Summary: With Buffy's dad in town for graduation, what will his reaction be to Angel?
AN: Fifth story in my Remedy series. For this series, I've just decided to pick episodes at random to rewrite trying to fix Joss' mistakes.
Spoilers: Everything up through "Graduation", plus the other stories of this series.
AN: For this series, there's no happiness clause in Angel's curse, so there was no Angelus, and no Angel being sent to hell. However, Angel has moved into the mansion on Crawford street. Jenny was killed, only by Spike. And Xander and Willow never kissed, so everything's still peachy between W/O and X/C.
AN: "Wishful Thinking" belongs to Duncan Sheik, "Slave" belongs to David Garza. I may add a few more though.
Rating: I'd say PG-13.
Distribution: Want it- take it. Just let me know where it's going.
Feedback: As always, greatly appreciated.

Buffy was in heaven. Her body was relaxed, and her mind was free of stress. It was a perfect way to start her Tuesday morning. < Only two more days of highschool- thank god. > She sighs and stretches as she begins to wake from a very lovely sleep. It takes her a moment to realize her movements are constricted and she can't quite stretch out as much as she wants. Confused, she opens her eyes to see a well-muscled arm slung tightly around her stomach.

"Angel," she mumbles with a smile. They were lying spoon fashion, Buffy's back snuggled very nicely into her lover's chest. He was still sleeping and was not aware that he had her trapped- not that she minded. She relaxes and is very content to lie in his arms until a thought crosses her mind. "Angel?" She tries freeing herself from his grasp but finds her attempts to escape useless. She manages to twist her body to face him and starts to push at his chest. "Angel?"

"Ow..." he mumbles, still not opening his eyes. Seeing his initial reaction, she decides on a different method of waking him up and plants a gentle kiss across his chest instead.

"Better..."

"I know you're not asleep, faker," she giggles, snuggling closer to him.

"What's wrong?" he asks, still half-asleep.

"What are you?"

Finally opening his eyes at his girlfriend's unusual question, he blinks a few times before responding. "Umm...a very tired guy?" he offers.

"No- I mean, what are we telling my father?"

"About what?"

"About you," she smiles, pulling herself closer to him. Realizing that he wouldn't be allowed back to sleep until he answered her, Angel sits up, rubbing the palm of his hand against his forehead.

"I'm guessing that the truth wouldn't be our best option," he smiles at her. Buffy idly begins twirling around the drawstring on his sweatpants as she can already picture her father's sure to be less-than enthusiastic reaction to the couple.

"Mom's whole reaction was a miracle, so I wouldn't press our luck trying to sell dad on the idea."

"Buffy...whatever you decide will be fine with me. I'll back you up one hundred percent- just make sure that you tell me what you plan on telling him ahead of time." He reaches over to plant a quick kiss on her bare shoulder before getting out of bed. He grabs a gray t-shirt from the closet, pulling it over his head as Buffy begins laying out their options.

"What if we told him you were just some plain, ordinary, local college student?" she suggests, following his lead and rolling out from under the covers.

"You think that I'm plain and ordinary?" Angel flashes her one of her own trademark pouts, causing Buffy to saunter over to him, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him against her as she begins singing his praises in between kisses.

"Of course not. You're smart *kiss* and caring *kiss* and deliciously sexy *kiss*. To top it all off, you're polite and courteous- any parent's dream for their daughter's boyfriend...except my father," her mood sombers as she turns back around to start getting dressed.

"What's so bad about your father?"

"Where do I begin?" she jokes, pulling her tank top over her head as she tries to prepare her boyfriend for his upcoming meeting with Hank Summers. "Nowadays, he barely makes any time for me, and when he does, all he finds time for is to criticize me at every opportunity imaginable. I nearly jumped out of my skin when mom-" she stops herself just in time, nervously grinning as she averts her eyes past Angel, peering into the mansion's kitchen. "So what's for breakfast?"

"Buffy...what did your mom do?"

"Nothing."

"Buffy-"

"Nothing," she wimpers again, receiving only another glare from Angel. "Okay, okay- shekindaalreadytoldhimaboutyou."

"What? Did- did you say she told your father about me?" Buffy's confession and her accompanying nod left Angel perplexed. "What's so bad about that?"

"Angel- why do you think he's coming into town tomorrow?"

"For your graduation," he answers her, still not believing that Hank Summers could be as bad as Buffy had led him to believe.

"No...his usual congratulatory mode is sending me a card with money or some flowers. He's coming to town to check you out, and I just know he's going to start with all of his nonsense about me not being old enough for a serious relationship, and you being too old-"

"Your mother didn't tell him how old I really am, did she?"

"Of course not-"

"Then we should be fine."

"I wonder if you'll still be saying that when dad's giving you the third degree and threatening to plunge a steak knife through your heart if you even think about corrupting his daughter."

Angel walks over to her, placing his arms on her shoulders. He softly grabs her chin, gently tipping her head upwards, looking her straight in the eyes to emphasize his words. "Everything is going to be fine. And even if your father doesn't approve, *nothing* can stop me from being with you. I would move heaven and hell if I had to, just to be with you- always." A smile finally graces Buffy's face as she reaches up on tiptoe to capture his lips with her own.

"About that steak knife?" Angel nervously grins out of their embrace, "you weren't serious...were you?" They go to share another kiss until Angel backs away suddenly, a sharp pain radiating throughout his chest.

"Angel, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," he wimpers, his eyes squinting in pain. "I just got this pain. It's fine now..." he sighs, lifting his hand from where his heart no longer beated, the center from where the pain was eminating.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It was just weird there for a second."

"Maybe I should stay here for the day to keep an eye on you," she suggests, a hopeful glint in her eyes.

"As tempting as your offer is," he slides his arms around her as he ushers her back towards the doors, "I'm pretty sure missing skipping school two days before graduation won't look too good." He captures her lips in a sweet kiss, swallowing up the moan of protest she gave.

"Please- if they haven't expelled me by now, it isn't gonna happen. But if you need me-"

"Call Giles," he finishes for her, quite familiar with her daily instrustion.

"Ooo- don't forget, the guys are all coming over tonight."

"Right," he gives her a quick nod. "Umm...what for, again?" Her gives her an apologetic glance once he hears her frustrated sigh. "I forgot...I think I was too involved in more pressing matters," he grins against her skin, gently nuzzling her neck with a few soft kisses.

"Uggh- I swear you have a one track mind."

"So do you..."

"Mom wants us to pick up a few things for dinner tomorrow night, so I figured we'd been done in half the time if we had everyone helping us shop. Sound good?" Feeling a low moan against her skin, Buffy quickly pulls away. "I'll take that as a yes?" Her smile soon fades as she sees Angel's brow furrow slightly. "Angel?"

"Yeah..." he finally gets out, quickly covering up his second onslaught of pain that morning with a forced grin. "Sounds good. I'll see you tonight then."

"Oh...okay." Buffy leans up to give him one final kiss before reluctantly heading for school. "Love you."

"I love you..." he smiles back, slowly closing the mansion's front doors after her before lifting the corner of his shirt, quickly shedding the cotton material.

His eyes widen at the sight of the small hollow circle glowing a faint yellow overtop of his heart. He lifts a hand to his chest, tracing his fingers across the streak until finally it disappears just as quickly as it appeared. "Great..." he sighs to himself, walking back upstairs to bed. "Now what's going on?"

******

"Na-na na na, na-na na na. hey hey hey, goodbye!" As the slayer was walking down the halls of Sunnydale high later that morning with her friends, Xander's sheer bliss in their approaching graduation had him crazed with excitement. "Na-na na na-"

"Xander!" Cordy snaps at him, pulling her hand away from his as she turns to face him. "You keep singing that lame song and *I'm* gonna be the one saying goodbye to *you*!"

"Oh come on, Cordy," he pleads with her. "Don't be such a flatliner."

"A what?" Oz speaks up. Xander lets out an exasperated sigh as he grabs his girlfriend's hand, continuing to walk towards the friends' lockers.

"Flatlining...as in dead...as in how you're all acting!" He turns the combination to his locker for the last time, pulling off the lock to prepare for end of the year locker clean out. "We graduate in two days- we've only got 48 hours until we finally bust out of this joint!"

"Kinda like Alcatraz?" Oz smiles over at him.

"Only difference is I don't think they allow prisoners to keep so much junk in a locker," Cordy pulls Xander's locker door wide open, its overstuffed contents spilling out onto the floor. "How do you accumulate all of this in just one year?"

Letting out a small chuckle, Xander walks across the hall to open her locker, exposing her various health and beauty products. "The same way you stock up your locker to look like a commercial for Maybelline!"

"At least I don't have any toys in my locker!"

"How many times do I have to tell you- I keep them here strictly for educational purposes!"

"Xander-" Buffy cuts into their argument, "since when are a bunch of Ninja Turtle toys educational?"

"Fine, little miss sassy- let's just see what precious artifacts you've got in yours!" He walks back over to where Buffy's locker is, pulling open the door to reveal all of her stored junk. "Now who would've guessed?" He lifts a hand to point out each of the pictures she had plastered across the metal frame. "Angel, Angel, Angel, you and Angel, you and Angel, you and Angel...are we seeing an unhealthy, obsessive pattern here?"

"In about two minutes you're going to be seeing the inside of this locker from another, more close-up view if you don't go clean out your own." Xander pouts as he moves along down the row back to his own, tossing out various items into the nearby row of trash cans.

"Book, notebook, gym shorts, apple, cheese sandwich- complete with mold!"

"Xander," Willow sighs, watching the bluemold crusted bread being tossed alongside her. "That's a total ick." Ignoring her comment, he continues rummaging through, seeing if he could salvage anything. "Video game- that's a keeper! Lab goggles, book, book- wow, I took physics? Don't remember that!"

"Well that could have something to do with the fact that you were rarely awake during the class," Oz reminds him, receiving a huge nod from his friend.

"Rubber gloves, binder, hairspray..."

"Hairspray??" Willow throws a confused glance to her friend.

"Oh- that's mine!" Cordy races over to him. "Hands off, hands off- this stuff is imported!" As the others pass her awkward stares, she quickly explains. "I keep a spare in his locker...just in case. Hey -it is hard work maintaining this gorgeous look!"

"How does Queen C manage to do it?" Willow whispers to Buffy as the two were side by side, cleaning out their own lockers. "So, have you prepared Angel for the whole 'boyfriend meets dad' formality?"

"Yeah, and get this- he actually thinks it'll be fun," she mock cheers, tossing out one of her unused folders.

"Fun? He actually said that? Gosh- I would've expected something more along the lines of maybe kicking and screaming. Or something of the hyperventalating and chest pains scenario." Seeing her best friend tense up at her last remark, Willow frowns, tucking a piece of hair back behind her ear. "Buffy, what's wrong? Angel- he's okay, right?"

"I guess. He- he started getting these pains this morning. He said he was fine- just sorta freaked me out though."

******

"Okay...peppers?"

"Check."

"Chicken?"

"Check."

"What about chocolate sauce?"

"Don't need it."

"What do you mean 'don't need it'?" Xander halts in his tracks behind the other Scoobies as the friends were making their way down their last aisle in the grocery store that night. "This is a meal that requires some chocolatey goodness! How can you say you don't need it, Buffster?"

"Last time I checked, us normal people use tomato sauce on pasta. I really don't think my father would enjoy your sugary, chocolate drenched version," the slayer makes a face, sharing a small giggle with Willow at their friend's weird taste in foods.

"Hey- one of these days I'm gonna be swapping my gourmet recipes with Wolfgang Puck! Then you'll all be sorry!"

"More like *sick* from food poisoning," Cordy snaps back. "Why do you even care what Buffy's serving for dinner tomorrow night? Not like you'll be eating with them."

"Hey- if Deadboy's cooking- I'm eating with them. Isn't that right, Angel?" He turns his head to see the vampire idly staring at the ice cream, a puzzled look across his face. "Angel?"

"Hmm? Oh...sure Xander. Whatever you...wait a minute-" he quickly snaps to attention upon processing this latest news. "*I'm* cooking? For your father??" Buffy passes him a sheepish look, averting her eyes to the ceiling as she turns on her sweetest voice. "Did I forget to mention it?" Seeing his initial reluctance, Buffy wraps him up in an embrace, sliding a hand up his back, pulling him closer to her. "Angel, come on. I won't be that bad- I promise. Please??"

"Yeah Angel- please??" Xander adds, eagerly awaiting some more of the vampire's great cooking.

"You know I can't say no to you," Angel mumbles into Buffy's hair, trailing his fingers over her shoulders. As he hears her let out a contented sigh, he sees Xander let out his own cheer. "I do however, have no problem saying no to *you*," he chuckles at him.

"What?! Come on-"

"Xander...it's going to be stressful enough meeting Buffy's dad for the first time," he tries reasoning with him, "the last thing I need is having you there to provide even more stress."

"Moi?" he presents himself innocently. "When was the last time I stressed you out?"

"Aisle three," Oz answers for Angel, his mind drifting back to a few minutes ago when Xander was comparing Angel's pale complexion to a tub of coolwhip.

"Xand," Buffy pulls away from Angel to face her friend. "I think it would just be too much having everyone over. But how about afterwards, we'll all meet for some ice cream action, okay?" The rest of the Scoobs, and a disappointed Xander, are quick to accept her offer, and the friends soon finish up their shopping for the night.

"Hey Angel-" Xander calls back to where the vampire was trailing behind the others as they walked down the street back to Buffy's house, "come on man! Some of us would actually like to get back inside before the next glacial movement." Seeing him give a slight nod, Xander steps up alongside Buffy and Willow, a bit puzzled by Angel's recent lack of energy. "What's up with Deadboy, Buff? You been wearin' him out at night or what?"

"Xander..." Willow slaps him across his shoulder, almost causing him to drop the bags of groceries he was carrying. Without answering him, Buffy walks back to where Angel was catching up with the group, casually lacing her hand in his own free one. "Hey."

"Sorry," he automatically apologizes, his eyes betraying him as Buffy clearly picks up on his unusual tiredness.

"What's wrong?" she pleads with him. "Angel, please...this morning you were having pains, and tonight you just seem out of it." She pulls him to halt, lifting a hand to his chin, making him face her. "This is scaring me...now what's wrong?"

"Buffy, really...I'm fine," he tries assuring her, placing a gentle kiss ontop of her head before pulling her back alongside them as they finally join the others approaching the Summers' home. "I guess I'm just more tired than I thought. Probably didn't get enough sleep, that's all."

"Well if you would take a break from your leading roles as the town lust bunnies, maybe you wouldn't- umph!!" Xander finds himself unable to continue with the bagel Willow had shoved into his mouth constricting his speech.

"Now chew it good, Xander," Willow glares at him, nodding for him and the others to head into the house. "I think we're all gonna head home, Buffy," she pats the slayer on her shoulder before pulling her into a quick hug. "We'll see you tomorrow. Last day- should be exciting." The others finish leaving the bags in Buffy's kitchen, bid their goodbyes, and leave the couple to unpack their food.

"Well, at least my dad will appreciate your cooking skills. That should be a plus," Buffy smiles, placing some of the vegetables in the fridge.

"Trust me," Joyce's voice comes wafting into the kitchen as she comes down the stairs, "if Hank has been fed, he'll be nice to just about anybody."

"Mother! God- you make him sound like a dog or something."

"Just a simple observation, honey- take it as you will," the elder Summers woman playfully nudges her daughter, passing a sidelong glance to Angel. "Has she told you she's got the two of us cooking for tomorrow night?"

Angel grins as he looks down at Buffy. "You actually conned your mom into cooking too? And here I thought I'd be the only one, Joyce. How did she convince you?"

"The same way she probably convinced you- with that cute pout of her's," she gently tips her daughter's chin up, giving her a warm smile. "What she doesn't know is that we may be doing the cooking, but we're making *her* do all of the prep work. Cutting, washing, setting the table, and doing all of the dishes."

"Mom!" Buffy throws her a frustrated glare before turning to work on her boyfriend. "Are you going to let her get away with that?" Not wanting to be caught in the middle of the feisty mother and daughter team, Angel excuses himself for the night. "Look at the time. Didn't realize it's way past my bedtime-"

"What bedtime?" Buffy raises a suspicious eye to him. "You sleep all day- your bedtime's at seven in the morning!"

"Goodnight, Buffy," Angel reaches down, gracing her warm lips with his own cool ones, finally pulling away after a few seconds. "Oh- Joyce? Do you think you could walk me out?" Nodding enthusiastically, Joyce leaves Buffy to finish up in the kitchen as she follows behind Angel to the door.

"Joyce- there's something I wanted to talk to you about-"

"Oh- if it's about tomorrow night, don't worry about a thing, Angel. I'm sure Hank will love you. And even with the two of us stuck cooking, with Buffy doing most of the work, it won't be-"

"Actually, that's not it."

"Oh. Well, what is it then?"

"It's about Buffy's graduation." He immediately notices the huge smile break out across Joyce's face, answering her with one of his own in the process. "Even though, unless some sort of miracle happens before Thursday night, I won't be able to go, I still want to do something special for her. I wanted to run my idea of a graduation present by you first before I go through with what I'd like to do."

"Okay, what did you have in mind?"

"It's too much to discuss this late. I was hoping maybe you could stop by tomorrow morning before you go to the gallery so we could talk things over." Joyce makes an intrigued face at him, finally patting him on the shoulder before opening the door for him. "Great, I'll stop by at around eight. Have a good night, Angel."

"You too, Joyce." The tired vampire begins his walk back to the mansion, still reeling from the affects of whatever was going on with his system. < Maybe I'm getting sick. Wouldn't be surprised- that's just my luck. The only souled vampire getting the first known case of vampire flu. >

******

The hot, rushing jets of water were working beautifully to relax Angel the next morning. He hadn't slept more than a few timely minutes the night before, his body weak and weary from the now-constant onslaughts of pain he'd been having. Knowing that Buffy would probably be stopping over before she left for school, as well as her mother dropping by to discuss a few things with him, he'd hoped that a nice shower would revive him.

As the steaming water beats down on him, the sudden ringing of the doorbell broke him out of his peaceful trance. Figuring it was Buffy, he quickly steps out of the shower, grabs a towel and heads over to the stairs to call down to her. "It's open, Buffy! I'll be right down!"

After a moment of hesitation, Willow steps through the doors, carefully shutting them behind her as she makes her way through the grand hall. The first thing she notices is the kitchen counter, a few glasses and plates of food resting on top of it. < Must be expecting Buffy... > she muses to herself, slowly pacing over to the stairway.

With one towel wrapped around his waist, another overtop of his head, somewhat blocking his vision, Angel makes his descent. Instinctively, he moves towards the figure, wrapping an arm around her waist, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "Good morning..."

"Uh...yeah...you- you too, Angel," Willow stammers out, flinching back just as much as Angel does once he realizes it wasn't his lover he had embraced.

"Willow? Oh- sorry. Sorry about that."

"Oh- that's okay. We're a friendly bunch, right? No biggie," she tries hiding her blush, shyly pulling a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I was just-"

"Expecting Buffy," she finishes for him, motioning towards the food that he'd set out for the slayer.

"As always," he lets out a small grin. "Umm...if you're hungry, help yourself." He pads into the kitchen, pulling out a chair for her. "Just let me run upstairs and throw on some clothes."

"Yeah- clothes are always a plus," she giggles nervously, trying to keep herself from staring.

After a few minutes, Angel comes bouncing down the stairs again, this time clad in black sweatpants and a white t-shirt. His hair still damp, he runs a hand through it before sitting down at the table next to the redhead. "So...how's you speech coming along?"

Willow smiles sweetly. Even when all the others, for the most part- Xander, had their reservations about Angel, she'd always had a soft spot for him. Over the last three years, she'd developed a keen friendship with her best friend's boyfriend, and was always appreciative of the great interest he took in her achievements.

"Slow, but steady. I tried asking principle Snyder if this year we could just skip the whole 'valedictorian-has-to-give-a-boring-speech' tradition and start a new tradition."

"Which would be?"

"The 'valedictorian-sits-quietly-and-waits-for-her-name-to-be-called, avoiding-all-possible-humiliation' tradition."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Willow. I'm just sorry that I won't be there to see it," he trails off on a somber note.

"Oh- speaking of which...I totally forgot why I'm here."

Finally remembering her whole reason for paying him such an early morning visit, Willow retrieves a book from her backpack, flipping through the pages as she looks up at him. "Buffy sorta told me that you've been having pains lately-"

"Willow, I'm fine, really," he lies, but somehow knows he won't be able to carry on his deception for much longer. If last night was any indication, he was hoping he'd be able to make it through dinner with Joyce, Buffy, and her father later that night without collapsing over dessert.

"Angel- last night you looked like Xander would've been able to take you down with one wimpy blow. So when I went home, I started researching-"

"You didn't have to do all that," he sighs.

"Well...considering the fact that you've saved my life on more than one occasion, plus this crazy concept I call 'you being my friend', it was nothing. Anyway, I haven't been able to run this by Giles yet, so I'm not really sure how accurate this whole thing is. And I debated whether or not to even mention it to you, because I didn't want to get your hopes up and then have to tell you that I was wrong- which, I- I tend to be sometimes, and I-"

"Willow," he softly cuts off her rant. "What did you find?"

"You're becoming human," she blurts out, receiving a wide, shocked stare in return from the stunned vampire.

"What?" is all Angel can manage to get out through his dropped jaw, his mind still trying to process what he's just been told. Taking a few steadying breaths, Willow begins her explanation.

"When we first found out about you, ya know- having a soul and all, don't get mad at me, but...I kinda started doing a lot of research on you. I wanted to find out more about your curse, and what you having a soul really meant. Anyway, when Buffy mentioned you having all of these weird pains, and then after seeing you last night, I remembered something that..." She pauses, the memory of receiving the news of Spike murdering Jenny flashing before her for a moment. "...something Miss Calender had shown me.

There's a prophecy about the souled vampire finally regaining his humanity. Something called Shanshu. It talks about the vampire's redemption being brought about by the strongest lifeforce known to the universe." She smiles over at him, trying to lighten the matter a bit. "We're talking about the big 'L' word here. Anyway, I think that's what's happening to you."

"Because of Buffy?"

"Because of the two of you together. Sometimes I don't think you two realize what there is between you. I mean, if it's enough to bring forth what was believed to be a lost prophecy-"

"I'm still not getting this, Willow," Angel slowly stands from his seat, beginning to pace across the tiled floor. "How do you figure my getting sick means I'm turning human?"

"It's a process, Angel." The redhead flips a few pages, beginning to summarize the ancient text. "Since your body has been...dead, just a host to a demon, as your humanity returns, so do all the things that life brings with it- sickness, disease...all of the things you're immune to as a vampire. Unless the...where did it say...?" She runs a finger over the print, trying to find her missing details. "Here it is- unless the ultimate noble self-sacrifice is made, eventually you're body will just...sorta...expire."

"So as of right now, I'm stuck?" his voice borders on sarcasm and hopelessness as he raises an eyebrow at her. "I'm getting my life back, but at the same time losing it? That doesn't make any sense."

"It all has to do with the final act. The only way to salvage and maintain the humanity that's being restored is to anchor it using the 'ultimate noble self-sacrifice' " she recites again from the pages of the book, seeing Angel's face turn a shade even paler than usual.

"What does it mean by a sacrifice?" He looks towards the redhead, finding her eyes averting him in trepidation of just what needed to be done for the prophecy. "Willow? What's the sacrifice?"

"I was hoping we could just sorta skip over that part," she sighs. "It's pretty heavy, Angel...but it would be worth it. And it's not like it would kill her or anything, and I know she'll do it. She'll make you do it if she has to, which she probably will, because I don't think you're gonna want to do this-"

"Willow," he snaps her back to the topic at hand, "what sacrifice? And who are you talking about?"

"Buffy..." she finally raises her eyes to him, but her attention seemed more focused on the sight of the small figure standing behind him.

"Buffy? How does she fit into all of this?"

"Yeah..." comes the slayer's voice from behind him, causing him to quickly turn around, his strucken gaze now fixed on her. "How does Buffy fit into all of this? By the way- just what am I fitting into?"

"Buffy..." Angel half-smiles, pulling her over to him.

"Morning," she gives him a quick, playful kiss, throwing a stare to her best friend afterwards. "You too, Will. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I, uh...I just..."

"She was just having breakfast," Angel covers for her. "She knows you stop by in the morning before you go to school. Willow, weren't you saying something about wanting to have Buffy listen to your speech before you show it to Snyder this morning?" he tries detailing his lie even further, hoping Buffy hadn't heard any of their conversation.

"Yeah," Willow perks up. "That's right- my speech. I figured you'd be here, so...here I am. Just...hanging out with Angel. Oh- and some pancakes," she smiles, lifting one up in front of her as if to offer further proof.

"So you wouldn't just be trying to steal my boyfriend from right under my nose?" Buffy jokes with her, pulling up a seat in between the two of them.

"No! No, no...it's just me, Angel, and pancakes- see?" she holds up her fluffy circle again, her nervousness clearly showing through. "It has nothing to do with romance or- or lusty thoughts. I- I even forgot about seeing him in that towel," she slips, still babbling on helplessly. "Or- or that he kissed me."

Buffy immediately shoots a stunned look at Angel, who began chuckling softly. "I had just gotten out of the shower and I heard someone at the door. I had a towel-"

"She mentioned the towel," Buffy cuts in, still lifting an eyebrow at him.

"I also had one over my head- I thought she was you," he smiles, capturing her lips in a kiss.

"For a minute there I thought I'd have to get in two slays before homeroom," she kids, but sees that Willow is still apprehensive. "Will- I'm kidding," she reaches over to snag a sip of her orange juice before standing back up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"It's almost 7:30," Willow finally gets out a coherent thought, standing from the table.

"Yeah- we'd better get going...before you two decide to elope," Buffy laughs aloud, though instantly sees her best friend slump back down in her chair in fear. "Oh Will, come on. We've seriously got to work on your sense of humor." Buffy leads Willow by the arm over to the front doors, turning back around to say goodbye to Angel.

"Don't forget- be early tonight. That'll earn you instant 'dad points' ."

"I'll be around right after sunset. Promise," he leans down to kiss her on the forehead, then settles his lips on hers for a lingering kiss.

"Uh...guys," Willow taps Buffy on the shoulder, "school, remember?"

"Right," Buffy agrees, finally separating from him. "See ya tonight."

"Have a good day," he wishes to the both of them, slowly closing the doors after them, turning back around to walk back through the great hall. < Human? This is insane...it's impossible. But...Willow's usually right on these things, and...god- to be human again, and with Buffy? > The idea embodied the only hope he'd clung to over the years, but never dared to dream for.

But since watching Buffy called on that fateful day in front of her school, he'd tried summoning up the image of the two of them being able to share a life together. A life out of demons and darkness. And the image would always come, but always fall short of coming into full focus for him. < If this is really what's happening... >

The pain that begins building up in his chest wipes out his concentration as he reels back against the wall, clutching a hand over his unbeating heart in a blind attempt to stop it. His vision blurs, his hearing falling just short of silent as the faint knocking at the door eventually reaches his senses.

Taking a few uneccessary calming breathes, he steadies himself as he walks towards the doors, welcoming Joyce into the mansion.

"Joyce, come on in, please." The smiling mother eases her way past him, catching a glimpse of his haggard appearance. "Angel? Are you alright? You look a little...you're sweating," she points to his forehead, beads of perspiration beginning to run streaks down the side of his face.

"Oh- I just got out of the shower," he brushes it off, motioning for her to sit down in front of the fireplace with him. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, no...I'm fine, dear, thank you." She relaxes onto the couch, nestling her purse off to the side of her. "So...what did you have in mind for this graduation present of yours, hmm?"

"Oh...right," he smiles back at her. "To the point. Joyce...I don't think I have to tell you just how much I love your daughter." Joyce beams at him, nodding softly in agreement. "I treasure anytime that I get to spend with her, and lately...more and more I dread when the sun rises because I can't share that time with her. I realize that she's still young, but...as I'm sure you'll agree, she's more mature than anyone else I've ever known. But I still wanted to check with you first before I-"

"Ask her to move in with you?" Joyce completes his thought.

"How- how did you know?"

"I've suspected this would be coming for some time now," she answers him, shifting her position to face him better. "Ever since prom weekend, there's just been this...glow about the two of you whenever you're together. It's as if it's just the two of you...and everything else doesn't matter so long as you're with each other."

Nervous of her ultimate decision, Angel squints his eyes a bit as he focuses on her with a deep rooted respect and hope. "So...what do you think?"

"You haven't mentioned any of this to Buffy yet?" Joyce asks, her eyes wandering around the spacious mansion, already visualizing all of Buffy's loud and sometimes obnoxious designs cluttering Angel's tastefully decorated scheme.

She had to admit, she was surprised Angel hadn't made talk about the idea a lot sooner. She'd regarded the vampire as more than just her daughter's boyfriend. Within her there was a compassion for Angel, one that made her feel as open and honest with him as any other person in her life, if not more so. She saw in him a peace and gentleness that had been lacking in both her's and her daughter's life that he now offered the both of them.

"No. I wanted to approach you with the idea first. I didn't want to get Buffy's hopes up and then send them crashing down if-"

"She's going to have a lot of packing to do..."

"-you decided that it's not such a good idea, and-" Angel peers up at her in confusion, his look of shock and happiness priceless. "You mean..."

"You didn't even have to ask me, Angel, but the fact that you did proves even more why I'm not against the idea." Seeing the vampire's eyes still wide with the news, Joyce goes to sit next to him. "Buffy spends most nights here anyway. Next year she'll be going to UC Sunnydale, and college life combined with slaying...I think this would be good for her. Give her something to really look forward to coming home. And besides...she's always stealing my clothes anyway- might as well let you experience the slayer-snatcher," she lets out a small laugh.

"I've already been a victim," he smiles back. "On numerous occassions...wouldn't trade it for the world though."

"We'll see if you change your story after a few straight weeks," she quirks back, giving his shoulder a small pat as she gets up from her seat, Angel following behind her. "Okay- so when can I start renting her room out?"

"I wasn't planning on asking her until after the graduation ceremony. I was hoping to surprise her. Maybe have some more of her things waiting here for her-"

"I've got a great idea," she turns to face him. "They all have off from school tomorrow. Her father and I will take her out for the day. I'll get Xander, Willow, and the others to clear out her room and help you move her stuff in her. The girls will all be getting ready at Cordelia's house, so it'll work out great. Buffy won't know a thing."

"That sounds..." Joyce watches in panic as Angel clutches his stomach, his pains now beginning to claw through his abdoman, surging straight through him.

"Angel? What's wrong??" Joyce immediately wraps an arm around his back, fearing he may have been injured in a recent fight with any number of demons she was sure he and Buffy had encountered during the week.

"Nothing...I'm okay..." He steadies himself, forcing a smile at her. "Just a little sore...that's probably all it is."

"If you're sure..."

"Yeah, thanks Joyce. I don't want to hold you up anymore. I'm fine, really." Giving him one final look for reassurance, Joyce makes her departure, leaving Angel to slide down against the door once he closes it shut. Leaning his head back against it, his fingers dance idly on the cold floor, his mind still racing with the two new thoughts that it had recently attained- the possibility of Buffy moving in, and the prospect of finally regaining the humanity that had been ripped from him so long ago.

******

Ten hours later, Buffy moves easily about her kitchen, making some last minute preparations for her father's arrival.

"Mom!!!"

"What's wrong now, honey?" Joyce adjusts her earring as she walks into the kitchen to see just what was the source of her daughter's frustrations this time. Since arriving home from school, the young slayer had been unusually high-strung in anticipation of the evening's dinner and her father's first introduction to Angel.

"He's still not here?!"

"Who? Your father, or Angel?"

"Both of them! Ughh- I expect dad to be late, but Angel promised me he'd be here right after sunset."

"Which was about five minutes ago," Joyce chuckles. "Honey- relax. I'm sure Angel will be here any minute. You've got to give him a little leeway here. After all, he's still nursing some wounds." Buffy's head shoots up at her mother's last comment.

"What do you mean nursing some wounds?"

"When I went over to talk to him this morning, he was a little sore, that's all." Buffy makes a quick mental note of the news, already planning how she was going to yell at her boyfriend for lying to her about only having a few meaningless pains. In the middle of her conversation with herself, the familiar chimes of the doorbell brings her back to reality.

Quickly scampering to the door, she gives her hair a final tussle before welcoming Angel in. Angel had no sooner opened his mouth to compliment her dress when she shoots him an angry glare, her eyes penetrating into his own confused gaze. "What's wrong?" he asks. Deciding that they'd discuss things on a night when she wasn't trying to pass him off to her father as her normal, human boyfriend, she lowers her head, trying to plaster a smile on her face.

"Nothing," she waves a hand in the air, moving aside to let him step past her. Angel searches her face for a moment before simply smiling back at her. "Well hello to you too." He leans over and kisses her lightly.

Her annoyance evaporates instantly at the sight of his trademark half-grin. "Hello," she replies as she pulls him back down to her, drawing him in for a longer embrace.

"Hello..."

Realizing their kiss had lingered a little longer than they'd anticipated, the third voice approaches them from the porch, the person clearing their throat just loud enough for Buffy to slowly pull herself out of Angel's arms. Her glance strays through the still-opened door, her eyes finally resting on the sight of the well-dressed, and somewhat displeased, Hank Summers.

"Ummm...hi dad..."

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