Summary: Takes place during Surprise. What if Dalton hadn't attacked them at the docks and Angel had left on the cargo ship?
Spoilers: Surprise
Rating: PG-14
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em so don't sue 'cause ya won't get much. Also the transcript I used to write this with was made by AleXander.
Dedication & Thanks: I really have to dedicate this to my best bud Christina. She must have spend an hour trying to help me come up with a title. It defiantly wasn't easy 'cause I was *really* picky. Thanks for helping even though I didn't use the one I told you I was going to use.

Part 1

Buffy and Angel walked arm in arm down the docks toward a cargo ship. Buffy leaned her head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head. When they reach the gangplank Angel sat the box down and they took a few steps away.

"I should go the rest of the way alone," Angel said.

"Okay," Buffy replied sadly, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.

"But I'll be back," he promised her. "I will."

"When? Six months, a year? You don't know how long it's gonna take or if we'll even..." she trailed off as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Hey..." Angel raised her chin. "If we'll even what?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed, someone pretty much always wants us dead," her voice cracked on the last word.

"Don't say that," Angel said sternly. "We'll be fine."

"We don't know that."

"We can't know, Buffy. Nobody can. That's just the deal." Angel reached into his pocket. "I have something for you. For your birthday. I... I was gonna give it to you earlier, but..." He showed her a ring with an intricate design.

"It's beautiful."

"My people -- before I was changed -- they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. It's a claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty... and the heart... Well, you know... Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to somebody. Like this."

He showed her his own ring on his finger. She touched his hand, leaned over and kissed the ring.

"Put it on." He took the ring from her and slipped it onto her finger.

"I don't wanna do this," Buffy sobbed.

"Me either."

"So don't go."

They kissed. She wrapped her arms around him. After several kisses they stopped and looked at each other.

Angel lifted her head up so he could look into her eyes. "I love you. I try not to, but I can't stop."

"I know. I love you, too." Buffy smiled sadly and kissed him lightly.

"I'd better go." Angel sadly pulled away from her and picked up the box with the Judge's arm in it.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed.

Angel turned and walked towards the boat.

"Angel, wait!" Buffy called suddenly.

He stopped and turned to face her.

"Could you call me, or, or, write me, anything to let me know you're all right? Please?"

"Of course. I'll miss you." He turned back towards the boat.

"I'll miss you, too." Buffy slowly backed up towards Jenny's car, with tears running down her face. "Come back to me soon." she whispered sadly to her self.

****

Giles, Willow, and Xander were in the library trying to find anything they could about the Judge. Giles looked up from his book. "They should be back by now."

"Maybe Buffy needed a few minutes to pull herself together. Poor Buffy, on her birthday and everything," Willow said sadly, thinking of her best friend.

'Hmm, it's sad, granted. But let's look at the upside for a moment. Xander got up out of his seat. "I mean, what kind of a future would she've really had with him?" Willow looked up at him, sadly. "She's got 2 jobs -- Denny's waitress by day." Giles looked up, too. "Slayer by night -- and Angel's always in front of the TV with a big blood belly, and he's dreamin' of the glory days when Buffy still thought this whole creature of the night routine was a big turnon.

Willow looked at him strangely. "You've thought way too much about this."

"No, no. That's just the beginning." Xander continued on with his little fantasy. "Have I told you the part where I fly into town in my private jet and take Buffy out for prime rib?

"Xander..." Willow warned, seeing Buffy enter the library.

"And she cries?"

"Who cries?" Buffy asked.

"Uh, um, you. Ya know when you said good-bye to Angel," Xander covered for himself, relieved that was all she heard.

Giles stands up, while Xander sits. "Where's Jenny?"

"Oh, she's out parking the car."

"I trust Angel got off well, then?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. Uh, is it alright if I go home? I'm kinda tired. I mean, we don't have to worry about the Judge anymore do we?"

"Without the other arm, Spike and Drusilla, won't be able to activate him. Now go home. Get some rest."

"Thanks.' With that she turned and walked out of the library.

"Buffy, wait!" Willow got up from the table and ran after her.

****

Buffy heard Willow calling her and stopped to let her catch up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," Buffy said, looking at her feet. "I just... I just can't believe he's gone. I miss him so much already."

"I know you do, but he'll be back, Buffy. Then you two can go back to being the googly-eyed, joined at the lip, couple you were before," Willow joked trying to cheer her up.

Buffy let out a little laugh. "We don't make googly-eyes."

"As long as you believe that, Buffy," Willow smiled.

Buffy reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, her ring catching the light.

"Hey where'd you get that?" Willow asked.

"Oh," Buffy smiled and fingered the ring. "Angel gave it to me, right before he told me he loved me."

"Oh, Buffy, that's so sweet," Willow gushed, giving her friend a small hug. "Can I see it?"

"Sure," Buffy took the ring off and handed it to Willow.

"Oh my gosh," Willow gasped staring in shock at the ring.

"Beautiful, isn't it." Buffy smiled again. "It's a claddaugh ring. Hands represent friendship; crown, loyalty; and the heart, love. Wear..."

"... it with the heart pointed towards you means belong to someone." Willow finished for her.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Buffy, this is a traditional Irish wedding band."

"A-a-a what!?!" Buffy exclaimed.

****

"You lost it? You... lost my present," Drusilla scolded Dalton.

"I know. I'm sorry." He looked down at the ground.

"It was a bad turn, man. She can't have her fun without the box," Spike complained.

"I'm sorry," Dalton said again. "By the time we got to the docks, the boat had already left. I..."

Drusilla cut him off by putting her finger to his lips. Lifting his glasses off his face, she dropped them on the ground, stomping and grinding them into the concrete. She lifted her head with her eyes closed.

"Make a wish."

"W-w-what?" Dalton stammered.

She held two fingers up to his eyes. "I'm going to blow out the candles."

Part 2

"Are you saying we're, like, married?" Buffy asked in shock.

"Well, not legally, but yeah, I guess you are," Willow confirmed.

"Why wouldn't he tell what it really meant? I mean it's not like I would have said no."

"He probably didn't want to scare you, or push you into something you didn't want to do." Willow said. "So, you really wouldn't have said no?"

"Really." Buffy turned and started down the hall. Willow fell into step beside her. "Soo... do ya think we'll get a honeymoon?"

"Buffy!!"

"What??"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Your boyfriend just left, for god knows how long, and all you can think about is a honeymoon?"

Buffy shrugged. "Well is either thinking about that or the fact he might not make it back. I'd rather have the happy thoughts right now.

"Oh, I never thought about that way. I'm sorry. Continue thinking your happy thoughts."

"Thanks. I will. Do you want to sleep-over tonight? I could really use the company."

"Yeah, sure. We'll have to stop at my house to get my stuff, though."

****

An hour later, after checking in with Giles and stopping at Willows' the girls walked into Buffy's room.

So, how are you doing. And tell me the truth," Willow demanded, sitting Indian style on Buffy's bed.

I'll be fine. Really, I will," Buffy said sitting across from Willow. "He'll be back. I know he will." Buffy felt tears start to well up in her eyes, so she changed the subject. "What about Oz?"

He's cute, and smart, and funny," Willow gushed. "Best of all, he's not freaked by the slayer/vampire thing going on in Sunnydale."

That's good, but if we keep this up the whole towns going to know about me," Buffy groaned. "Are you going to see him again?"

Friday night, 8:00, Sunnydale Cinema."

That's great. I'm so happy for you." Buffy leaned forward and hugged her.

Knock, knock," Joyce said as she walked into Buffy's room.

Hey, mom."

Hi, Mrs. Summers."

"I was just checking to see if you girls needed anything."

"Actually, we could go for a bowl of Ben and Jerry's. Right, Will?" Willow nodded.

"Two bowls of Ben and Jerry's Ice cream coming right up."

"Thanks," the girls said in union.

"Your mom's nice," Willow observed.

"Yeah, she has her moments."

"My mom just noticed yesterday that I switched to contacts."

"You wear contacts? I didn't even know you needed them."

"That's the whole point of contacts. I've been wearing them since I was 14. She walked up to me yesterday and said 'Willow, dear, why aren't you wearing your glasses." Willow rolled her eyes.

Buffy laughed. "Ouch."

"Here ya go, girls." Joyce walked back into Buffy's room carrying two bowls of ice cream. She handed one to Willow and one to Buffy.

"Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome. Well I'm going to bed now. I'll see you in the morning. Don't stay up to late." Joyce leaned over and kissed the top of Buffy's head. "Night, honey." As she straightened up she noticed Angel's ring on Buffy's finger. "Where'd you get that ring?"

Buffy held up her hand. "This ring?"

"Yes."

"Oh, um, I got it from Angel," Buffy said hoping her mother wouldn't remember who he was.

"Angel? Your history tutor?"

"Well, actually we've kind been dating for the last 6 months or so," Buffy confessed. "Don't be mad."

"Buffy, he's older then you."

At that comment Willow started choking on her ice cream. Buffy and Joyce looked at her strangely.

"It, ah, went down the wrong way," she covered.

Buffy turned her attention back to her mother. "Please don't be mad. He's really nice and sweet, and gentle...."

"Alright. I get the point. Are you happy?"

"Never been happier."

"Alright. As long as you're happy, I'll back off." With that she turned and walked out of the room.

"Well that went better then I expected." Buffy let out a relived sigh.

"She took that rather well." Willow agreed. "Sorry about the choking. I couldn't help it. When she said he was older, I almost spit out my ice cream."

"If she only knew."

****

"Are you sure you'll be comfy there?" Buffy threw another pillow on to the inflatable mattress beside her bed.

"Yep." Willow flopped backwards onto the mattress. "Ahh, cozy."

"Alright then, Good night." Buffy pulled back the covers of her bed and crawled in, switching off her lamp.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Really? Cuz you don't seem it. I mean, Angel just left and I haven't seen you cry once."

Buffy rolled over on to her side. "Will, if I start crying now, I might never stop.

Part 3

Buffy walked into her room late one night, after patrolling the park and graveyard with Giles and Willow. It had been about 3 weeks since Angel had left, and she missed him terribly.

Buffy threw her weapon's bag into the closet and sat down on her bed to take off her boots. She had just started to put her pajamas on when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Buffy? It's me."

"Ohmigod!" she gasped. "Angel! I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too. How are things?"

"Good," Buffy replied. "I just got back from patrolling with Willow and Giles."

"How is the gang?" Angel asked.

"They're good. Willow and Oz are... do you remember Oz? Anyway, they're a thing now. Oh and it turns out Oz is a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Angel asked, really not surprised, considering they lived on a Hellmouth.

"Yep. It put a little strain on the relationship, but they're past it. Oh, and you really won't believe this one, I still don't, but Cordelia and Xander are a couple!"

"Xander and Cordelia! I thought they hated each other." Angel was surprised by this one. Hellmouth or no Hellmouth, Xander and Cordelia together was definitely not normal.

"So did everybody, but Willow found them making out in the stalks."

"Guess I've missed a lot. You'll have to fill me in on everything when I get back."

Buffy was quiet for a moment. "When are you coming back?" she asked almost dreading the answer.

"Actually, I met a old friend of mine, Whistler, I'll tell you about him some day. Anyway, he's going to get the box the rest of the way. I should be home in a week."

"A week? Really?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"Yep."

There was another pause. Both were absentmindedly fiddling with their claddaugh rings. They both started to speak at the same time.

"Angel, can I ask..."

"Buffy, I have to tell..."

Laughing, Angel said, "You go first."

"Okay." Buffy took a deep a breath. "Why didn't you tell me what the ring really meant?"

"Oh. Who told you?"

"Willow."

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid of you reaction, what you would think. I didn't want you to feel pressured into anything." He paused. "What would you have said if I had told you the truth?"

"I love you, Angel. I want to be with you. Of course I would have said yes." Buffy told him, without a hint of doubt anywhere in her voice.

"I love you, too. I'm sorry I never told you the truth."

"So, we're like married now." Buffy thought, while chewing on her lip. "I like it."

"I like it, too. So what did you want to tell me?"

"I was about to tell you what the ring really meant. I guess you beat me to it."

Part 4

A pair of hands hooked over the top of the cemetery wall, and Buffy pulled herself up. She coughed as she pulled her legs over. She jumped over the other side. When she hit the ground she had to use her hands to keep from falling over. She was breathing heavily through her mouth because her nose was stuffed up. Sniffling, she pulled a stake out of her jacket. She put her hand to her forehead and moaned as she stood up. Slowly she started to make her way across the graveyard.

Sniffling and rubbing her nose, she sensed something and tried to concentrate while she slowly approached a small mausoleum. She raised her stake and jumped around the corner, swinging it to strike at whatever was there.

Xander screamed and reflexively jumped back, holding on tightly to his own stake. Cordelia let out a high-pitched scream behind him. Willow was there, too, and the girls both reflexively held up crosses at Buffy.

"Non-vampire," Buffy said raising an eyebrow. "Plus two."

"Hi," Willow said sternly as she put away her cross .

They all stepped out into the open.

"Man, Buffy!" Xander gasped. " My whole life just flashed before my eyes!" He glanced over at Willow. "I gotta get me a life!"

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked.

"What are *you* doing here?" Willow asked back.

"I just wanted to do a quick patrol before I met Angel at the docks." She smiled brightly. " He's coming home tonight."

"Buffy, I know you want to see Angel, but you're sick," Willow said concerned. "Angel loves you, and he wouldn't let you patrol in your condition."

"I feel fine. I mean, I'm... the world's spinning a little bit, but I like it, it's kinda like a ride."

"Half the school's out with this flu. It's a serious deal, Buffy. We're all concerned about how gross you look." Cordelia said in her usual tact free way.

"I'm touched. Really," Buffy said with a hint of sarcasm. "But I really want to see Angel tonight."

"And you will. We'll meet him at the docks, tell him you're sick, and he'll come visit you at your house. Simple as that," Willow said trying desperately to get her go home.

"You know, I'd really like to see Angel tonight, myself." A figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Spike," Buffy hissed between clenched teeth.

"The prick took Dru's present, and I want to get it back."

"You're pathetic if you think your ever going to get that back."

He attacked, running toward her and tackling her to the ground. Buffy pushed him off her and jumped to her feet. She grabbed him by the collar of his coat and swung at him with her stake. He blocked her with his arm, grabbed hers and made her drop the stake.

"Who's pathetic, now?"

Buffy looked up at him and punched him in the jaw. He glared at her and tried to kick her, but she grabbed his foot and shoved his leg up, making him fall hard onto his back.

"You know, that made me feel a better," she wisecracked.

Spike scrambled to all fours. She came at him from behind and tried to kick him, but he kicked out with his leg into her chest, and she staggered back a ways until she regained her balance. He got up and came toward her. She took a couple of swings at him, but he evaded them easily. He blocked a third, grabbed her arm and took her by the throat.

"You know, you being off your game's kinda takin' the fun out of all this." Spike punched her in the face, and she stumbled backward again. "Nope, still fun!"

He punched her in the gut, then grabbed her by the neck and shoved her into a corner column of the small mausoleum. She was dazed and tried to regain her balance, but didn't get a chance because Spike wasted no time punching her in the face and knocking her flat on her back. He got on top of her and pined her arms down.

"Just so you know, I'm going to enjoy every minute of this." Spike lowered his head toward her neck.

He was about to bite her when Willow threw Xander's jacket over his head. As she backed away, Xander grabbed his head under the jacket, punched him and kneed him twice in the face. Spike fell over onto his back. Willow and Cordelia pulled out their crosses and held them out at him.

"Take a walk, overbite," Xander yelled as Spike ran off. He walked over to Buffy and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"I told you guys to leave, I..." Buffy put her hand to her forehead. She was starting to get really dizzy. "I... Oh..." She fell to the ground unconscious.

"Buffy!" Xander cried out in alarm.

Willow and Cordelia turned to look. "Buffy?"

Xander knelt next to her and looked up at Willow and Cordelia. "We need to get her to a hospital."

Part 5

Xander ran into the Sunnydale Hospital Emergency Room, with Buffy in his arms. Willow and Cordelia were right behind him.

"We need help!" Xander yelled.

"Somebody, please, now!" Willow added.

"What happened?" an Intern asked as he approached them.

They all spoke at once.
Xander: She fell.
Willow: The flu.
Cordelia: She fainted.

"The flu, fainted and fell. She's sick, make it better!" Xander ordered.

"It's gonna be okay," the Intern said pulling up a gurney. "Let's get her up."

Xander laid Buffy out on the gurney. The intern took out his pocket light and checked Buffy's eyes for a response. The nurse took notes while he spoke as they started to wheel Buffy into the emergency room. Xander, Cordelia and Willow followed.

"Patient's unconscious... Pupils are unequal and unresponsive."

"What does that mean?" Cordelia asked.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Willow asked worriedly.

"Please, you gotta give us some room." the intern told them.

Dr. Wilkinson arrived then. "What do we have?"

The intern filled her in. "High-grade fever, possible fractures."

"Get her into Trauma 1, give her a CBC, Chem 7, type and screen." the doctor ordered.

"Right."

The Intern and nurse took her through the doors to the emergency room beyond. They all tried to follow, but Dr. Wilkinson blocked their way. "I'm sorry, you can't go any further," she informed them.

"Someone should be with her!" Xander protested.

"I'm sorry! You can't go any further."

She backed in and closed the door in their faces. They looked through the windows for a couple of seconds. Willow was the first react.

"I'll call Giles, tell him what happened." She turned to Cordelia. "You call Buffy's mom, tell her, n-not what happened, just get her here."

"What about Angel?" Cordelia asked. "She'll want to see him when she wakes up, right?"

"Right. I'll call Oz and tell to meet Angel at the docks and bring him here." Willow said.

"Alright."

The two of them left to find the pay phones. Xander kept looking in through the emergency room door, where he could see the doctor and intern still working on Buffy. He looked away as they wheel Buffy into Trauma 1.

****

Cordelia, Xander and Willow were sitting on a row of chairs in the waiting room with worried looks on their faces. Giles was also there waiting and nervously cleaning his glasses. Their eyes nervously wander between the emergency room and the elevator.

The elevator doors open and Joyce ran out. She rushed over to where her daughter's friends were sitting. "Were is she?" she asked frantically.

They all got up and walked over to her. "She's still in the emergency room," Giles informed her.

"I wanna see her." Joyce started toward the emergency room.

"They won't let us in there." Cordelia told her.

Joyce stopped and looked back at her. Just then Dr. Wilkinson came to the door. "Mrs. Summers?" she asked.

"Yes?" Joyce turned to face her.

"I'm Dr. Wilkinson."

"Is Buffy okay?"

"We were able to stabilize and..."

"Is she okay?" Joyce interrupted insistently.

"She's going to be fine." Dr. Wilkinson reassured her.

"Thank you." Joyce said with relief and put her hand to her face.

"Good. Good." Xander rubbed his hands together. "That's good."

"I wanna keep her here a few days, though. She still has some healing to do. Also I should warn you about something."

Giles and Joyce looked at her anxiously. "What?"

"She is quite delirious. She keeps asking for Angels."

"Angels?" Joyce asked.

"Oh, Angels," Willow laughed. "Angel is her boyfriend. She was on her way to meet him at the, uh, um..."

"Bus station," Xander covered. "Before she passed out. He should be here soon."

Part 6

Angel stepped off of the boat and onto the dock, glad to finally have his feet back on solid ground. All he wanted to do now was to see Buffy. He has missed her so much. He looked around the docks, hoping to find her there waiting for him. But she wasn't.

"Angel?" Oz asked stepping out of the shadows.

Angel turned to face him. "You're Oz, right? What are you doing here?" His eyes widen with worry, "Where's Buffy? Did something happen to her?"

"I'm not exactly sure what happened. I just know that Buffy's been sick lately and they took her to the hospital."

"Is she okay?"

"I assume she is. Willow never told me anything specific, just to get you and take you to the hospital."

"Let's go then." The two of them turned and walked to Oz's van which was parked at the front of the docks.

*****

A little while later they were all waiting upstairs near Buffy's assigned room, for her to be brought up. When they saw her coming they all approached the bed. She had an IV in her right hand. Her left forearm was wrapped in an elastic bandage.

"Buffy?" Joyce said softly when she reached the bed. "Hi, sweetheart."

" Hey, Buffy, we're all here," Xander told her.

"Hey," Buffy said in a groggy voice. "Here we are. It's all of we. Are we taking me home?" She tried to get up off the gurney.

"No, Buffy, you need to lie down, honey." Dr. Wilkinson pushed her back on the bed.

"Yeah," Buffy said, still groggy. "Like at home. My bed is better than any bed that's... not my bed."

Dr. Wilkinson looked at Joyce. "She's still a little out of it." Joyce nodded in agreement.

"Shh!" Buffy pointed at Xander. "Hospital zone. No singing."

"She'll feel better after she's been here awhile." Dr. Wilkinson said.

Buffy looked up at her, her eyes wide with horror. "No!" She tried to get up off the gurney, again. "Lemme go. Look, I wanna go."

The orderly pushing the bed, two nurses and Dr. Wilkinson struggled to get her to lie back down. Buffy put up a fight.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Willow was scared. She had never seen Buffy like before.

"I want Angel," Buffy whimpered.

"I'm right here," Angel said, running up to the bed.

Buffy's eyes lit up and she smiled, then burst into tears. "Angel." She stopped fighting the doctors and threw her arms around his neck and sobbed.

"Shh. It's okay, Buffy. I'm here," he whispered in her ear, while rubbing her back.

"I wanna go home, Angel. Make them take me home," she cried into his shoulder.

"Buffy," he told her gently, "you're sick. I know you want to go home, but you have to stay here until you're better."

"No! No!" She pushed Angel away and glared at him. "Let me go!" She tried to get up again.

The doctors managed to get her pushed back down on the bed. "No, don't do that!" she yelled. "Stop it."

"Don't hurt her," Angel warned.

"Hold her steady!" the doctor ordered the orderlies. To Buffy she said, "This will help you relax." She placed a needle against Buffy's inside elbow and injected her with a sedative.

Xander threw Giles a concerned look. Angel winced and looked away.

"Ow," Buffy winced in pain. "No!"

When the doctor pulled the needle back out she laid back on the bed and breathed heavily. The sedative took effect and Buffy began to relax. One of the nurses checked her IV.

Joyce leaned in and stroked her hair. "Honey, listen..."

"I wanna go home."

"It's gonna be okay. I *promise*."

They started to wheel her away again.

"Please, don't make me stay here," she whimpered pitifully.

"It'll be okay, Buffy," Angel told her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

"Will you stay with me?"

Angel brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "Forever," he promised.

They all followed as Buffy was taken into her assigned room. They wait outside while the doctors get her settled in. The door closed and Angel looked in through the narrow window.

"Well, that was a new experience. I'm not used to seeing Buffy scared like that." Xander said breaking the silence.

"Yeah, she just hates hospitals. Always has. Nobody knows why, I don't even think she does." Joyce told them.

"Wow, that's odd. Poor Buffy." Willow frowned.

Joyce looked through the window at Buffy. "Well, it looks like she's sleeping. I should go call her father."

'Um, I-I think there's a phone...." Giles went with her to show here where the phone was.

Once Joyce was out of earshot Angel asked, "What really happened to her?"

"She's been sick with the flu. We tried to make her stay home, but you know how stubborn she is," Willow told him.

Angel nodded.

"Anyway, she snuck out to patrol before meeting you at the docks which, by the way, we told her we would do. She meet up with Spike in the graveyard. He would have won that fight if we hadn't been there." Willow finished.

"Spike. I should have known." Angel silently cursed the vampire he had sired years ago. "He's probably pissed about the Judge."

"You don't think he'll attack her here, do you?" Xander asked.

"I don't know," Angel replied. "Someone should keep watch just in case."

"Xander and I will watch for Spike," Cordelia volunteered. "You go see Buffy."

"Wow," Willow said in shock. "Cordelia's *volunteering* to do something nice."

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything.," she snapped, grabbing Xander's hand and dragging him down the hall.

Willow laughed as she watched them go.

"I'm going to go see Buffy now," Angel told her as he turned and started walking down the in the direction of Buffy's room.

"Tell her I'll see her tomorrow after school," Willow called after him. Willow feeling Oz grab her hand turned to smile at him.

"Wanna grab a coffee in the cafeteria?" he asked.

She nodded and they started walking toward the cafeteria.

Part 7

Angel was about to open the door to Buffy's room when he heard someone behind him call his name. He turned to see Buffy's mother coming up behind him. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked.

"I was just about to go visit Buffy," he told her, gesturing to the door behind him.

"It'll just take a minute," she insisted.

"Okay." They walked a few feet away from the door.

"Buffy told me you were more then just her history tutor."

"Oh," Angel said, not knowing what else to say.

"I wasn't happy about it at first, but Buffy's convinced me that's she's happy," Joyce continued, "but if you ever hurt her or try to push her into anything...."

"Mrs. Summers," Angel started.

"Call me Joyce," she told him. "Mrs. Summers makes me sound old."

"Joyce, I love Buffy with all my heart and soul. She's my life. I'd never push her into anything she didn't want to do, or intentionally hurt her. If I did I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Angel told her truthfully from the bottom of his heart.

"Good!." Joyce smiled. ' Just the answer I wanted to hear. Now go see my daughter."

Angel smiled and went back to Buffy's room. Opening the door, he slipped in quietly. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and set in it. He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly, then entwining his fingers with hers. She appeared to be sleeping, but he started to talk to her anyway.

"You really scared me today," he told her. "When I got off the boat and saw Oz waiting for me instead of you, I knew something was wrong. When he told me you were in the hospital, I was terrified something really horrible had happened." He paused for breath. "I need you. I don't what I would do if I lost you." He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I love you. Hurry up and come back to me."

A big smile spread across her face as he whispered those words. He looked at her with a smile. "Faker," he teased.

"No," she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Maybe just a little. I love listening to your voice. Did you really mean what you said?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"Good. 'Cause I feel the same way." She pulled herself up into a sitting position. "Now, kiss me."

"My pleasure," Angel leaned over and their lips met in a soft, tender kiss.

"I'm glad you came back to me," she whispered before kissing him again.

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