Part 1
Sunnydale 2009

Willow just continued staring at her long-lost friend, a look of shock slowly crossing her face. "Buffy, is that really you," she asked in a tiny voice she hadn’t really used since her high school days.

 "Yeah, Willow, it’s really me," Buffy replied softly as she took in the sight before her. Her heart almost skipped a beat when she looked behind Willow and saw Angel ,or at least someone who looked like Angel. (It can’t be, Angel’s gone. Besides, this guys looks older than Angel. Not by much, but definitely older. Wonder who he is?)

 Willow looked back at Angel, trying to gauge his reaction, but he wasn’t looking at her. He kept his eyes on Buffy, trying to take in all of the changes that had occurred to her. When he finally looked at Willow, she released the breath that she had been holding. The look in his eyes told her all that she needed to know. Buffy was his past, but Willow was his future. Then he walked back towards the living room. She turned back to her old friend.

 "Would you like to come in Buffy?"

 As Buffy entered the home, she noticed all of the people who were present. Her heart leapt with joy, knowing that they were all together. (Glad to see that everyone I loved are still friends. But who’s the brunette? And who’s that with Xander? What happened to him and Cordelia?) Buffy shook her head, sure she would get all the answers in due time. She greeted each friend as she past them.

 "Hey there Xander," she said as she gave him a big hug. He returned the hug somewhat tentatively, not sure how he was supposed to react. The blonde next to him started to cough, trying to get his attention.

"Xander, sweetie, this doesn’t happen to be *the* Buffy you always told me about," Anya said, trying to keep the jealous note out of her voice. Xander broke the hug and turned to the woman next to him. He gave her a soft kiss on the lips, reassuring her.

"Yes, darling, this is Buffy." He then turned to Buffy. "Buff, this is my wife, Anya. She came to town after you left and tried to punish me for hurting Cordelia." When he noticed the confused look on Buffy’s face, he just held up his hand. "Long story."

 Buffy just nodded, wondering what he meant and figuring that she would find out soon enough. She then turned to Giles and Cordelia. (Wait, are they holding hands? What in the world has happened since I left?) She was surprised when Cordelia came over and gave her a hug.

"It’s good to see you again Buffy. We’ve missed you," she said. Buffy could tell that the former cheerleader’s sentiments were genuine.

 "Good to see you too," Buffy said. Recovering from her surprise, she turned her head to once again face her former watcher. She was surprised to feel tears beginning to gather in the back of her eyes. As she hurriedly brushed them away, she suddenly felt transported back in time to her sophomore year in school and was afraid of what he would say. "Giles, I….. I’m….," she stammered, not able to get the words out. Giles just enveloped the girl in a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

 "It’s good to see you again, Buffy. Welcome back to Sunnydale," the former librarian said. She looked up to the man she had considered a surrogate father and could see the moisture in his eyes. She didn’t want to let him go but had to when Cordelia came over and touched Giles on the shoulder. (Okay, confusion majorly setting in. And where’s the Angel lookalike?)

"It’s good to be back. Sorry it took so long," Buffy said as she turned back to the others, still wondering where the Angel lookalike had gone. "Wasn’t there someone else here before?"

 "That would be me Buffy," Angel said as he emerged from the living room. Buffy looked at the man that had just rejoined the group of friends. He leaned down and whispered something to Willow who just nodded her head.

 "Umm, I’ll be right back," Willow said as she left the same way the man had just come from. Buffy couldn’t take her eyes off of the man in front of her. (He looks so much like Angel.) Angel started to walk over to Buffy. As he got closer, she got a better look at him. As soon as he stood in front of her, she stared into his eyes and what she saw there gave her the shock she hadn’t prepared herself for. (How? When? )

"Angel?"

Sunnydale 1998
Xander and Cordelia were already sitting in the library when Oz and Willow walked in. It had been a month since the whole incident with Acathla had taken place and the Slayerettes were trying to find some semblance of meaning to what had happened to them. All they knew was that Buffy had stopped the world from ending by sending Angel to Hell. They also know that Buffy then decided to disappear and they hadn't heard from her since except for a letter that Giles had received a few days after she was gone. The postmark was from Los Angeles and they had no way of knowing if she was still in LA or even is she was still in California.

"Hey guys, any luck yet on finding Buffy?" Willow asked as she sat in her chair by the computer.

"Nope," a dejected Xander replied. "The Buffster has disappeared into the night and there is no trace as to where she went." Xander then hunched back over the book he was reading. With Buffy gone, Xander had found that he was actually paying attention in school and doing his homework. He realized that as long as he was concentrating on something other than slaying or finding Buffy, that he didn’t ache so much from her not being in his life anymore.

 All of Slayerettes had tried to find something to help them deal with Buffy’s disappearance. When they were together, it wasn’t as bad because they had each other to lean on, but when they were alone, the pain was unbearable. Xander had his studying. Cordelia was taking acting lessons. Oz was busy with his music. Giles immersed himself in his books, making sure that anything that might come up with the Hellmouth was known ahead of time so that they would be prepared. And then there was Willow.

 Willow was still "hacker extrodinaire" but now not only did she look up stuff as research for Giles, she also spent time searching for Buffy via the internet. Willow hacked into every government agency that she could to try and find her best friend. If Buffy even so much as used her social security number to apply for a credit card, all of the information would be sent to Willow’s computer. So far nothing had come up, but Willow refused to give up hope. But Willow also began doing something that she didn’t want the others to know about. She had a good idea of how they would react, especially Giles and Xander.

 Ever since Willow found out that her spell had worked and that Angel’s soul had returned to him before Buffy had to kill him, she was convinced that there was a way to get him out of Hell. Willow went through every book that she felt could help her and she had finally found something that should work. Since school was out in a week, she and Amy were working together to make the ritual to return Angel to the living perfect.

 "Okay, so are we Bronzing it tonight?" Cordelia asked, looking at her nails. "I mean, since it is Friday and all."

 "I’m in," Xander said enthusiastically.

 "I’m there," replied Oz. He looked over at Willow. "What about you, babe?"

Willow looked up from her computer. "Hmmmmm. I don’t think so. I want to study for finals."

 "If you say so Wills," Xander looks at his watch and then calls up to Giles. "Hey G-man. What do you say? Can we lowly Slayerettes take off or do you need us to do anything?"

 Giles sticks his head out of the office, "Xander, how many times have I asked you not to call me that?" He looksed at the boy who just gave him an innocent look. "As for tonight, why don’t you all go ahead and take off. Nothing of major importance is suppose to happen so why don’t you have some fun."

 Hearing Giles release them from all slayage obligations, the teens gathered up all their things and began to leave. When they got to the parking lot, the friends made plans for Saturday before going their separate ways.
 

The following Friday:
"I am so glad school is finally out for the year. I didn’t think it would ever end," Amy Madison said as she made her way into the mansion. She followed Willow into the main area. Acathla had long since been destroyed by Giles and the mansion was eerily quiet. Amy was somewhat hesitant when she spoke next. "Are you sure you want to do this Willow?"

 "Amy, yes, I’m sure I want to do this," Willow said as she started unpacking the crate that she brought. "Besides, tonight is perfect for it with the full moon." She laid out candles, incense, herbs and stones. Then she took out the paper that had the spell on it. Willow didn’t really need to look at the paper, she had memorized the spell sometime in the middle of the week, but she wanted it on hand in case she suddenly forgot something. After everything was unpacked, she and Amy began forming the circle with sand. They drew a pentagram on the stone floor with chalk, placing a candle at each point. Next to each candle, they placed a stone next to each candle.

"Okay Willow, while you’re calling the elements, I will begin mixing the herbs," Amy replied, all hesitancy gone from her voice. Willow nodded and then stood in the center of the circle to begin the spell. As she then called each element, asking a specific thing from them, Amy put in a corresponding herb. Finally Willow called to the God and Goddess. This was Amy’s cue to add the final ingredient before bringing the mixture to Willow. Willow went to the side that represented Water and took a handful of the blend and tossed it onto the candle causing it to hiss as she gave her request. She then repeated the same motion for the other sides representing Fire, Air, and Earth. As she went to the top point of the pentagram, she knelt in front of it. She closed her eyes, envisioning Angel. She silently sent her request to the Goddess before asking it vocally. She then took the rest of the herbs, sprinkling them onto the last candle. Then the two witches waited and worried.

 "Ummm, Amy how long has it been since we finished?" a worried Willow asked.

 "About an hour."

 Willow just nodded. She had no idea how long it would be before she would she any results. She had brought a sleeping bag, just in case she got tired but she didn’t want to leave the circle to get it. Suddenly the ground underneath the girls began to shake. They stood up and looked around, both knowing that this wasn’t a typical California earthquake. They looked to the center of the circle. A bright light suddenly appeared and, just as quickly, disappeared. In it’s place, naked as the day he was born, was the man that Willow had been looking for.

 Willow reached out her hand tentatively, not knowing what to expect. "Angel?" Just as she reached him, something happened that she did not expect. He breathed.
 

Next