angel. She just didn't know that it ran this deep. Their friend was in trouble- Buffy's life could eventually be at stake. And there was only one thing they could do. "Come on, we have work to do." She said, grabbing her Styrofoam cup and her purse. Oz stood up next to her and grabbed her hand, going along with whatever Willow had planned.

"Where?" Xander asked, taking a long sip of his drink. A coffee moustache lined his upper lip and he quickly wiped it off with his sleeve.

"To a phone. Guess I'll have to call Cordelia." Willow said, beginning to head back to Oz's place so she wouldn't have to face her parents as she was also trying to talk to Cordelia over the phone.

"Hey guys! Wait up" Xander cried out, running ahead and catching up with them. The two had a lot of work to do if they wanted to get Buffy cheered up as quickly as possible.  

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

~*In Los Angeles*~

"Okay Doyle, now…while our boss is down in the Bat Cave, we gotta figure out a way to fix his slump." Cordy said, plopping down on the couch next to Doyle.

"Slump?" Doyle asked, putting the magazine he was reading back on the table. "Angel? In a slump?" <Maybe if I pretend like I don't see it, she won't drag me into some crazy idea.>

"Right…like you haven't noticed his constant brood-mode." Cordy said, looking over at him. "We have to figure out a way to break his slump."

"Well, " Doyle started, thinking about the Slayer and Sunnydale. From the beginning, he had known that all of Angel's problems originated from there. "What about-"

"Have a vision!" Cordy said, slapping his arm. She jumped forward in her seat, looking at Doyle.

"What? I can't do that." Doyle complained. "I'm not the magical lamp who gives out visions whenever you…slap me." Doyle said, rubbing his arm where Cordy hit him. Not that he was complaining…<Hey, she touched me. It's a start.> he thought. Secretly, Doyle was majorly crushing on Cordelia. Ever since she had started working with Angel he had been trying to work up enough courage to ask her out to dinner. But, there was that being half demon problem. Doyle figured that maybe he should tell her that first before the asking out.

"Come one Doyle! You *know* that Angel is only partially happy when he's fighting some big, bad, nasty evil." Cordelia said, sitting up straighter. "Now, lets find some evil demon so Angel can go kill it!"

"I don't think it works that way, Princess." Doyle replied regretfully. "And I don't think it's that easy."

"Well, what else can we do?" Cordelia said to herself, going back to thinking of some ideas. She folded her arms in front of her and began to think.

"Well, what I was going to suggest earlier is-" Doyle started.

"Oh God, I just realized this." Cordelia groaned, interrupting what Doyle was about to say. "He's been in permanent Buffy-brood-mode ever since I first saw him."

"Yeah, that's what I was getting ready to-" Doyle tried again.

"*That's it!* All we need is to get him and Buffy talking again…or fighting again- that would make him even more happy." Cordelia said. "We can get him all cheered up and out of that slump, and I can ask for a raise- oh Doyle, you're a genius!" Cordy cried out, wrapping her arms around him for a brief second. Then, regaining her perfect posture, she rose to her feet and walked into the main office. Doyle shrugged, thinking about Cordy's hug. <I'll take whatever I can get,> he thought, also rising to his feet and following Cordy out into the next room.

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

~*In Sunnydale*~

"Okay, how do I say this?" Willow asked, only now picking up Oz's phone. "I mean, she and I aren't the best of friends."

"Come on, Will. I know you can do this." Xander said. He sat in one of Oz's chairs, relaxing.

"How about you call her?" Willow said, holding out the receiver of the phone towards him.

"Noooo way." Xander replied. "Talk to Cordy? You're out of your mind. Anyway, I don't even like Angel. It's your idea. You call her."

Willow grumbled something that not even Oz could hear, and he was sitting right next to her. However, she slowly dialed the number for Angel Investigations that she had gotten from Cordelia.

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

~*In Los Angeles*~

When Cordy and Doyle walked out into the main office, they were arguing over who should call who. "Look, I hate Xander and don't really care for Willow. I don't even *know* Oz's number, so…you should call Willow. She'd probably be the nicest one out of the three."

"Look `ere, Princess." Doyle said, leaning up against the desk. "I don't particularly know any of your friends down in Sunnydale, and…I think you should do it." Although, technically, this was Doyle's plan, it's just that Cordy felt like she had to do everything. Doyle had thought up this plan *long* before Cordy had jumped onto the bandwagon.

Cordy groaned and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. She began to reach for the phone. Suddenly, when her fingertips were inches away from the handle, it rang. Cordy jumped back before reaching for it. "Angel Investigations." She said. "We uh…we-"

"Cordelia. Hey…it's- it's Willow." A voice said in the earpiece of the phone.

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

~*Somewhere in between LA and Sunnydale over a phone line*~

Cordy covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "Woah, that was freaky. It's *her*." She hissed to Doyle. She removed her hand and laughed. "No, no, it's all right that you called. Believe it or not, I was, like, a second away from calling *you*."

"Coincidence I guess." Willow said.

"Hey, let me put you on speakerphone. As long as Batman is down in his cave, I don't think he'll hear us." Cordy said. She pushed a button and put down the phone, listening as she moved to her chair. "How are things going?"

"Well, that's part of the reason why we called, but…we're good." Willow replied.

"'We're'?" Cordy asked.

"Yeah, Xander and Oz are with me." Willow said.

"Hey CC!" Xander shouted into the phone. Cordy winced and turned the volume down for a second. <Same old Xander.> she thought for a minute.  

"Hey Cordelia." Was Oz, with his usual leveled voice attitude.

"Hey guys. Oh, and Doyle, this vision-guy and a pain the in the butt co-worker is here too." Cordy said. "So…why were you calling?"

"Well, this is actually kind of about Buffy and Angel." Willow said.

"What a coincidence." Cordelia said, somewhat amazed. "That's why *we* were calling you also! See, our boss is in this majorly big slump-"

"And so is Buffy," Willow interrupted.

"So…we were thinking- Doyle and I- that maybe we could get them together." Cordy said. "You know…get them talking again- or, fighting again, and then maybe the two would get *out* of this slump and move on. Get over each other!"

"Well, Cordelia, I don't think that either of these two people will get over each other anytime soon." Willow replied. "I mean, Buffy hasn't been very well."

"She sick?" Cordy asked, wondering what that had to do with it. "Get her some Ibuprofen."

"No, Cordelia…" Willow sighed loudly over the speakerphone and Doyle rolled his eyes. <Only `Delia.> he thought, raising his eyes to the ceiling. "She's depressed- emotionally. She's not fighting up to par and she is so…detached from everyone else. We're all getting worried about her. How's Angel?"

"He sounds about the same." Doyle stepped in, talking for Cordelia. "Hi, it's Doyle."

"Guys, I'm talking to Doyle now…" Willow whispered to the gang who were all sitting around her. "Hi Doyle." She said to him.

"Willow, what Princess is trying to say here is, Angel's in a slump. We think that the only way to get his *out of* this slump is to get him talking to your little Slayer wit' you." Doyle said. He moved closer to the phone on the desk.

"Yeah, that's what we were planning to." Willow agreed. "Everyone is getting pretty worried about her."

"So, I'm guessing that we want to deal with this now?" Cordelia asked, looking up at Doyle who was at her right side. It was 4:00 PM, so the two still had some time to talk freely before they had to worry about Angel coming upstairs.

"We're free." Willow said. "Hey, y'know, we're only about 2 hours away from each other. Do you think we could meet up? Maybe have some dinner and talk about what we could plan up. Because, personally, I'm sick and tired of our mopey-Buffy."

"Tell me about it." Cordy agreed. She picked up the phone and placed it against her ear. "God, for a 247-year-old vampire, Angel certainly can act like a baby." She heard Willow quickly laugh. "Right, so, where do you want to meet?" Cordelia took a sheet of paper and scribbled down the meeting place as Doyle looked over her shoulder. "Right…right, that sounds good." She paused. "All right, see you then." Cordelia hung up the phone and smiled up at Doyle.

"Everything settled?" Doyle asked.

"Yeah, we're meeting them for dinner here-" she shoved the piece of paper into his hand. "And we'll talk there. I'm just hoping they spring for dinner." Cordelia stood up and grabbed her jacket. "Come on Doyle." She started moving towards the door shouting, "Angel! We're taking off!"

"Maybe we should leave him a note, in case he didn't hear your clamorin'?" Doyle asked, beginning to follow.  

"Naw, we'll be back before he even gets up." Cordy said. "Now, are you coming or not?" Doyle didn't say anything in response, but just followed Cordy out the door and closing it behind him.

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

~*One Week Later In Los Angeles*~

"Angel!" Cordelia shouted to him from upstairs. "Are you almost ready?!"

"For what?" Angel asked back. She heard the elevator start and in another minute, Angel was walking out into the main part of the office, rubbing his eyes. Apparently, he had been sleeping through the main part of the day.

"We have a meeting with a client tonight." Cordelia told him. "Did you forget about it?"

"I…I guess. It just slipped my mind." Angel said. A week had passed and things had not gotten any better. Angel was slipping further and further into that darkness. Both Cordy and Doyle were very aware of this. Hopefully, what they had planned would work out. "What are we doing again?"

"*YOU* are going to meet him at Lë Mârie. Tonight…wear a tux and look *good*." Cordelia said, handing him a sheet of paper that had an address on it. "You already have reservations, saved under `Ozbourne.'"

Unknown to Angel, however, this was Oz's real last name. "Interesting…name of the client?" Angel asked, looking at the slip of paper that had the meeting place written on it.

"Hmm, don't know. Go find out." Cordy said, busy typing away nothing important at the computer screen. She looked up at him when Angel made no motion to move. "Well, GO! Get ready, you have to be there at 6:00. Only 2 more hours to go."

Angel sighed and grumbled something that was unknown towards human ears. Dragging his feet behind him, Angel turned around and headed downstairs to begin to get ready.

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

~*In Sunnydale*~

"Buffy!" Willow shouted, walking inside Buffy's house. Joyce was out of town and Buffy was getting ready for dinner tonight. Only to Buffy's knowledge, she and the gang were going out to eat at Lë Mârie tonight. Not really to celebrate anything, but in order to simply treat themselves to something nice and expensive. "Are you getting ready?"

"Yeah, Will!" Buffy shouted back. Buffy was upstairs in her room, running from her closet to her table and back to her closet again. Her dress lay out on the bed with her matching shoes resting at the foot of the bed. "Come on up." Buffy started undressing to change into her dress.

Willow walked into the room, spotting Buffy admiring herself in the mirror. "Wow! Buffy, you look great!" Willow said, looking at her friend. And it was true. Buffy's black dress that flowed down to her ankles showed off each womanly curve on her body. The top was lined with silver glitter at the edges. Even though the dress was nothing extravagant, it looked perfect on Buffy. <Ohh, he's going to love this.> Willow thought.

"Thanks, Willow." Buffy replied. She looked back at herself once more in the mirror before turning around for her friend.

"This is so great." Willow said.

"Yeah…I guess." Buffy's face was solemn, the expression that seemed to be permanently glued on her face. Buffy was not doing well, emotionally. The time that had passed without Angel was beginning to take a more rapid toll on her. Willow was worried for her friend- afraid that one night she might not come back from a patrol or she would simply give out all together.

"Hey, well…you should accessorize." Willow said happily, trying to keep the mood light. She got up and walked over to Buffy's desk and looked at the rows of necklaces that were laid out all together. "How about…this one?" She held out a silver cross in front of Buffy. "It would match the dress really well."

Buffy looked at Willow in surprise. <How…I can't wear that.> she thought, tears springing to her eyes. "I- I can't…I don't think I should wear this, Will." She walked over to Willow and took the cross, placing it in one of the desk drawers and closing it quickly. "I, uh, I just think that a plain look is better." She lied. Inwardly, Buffy was cringing. Willow had just pulled out the one thing that could still bring out all those memories that she had been keeping locked up in the back of her brain. Angel. When she wasn't thinking about him, it was easier. But she wore that necklace when she sent him to Hell…he gave it to her on the first of many nighttime meetings. How could she move on from this? How could she get that "normal life" that he wanted so badly for her?

"Oh…okay," Willow said, not realizing what she had done. She walked back over and sat back down on the bed.

Buffy straightened up, regaining her usual Buffy-face. "Wait! Why aren't you dressed?" she asked suddenly. Willow, Oz, and Xander were suppose to be going with her, and the reservation was only about 1 hour away.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I have my dress and everything over at Oz's place. I'll just change really quickly when I get over there," Willow assured her. Inwardly, she was congratulating herself on what a great actress she could be. So far, Buffy didn't suspect a thing.

"All right, then." Buffy replied. She walked over to her mirror and added some bronzing powder to her face and gloss to her lips. "I tell you something, Will, I don't see how you can do it."

"Do what?"

"Get ready in like 5 minutes." Buffy explained, walking over and beginning to slide on her 4 inch heel sandals. "I mean, it had taken me almost one hour and I'm still not even done."

"What can I say? It's magic." Willow replied, smiling up at her friend.

Buffy managed to crack a small smile- the largest smile that Willow had seen in a long time, which wasn't good. Usually Buffy's smiles were large, happy, and could brighten anyone's day. Now, her smile would put someone in a coma or depression. "Well, I think I have to just add a few things here and there and then I'll be ready."

"Okay, great." Willow replied. "Well, I think I should be getting over to Oz's place. I really only came over here to check up on you and make sure you were still coming." She stood up from Buffy's bed and began walking towards her bedroom door.

"Well, thanks for checking up on me." Buffy replied. "And you and me are meeting up back here for some quality gal-hang time, right?"

"You got it. I will be back here with PJs and a book." Willow said, over enthusiastically.

"You are a party animal, Will." Buffy replied. Buffy turned around and messed with her hair for a few seconds before spinning back around and looking at Willow again. "Oh, remind me- where are we going?"

Willow, who was almost out the door, turned around and faced her friend. "We're eating at Lë Mârie, at 6:00." She turned around, almost forgetting the most important piece of information. "Oh! And the reservation name is `Ozbourne.'" She added, inwardly grinning. This was her boyfriend's last name, but little did Buffy know…

"Okay, that sounds great." Buffy replied. "I'll see you later tonight, Will."

"Bye, Buffy." Willow replied, walking out the door. She walked down the stairs and out the door, turning to go to Oz's house. "No, you won't." she said aloud to herself to answer Buffy's response.

Back inside, once Buffy knew that Willow was gone, she collapsed onto her bed, heaving dry sobs. Willow and pulled out Angel's cross and suggested that she wear it, bringing back all the good and bad memories along with it. <Almost 5 months since he left me.> Buffy thought. However, she forced herself to push down those emotions- she wouldn't let them control her. She would just keep those feelings burrowed down inside of her so no one would worry about her. Climbing back to her feet, Buffy continued to get ready.

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

~*Later that night in Lë Mârie *~

It was 6:10 PM that night. Buffy sat by herself at a table for 4, a perfect fit for her and her three friends. <Who are *late*, I might add,>  Buffy thought, looking down at her watch. Buffy had arrived there at 6:00 by herself. Willow, Oz, and Xander were coming together from Oz's house. However, Buffy had simply gotten a taxi, enjoying that quiet time to herself where she could think.

Suddenly, something went off in the back of her head- a tingly feeling that she only got when she was in Slayer mode. <Vampire?> she thought. <Here, right now?> she looked around the room, trying to find the source of her Spider Sense going off the wall. She turned around, looking over the back of her chair for anything out of the ordinary. The feeling that was running down the back of her spine was quickly changing, very soon becoming more powerful. <He's close, I can feel this one.> Buffy thought, glancing to the left and right side of her. Not only was that feeling becoming more powerful, it was more…recognizable. <No…please, no.> Buffy suddenly thought.

"Buffy?!" A voice asked in front of her.

She spun around, looking up into a pair of chocolate-brown eyes that she never thought she would see again. "Angel?!" She asked back, now realizing what she had felt all along was her vampire ex-boyfriend who had left her. Angel was standing a few steps in front of her, dressed in a completely black tuxedo. <Like prom.> Buffy thought, <Ooh, let's not go there right now.>

"What-" Angel tried to speak.

"What the *hell* are you doing here?" Buffy asked. People around them looked over at their table, wondering what was going on and why they were talking so loudly.

"What am *I* doing here? What are *you* doing here?" Angel asked back.

"*I* am having dinner with my friends…right here." Buffy replied, slamming down her finger on the table she was sitting at.

"Well, I'm meeting a client…right here." Angel replied, looking down at her and mimicking her motion with her hands. How dare she come to his part of town and just start dishing out the orders.

"Your waiter must have screwed up then." Buffy said. "This table was reserved for *me and my friends* under-"

"No," Angel insisted. "This table is for *my client and I* which was reserved under the name of-"

"Ozbourne." The two said at the same time.

Buffy gasped and stopped talking immediately. "Oh God," Buffy scoffed. "Damn my friends." She whispered.

Angel sighed and rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling. "I am going to *kill* Cordy and Doyle when I get back there tonight." Angel growled.

"Not…literally kill them, right?" Buffy asked. "Because then I'd have to go all `Slayer' on you and really kill you."

"What, you mean for the second time?" Was the first thing that popped out of Angel's mouth. However, the way Buffy had been feeling recently, that wasn't the best thing Angel could have said at the moment. Buffy stared at him, tears suddenly springing to her eyes; Angel knew that he had gone too far. "Buffy, oh God, I'm sorry." Angel said. "I guess I shouldn't have said anything in reply to that."

Buffy held back her tears and looked away from Angel's hypnotizing eyes. "No, that's okay. I guess I deserved it. After all, I am just the `ex.'" She said, looking down at her hands that were sitting in her lap.

"No, you'll never be `just the ex.' Not in my eyes, Buffy." Angel insisted. Buffy looked up at him with surprise and…<was that love?> in her eyes. "May I sit down?"

"I guess. I mean, this table was partly reserved for you." Buffy said emotionlessly. "I don't care…I really don't care anymore."

"Now, what's that suppose to mean?" Angel asked her, leaning on the table. "I get the impression it's something more than my sitting down here." However, before Buffy could say anything, their waiter came up to them asking for their order, ending their quickly-turning-to-angst conversation.

~*Later that night*~

Their main course had just been served and the food was steaming hot. Angel was eating, although not for nutritional reasons. Believe it or not, Angel and Buffy had put aside their rocky past and tried to have an enjoyable evening. They talked about what they were doing right now- not one of them mentioning how badly they were doing emotionally. Buffy talked about her summer with her friends and Angel spoke about how he was getting an agency for `lost souls' begun in LA.

Buffy and Angel were actually starting to have a fun evening. However, in the middle of Buffy's pasta and Angel's lasagna, Buffy asked him a serious question. "What are we *doing* here?" She sighed and placed her fork next to her, now wanting to talk to Angel instead of simply avoid everything.

"Well…"

"I mean, Cordy and Doyle told you that you had a client to meet. My friends, Xander, Oz, and Willow, said that we were going to have a end of the summer dinner, and- ohh." Buffy said, finally realizing what was going on. She looked across at Angel who was waiting for her to continue talking. "HEY! They set us up!"

Angel laughed, thinking about how long it took Buffy to finally come up with that. He wondered if she had been thinking about that all night and only now brought it up. "I think so, Beloved." <Oh…woops,> Angel thought. <Oh boy…let that one slip out.>

Buffy looked across the table towards him, catching his mistake. "Angel…"

"Just…just forget about it. I didn't say anything." Angel said, nervously taking a sip of the water that was next to him at the table.

"No. You *did* say something." Buffy said. "Now…what was it again?"

"Beloved." Angel whispered.

"Now…you wanna worm your way outta this one?" Buffy asked him, smiling evilly at him. She was going to make Angel explain himself even if they had to sit together all night at this table. The truth was, she wasn't mad at him. She knew that she could never be mad at him- it was too hard. I mean, sure she was angry with him for what he did- who wouldn't be? But, in some way, she understood why he did what he did, and she was grateful that he did. However, now she just wanted to know what he was hinting towards.

"Well…" Angel started. "Boy, is it getting hot in here." Angel complained, tugging at his tie. Across the table from him, Buffy let out a giggle. "What?" He asked her.

"Nothing…I- I just never thought I'd see you complaining about the heat in a restaurant." Buffy admitted. The she smiled, realizing what he was trying to do. "Trying to avoid the question, I see."

"I'm *not* avoiding the question." Angel said back to her. However, he looked at her face and broke out into a grin.

"Sure you aren't." Buffy replied sarcastically. She took a sip of her drink.

"Hey! What, you don't believe me?" Angel asked back at her.

Buffy scoffed. "Not in the least." She thought about what was going on. <Oh my God! Are Angel and I flirting? We're *joking and teasing eachother*. What is going on here?> She and Angel were having what was considered a completely angst-free and, for the most part, very normal. <Something must be wrong.> Buffy thought. "Fine, fine. We'll drop the whole `you being a chicken and changing the topic' thing and move onto my next problem."

Angel chuckled by what Buffy had let slip into her sentence. "What?"

"*What* are we doing here? Our friends decide to set us up for a blind date? I think we're a little bit past that." Buffy said.

"How have you been?" Angel asked.

"Don't start changing the subject on me again, Angel." Buffy warned, even though she knew what he was getting at. They met eyes and Buffy knew that the pleasantries and fun-talk was over. "How have I been? Not good." She finally admitted.

"I know what you mean." Angel replied. He glanced around him, wanting to speak to her in a more private room. "Uh…do you want to take a walk? Maybe we can talk?"

"Sure." Buffy said, beginning to rise from her chair. Angel left some money for the food on the table and followed Buffy out the restaurant and into the nighttime life of LA.  

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

PART 6

Angel and Buffy walked around the streets, silent. They said they were going to talk but no one was saying a word. They each knew what the other was going through- the pain, loneliness, heartache…it was overpowering the two in different ways. Both Buffy and Angel yearned for each other once more, but were just too stubborn-headed to talk about it.

"So…school is going well?" Angel asked Buffy. He looked over at her walking next to him. He noticed that she was deep in thought.

"Hmm? Oh…yeah. Well, it hasn't started yet, but we're getting everything ready. Willow and I are moving in together, so we're packing for that." Buffy said. "God…everything is so different now. Willow is so wrapped up with Oz…something that I-I…" <I used to have.> Buffy thought sadly as she sighed. "And Xander is looking into jobs. Giles has a life now…I'm just…alone."

"Alone?" Angel asked her, stopping her from walking any further. "You're not alone."

"I'm not? Look at me, I don't have anyone anymore." Buffy asked. When Angel looked down at her, she had tears in here hazel eyes.

"That's not true." Angel said. "You have me."

"You? I seriously doubt that." Buffy said. "I really don't think I do."

Angel looked down at her, staring into her eyes. "Yes, you'll always have me."

"You? *You* left town. *You* broke up with me…uh, not necessarily in that order." Buffy said, poking her index finger towards him accusingly.

"Buffy-"

"You left me." Buffy said in a childish voice. This had been what was bugging her all summer. She thought she was alone. She no longer had Angel- her rock to keep her steady when times were tough. No one that could understand her and know exactly what she was thinking- she was missing her soul mate. Her friends couldn't help her, and she couldn't deal with this by herself. She needed Angel in her life.

"I know, I know, Buffy. But…I'm still here for you. I'm only two hours away from you. Anytime you need me, I'll come to you. I will help you in any possible way." Angel assured her. "I promise you that."

Buffy held back the tears that were threatening to fall down her cheeks. "You can't make a promise like that, Angel. You've got your life up here. You have people working with you, doing what…what you should be doing. You just can't drop everything and come back to Sunnydale. You have work to do and-"

This time, instead of interrupting her babbling with a counterpoint remark, Angel leaned down and kissed her. He had been dying to do this all night, ever since he *felt* her when he walked into the restaurant. He saw her sitting there dressed in all black with silver glitter everywhere, and it was as though he was falling in love all over again. She was beautiful. When they ate dinner, Angel soaked in her presence, feeling the love they felt for each other wash over him. And now, pressing his lips against Buffy's- this was just what he'd wanted. Angel couldn't ask for anything more.

<He can't just do this to me.> Buffy said, wrapping her arms around Angel's neck. She was glad she wore these 3-inch heels tonight- she wasn't as short. <He can't just kiss me and think that this will change everything- that he won't be in LA and I won't be in Sunnydale anymore.> However, very quickly, Buffy was lost by the closeness of her Angel. She felt Angel wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him as they kissed, their lips never separating.

She loved him. She would always love him, and Buffy knew that. She would probably never love anyone else more than Angel. He was her first- her only- love in her whole life.

When Buffy was forced to pull back for air, she rested her head against Angel's lips and she felt him gently kiss her forehead. "Wow…" she managed to breathe.

"Yeah…wow." Angel agreed. It had been 4 long, agonizing months since he had last felt Buffy so close to him. That was too long. "Buffy?"

"Hmm?" She raised her head and looked up at him. He looked into her deep and heavenly hazel orbs, finding that love was all that reflected in them.

"Look…I know that the future can change thing- it can screw us all one day but then make us feel like we can do anything the next. But…I'll be here for you." Angel began. And it was the truth. He would gladly do anything for her just to keep her in his life some possible way. He loved her more than ever, if that was even possible. "I promise that whenever something comes up, as long as I am on this earth, I'll be there right by your side, and-"

"Angel…shh." Buffy whispered, placing two fingers on Angel's lips. In response, he gently kissed them. "Don't think about the future. Just…be with me...right now." She said before slowly raising up her head and meeting lips with Angel again. Angel gathered her into his arms and held her as closely to his body as he could.

Instantly, she felt herself become alive once again. She felt rejuvenated and reborn- she had been reborn from Angel's love for her. Buffy knew that together, they could do this again. They could fight for what they believed in and overcome the obstacles that stood in their paths.

For what seemed like hours, when it reality was only minutes, the two stood there, simply holding each other. For the two, their hearts and souls were slowly mending. "Remind me to thank Cordelia." Angel whispered to Buffy sometime later.

"What?" Buffy asked, pulling slightly back and looking up at him. "Why?"

"For cooking up this plan with Willow." Angel said. "I mean, it had to have been them, right? Only those two girls could come up with something so outrageous to get us talking again."

Buffy's soft chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh. Wrapping her arms around Angel, she kissed him once again. Angel instantly responded and picked her up off the ground, spinning her around for a brief second before placing her back onto the ground again.

"By the way, did I mention that you look absolutely stunning tonight?" Angel asked her. He ran his fingers down the side of her cheek, feeling the satiny touch of her cheek.

Buffy blushed and lowered her head for a second. "No you haven't." she whispered.

"Well, you look amazing." Angel said. He kissed her cheek so lovingly that Buffy almost wanted to cry.

"Thank you." Buffy stepped ahead one more inch, being as close to him as was possible. She breathed him in, smelling that smell that was solely and unmistakably Angel. "You know? You don't look so bad either."

Angel smiled at her- something that he rarely ever did anymore. "Thanks."

Very slowly, Angel lowered his head and met lips with hers once again. As the two kissed underneath the moonlight, the two were suddenly aware of what it was like to fight for love.

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

It was past 2:00 when Buffy and Angel arrived in Sunnydale again. They had spent another 2 hours walking around outside in LA, talking over what their life was really like, and sharing kisses in between conversations. They had caught up with each other, and the fact that they were together again calmed both Buffy and Angel to the depths of their souls.

Angel was giving Buffy a ride back to her home in his new convertible and eventually slowed to a stop in front of Buffy's house. Angel turned the engine off and the two sat there in silence. "Let me walk you to the door." Angel said, climbing out of the car.

Buffy nodded and followed Angel up to the front door. "Well, this is it." She said, pointing to the door. Obviously, both of them knew that. "God, I feel so stupid. I'm so damn nervous and I don't even know why."

Angel chuckled before casting his eyes up to the sky. "Well, I better start heading back. I want to get there before sunrise."

Buffy nodded, knowing that there was no way she could talk him out of this. But, after all, she didn't want her…boyfriend (?) to become dust.  "All right. But…we'll keep in touch, right?"

"You know it." Angel replied. He stood there, questioning whether it was all right to kiss her or not. He didn't know exactly where they stood or what they were. Suddenly, Buffy took a step forward and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him gently and passionately. Angel wrapped his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, kiss her. Angel responded, his lips contouring to hers as the two lovers kissed a final time.

When Buffy stepped back, she turned around and started walking to open the door. "Good night, Angel." She said to him.

"'Night." Angel replied, beginning to turn around and walk down the steps.

"Oh, and…Angel?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah?" he turned around and looked at her.

"Next time you call to just hear my voice or whatever? *Talk* to me for a change." Buffy said. "Okay?"

Angel lowered his eyes, slightly embarrassed that she knew that it was him who had called. "All right, I can do that." He replied.

"Good night." Buffy said once again, before going in and closing the door. She was dying to tell him more, to tell him that she loved him more than ever, if that was possible, but she simply left it at that.

"Good night, Beloved." Angel responded before heading back to his car.

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

~*In Los Angeles*~

Angel arrived back in his hometown and only got 4 hours of sleep before Cordelia came barging into his lower-level apartment. "Angel!" Cordy yelled. "C'mon, you Grr-guy. Time to rise and shine!"

Angel was lying on his bed, only half-asleep now. "What do you want, Cordelia?" He looked over to where his associate and friend stood.

Cordy clasped her hands behind her back and gave Angel one of her bright smiles. "I was just wondering…how the meet with the client went last night and-"

"Cordy, you don't have to lie about it. I know what you must have done." Angel replied, sitting up. "It was Buffy. Not a bad thing."

"Right…but does this mean you're going to be in permanent brood-mode, because, y'know? I'm sick of that." Cordelia said bluntly.

"Hey, I don't permanently brood!" Angel said, defending himself.

"Sure…and I'm going to fall madly in love with Doyle and marry him." Cordy gave Angel a skeptical look. "Willow and I…well, we were just trying to get you two out of those slumps that you two are in and-"

"Cordelia, it's okay." Angel said, holding up his hand to silence her never-closing mouth. "Look, Buffy and I got everything worked out…and…I think we're friends again."

"Good!" Cordelia said a little bit too enthusiastically. "Just make sure you two don't get all groiny in bed together, otherwise, I'm packing up and leaving town." She snapped. "And you're *not* invited."

"Thanks for clearing that up for me." Angel said sarcastically.

"No problem. Here to help, don't want to die from your evil psycho inner-demon thing." Cordelia said.

"Thanks. Now...if you don't mind? I'd like a little bit more sleep." Angel said. Cordelia nodded and smiled once more at him before turning around and walking back up the stairs to the office. "Thank God," Angel sighed, before falling back onto the bed and going back to sleep, where he could dream about Buffy.

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

The next day around noon as Buffy was up and about making herself some lunch, she heard the doorbell ring. She stopped what she was doing and went to the door, humming some song in her head. Buffy had been in a good mood ever since she had gotten back from her dinner with Angel. She had dreamed about him all night long and had woken up freshly renewed.

"Hi Buffy!" Willow said when Buffy opened the front door.

"Hey Willow" Buffy replied. She moved aside, allowing Willow to step inside.

"So…how was your night?" Willow asked, walking inside as Buffy closed the door.

"Remind me to kill you later for what you and…whoever up in LA did to Angel and me." Buffy said, smiling towards her friend. "But for now…thanks." She stepped forward and grabbed Willow in a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Willow."

"No problem…so you're not mad?" Willow asked.

"Mad? Why would I be mad, you little vixen?" Buffy asked. Her smile shone brightly on her face.

"Vixen? Me?" Willow asked. <Obviously last night went well.> Willow noticed.

"Yeah, you and whoever for plotting against me and setting me up with Angel." Buffy said. However, Willow noticed that when she said his name, her face wasn't saddened or depressed. She had that "Angel-face" that she wore 24/7 before her seventeenth birthday. "I mean, we got to talking...after the angst talk, and I think last night went fairly well."

"That's good. I am very glad to hear it." Willow replied. Inwardly, she was jumping for joy- Cordelia's and her plan had worked nicely.

 "C'mon. Follow me into the kitchen. I'm making lunch…but, I think we deserve an ice cream party instead." Buffy said.

With that, Buffy and Willow turned around and began heading into the kitchen. Willow shook her head, jokingly, at how happy Buffy seemed right now. <I was right. Angel was her cure.>

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

~*2 Weeks Later*~

It had been two weeks and Angel hadn't called Buffy. Buffy was getting worried. Was everything that they said to each other that night a lie? Was he really going to continue staying away from her? That one night was what had been keeping her going for these past 2 weeks. She wanted to call him- but what if he didn't want to talk to her? What if he was just saying everything he did to make her shut up?

Buffy was in the dorm room that she and Willow were sharing for the first year of college. Very quickly, Buffy was pacing back and forth in front of the bedside table where the phone set. <Maybe I should call him.> She thought. <Ooh, maybe I shouldn't…> she thought again, turning around and pacing the other way.

"Buffy! Calm down." Willow said as she lay down on the bed. "Just call him already."

"I can't Willow. I thought Angel was saying that he was going to call me." Buffy said, plopping down onto the bed. "What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he would just hang up on me? I couldn't take that, I really couldn't."

"Well, you'll never know unless you call him." Willow said. "I mean, he's probably been too busy lately. Saving souls in LA must take up a lot of time."

"Well…that's true. But he could have called. It would only take him 5 minutes out of his day." Buffy said, fiddling with the bracelets that were on her wrists. She was still contemplating whether or not she should call him. "Y'know what? I can do this…I am the strong and *powerful* Slayer. I can call Angel." Slowly, she picked up her phone and placed the receiver next to her ear. "No!" Buffy put the phone back down on the hook. "I can't call him…I don't know what to say...what to talk about…" Buffy stood back up and started pacing once again.

"Buffy!" Willow cried out. "Would you just *call* him already?!"

Buffy sighed and sat back down on the bed. She picked up the phone and began dialing the phone number that she already had memorized. The next second, the phone was ringing. Buffy's heart was pounding in her head; her palms were all sweaty. <God, I'm a child. I can't even call up my…what are we?> Buffy suddenly thought.

"Hello?" The voice asked on the other line. "OH! I, uh…I mean….Angel Investigations. We, uh…we…"

"Cordelia, it's me." Buffy said, ending Cordelia's attempt at a slogan.

"Oh! Buffy!" Cordelia replied. "Sorry, we haven't really worked on that slogan for our business quite yet. How are you?"

"I'm good, and you?" Buffy asked.

"Doing okay. But it's not really me you're asking about, right?" Cordelia asked her.

Buffy chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so. Is Angel in?"

"Yeah…just a minute." Cordelia placed her hand over the receiver so Buffy wouldn't hear her scream. "ANGEL!" Cordelia called out from upstairs Angel's apartment. "PHONE!"

Angel walked out from the kitchen and into the main room, walking towards the telephone. Angel shook his head, wondering (as he had many other times before) why he had hired Cordelia. However, he picked up the phone and spoke. "Hello?"

"Angel?" A voice asked on the other end of the line. "Hi…it's Buffy."

<Ohhh, Buffy. Crap, I probably should have called her sooner.> Angel realized. "Hey. I knew it was you from your voice."

"Oh…duh, I guess so." Buffy said. A wave of silence passed over the line, neither of them really knowing what to say. Buffy stared at Willow with a "help me!" expression on her face. However, Willow only smiled and shook her head at her friend.

"How are you?" Angel asked, breaking the silence.

"Me? Oh…I'm good." Buffy replied. "And you?"

"I'm good." Angel replied. "Look, I'm sorry I couldn't get around to calling you earlier. These past couple of weeks have been really busy. I just couldn't get the time."

"Oh? Well, that's okay. I don't mind. I was just checking in, y'know…making sure you hadn't been staked down or anything." Buffy teased.

"Well, thanks." Angel replied dryly. "I can tell you're looking out for me."

"No problem." Buffy responded. "College started two days ago." She said, beginning the conversation off.

"Really? What's that like?"

"Actually, it's a lot like high school." Buffy said. "And…and I think I can handle that just fine."

"Well, that's good." Angel said. "Right?"

"Actually, yes. It is." Buffy said. "I mean, it's a little bit different, but I'm willing to accept changes.

Angel chuckled. "That's nice to hear."

There was a pause on the line as Buffy looked over at her nightstand at the alarm clock that sat there. 9:30, the clock read. "Damn, I should get out and start my nightly patrol." Buffy said. "I just wanted to, y'know, check in and see how you were and what was new. I guess we didn't get much time to go into that, but whatever."

"All right Buffy." Angel replied, saddened that the conversation was ending so soon. He could talk to her for hours it seemed, listening to the tinkling of her light, musical voice.

"But, uh…before I go…" Buffy said. "After what our little `matchmakers'-" she glared over at Willow, "pulled on us a couple weeks ago, I was wondering if…if you'd like to try that again- dinner, I mean." She paused, trying to say this the right way. "What I'm saying is, after what Cordy and Willow pulled on us, I think I can handle my own matchmaking this time. So, here I am, asking you out for dinner or something. Are you free for dinner anytime soon?"

Angel smiled over what Buffy was asking him and the way she was asking him. She sounded so cute and sweet to him.  "I'd love that, Buffy." Angel said. "When?"

"Uh, this weekend?" Buffy asked. "Saturday night? I can meet you at your apartment or office or whatever and we can go from there."

"Okay, that sounds great. I'd really like to have dinner with you again." Angel said sincerely. "And…and maybe we can go on another walk afterwards, like last time, uh…only happier this time."

Buffy grinned, understanding what Angel was really trying to say. She remember their last walk together- full of sweet whispers and kisses. "Yeah, an evening stroll sounds good to me," she said.

"Okay then. I'm looking forward to it." Angel said, preparing to hang up the phone.

"Okay, great." Buffy said. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to say what she was dying to say to her lover. "Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I love you." There, she had said it. Those three magical words that she had been dying to tell him ever since that night after dinner. Now she just hoped he still felt the same.

"Buffy…" Angel began. <Oh God, he's not going to say the same thing…he doesn't feel that way.> Buffy began panicking. "I never thought I'd hear you say that to me again." Angel admitted. "I love you too…more than life itself, more than I ever thought I could."

Buffy grinned. She had just been overreacting. `I'll see you this weekend."

"All right, g'bye Beloved." Angel said back to her before hanging up the phone.

And when the two hung up the phones, already, the two were looking ready for this weekend- another night with dinner, a walk, and probably some demon slaying if the two were lucky enough. Hey, nothing new in the daily developing romance of Buffy and Angel. Finally, their friends didn't have to do anything for them. Buffy and Angel could do their own matchmaking.

Send feedback to Rachel

Back to the Fanfiction Archive