Disclaimer: Sorry, they aren't mine. I can dream though…
Spoilers: All the way through season 4 BtVS and season 1 Angel, especially all the big stuff.
Author's Notes: Somehow, Angel's apartment didn't get blown to bits. I like it too much. And quite frankly, the thought of him having to live with Cordy, even just for a little bit, sends me to a scary mental picture place. Doyle never died, but he came close and now Cordy and Doyle both get visions. And lastly, I couldn't include Tara in this, `cause I can't write her character, at all. She's cool though.
Summary: Buffy and Angel and their gangs meet up again. But Angel's hiding something…. from all of them.
Distribution: Please ask me before you do anything with it.
Feedback: It's welcome. goredwings@usa.net
Rating: PG 14, with bad words and implied sex. Sorry, I can't write good sex scenes.

"Cordy, where'd you file Mrs. Maxim?" Angel questioned, stepping out of his office.

"Under B." Cordelia answered, stepping in the room again. She'd been in the hallway, sweeping. Or her version of it anyway. Angel wasn't exactly paying her for her housekeeping skills.

Angel looked at her curiously. "And where's Jon Crain? And Becker Ruches?"

"Under D for demon and R for rich." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You're two-hundred and forty four years old. You haven't learned to file yet?"

Angel decided it would be best not to comment, and he pulled the files. God forbid she ever leave… he'd never find anything. Not that that would be a problem for much longer. He frowned and forced himself to ignore that inner voice. "Did you get a hold of Kate yet about those murders yesterday?"

"God, I just got here. Give me a chance to catch my breath." Cordelia complained. "Oh, do you want any doughnuts?"

"No. Doyle said that he wants the last jelly one. And Wes wants the one with sprinkles."

"Oops." Cordelia sighed. "Sorry. I ate the last jelly."

Angel shrugged. "Tell Doyle."

The phone rang. Cordelia ignored it and began filing her nails. Angel watched her patiently for a moment, the cleared his throat. She looked up. "What? Oh, the phone." She set the nail file down and picked up the phone. "Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless." She suddenly straightened, and cast a nervous look at Angel. "Oh, um hi. Uh huh…. No, I know. Really? Oh…. Wonderful. So, how big is it?" She glanced at Angel again. "No, okay. See ya then… bye." She put the phone down with a decisive click and stood up. "Well, I think I need to go shopping now. I might not be back for-"

"Who was it, Cordy?" Angel asked, having a very good idea.

"Buffy, and she's coming here along with everyone else and they'll be here in fifteen minutes, and I'm going shopping-"

"No you aren't." Angel said quietly. "Why are they coming?"

"There's a big demon they know about and need help with." Cordelia said gloomily. "It's in LA."

Angel swore softly. His week had already been bad enough, but now he'd get to be tortured by Buffy's presence. And Xander and Spike.

Cordelia winced at his brooding expression. That was why she'd wanted to leave.

"Hey, princess," Doyle said as he and Wesley came in the room. "Hey boss."

"Cordelia, Angel," Wesley greeted. Cordy and Angel just looked at them, both somewhat disgusted by their cheeriness.

"What's the party about?" Doyle questioned, going to Cordy's side and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"We've got visitors coming." Angel said quietly. "From Sunnydale."

Wesley and Doyle exchanged glances. "Buffy?" Doyle questioned unnecessarily.

"And her new boy-toy." Cordelia said quietly.

Angel looked at her, startled. And hurt. He hid it quickly. "Oh. Well. That's…" he closed his eyes for a moment. "Damn it." He could feel his heart breaking again, just imagining the future meeting.

His three employees and friends looked at each other for a moment.

Angel opened his eyes again. "I'll be downstairs."

The room was absolutely silent as he went over to the elevator, opened the doors, and got in.

"This isn't good at all." Doyle said quietly as the elevator began moving.

"No." Cordelia agreed, just as quiet. "It isn't."

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Buffy entered the building, unable to keep a frown from her face. She did not want to be there, and especially with everyone else along.

Cordelia came out of the office and smiled tightly at them. "Hi." She said, glancing at the group. "I'll go get Angel. Wesley and Doyle are inside, go on in." She opened the door, and the group filed in.

She waited in the hallway until they were all inside, then ran downstairs.

Angel had his back to her, and he was standing in front of the sink. She couldn't see his face, so she didn't see the pure physical pain that was etched on his face, nor the way he gripped the counter so hard he was half afraid he would break it.

"Angel," Cordelia said breathlessly.

He started, and turned towards her, his face blank. "What?"

"They're here." Cordelia said simply.

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"Hi Angel," Willow said, smiling as the vampire came into the office.

He smiled briefly at her, then glanced at the group in his office. He was very careful not to let his gaze rest on anyone, specifically Buffy and her new… boyfriend. He might smirk or something if he looked at Riley, remembering the way he'd beat up the boy, and he doubted that it would go over well. "What's going on?"

Giles answered, knowing that Buffy wasn't really a good person to talk at the moment. "There's a demon, Kristophanis, that is residing in LA. Unfortunately, he is… rather abnormal as in that he is as large as the Mayor, and, well twice as strong. At least, he will be if he transforms."

Cordelia, who had moved so she was seated behind the desk, writing notes, looked up. "Transform?"

Giles looked at her. "He has the ability to change from human to demon. And unfortunately, when he is human, he has the ability to blend into a crowd, very well, I might add." Giles leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "He showed up in Sunnydale a while ago, and killed…"

"Twenty four students dead. Twenty-one seriously injured. Including Anya. But we found a spell to heal her." Buffy finished. "He transformed in the middle of lunch, in the middle of one of the commons areas. Fortunately, he's not big on sunlight, so he couldn't stay out for long. Then he changed back and ran off."

"He controls it himself?" Angel questioned.

"We think so." Willow answered. "But Giles looked into the possibility that he couldn't, but didn't find much."

Angel nodded a little. "Cordy, look it up on the computer, on the data base you found. Wes, I think there's a book downstairs that mentions Kristophanis, get that and look it up."

Wesley nodded. "I believe I know which one."

"I'll go check my contacts, see if I can find anything." Doyle said, standing up. He went into Angel's office and began making phone calls.

Cordelia flipped on the computer, and Wesley went downstairs. The Scooby Gang exchanged amused and surprised glances. They weren't used to Angel giving out orders, or Cordelia and Wesley following them.

Giles pushed that thought aside. "You have the Micklen series?"

Angel nodded. "Have you checked it?"

Giles shook his head. "I don't have it."

"I think Doyle can get another copy of it."

"That would be excellent." Giles said, pleased.

Buffy had to roll her eyes at Giles. He got too excited by books.

"I found something," Cordelia said thoughtfully from the computer.

Angel moved to stand behind the desk so he could see. Willow did too, and Giles behind her.

There was a picture of a huge beast with scaly skin, wings, and too many legs to count.

"It says that the demon was last seen in Sunnydale, then he transformed and headed to an unknown destination." Cordelia read. "Are you sure it was coming here?" "We saw it an hour ago, just outside of the city limits. Then he transformed again, too fast for us to follow him." Buffy explained, glancing at the picture to see if it was the right demon.

"If he's this big, I guess it is much faster to travel in this form." Cordelia commented.

Doyle came out of his office. "Got a friend on the phone. He says that he's seen a suspiciously demonic guy down at the Lone Bar. He ordered a mug of blood. He had a reflection though."

"The demon survives by drinking blood." Wesley said as he came upstairs, holding a book open. He was frowning. "It also says that the demon can only come out for seven days every millennium."

"He showed up first on Monday, two days ago."

"And we can't let him go on killing until Sunday," Buffy sighed. "So, I guess I'll go down there and check it out. Where is this place?"

"You going alone?" Cordelia asked dubiously. "'Cause Slayer you may be, this thing is as big as the mayor. Pre-exploded in to a big pile of guts, of course."

"Of course," Buffy agreed dryly. "Anyone up for it?" Buffy questioned.

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Hours later, Buffy, Riley, Xander, Doyle Wesley, and Giles returned to the office, dejectedly. Cordelia sat behind the computer next to Willow, and they were breaking into the LAPD database. Angel was in his office, talking with Anya, who was interested in how many common acquaintances they had, him being the oldest person she'd met in too long for her tastes. Angel was trying to get away from topics like that, but he found Anya to be very persistent, and they ended up talking about several people Angelus had met. And killed.

Angel had never been so relieved to see Xander walk through the door in his life.

"You find him?" Angel questioned, moving out into the main part of the office. Anya followed him out, and she immediately set to clinging on Xander.

"Yes." Wesley answered unhappily. "We just missed him, though."

"He destroyed a lot of people and places before we got there." Xander added, sighing.

"Doyle, your cousin Kinney called again," Cordelia informed him.

Doyle paled. "Um, what'd you tell him?"

"That you were on vacation," Cordelia said, knowing what he meant. Last time a family member had called, Doyle had almost been killed.

"Permanent?"

"No. For a year or so though."

The rest of the group exchanged confused looks, but no one commented.

"Did you find anything else about him?" Giles questioned.

"Yeah. He also likes chaos." Cordelia glanced at the computer screen. "And he really likes the full moon."

Willow looked up, thinking of Oz, but then recovered and looked at the computer screen again. "There's a full moon tonight."

"Which means what?" Riley asked, confused. "Does that mean he'll be more powerful or something?"

Cordelia glared at him. She'd already decided to hate him, on Angel's behalf. "If I knew that, we would be making some kind of plan of attack, Fish Boy."

"Delia." Angel said it quietly, but she heard him and sighed, not bothering to look at him, nor apologize to Riley.

"Wow," Xander said lightly, trying to lighten the mood. "I never got her to listen to me, and I was dating her."

"He's paying me," Cordelia reminded him snottily.

"Okay, children," Buffy said, rolling her eyes. "We need to figure out what this thing's gonna do."

Angel stood up and moved towards the door. "I'm going to check for a book…" he didn't bother to explain further.

"I'll help." Wesley offered, standing up.

"Stay here." Angel said bluntly, moving towards the stairs. The group watched in surprise, and in Wesley's case, a little hurt.

"What bug crawled up his ass?" Cordelia mused aloud. Then she looked at Buffy. "Oh yeah."

Buffy looked away for a moment, then glanced around the room. "I'll be right back," she said suddenly, standing up. Riley scowled as she followed Angel downstairs. The rest of the group exchanged nervous looks. But no one said anything.

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Buffy quietly went down the stairs, following Angel. She entered the apartment, and looked around, seeing it only for the second time. "Angel?" she called softly, not really wanting him to hear her.

He must not have. He stood with his back to her, hunched over the kitchen sink. He was gripping the counter tightly, and his face was contorted with pain. He looked even paler than he normally was.

"Angel," Buffy said, louder this time. She hurried to his side, concerned.

He turned, looking at her uneasily and still ill looking. "Buffy. What are you…?" He trailed off, turning away from her for a moment, closing his eyes tightly and gripping the counter.

Buffy touched his arm, worried for him. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

After a moment, he looked at her again, his eyes filled with pain. "I'm fine. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." Buffy said, following him as he moved over to the bookshelves in the back of the apartment. "What's going on? Should I get Giles or Wesley or someone?"

"No." Angel said quietly, very still as he looked at the books in front of him. Anything to keep himself from looking at her. "I swear Buffy," he said, finally looking at her without the pain. "I'm fine." And he was. For the moment.

Buffy studied him for a long moment, not believing him. But he had a stubborn look in his eyes, one that she recognized. There was no arguing with him.

Very reluctantly, she nodded. "Fine." She sat on the edge of the couch, watching as he looked for something. She closed her eyes a little. "Look, I'm sorry. I hadn't planned on bringing Riley, but Giles said that we'd need all the help we could get."

Angel looked at her. "It's okay," he said simply. It was a lie, and they both knew it. But neither would ever admit it.

There were a lot of things they'd never admit to each other.

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Giles was silent as the group worked to research the demon. He carefully watched Angel, who wasn't acting quite right, and he watched Buffy, who was watching Angel too every time she thought no one was looking. Occasionally, Giles would catch Angel looking at her, but he was better at hiding it.

And he was hiding something else, Giles could tell. There was something in his eyes… and the way he wouldn't meet even Buffy's gaze. He also looked… even paler than he usually did.

But no one else noticed it, and Giles had a feeling Angel wanted to keep it that way.

He'd get over it. Before Giles could even say anything, Angel stood up and slipped out of the room. Buffy watched as he left, but she looked back at the book quickly when she realized Giles was looking at her.

Giles looked at her for a moment. Then he stood and started after Angel. Before he even got to the door, a loud crash came from downstairs. Without hesitating, everyone jumped up and ran towards the noise, Buffy leading them.

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Angel swore softly as the vampire dove at him. He'd been caught off guard by the vamp, who'd been raiding the weapons cabinet. Unfortunately, the vamp had gotten a chance to get a weapon, and he was amazingly good with a sword.

Angel barely managed to block a kick, then fell back onto a table, just as the sword went towards him again. Angel rolled backwards, landing on the other side of the couch just as Buffy got down the stairs.

She immediately grabbed the vamp from behind, making him drop the sword. Angel grabbed a stake from the table, and shoved it into him.

The vamp exploded into a pile of ashes. "Thanks," Angel murmured, glancing at Buffy. She was looking at him worriedly.

"Since when do you get special visitors like this?" she asked, frowning as he set the stake on the table he'd gotten it from and surveyed the damage.

"It's part of the job." He said simply, sighing a little when he saw one of the boxes that had been on the table he'd landed on was broken. He didn't bother to clean it up at the moment.

Instead, he went over to the bookshelves and pulled out another book. Not pausing to explain, he flipped through the musty pages for a moment, stopping after a few moments. He murmured a soft curse. "You find somethin' man?" Doyle questioned, coming down the stairs the rest of the way.

"Possibly." Angel sighed and grabbed his duster off of the chair. "I'm gonna go try the Oracles. I think they've got something to do with this or they have an idea of how to stop it."

Doyle frowned, knowing Angel must be pretty worried if he wanted to go see the people (or things?) that took away his humanity. Especially when Buffy was around to boot. "Want me to come?"

"No. I've got to do a few other things," he explained. He looked to Cordelia. "Check for something about a power source. There's something…" he trailed off, frowning. "Just check for it."

"Yes sir," Cordelia said, rolling her eyes. "And we'll behave and we won't touch anything or break it either."

Wesley scowled at her for a moment, then looked at Angel again. "Is there anything specific you think we may find?"

"I don't know," Angel said, frowning. "I remember reading something about a power source in a Kristophanis."

Doyle shrugged. "Whatever you say, boss,"

Angel gave them a few more directions, then made his way down to the sewer tunnels, and from there to the Oracles.

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"What's up with him, anyway?" Cordelia grumbled a while later as she sat down at her desk. "He's been acting so weird lately."

Doyle frowned at her. "He's allowed to have his moments, Delia."

"Yes, certainly," Wesley agreed. Then he zoomed in with the zinger. "We let you have yours, after all. All the time."

Xander grinned.

"Who are the Oracles?" Buffy asked finally.

"They speak for the Powers That Be," Doyle answered after a moment. "They're pretty much messenger people. Warriors for the good can go see them and get some information sometimes."

"And Angel's considered a warrior for the good?" Riley questioned, a little bit not believing.

Cordelia tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked at him haughtily. "Uh-huh. He fights all the bad guys Doyle and I see in visions, and then after he's done enough, the PTB's will make him human."

Wesley and Doyle gave her looks. Angel hadn't wanted that to be common knowledge. Doyle managed to look at Buffy, and the Slayer was looking at Cordelia, startled. Cordelia realized what she said. She sighed. "Angel's gonna kill me."

"Probably," Wesley agreed. He looked at the rest of the group, all of whom looked surprised. "We found mention of it in a prophecy. It probably won't happen for a while yet."

"A while as in how long?" Giles questioned.

The three of Angel's employees exchanged looks. "Anywhere from now until hundreds of years from now." Wesley shifted. "He hadn't exactly intended it to be common knowledge just yet."

Buffy looked down. He would be human. But he hadn't wanted her to know. She looked up, saw Riley. Sadly, she couldn't blame him.

"But, since that's no longer any of your business, let's move on." Cordelia gave them all a thin smile. "So, what's going on in Sunnyhell?"

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"Come before us."

"Where is your gift?"

Angel looked first to the male, then the female. He tossed an expensive vase over to them, and the woman caught it. "Lovely."

"Why have you come before us again?" the male asked impatiently.

"There's a demon, Kristophanis. How can it be stopped?"

"The ritual of Adenoma." The male answered. "It must be done on the night of a full moon."

Angel nodded a little. Then he looked at the Oracles. "What's happening to me?"

They exchanged looks, and the hall went oddly silent. The woman was the one to answer. "The Powers of the Dark have poisoned you."

Angel nodded. He'd figured that out over the last week. "The demon that I killed. It stabbed me with something. Was that the poison?"

"Yes." The woman answered after a moment. Her brother. Partner. Whoever he was, he frowned at her. She ignored him. "There is only one cure for this, and it is not our choice to tell you. But if you do not find it within the next seven days, you will not survive. And if you fall, the fate of the world will become unbalanced, and it shall be the end of days, as has been spoken of for centuries."

"Where do I look?" Angel questioned. His death was enough to unbalance the world?

"Everywhere."

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The group had gathered in Angel's apartment when the vampire returned. Cordelia went over to him when he got there, pulled him aside, and `fessed up to having told about the humanity bit.

Angel wasn't thrilled, but he didn't say anything about it. No one else did either. He told her to get the book that contained the ritual of Adenoma, and then handed it to Wesley. Wesley and Giles went upstairs and spent a while looking over the book, leaving everyone else to sit in uncomfortable silence.

Cordelia, when she was done doing her nails, looked at Angel. "You making dinner? I mean, we're stuck here until we can go kill this thing tonight, so it's the least you could do."

Xander rolled his eyes. "I prefer my dinner edible, thank you very much."

"I'll settle this," Spike announced as he came down the stairs. "Soul Boy here can cook better than any of you other ninnies."

"What are you doing here Spike?" Buffy questioned, sighing tiredly. She wasn't really paying attention, and she didn't notice when Riley slid his arm around her. Angel didn't let his face show how much that hurt.

"He can't bite people by the way," Willow said, seeing Cordelia's eyes widen.

"And in answer to the dear Slayer's question, I'm here `cause I wanted to bloody visit Angel here. Heard a few things goin' round `bout `im."

"Like what?" Angel questioned, standing up to face his childe. Last time Angel had seen him, the younger vampire had been pissed because he'd lost the gem of Amarra.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Rumor had it that Dru was around you. I was gonna stake you." He shrugged. "I guess since she's not, I don't get to." The bleach blond made his way down the stairs, pausing to check out a fancy wooden box on a bookshelf near the stairs. He opened it, flipped through the things inside, then continued on his way. "You outta be bloody well pleased with me, mate," he said, flashing a grin at his sire. "I didn't touch a bloody thing in there."

"If you had, you'd be dead," Angel agreed as Spike sat on the couch next to Riley. The box held some of the few things he had left from his human days, and his family.

"How do you know each other?" Riley demanded, looking between the two vampires, both of whom he couldn't stand.

Angel hated to admit it, but it was the first time he'd been pleased to be Spike's sire. Just to piss off Riley. "I'm his sire." Angel said, looking at the commando.

Spike grinned. "Yeah, me and Soul Boy go way back to the day I was changed."

Riley looked between the two of them, disgusted, and Buffy looked away. "Any thing else I should probably know about?" he questioned tersely.

"Even if we told you, I doubt you'd have the mental capacity to handle it," Cordelia said snottily.

Riley scowled at her. Angel sent her a look, but he really wanted to smirk. Buffy closed her eyes and began desperately wishing they were anywhere but there. The only problem with that was that she wasn't sure which guy she wanted to be with elsewhere.

"What else is there?" Riley demanded, scowling.

"Nothing." Buffy said, sighing. She looked at the rest of the group. "Is there?"

"Did you tell him the parts about the First?" Cordelia questioned helpfully. "Or how he tried to kill all of us? `Cause if you've been trying to make your new boy toy, and when I say boy I mean it, jealous and angry, you're doing a hell of a great job."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Riley demanded.

"It's not important." Buffy said, trying to stay calm.

"Oh, so now the years with Angel are nothing?" Cordelia said, standing up to face Buffy.

"I didn't say that!"

"Bloody friggin hell," Spike muttered.

"They do mean something to you then?" Riley scowled at his girlfriend.

"Of course they do, but so do you-" Buffy sighed, frustrated.

"You're saying that Angel's not important." Cordelia glared at the Slayer.

"I'm not saying that!"

"Yeah, you're saying that-"

"Enough." Angel said, standing up.

They all looked at him, and he took a moment to stare back at them, furious. "I really don't give a damn if you want to argue forever, but I don't want to hear it."

The room was absolutely silent for a moment. Then Spike nodded. "Same goes. I can, however, offer you some advice, Slayer." He smirked, and sent Riley a look that would have frightened everyone if they hadn't know about his… problem.

"Who died and made you boss?" Riley hissed, glaring at Angel and ignoring Spike.

"Actually, he did, and it's his place so he can do whatever he wants." Cordelia said, sending Riley a cold glare.

Xander and Doyle got ready to intervene. Buffy didn't wait. "Enough, Riley," she said, sending him a tired and desperate look. "Please." The couple exchanged long looks, then Riley reluctantly sat down, just as Giles came downstairs.

He didn't seem to notice the tension, though it was so thick no one dared to breathe wrong for fear of drawing someone else's attention. "We've found the ritual and figured out what it means," Giles announced. "We'll have to wait until an hour and a half before sunlight first appears."

"Bloody hell," Spike muttered. "That's not until four in the friggin' morning."

"Three fifty eight." Angel corrected quietly. He moved over to a chair behind them and grabbed his duster, pulling it on. "I'm going to kill something."

Cordelia tilted her head. "Now, normally when you hear someone say that, it's a bad thing."

"Not really," Spike said, sighing. "Want company?"

"No." Angel answered bluntly.

Spike grinned. "Like that'd stop me."

Angel just sighed and waited for his childe to hurry up.

"How long you gonna be?" Cordelia questioned as she walked with Angel over to the sewer access. It was easiest to get out that way. She glanced behind her and saw that the rest of the group was busy talking again. "If you hurry back, you and Buffy can spar and that'll really piss Fish Boy off."

Angel smiled faintly at her. "You can be a real bitch, Cordy."

She grinned. "I know. It's great isn't it?"

Spike smirked. "In that case, we won't be too bloody long. Peaches here might turn into a pumpkin if we aren't back by midnight."

"You might turn into a pile of dust if you keep it up, Willy."

Cordy grinned. "Have fun," she called as the two vamps climbed down the access.

Once they were gone, she turned around and faced the rest of the group. Now all she had to do was get Buffy sparring so that when Angel got back it would be natural for someone to suggest that Buffy and Angel spar together.

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"So. What's wrong with you?"

The two vampires hadn't gone very far before they'd gotten in a fight and won, and now they were just wandering around the streets of LA. Spike studied his sire, who still had the whole black duster, spiked up, cool looking… hair thing going, and was still very much into brooding. And still had the same feelings for the blond haired Slayer. The only thing Spike had noticed had really changed about his sire was the unusual pallor of skin, and the fact that, while Spike knew it was impossible, Angel was a lot weaker than he should have been. Which meant sick, and since he was a vamp and vamps didn't get sick, it meant poison or something.

Angel glanced at him, then looked ahead again. Knowing that he needed help, and Spike would help him, he slowly began spilling the story of what was going on with him.

Spike would help him, if only because of the fact that Angel was his sire.

And in their own way, the two of them cared about each other. Like brothers with a very screwed up family.

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As the two vampires entered the apartment a while later, they heard the sounds of a fight coming from the other room. Not to worried because he knew Buffy could handle her own, Angel slipped off his duster as he made his way in to the other room.

Buffy stood in the middle of the room, dressed in a sports bra and sweats, standing over Riley who was on the ground, groaning and clutching his head. "I am so sorry," Buffy was saying again as she knelt by her boyfriend. She pulled him to his feet and led him over to the couch, still not seeing Angel and Spike, who were watching, Spike with a smirk, and Angel impassively.

Cordelia stood across the room, not bothering to hide her smirk either. "You need someone you can actually fight," she commented. Then she looked up and saw Angel and Spike entering. "Speaking of, here they are."

"Ooh," Xander said, sitting down on the couch that had been moved out of the way. "Good fight." Anya joined him.

Buffy looked over at her former lover, as did Riley. Riley was scowling. "Maybe it's a better idea for me to find some vamps to kill," Buffy said a little reluctantly. "I mean, I'm gonna beat up anybody I fight."

"Well, you should beat up Angel," Cordelia said cheerfully. She looked at her boss, who looked a little doubtful. "It'll be fun."

Giles looked up from a stack of books. So did Wesley, who'd been informed of the plan. "It would be a good way to get rid of excess energy," the younger watcher suggested as he flipped through a book.

Angel looked at Buffy, a little reluctantly. "Do you want to?" If nothing else, it would give him the chance to see how weak he was, and guess how much weaker he'd get.

She hesitated. "If you don't mind."

"Give me a minute then." He requested, and went to change into something he could fight in.

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With a loud grunt, Buffy threw her fist at him, knowing he'd probably catch it. He did, and then used it to twist her around. She jerked free and flipped him over her shoulder. He was up in an instant, and they circled each other, each deadly serious as they contemplated their next move.

Cordelia had to admit, she was impressed. They were both awesome fighters, and the added chemistry between them made the fight that much more interesting. The only one who wasn't totally fascinated with it was Riley. But no one cared about him so he didn't count. Cordelia shook her head a little as Buffy was flipped over Angel's shoulder, and then jumped up immediately and threw a punch. Angel's face changed. Buffy didn't seem to notice, even though the rest of the group tensed a little.

They were so good, it was almost frightening. Cordelia looked over to Spike. The other vampire was smirking as he looked between Buffy and Angel, then Riley, who was watching from near the stairs.

Buffy did a sweep kick, and managed to knock Angel off balance a little. She used it to her advantage and pushed him down the rest of the way. He managed to pull her down with him, grabbing her wrist. He flipped her so she was on the bottom, and then pinned her to the ground. He made it look easy, too, even though everyone knew it was almost impossible to do.

They both stayed still for a long moment, eyes locked together.

Then they each jerked apart, moving quickly.

Doyle came to the rescue, seeing that it was the end. "Well, that was a bloody good show, if ya' ask me."

"Yes," Giles agreed, looking over to the former couple that had silently gone to opposite sides of the room.

Spike snorted. "I'd say it wasn't. Soul Boy still managed to beat the Slayer even though he's-" Angel's dark look cut the younger vampire off.

To everyone surprise, Spike made no attempt to finish his thought. Instead he just went over to Angel and the two vampires held a quick and quiet conversation.

Buffy looked away from them both, and concentrated on gathering her things together. She knew her heart was still racing from the excitement of her sparring. But it wasn't so much the exercise as much as who she'd been fighting. Angel always made her heart race.

And the exercise hadn't been that great this time. Yeah, they'd been fighting for ten minutes already, but he wasn't… She sighed. He just wasn't as strong, or maybe she'd gotten stronger, but either way, something had changed. She'd almost let him win. She hadn't taken advantage of an opportunity when he'd pulled her down the last time, wanting to keep fighting. She could have stopped him then, and he knew it. But for whatever reason, she hadn't, and because of it, he'd won.

Willow joined her in the corner, and she cast a long look over at Angel. "Something's different between you two," she murmured, careful not to let the others overhear.

Buffy nodded a little, and met her friend's gaze. She was clearly worried. "I don't know what either."

"Did you ask him?"

"No."

"Are you going to?"

Buffy looked at Willow again. "I'm his ex, Will," she reminded her, barely audible. I can lie to you if I want to now. We're ex, remember? "I don't even have that right anymore."

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By the time they were on the way back to the office after killing Kristophanis in a ridiculously easy fight, the two vampires had blankets over them, and sat in the backseat of Angel's car. Wesley, Cordelia, and Doyle were all crowded into the same car in the front seat, and the Scooby Gang and Slayer were in Giles's car and Xander's car. Both were real prizes, and it silently amazed everyone when they were able to move.

It was an hour after sunrise when they pulled into the parking garage beneath the office, and everyone climbed out and made their way to the apartment, where Angel had invited them to stay for the day. It wasn't as though he had a choice. He knew he'd never have been able to fight the demon by himself or with Cordy, Doyle and Wesley helping. Plus, the longer he got to see Buffy, even though it had to be as tense as it was, and with her little fish boy, the better for him. Unless he found out what the cure for whatever poison he had in him, he wouldn't see her much more. If at all.

"Breakfast," Cordelia and Wesley had requested, so Angel had begun the long process of making food for nine people. French toast at Cordy's recommendation.

Everyone was a little surprised that Angel even knew how to turn on the stove, so when he actually made good French toast, it was quite a shock.

But halfway through the stack of bread, Angel felt a pain coming and made Spike take over as he disappeared upstairs for a while. When he returned, he was paler than he'd been before. This time, everyone noticed, but no one said anything. Spike frowned a little worriedly at his sire as Angel sat down on one of the chairs near the stairs again. "How long you gonna let it go?" he asked casually.

No one but Angel understood what he meant. "Shut up, Spike."

"I think you outta tell." Spike said, leaning against the counter. "If you don't, I will."

Angel glared at him. "Enough Spike."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cordelia questioned, frowning at Angel.

"Nothing."

"Ask him."

The two vampires glared at each other once more.

The rest of the group exchanged confused looks, except Riley who couldn't care less about Angel.

Buffy looked down at her hands. At one point in time, she would have demanded to know what was going on, and Angel would have told her. Now, she couldn't say a word.

The phone rang, startling everyone out of their silence. Angel went over to it as the rest of the group began talking again. "Hello?" After a few minutes, he hung up and grabbed his duster.

"What's going on?" Cordy questioned. "I thought you were taking the day off."

"Rebecca, the one with the psycho boyfriend. He's out of jail and talking about killing her." Actually, it hadn't been her at all. It had been one of those damn annoying telemarketers. Angel just needed to get out for a while.

Cordelia sighed, standing up. "Need help?"

Angel shook his head. "I got it."

"I'll go to." Spike said with forced casualness. "I could use a good fight."

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Two hours later, Spike was pretty much carrying Angel back to the office. Each vampire was bloodied up good from a fight with a sewer demon, and Angel wasn't healing.

Outside of the apartment, Angel stopped Spike, and leaned against the wall of the sewer, exhausted. Spike studied his sire with unusual concern. Angel looked like hell. Not only was he too weak to fight, but he'd come far to close to being dusted because he'd slowed down so much. And it was happening faster and Angel was barely able to stand. Blood covered the vampire's face, along with a huge and ugly bruise. "Bloody hell," Spike muttered. "I'm getting the Slayer to help me."

"Don't." Angel said immediately.

Spike scowled at him. "It's not like no one's gonna notice if I'm carrying you up the bloody ladder."

Angel scowled back. Even when he looked like hell, it was still impressive. Spike hesitated. Angel sent him a long look, silently begging his childe to just give him a minute, then he'd be able to make it on his own.

Spike frowned and began climbing up the ladder. He never had been one to listen to his sire well.

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Buffy had fallen asleep curled up on the couch next to Riley. Willow was on the other end, also sleeping. The rest of the group was spread about the basement, all half asleep.

Spike went right over to the Slayer and unsympathetically woke her up.

She frowned up at him, confused for a moment, then sat up, recovering. "What do you want?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair as she glared at him.

"Need your help," Spike murmured, glancing at Fish Boy. The vampire didn't want the commando to wake up and see Angel like he was. It just wouldn't be good for anyone. "Soul Boy's in trouble."

Buffy looked at him. Then she was up and following him down to the sewers in an instant.

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Angel hadn't moved except to close his eyes. If anything, Spike was certain that in the minute he'd left his sire, Angel seemed to have gotten worse.

Buffy paled a little as she saw her former lover leaning against the wall, pain clear on his face. "Angel?" she questioned.

He didn't even look at her. She touched his arm, and he finally looked up. "Buffy." He said, clenching his jaw as pain shot through him.

"Let's get him up to his room," Spike said. "'We'll get red and the watcher to work on some kind of pain killer."

Buffy looked at him for a long moment, then back at Angel. Then she began helping get Angel up the ladder.

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He wouldn't let them take him into the bedroom, so they ended up having him sit on the chair in the room near the sewer entrance. Buffy went to get Willow, Giles and Wesley. One spell caster, and two watchers. And a Slayer and a vampire. None of them had ever heard of any thing like it. Willow knew of a spell that would take away at least some of the pain, and she set about to take care of it.

The rest of the group had woken up, and they knew what was going on, but no one but Angel knew the whole story yet. So as soon as Angel was able to feel something besides pain after Willow did a spell, the group gathered in the room to find out what was going on.

"A week ago, I was in a fight with a demon. One of it's talons stabbed me before I killed it."

"Is there a point to this?" Riley muttered. He was a little bit pissed because his girlfriend had been more worried about Angel than she had about him.

Angel ignored Riley. Spike snarled at him on Angel's behalf, then smirked at him when Buffy didn't even seem to notice.

"Th-the demon's talon was poison?" Giles guessed.

Angel nodded, still weak. "I didn't know it at the time, but since then I've been losing strength."

"And being all broody." Cordelia added quietly. She was trying to act casual, but she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes. She looked at Angel again. "Continue."

"Thanks." He said dryly, smiling faintly. "When I went to see the Oracles today, I have to find the cure. Within a week."

"What is it?" Wesley asked. "The poison I mean."

"I haven't found it yet." Angel said, reaching for a book. It hurt just to do that. "The demon's in here, but it doesn't have a name."

Wesley took the book from him and opened it to the marked page. He read it, frowned then handed it to Giles. Giles read it, then passed it to Willow, who passed it around the room.

Buffy looked at the picture, but barely saw it. Angel was dying. Again. She was having a hard time concentrating on anything but that. And it wasn't helping matters that Riley was there too. Scowling at her and being an ass. Plus there was the fact that she was going to have to break up with him because she was still way too in love with Angel to pretend she cared about him anymore. Oh yes. There was a thought she needed to be having right when she was standing next to him and a bunch of people she really didn't want to witness that conversation. Hi Riley, I wanna break up because I'm still in love with Angel… And he's dying…

"What happens if you don't find the cure?" Xander questioned. "I mean, beside the whole part where you're a pile of dust."

Angel frowned. "I don't die in seven days. After that, there's no cure for it though."

"Oh." The group looked at each other.

"Actually, I think I may have an idea what it is," Wesley said, frowning.

"Well then, let's get to work finding it," Giles suggested quietly. The group began to split up, going for research materials.

Doyle stayed behind, and looked at his boss. "What else is there, man?"

"If I don't get cured, it'll unbalance everything." Angel said quietly. "I don't know the details, but that's what they said."

Doyle shook his head a little. "Makes sense to me."

"Then explain," Angel requested.

"You're a big time fighter for the good fight," Doyle said seriously. "How many evil things do you think you've stopped, or been a big part in stopping? It adds up. And how many people do you think you've saved? We gotta find this cure man, or a bunch more people are gonna die."

Angel nodded a little. "I guess." He still didn't see the part where that made him something that could unbalance the world.

Doyle stood up again. Angel grimaced, gathered his strength, and got to his feet. Unsteadily, he made his way over to the bookshelves, where he leaned heavily against them for a moment.

Spike joined him over there, and pulled out a big fat book. Angel looked at him, faintly surprised. There was little Spike hated more than to research things. Before Angel could question his apparent desire to help, Wesley entered the room again, making an "aha!" kind of noise. He went right over to Angel. "Is this the demon?"

Angel looked at the picture, and nodded. "That's it."

"Does it say the cure?" Spike questioned.

Wesley scowled. "No, it doesn't. But, fortunately, I know where to get a book that would likely have the cure in it."

"Good," Doyle said, joining them too. "'Cause it's pretty important that we find this fast."

"Of course," Wesley agreed. "I'll inform the others of the name of the demon."

"What is it?" Angel asked.

"What's what?"

"The name?"

"Oh," Wesley said, looking annoyed with himself. "Demon d'enfer. It's French for-"

"Demon of hell." Angel finished frowning.

Wesley frowned, looking down at the book. Somehow, having the name of the demon didn't seem like it was all that much, especially when he actually considered everything. Angel would die if they didn't find what was going on.

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"We found it," Willow said softly, reading through the pages of the ancient book. It had been an entire day since they'd found out what was wrong. A day of nonstop research. The only comic relief there'd been came from the Angel-Spike-Xander-Fish Boy show. The four men did not get along very well, and Cordelia didn't help. She hated Fish Boy and enjoyed annoying Xander.

Willow had a half smile on her face as she read through the rest of the passage. That smile slowly faded and she looked up at Angel, who was watching with curiosity. She handed the book to Wesley. He read the passage, starting to smile. Then his smile faded as well.

"What is it?" Angel questioned. He took the book, frowning as he read. He looked up sharply and handed it to Giles.

The Watcher read the passage, closed his eyes. "Bloody hell," Giles muttered.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, trying to see the book.

Everyone looked at her. She fidgeted uneasily. "What?"

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"No way! There's absolutely no fricken' way!"

Everyone looked at Riley, who stood next to Buffy, tension and fury radiating off of him. Buffy looked at him, but couldn't find the words to tell him to shut up for the moment.

"So." Xander said tersely. "To cure Angel, he has to sleep with a Slayer. Which in this case would be Buffy. Which would mean the whole perfect happiness curse thing kicks in, and he turns into a homicidal vampire who even when he's good doesn't like me." He looked around the room. "That about sum it up?"

"Far too well, thank you," Giles said, just as tense.

"You can't." Riley said furiously. He glared at Angel, who barely even looked at him.

Buffy stared at her hands. She couldn't believe it. This was the cure? She had to-well, change that- she would be able to sleep with Angel, and that was the cure?

"Does it mean vampire sex?" Spike questioned. He was enjoying this far too much. His sire had a cure, Fish Boy would soon be gone, and he got to see everybody squirming. Great day! Well, except for the part where he still had the chip and still had a Slayer around…

Everyone looked at him. "What, dare I ask, does that mean?" Giles questioned after a moment.

"Blood loss or not." Angel answered. He'd been very quiet since they'd found the cure, and now everyone looked at him, and no one knew what to say. They couldn't ask if he wanted to do it or not. He didn't have a choice. The Oracles had said quite clearly that he had to be cured. There were no other options for him.

Nor for Buffy.

"Wait a minute," Xander said, scowling. "He's gonna take her blood again?"

"No." Angel said. Everyone looked at him again. "It's not that kind of thing."

"You can't." Riley said angrily.

Buffy looked at him, grabbed his arm, and not so gently pulled him upstairs.

The room was silent behind them.

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"How can you expect me to be calm at a time like this! You're telling me you're going to sleep you ex-boyfriend, who happens to be a vampire!"

"Riley, there isn't another choice! My god, if there was even a chance that there was another option, we'd try that first." But only because of the curse. Left up to her, Buffy knew that she'd rather sleep with Angel. "But there isn't, and this is the only way."

"There has to be! You can't just do this to me." He glared at her, and she glared back.

"Riley. Ever since we got here you've been acting like a bastard. Yes, Angel and I have a lot of history. But that's exactly what it is." He started to argue, but she cut him off with a look. "Angel is my friend." Lover. Soulmate. "I have to do this, for him." And `cause I want to…

"Buffy." Riley said, staring at her, still with the same anger and hurt in his eyes. Big cow eyes that made him seem like… a little boy. And standing next to Angel, there was no comparison. Buffy forced herself to pay attention. He was looking at her, so earnest. "You have to choose. Him. Or me."

She stared back at him, hurt raging through her. But he'd made his choice. "Goodbye Riley." She said quietly.

Disbelief flashed on his face. "You're choosing a guy you can't even be with over me? Someone who's actually human?"

"I'm choosing someone who won't make me choose between my friends and lovers." She met his gaze, steady and calm. "Now. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave now."

"But-"

"Anything of mine that you find in your dorm or wherever, I'd appreciate it if you'd give it to me, or someone else who'll give it to me."

He stared at her once more, and for the longest time, they were both silent. He shook his head, bitterness on his face.

"Don't come crying to me when he kills you and your friends because you fucked again."

And then he turned and walked out the door, not looking back.

Buffy closed her eyes. There went that chapter of her life.

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Both very aware of what would soon happen, Buffy and Angel sat unmoving on the couch, studiously avoiding each other's gazes. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Upstairs, the door slammed shut, and they each knew that they were now completely alone in the building.

Buffy studied her hands, then looked up at him quickly. "I broke up with Riley."

"I guessed that." Angel said, meeting her gaze.

"Not just because of this… I mean, it was a big reason, but not the only one, I mean he wasn't exactly handling all this very well, and he told me to choose between him or you and well, I chose you, `cause here I am, and it's not exactly only `cause of this whole mess, but…" She trailed off, realizing she was babbling. And he hadn't even blinked at anything she said, until she'd mentioned the last part. She hurried to continue before she lost her nerve. "Well, the other part's `cause I don't really love him, emphasis on really, and the only thing I look forward to when we went out was the end of the date and all, and I realized thatIstillloveyou."

He looked at her, then looked away. "I…" He faced her again, shifting uncomfortably. "I know."

She continued to stare at her hands for another long moment, the twisted around, facing him. "Kinda off topic here, but does this seem really weird to you?" She let out a nervous breath. "'Cause it really does to me."

He smiled, very faintly. "Just a little. Even for us."

Us. He still thinks of us as an us. They avoided each other's gazes for a long moment. Buffy gathered her courage again. "Shall we do this?" She winced. That really didn't sound right to her.

He smiled faintly once more, and they both stood up, Buffy helping him. He was incredibly unsteady, but she finally managed to get him standing right. Their gazes met as they faced each other. "I don't know how long it will take," he said, his expression serious. "Because I'm so much weaker now, when the demon starts to gain control, it'll happen fast."

She nodded. They stared at each other for a long moment, then they began making their way to the bedroom.

Inside the door, they stopped again. Angel looked down at her, touching her face. He tried to say the words, but Buffy gently raised her fingers to his lips, silently hushing him. She didn't need the words now. His eyes said enough.

Still uncertain, their first kiss was slow and uneasy.

But that quickly changed, and soon they were well on the way to healing Angel.

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They were both silent for a long moment afterwards, Buffy touching her newest scar. She was proud of it, in a weird way. They'd lost themselves in their passion, and things had gotten a little… interesting. Angel had gently bit her. Oddly enough, it hadn't hurt. It had been… erotic, in a way. She'd never be able to describe the feeling that had swept through her, and him, at that moment. It had been so wonderful…

Then she heard Angel gasp a little bit, and he sat up. She did too, and tossed him a pair of sweatpants. He slipped them on as she slid on her own clothes.

"Chains," he said, his face pain filled.

Buffy hurried over to him, and he began slipping them around his wrists. She attached them to the bed, and then got his legs. Then she went up and sat by him, one hand by his face as he jerked, his soul leaving him. "I love you," he whispered, then jerked again, his eyes closing for a long moment.

When he opened them again, his gaze was cold. And angry.

She drew her hand back, and reached for the phone.

"Too afraid to be alone with me?" he sneered, yanking on the chains. As he suspected, they didn't budge.

Buffy ignored him and dialed Cordelia's cell phone number, trying not to hear him, or see him. She was still rather light-headed from their lovemaking, and her ignoring him wasn't working. But fortunately, Cordelia answered rather quickly. "Buffy?" she questioned immediately.

"Yeah." The Slayer answered quietly. "It's me, I'm here, and it's done."

"Was it fun?"

Buffy's eyes widened a little. "Cordy, please,"

Angelus sneered at her. "Was it fun? Evidently the soul thought so, but if you ask me, I've had better."

"I didn't ask, so shut up." Buffy stood up, taking the cordless phone into the hallway. "You guys can come back now, and hurry up."

"I want to know details," Cordelia said. "Then I'll come."

"Right now your boss is chained to the bed. That enough for ya?"

Angelus snarled softly and began tugging at the chains again. They wouldn't break. But the bed frame could. All he had to do was lose the Slayer for a minute, then he could break his arm free, grab the keys which she'd foolishly left on the dresser, and voila! Instant escape. So he could find the rest of her little friends and begin breaking necks.

Which reminds me… He was damn hungry. Too long without a good taste of a human, and now he had a bad fucking craving for her blood again, especially after she'd offered it so freely to his soul in the sack. God he was fucking hungry.

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Buffy finally hung up and began looking for the things Willow had set out for the curse. She found the orb and set it on the table, next to the runes. She looked around again, then frowned when she saw the bag of herbs and stuff on the stairs. She went over to get it, and ran her fingers through her hair. She frowned a little as she realized it was still loose, and mussed from Angel's ministrations. She set the bag of herbs on the table and began looking for her bag which had her hairbrush in it.

"Angel?"

Buffy looked up the stairs, hearing an unfamiliar voice. A blond woman, probably in her late twenties, stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at Buffy in confusion.

Buffy had the weirdest idea that it would be bad for her to come downstairs and see Angel chained to the bed. She went to the bottom of the stairs. "He's kinda busy right now," she said, smiling tersely. She went the rest of the way upstairs, not so subtly nudging the woman out of view of the basement. "If you want, I can tell him you came by, um…"

"Kate. Kate Lockley." The woman frowned at Buffy. "How do you know Angel? I was under the impression that…" she flushed a little. "Never mind."

Buffy silently cursed her messed up hair, knowing it certainly gave off the clue of what exactly she'd been doing a few minutes ago. Uncomfortably, she tried to fix her hair really quick. "Um, well, it's a long story. Do you want me to tell him you were here?"

"Actually, if you have a pen and paper, I'll just write him a note." Kate looked at her, obviously just as uneasy. "it's kinda hard to explain."

Buffy nodded, and went into the office. "I'm sure there's paper around here somewhere."

Angelus smirked as he heard Buffy go up the stairs, talking with Kate. He sat up as much as he could, gathered his strength, which was almost totally back –amazing what a good fuck could do for ya, he thought, smirking- and pulled hard on the chains. With a loud crack, the post broke. Unsure if Buffy would be able to hear that, he grabbed the keys off the dresser and undid the chains from his wrists, then his ankles. And once more, Angelus was free.

He quickly grabbed a shirt, pulled it on, and made his way out into the other room. Immediately, he saw the orb on the table. He glanced up the stairs, idly wondering how much Buffy could hear. He sighed a little. He wasn't stupid. He knew that no matter what he did, they'd be able to curse him, and bring back his god-damned soul. So he might as well enjoy it while he could. He scowled at the orb. Then he threw it against the ground, shattering it into a million pieces.

That shoddy gypsy craftsmanship.

He smirked, knowing that Buffy heard that. Then he decided to go upstairs and pay his little Slayer toy a visit.

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Kate and Buffy both flinched when they heard the sound of the orb breaking. Buffy's eyes flew open. "Oh god," she whispered. She looked at Kate. "Um."

Kate was looking down the stairs.

Buffy realized that she heard footsteps coming upstairs, and turned a little, looking too.

Angelus smirked at her, and calmly made his way to her side. "Kate." He said civilly.

If she noted his less than excited attitude, she ignored it. "Angel. Hi." When'd you get a girlfriend?!!

Angelus touched Buffy's arm, and not so gently pulled her over to him. He kissed her cheek, and put his arms around her, acting as if all they were was a normal couple. Except that Buffy was so stunned to see him, that Kate didn't buy it for an instant.

The cop instincts in her told her that everything was wrong with this picture. But the girl-she still didn't know her name- didn't look frightened or anything, just a little surprised. And that was quickly turning into calmness and confidence. Every instinct Kate had was screaming for her to leave. She smiled tightly at Angel again. "I just wanted to drop of those files you wanted."

"Thanks." Angelus said, not really caring. He just wanted the woman gone… or to be his next meal... He smiled at Buffy, who had turned slightly, and was watching him with annoyance. "You'll have to excuse Buffy right now. She's had a long day, and she's just so damn tired."

Way too much info, Kate thought bitterly. "Yeah. Uh, I'm gonna get going. I'll see you later…"

The couple waited in silence for the door to close behind Kate, then they faced each other. "How'd you get out?" Buffy demanded, tensing for a fight she knew would come.

Angelus smirked. "I never really liked that bed anyway, Buff." Idly, he debated telling her about the day that wasn't, and the bed's impact on that day… He smirked. He'd just bug the soul until Angel dearest told her. Only good thing about being cursed. No control over the body, but he did get to talk to the Soul. "Plus with what we just did in it…" She flinched.

He frowned and grabbed her arm. "Actually, it makes me horny as hell thinking about it." He jerked her closer, pulling her to him for a hot and passionate kiss, gripping her arms so tightly she was sure there'd be bruises. Then he shoved her back, leaving her startled and dazed. "Wanna fuck again?" She stared at him. He smirked. "Come on, Buff, I've been celibate for far too fucking long, and I wanna fuck you so bad it hurts."

"You are sick." She said after a long moment, her mind still reeling from their kiss… and the whole part where he hadn't actually said she sucked in bed. "You're really a sick pervert."

He scowled at her. "May be true, but I have fun." He rolled his eyes and made his way over to the stairs. After a moment, she followed, scowling. He went down the stairs to the table, grabbed the herbs and things and dumped them in the sink.

"Hey!" she complained. "That's expensive." She grabbed the herbs and runes before he could destroy the rest of them.

"So are hookers. Neither are really worth the price you pay for them." He smirked at her again, and advanced closer to her. Buffy set the stuff down on the table, trying hard to remember that this wasn't Angel. This was Angelus. Mean. Scary. Bites things. He stopped in front of her, and she realized with a little dismay that she was up against the kitchen counter. Sexy. No! Bad! Bad!

He pulled her closer to him, finding little resistance, and kissed her. As always, his kisses were much more rough and demanding than Angel's were, and it sent a shiver through Buffy. Even as she closed her eyes and returned the kiss. "Angel," she half whimpered as he lifted her onto the counter. Her eyes were closed.

His were open, watching her face. He waited until it seemed like she had gotten totally lost, then yanked her off the counter, vamped out, and sunk his fangs in her neck.

Her reaction was instant, and she sent him flying back away from her. Wide eyed and clutching her bleeding neck, on the side of the original scar, she glared at him. "Not funny," she hissed as he smirked at her, obviously amused. That's a grand total of four vampire bites… and three from the same gorgeous body…

He wiped his mouth clean of the blood, his gaze never leaving her face. "I enjoyed it."

"You're a stupid prick."

"Not so stupid, Buff. After all, not only did I manage to bit you twice, I also got in your pants a couple times."

"You didn't do anything." Buffy snapped, and grabbed a chain off the kitchen table.

She advanced on him now, but he stayed still, his arms crossed and looking at her in amusement. "Ooh, chains. I've always enjoyed them."

She stared at him, then shook her head a little. "I should really have learned to expect this from you."

He shrugged. "Yeah. You're probably right."

"Buffy? You still downstairs?"

Both vampire and Slayer turned towards the stairs, just as Willow led the rest of the gang down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs were the remains of the Orb of Thesulah.

Willow's mouth widened in surprised, and she looked up, seeing Buffy and Angelus.

Cordelia, who was behind her, smirked faintly, even as her heartbeat nearly doubled because of her fear. "Bondage fun?"

"I'm halfway convinced dear little Buff here wouldn't know what to do with chains if I told her." He smirked at Buffy, sliding up onto the counter.

"Oh, I got a good idea what they could be used for right now." Buffy threatened, glaring at the demon that occupied her lover's body. Wait, are we lovers again? Or what? And I could put those chains to good use later too.

The rest of the group made their way downstairs, clearly avoiding the vampire who watched them so calmly and dangerously. No one was stupid enough to believe that just because Buffy had let him go unchained, he wouldn't try to kill them in an instant.

Angelus's dark eyes gazed at everyone in the room with an air of confidence that was amazing, considering he knew what was going to happen.

"Into the bedroom." Buffy ordered, circling around so she was between him and her friends.

He smirked at her. "Only if you come with me, lover."

"Don't call me that." She snapped. She pulled on the chain still in her hands.

He noticed. "Oh, we are gonna play with chains?"

Buffy sighed. "He broke the orb, and some of the other stuff got messed up." She glanced at Willow. "Can you check it out?"

Willow nodded, and Angelus's gaze darkened, obviously angry.

The rest of the group exchanged uneasy looks.

And Buffy got the job of keeping a two hundred and some year old, pissed off, horny and hungry vampire at bay. Right after he'd had two good drinks of Slayer blood.

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Almost two hours later, Buffy held an ice bag to her eye, black and blue from when Angelus had punched her. Xander was scowling at the cut on his arm that he'd gotten trying to help her. But Anya was nursing him.

And Angel was seated on the couch, trying to fight back the headache that came with remembering what he'd done as Angelus. The rest of the group was spread about the place, cleaning up their things. The Sunnydale group was finally going home, after five days of living out of Angel's apartment.

Wesley and Giles were cleaning up the mess that the spell had made, and Cordelia and Doyle were cleaning up the mess the fight with Angelus had made. Buffy hadn't been able to get him chained to the bed, and he'd been pretty pissed off.

And he'd fought like hell to stop them. Thus, Buffy's black eye, Xander's wound, and the better part of Angel's headache. Buffy had nailed him, knocking his demon unconscious for a while, so he woke up just as the spell was finishing.

Just in time for Angel to see Buffy watching him, her eyes showing that she was clearly remembering the first time she'd seen this happen.

She'd silently gone over to him as he looked around the room, counting heads. It was his greatest fear that he'd killed someone again. Especially Buffy.

But she'd silently shook her head, answering that question. And they'd gone up to the rooftop, where they'd talked about what had happened. And she'd held him as he remembered everything he'd said, and tried to do as Angelus.

And then they'd discussed their relationship… and if they had one.

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"I don't want to leave," Buffy said, her eyes closed as she sat on the edge of the roof of the building.

He looked at her, nodding a little. "I don't want you to."

She blinked, surprised. But then he'd continued, looking out at the dark city. "But you can't stay," he said quietly. Her expression changed from surprised to hurt, and he sighed, gazing at her face… She was so beautiful. The most perfect woman in the world. And he couldn't have her, couldn't be with her. "I want to be with you so damn bad," he murmured. "But we've tried it, Buffy. It doesn't work."

"Why not?" she demanded, trying not to let her hurt show. Oh god, it's all been a game to him… How could he say this to her? How could he hurt her like this, again, and again?

He saw through the façade. "The curse, Buffy."

"I don't care about sex!" she exclaimed, stunned that he thought that would be an issue. It would be, but they could work around it. Somehow… "Is that what everything's been about? Is sex so damn important to you?"

"It's not sex, Buffy," he said, sighing, and looking out over the city once again. "Perfect happiness. I love you so god damn much. Every time I see you, no matter what we say to each other, I still love you more. Even after that whole Faith-fiasco."

Buffy made a mental note to ask him how that had turned out later, after she'd won this argument, but right now, she was too upset about this. "What's that got to do with anything?" She demanded.

"Everything," he said, standing up in a rush of impatience. "Buffy, when I'm with you, I'm happy. You make me that way. I can't be happy. You know that as well as I do."

"So that's it? Even after what just happened, we still can't be together?" She stood up too, stepping over to him, grabbing his arm and forcing her to face him. "How can you say that to me? How can you do this to me, to yourself?"

"I don't have a choice," he said, his voice thick with emotions. Emotions that he kept from his face, from his eyes… That he kept her from seeing.

"You do have a choice! You're making a choice!" She stared at him, finding it hard to breath. Hard to believe that he was going to do this again. Hurt her, break her heart… again.

He grabbed her arms, hurting her. She just stared at him. "I don't have a choice, Buffy. You make me happy, and I can't be happy. Don't make this harder than it already is."

"Me make this harder?" Tears formed in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "You're the one that's doing this, Angel." Angel looked at her, still not letting his hurt show. "Fine. It's my fault. I accept that. But it doesn't change anything Buffy. We can't be together, and that's all there is to it."

She stared at him again, disbelieving.

He stared back. And then she turned and re-entered the building, going down the long set of stairs.

The worst part wasn't the part where he had broken up with her, though that hurt too.

The worst part was that he had given up on them. Completely.

We can't be together, and that's all there is to it…

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Now they stayed on opposite sides of the room, didn't talk, didn't even look at each other. Everyone noticed, and they knew it. No one said anything about it. No one dared.

Giles was flipping through a book, the one that the curse had been in. It was in Romanian, and he didn't understand much of it, but he understood enough to translate most of the curse.

It was actually the first time he'd looked at it with the intent of translating it. He frowned. The script was old and faded, but not so bad that he couldn't recognize the words in it. And he didn't recognize it.

He scowled. "Angel, do you understand Romany?" He looked at the vampire, who returned the gaze.

"Some. Why?"

"I can't translate this." Giles explained.

Angel stood up and made his way over to the table to look at the book. He flinched a little, recognizing it. But he lifted the book up, reading it in an unusually quiet voice. "Not dead, nor of the living. Spirits of the interregnum, I call. Restore to the corporal vessel that which separates us from beast. Use this orb as your guide. Let there be one sole limitation to the wielding of this deed." He snapped the book shut, setting it down. "And the rest is ritual."

Giles frowned. So did Wesley, who'd been looking at a copy of the curse they'd used that day. Giles had been reading a copy of the curse that they'd used the first time they'd cursed them. "That's not the same as this," Giles said, frowning.

Angel frowned and took the paper from Giles. "I've never looked at them," he admitted. "So I don't know what they say."

"Your curse so damn important to you and you don't know it says?" Buffy snapped.

He looked at her, and everyone else did too, looking uncomfortable.

Then Buffy stood up and went upstairs, unable to stand it anymore.

Willow followed her.

Doyle sighed and looked at his boss. This wouldn't be fun at all.

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"I'm going to visit my dad before we go home," Buffy said quietly, not looking at Willow. "Tell Cordy I'll call her later."

"And what do I tell Angel?" Willow asked softly, looking worriedly at her friend.

Buffy looked down. "It's not like he'd care, so don't bother telling him anything." Buffy sighed, knowing that wasn't true. But she didn't bother to change her comment. "Look, I'm gonna leave now. Can you just grab my stuff before you go? And I'll catch a ride home on the bus."

Willow nodded. It wasn't like she had much of a choice anyway.

Buffy would do as she wanted, and that was all there was to it.

Even if that made them both miserable.

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Buffy arrived home at the dorm late that night. The room was empty. Buffy was half surprised that Willow wasn't there, but she wasn't about to complain. She'd just been stuck on a bus for a very long time. And on buses, people tended to think you were rather odd if you started sobbing your eyes out as you were cruisin' down the road. But now that she was alone, there was no one to look at her, or hear her sob.

So Buffy laid down on her bed, her arms wrapped around a pillow, and began crying as she thought about her love…

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The next week passed by painfully slow, with each of the couple spending their nights staring at the wall in the dark, thinking of each other.

It was hell. It was worse than hell, Angel decided. In hell, he'd been in so much pain all the time, he'd been able to ignore the misery that was his emotional state. But here… all he could do was patrol and kill demons that Cordy and Doyle saw in their visions.

And kill the ones they didn't see. And pretend that he didn't really care about anything except saving the world that pretty much hated him from going to hell.

He punched the chaos demon in front of him in the jaw, and it flew back. Angel jumped over another demon body, grabbed the chaos demon's head, twisted, and broke it's neck. It fell to the ground. After a moment, it's eyes glazed over, and it turned to dust. Not an explosion like a vampire, but as if it's entire body was dirt.

Angel kicked the pile and turned away. Sad to think, but they'd all end up like that. Dust. Dirt.

"Oh, and aren't my thoughts fun tonight?" He muttered to himself.

He sighed. Who was he kidding? This had been normal since the day Buffy had left.

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"It's kinda funny, in a sad and pathetic way, if you think about it," Cordelia said, sighing as she sat down.

Doyle looked up from his horseracing magazine. "What's that, princess?"

"I just talked to Willow," Cordy explained, grimacing. "Apparently our little Buff is handling this whole mess about as well as Angel is."

"She's starving herself and beating up demons?" Wesley guessed, sitting down on the chair in front of the desk.

"Angel's starving himself?" Cordelia questioned, frowning.

Wesley nodded. "I looked in the refrigerator the other day, and there was only one or two blood bags missing." He sighed. "And I know that he drank Buffy's blood. Which, since she is a Slayer, means that his blood lust is much worse than normal at the moment."

"Maybe he's on a diet?" Cordelia offered hopefully.

The two men looked at her.

She sighed. "I'm trying here, give me a break." She blinked suddenly. "Oh." Then she grabbed her head and got a vision.

And then Doyle did the same, and Wesley was left running for painkillers and booze. And not necessarily in that order.

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Buffy entered the Bronze with her friends, not bothering to hide her glum mood. They all saw through it anyway, and she was beyond caring.

For a while, they all were just hanging out at the table, with Anya and Xander occasionally leaving to dance. But Willow stuck with her, as did Spike.

A friend from one of Willow's classes finally approached the table, and at Buffy's insistence, Willow got up to dance with him.

Bored out of his mind, Spike looked to Buffy. "Wanna dance?" She blinked. He hurried to explain, before she got the wrong idea. "Not `cause I like you. You're still the bloody Slayer, but it's good for my rep to be seen with lots of women."

She rolled her eyes, but stood up.

Alison Krauss & Union Station were playing, and the song "It Doesn't Matter" had just started.

It was a little slower than Buffy and Spike wanted, but neither wanted to just sit down still. So they just danced together, as friends more than anything. For once, more than enemies even.

The song was just reaching the end when Buffy faltered a little and looked at him in confusion. "Angel?"

Then she fell over in a dead faint.

Spike sighed. Now her little friends would probably think of a way to blame him for this, too.

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"What did you say?" Angel questioned, closing his eyes as he leaned against the payphone.

"You've got vampy hearing, you heard me," Cordelia insisted. She sighed impatiently. "I said, Doyle and I both got visions. There's something wrong in Sunnyhell, and you have to go and rescue her. Again." She frowned. "And something about a Disney Movie."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, then Cordelia heard a click as he hung up. She huffed. "That was rude."

"What's he gonna do, princess?" Doyle questioned, entering the room. "And did you tell him about the curse?"

Cordelia sighed. "He hung up on me, so I didn't get the chance to."

"And this would cheer him up, too," Doyle agreed, sighing. It'd cheer me up too if I got to sleep with that Slayer. She's a looker. Although, I'd rather be sleepin' with Cordy…

"Yeah," Cordelia said unhappily. "You know, she really doesn't deserve him."

Doyle smiled faintly at her. "Why's that, Delia?"

"He's just to good for her."

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"Her heartbeat's slow," Spike said casually. "And she's not breathin' much. But," he said, standing up, "she's still alive, just got that whole magic aire around her."

Xander looked at his friend worriedly. They'd moved her into the guest room on the main floor of Giles's apartment, and the gang was crowded around Buffy's sickbed. The Slayer hadn't moved once since she'd fainted. It was starting to worry everyone. Well, it was beyond starting, but…

"What do we do?" Xander sighed, leaving the room. He couldn't stand to see his friend like that.

Giles sighed, following him out. Since they'd discovered Spike could sense an unusual amount of magic around her, they'd decided that she didn't need to go to the hospital just yet. So they needed to research, but Giles didn't know if he had anything that would be helpful in the area they were looking in.

Giles looked up, started to respond, then stopped. Angel stood in the doorway, arms at his side and looking mildly annoyed. "Angel," he greeted the vampire. "Come in,"

Angel stepped inside the flat, as the rest of the group came out of the bedroom.

"Angel," Willow said, surprised, but looking oddly pleased. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Buffy," he said, trying not to show his unhappiness with that state of affairs. It wasn't easy.

The rest of the group exchanged looks. Spike rolled his eyes as he plopped down on one of the chairs, putting his boots up on the coffee table. He knew that would annoy the hell out of Giles… "Sleepin' Beauty's in the guest room, somethin's wrong with the chit." He flashed his sire a smirk, curious to see how the other vampire reacted.

Angel looked to Giles for confirmation. The Watcher nodded. "She fell unconscious earlier this evening, and we haven't been able to figure out what."

"Why don't you go in there, see if you recognize the spell or whatever," Willow suggested. "Well, `cause you know Buffy pretty well, a-and you'd probably be able to figure it out."

Angel frowned. That was about the last thing he wanted to do… But they were right. He might know what it was, be able to find the cure, and leave again. Before she woke up.

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That was how he ended up in the guest room of Giles's flat, alone with his lover's unconscious body.

Spike was right, Angel decided. He could sense the magic around her. He just didn't know what it was.

He touched her hand, and was surprised to find her skin to be as warm as always. With her heart beat so slow, and her breathing so little, her skin should have been much cooler than normal.

He let himself look at her face. She was perfect. It was something he almost managed to forget every time he left her, until he saw her. Not that he ever thought she wasn't the most beautiful woman in the world, but sometimes he didn't remember exactly how beautiful she was… Even if she never thought so.

He sighed and gently touched her chin. It was his turn to help her. She'd helped him last time, and the consequences had been horrible for both of them. But now it was his turn to help her… Somehow.

He bent over, placing a soft kiss on her lips, then straightened, standing up, preparing to go in the other room once more… To leave her alone.

To his surprise, her eyes opened, and she looked at him, confused. "Angel?" she questioned.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, a little bit stunned.

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Outside the room, Willow had her ear pressed to the door and was listening without a second thought. She had a smirk on her face, and a copy of the movie "Sleeping Beauty" in her hands.

"Anything good goin' on in there?" Xander questioned, an eyebrow raised as he tried to get by his friend to use the bathroom.

She jumped, whirling around. "Nothing!"

He saw the movie in her hand. He took it from her, read the title. Then read it again, and looked at the door to the bedroom. "You didn't…"

She gave him a helpless grin. "I'd never do anything like that…"

Xander frowned at her, demanding the truth.

She sighed. "But some Wicca friends of mine found this really neat spell that puts someone to sleep, and they can only wake up if their true love kisses them…"

Xander gaped at her.

She grinned. "Buffy woke up a minute or so ago."

Xander stared at her for a long moment. Then he grabbed her arm, tossing the movie in the bathroom where it wouldn't be found, and then pulled her out into the front room. "Buffy's awake, it's all Willow's fault, and we're leaving now." He grabbed Giles by his duster and began pulling them out of the room. "I just got a phone call from Wesley, about the curse…"

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"See? Even when you try to avoid me, we always get brought together."

"Can we not talk about this?"

"No, we have to right now," Buffy said impatiently. She had gotten out of the bed and stood, leaning against the door, blocking his way out.

Not that he really minded. As much as he just wanted to leave, he wanted to be with her, even for just a few moments longer. "Fine," he said, closing his eyes for a moment, then looking at her. "Nothing's changed."

"You're right. Nothing's ever going to change. Get used to it. That doesn't mean you have to leave me again." She scowled at him, even as the rational portion of her brain argued that. The curse, the little voice in her head argued. Can't forget that little sucker, can we?

He studied her for a long time. "Buffy. You know I love you… more than anything."

"Then stay."

"That's why I'm leaving again," he said quietly. "This curse, as stupid and frustrating as it is, it is my life. I can't be happy, and you make me happy, so I have to leave."

She closed her eyes. "If the curse were fixed… would you still leave?"

She heard him move over to her, felt him touch her face. She opened her eyes, met his warm and loving ones. "Never," he said quietly. "Never."

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Both were surprised when the front room was empty. "I thought you said the whole gang was here?" Buffy questioned, frowning.

Angel looked at her, shrugged. "They were." He saw a note on the counter and moved over there. "Dear Buffy and Angel," he read quietly. "Willow did a "Sleeping Beauty" type of spell, and Angel had to wake you up, Buff. Obviously, it worked right, and you're better." Buffy leaned against the counter, letting him read to her. "Wesley called. Said the curse was…" Angel faltered, his mouth barely able to form the word. "Permanent." Buffy looked up, stunned. "Giles requests that you leave and go elsewhere before you test it out. Don't worry, Willow's got the stuff to re-curse you if it doesn't' work, Angel. Have fun, Xander."

Buffy and Angel stared at each other. "Never?" Buffy questioned, her mouth suddenly dry.

The corners of his mouth turned up. "Never."

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And after that, Buffy and Angel lived happily ever after until Buffy's twenty second birthday, when there was a big Apocalyptic battle and Angel saved the day and he turned human. From there on, it was even better. Buffy and Angel eventually had two kids, a boy and a girl.

Drusilla came back to Spike, and after a lot of begging on her part, he took her back and they went to Paris and feasted on the Paris peoples.

Willow became a doctor-Wicca. Oz came back to her, fully cured of the wolf, begged for forgiveness, and Willow took him back and they got married. The Dingoes went on to become famous, and Willow and Oz had three kids, all cute little red-heads.

Xander and Anya eventually got married, when Xander was twenty-five. He worked his way up in the construction company until one day he found that he was the owner. He and Anya had MANY children, and Anya was almost always pregnant.

Cordelia and Doyle eventually got married as well, after many break ups and then reconciliation. They had one kid, a boy who grew up and married Willow and Oz's daughter.

Oddly enough, the day after Angel's curse was fixed, the hottie vampire disappeared for a while, then returned, covered in someone else's blood. The next day, the TV stations all reported the deaths of several occupants of Lowell House. Including one Riley Finn…

:) Author's Note: I'm going to try to write a sequel to this one, explaining that last ramble there. Right now though, it's really early in the morning, and I'm very tired of writing. Send feedback! goredwings@usa.net!

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