Chapter 1

Angel awoke with a start. Something strange was in the air, some kind
of electric vibrations. He stood cautiously and looked around his
small apartment. A feeling of foreboding swept over him before a
sudden piercing pain shot through his head. For a brief moment he
thought he was having one of Cordelia's visions and then all was
black.

Sam stood on shaky legs and quickly looked around his new
surroundings, thankful he was alone. He hated when he leapt into a
body that was in the middle of a conversation or driving a car. He
ran his fingers through his short hair and gave a sigh of relief when
he realized he was in the body of a grown man. The last three trips
had consisted of first an 85 year old woman, then an 8 year old girl
and then a 14 year old boy going through puberty. He at once noticed
the absolute quietness of the place at the same time as being
completely aware of every sound there was. He shook his head and
looked around the bedroom finding a closet full of dark clothing.
"Not much of a selection here is there?" He mumbled, grabbing a pair
of black pants and a black silk shirt. He searched the apartment
quickly, never sure of when someone was going to drop in
unexpectedly. The kitchen was small but sufficient for the obvious
bachelor. It could definitely use a woman's touch. Finally he found
the bathroom but sighed in frustration when he realized there was no
mirror for which to see his new face. As a matter of fact it looked
like nothing was used at all. The room was completely white with a
small sink. Looking in the vanity Sam discovered not much there; no
toilet paper, no medications, not even aspirin. Just stacks of soap
and a few clean towels. Sam thought that this might be a temporary
residence of some sort. He walked out of the bathroom and checked out
the livingroom. The clock on the end table read 1:00pm. "Why is it so
damned dark in here?" He asked out loud. Then he noticed that there
was not a single window in the place. It was impeccably clean with a
brooding décor. On one wall were different types of weaponry, a
sword, a battle-ax and various knives. Sam once again noticed the
absolute silence of the dwelling and a chill ran through his newly
acquired body. Something was different about this leap; he just
couldn't put his finger on it. He heard a slight buzzing in the air
and turned around to find Al standing there. That was strange, he had
never heard him before. Yet there was this buzzing sound emanating
from the spot where the hologram stood.

"Hey Sam!" Greeted Al, "Hey, looks like you jumped into a real lady
killer this time."

"I wish I knew, this guy doesn't even own a mirror. Or toilet paper
for that matter." Sam replied in a man's voice.

"Well, let's see what we're in for this time." Al said as he punched
some buttons on his small gadget. "According to Ziggy, you're name
is…
hmm…that's funny. There must be a glitch in Ziggy's database."

Sam took a step forward, "What is it."

"It says that you have two names, Liam and Angel."

"So, that's not that odd. Maybe one's a nickname. Have you noticed
how quiet it is in here?"

Al ignored Sam's question and punched more buttons, "Well, there must
be some kind of mistake, according to this, Liam was born circa 1750,
and I can't find a birth date for Angel, but Ziggy is showing them as
two different people. He says that Angel is the name you go by now."
Al shook his head with a look of pure confusion on his face.

Sam sat on the arm of the couch and sighed. He startled at the
sensation. Why would that feel so strange? His eyes widened at the
sudden discovery, "Oh my God!" he breathed as he placed a hand over
his quiet chest. "Holy Jesus!"

"What is it Sam?" Al looked at his friend confused.

Looking up at Al Sam forced air into his lungs. "I'm not breathing. I
can't hear my heart." He put his fingers up to his neck, "I have no
pulse Al! What the hell is this?" he demanded.

Al eyed Sam and put up his hands, "Now hold on Sam, I'm sure there is
a perfectly good explanation for all of this." He nervously punched
more buttons on the Ziggy-gadget, "Let me just figure it out."

Sam stood, "Am I dead? Am I in the body of a dead man who is stuck in
a coma or something?"

Al shook his head, "No, no that's definitely not it. I'm showing you
in real time and space here not a dream sequence." The gadget beeped
excitedly and Al blinked at it.

What is it?" Sam asked.

"Dear God." Al said quietly shaking his head in disbelief, "That
can't be right."

Sam took another step closer to the buzzing hologram, "What is it Al?
What does Ziggy say?"

Al looked at his friend gravely, "Sam," he began carefully,
"according to Ziggy, you're not exactly human."

"What?"

"Sam, you're a vampire."

Sam felt a wave of dizziness sweep over him and then the world go to
black silence.
 

Chapter 2

"Sam?" Al yelled at the still body of the man at his holographic
feet, wishing he could shake him awake. "Sam!"

Sam blinked at Al, instantly registering the silence of the new body.
He sat up and brought his hand to his head, "Al, did you say that I'm
in the body of a vampire?"

Al nodded, "Yeah Sam, that's right. And that's not all."

Sam stared incredulously at his friend, "What else could there
possibly be Al?"

"Well, while you were out cold I went back to get some hard data on
this case. Apparently the one you're supposed to save here is Angel."

"Wait a minute, I thought you said I was Angel." Sam stood and
plopped himself down onto the large cushions of the couch, trying
desperately to feel comfortable in his new body.

"You are Sam, you are. But apparently this Angel guy is on a path
that will lead to his own demise and will take a lot of innocent
people with him. You have to make sure he keeps his soul in tact."

"His soul? I didn't think vampires had souls."

"They don't."

"You're confusing me Al."

"Normally they don't but Angel does. It's a long story but suffice it
to say that he was given a soul in order to feel remorse for all the
people he's killed and the destruction he's left in his wake. But one
moment of pure happiness and that's it. He loses his soul and back
comes the evil Angelus."

"Angelus?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," said Al, "That's the name you use when you're evil."

"Oh." Sam sat quietly for a moment, digesting all the information.
"So what do I do to make sure Angel doesn't lose his soul?"

"Just don't let him get happy." Al shrugged.

"What?" Sam yelled, "How am I supposed to do that? I think I need a
little more info on this whole moment of pure happiness thing Al.
Exactly what makes this guy so happy that he loses his damned soul?"
Sam stopped as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "Someone's
coming."

"Angel?" A worried female voice called. A stunning brunette came down
the stairs and looked at Sam, "Are you okay?"

Sam hesitated, "Yeah, I'm fine…"

"Cordelia." Al offered.

"…Cordelia. How-How are you?"

She crossed her arms and looked at him with one eyebrow cocked, "I'm
fine. What's going on?"

"Going on?" Sam asked innocently.

"Hello?" Cordelia asked, "I heard you yelling something down here.
What gives?"

"Oh that! Yeah, I…uh…just dozed off on the couch and must
have had a
bad dream or something. I didn't even realized that I'd called out.
Sorry."

The girl threw up her hands, "Whatever! Are you coming upstairs any
time soon? Because if not I'm going to open the blinds and let the
sun shine in."

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I'll be up in a few minutes. Thanks." He watched
the girl walk up the stairs and felt something inside him stir;
something that at once filled him with intense pleasure and disgust.
Realization dawned on him. "Al, I think I know what Angel's weakness
is."

"Oh yeah?" Al was staring after the girl, "What's that?"

"Cordelia." Sam said filled with certainty.

"Then you've got your work cut out for you Sam. Did you see those
legs?"

Sam nodded. "Al, I need you to get me some more data. I'm going to
need some serious help with this one."

"Be back as soon as I can." Al disappeared instantly.
 

Chapter 3

Sam rode the elevator nervously, trying to sort out all of the
information Al had given him on the case. He knew all about exactly
how Angel had lost his soul last time and was fairly certain he could
contain himself around the pretty brunette, but he also knew that he
didn't get to leave until Ziggy was 100% sure that Angel would NEVER
lose his soul. He had no idea on how he was going to ensure that
Angel and his employee never ever had sex. Sam sent Al on a mission
to find out more information about the whole gypsy curse that gave
Angel his soul in the first place. The elevator stopped and Sam
stepped out slowly, suddenly very aware of the now threatening
sunlight coming in through some of the windows. He looked around the
empty office and walked over to the small refrigerator and took
inventory of its contents: milk, a coffee can and some fat free
chocolate pudding. He sighed as he retrieved one of the pudding cups.

"Well, it's about time you got up." Cordelia said as she brushed by
him carrying a small brown paper bag. She placed the bag on her desk
and proceeded to empty its contents as she prattled on about the
rudeness of *some* people and the prices of a "damned sandwich."

Sam listened carefully, almost intoxicated by the delightful aroma of
her perfume. He had never been quite so aware of the environment
before and wondered if all vampires (however many there were out
there) had such keen senses. He was finishing off the pudding when
Cordelia finally looked up at him stunned. "What?" he asked, "What is
it?"

Cordelia blinked, "Oh, it's nothing, I just never saw you eat, you
know, *real* food before. Didn't you drink your breakfast this
morning? You know, they say it's the most important meal of the day."
She sat down and began to eat her pita sandwich.

Sam looked at her confused, "Uh…drink my breakfast?"

"Duh!" Cordelia sighed, "You know, a bag of O positive a day keeps
the… dust… away."

Realization suddenly dawned on Sam and he shuddered slightly at the
thought of swallowing blood, a bagful no less. "Oh…" he tried to
explain, "I guess I just had a craving."

Cordelia nodded sympathetically; "I know how you feel. Sometimes you
just gotta have chocolate." She typed something into her computer and
waited. Within seconds she piped up, "Ooh, this is interesting. Come
look at this!"

Sam walked over and stood behind her. He leaned over her shoulder to
get a better look at the screen. He felt a wave of electricity pulse
through him and he couldn't help but inhale her scent. His eyes
wandered down the top of her loose blouse until he noticed a new
aroma permeating from her. It took Sam a minute to register what it
was: arousal. Evidently, Cordelia wanted Angel as much as Angel
wanted her. Sam sighed inwardly, how was he ever going to fix this so
that they never got together? Cordelia prattled on about some law
firm and their stake in various new companies that happened to be
popping up in some town called Sunnydale. Sam found himself
concentrating on the scent of her hair when he heard a now familiar
buzzing sound.

"Sam!" Al yelled.

Sam rolled his eyes and looked over Cordelia's head at the hologram.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Al crossed his hands over his
chest. "You are here to make sure that these two DO NOT … become
closer than they already are. Ziggy says that there is still a 48%
chance that Angel will lose his soul within the next 4 to 5 months."

Sam's eyes went wide and he quickly thought of an excuse to go back
down to the apartment in order to talk to Al. "Uh … Cordelia, I'm
just going to run down and have that breakfast now. Call me up if
anything exciting happens."

Cordelia nodded as she concentrated on her computer screen, relieved
that he finally walked away. He had been avoiding such close contact
with her lately, and for good reason. When they were close sparks
flew in every direction. She could hardly contain her feelings toward
him for much longer.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Sam paced back and forth waiting for Al to materialize.

"Sam." Al began.

"Wait a minute." Sam held up his hands as he faced his friend, "What
you're telling me is that it is more than likely that Angel will lose
his soul within the next 4 to 5 months." Al nodded and Sam continued
pacing again, "And, we both know that Ziggy won't let me leave this
body until it's nearly 100% sure that Angel will NEVER lose his soul.
AND we also know that the way Angel loses his soul is when he has a
moment of pure happiness, which, in this guy's case, happens to be
when he has sex with someone." Sam stopped and looked at Al, "Did you
also know that Cordelia wants Angel just as badly? Do you have any
idea what it is like to have the heightened sense to be able to
actually SMELL her arousal when I get close to her? And her perfume
…
and her hair…oh dear God I'm going insane." Sam sat on the back
of
the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. "Al, I don't exactly
know why, but I can barely keep my own eyes off of her, how the hell
am I going to pull this off?"

"I'm sorry Sam, the only thing I could find out is that there is a
slight chance that there may be a way of securing Angel's soul,
without the happiness clause in it."

Sam stood, hope gleaming in his eyes. "What? How?"

"With witchcraft."

"Witchcraft?" Sam whispered incredulously, "I don't know how to do
any witchcraft."

Al put up his hands defensively, "Now, now, wait a minute Sam. I
don't know anything about witchcraft but Angel knows someone who
does."

Sam smiled, relieved at the prospect of not having to spend the next
5 months in the body of a vampire. "Who? Where is he?"

"HER name is Willow and she lives in a town called Sunnydale. It's
not too far, I suggest you leave as soon as the sun sets."

"Why wait? Let's leave now." Sam started toward the elevator before
it dawned on him, "Oh, right, the sun. Okay, I'll leave at sunset."
 

Chapter 4

Willow stared into space in front of her laptop. She was researching
the recent influx of baddies in the area to see if it correlated with
any other recent newness. Apparently the types of demons that Buffy
had seen regularly were what Giles called "worker demons." They lay
groundwork for bigger and badder things to come. She hadn't really
found anything and consequently had begun daydreaming about a certain
blond-haired vampire, who wasn't there at the moment to drool over.
She tried her best to be cool around him but she knew that he was
aware of how he affected her. She silently damned vampire senses as
she sighed. Xander and Anya were seated on the couch flipping through
recent periodicals but they also came up empty handed. The room was
painfully quiet until the door flew open.

"Hello all!" Spike strode into the apartment, snapping Willow out of
her pleasant visions. He rolled his eyes at the two lovers on the
couch and went straight up to the redhead, "Researching again Pet?"
He whispered in her ear.

Willow nodded and shut down her computer, "Giles, this isn't getting
us anywhere. I don't think there's any connection to be found."

Rupert Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose,
"Yes I suppose you're right Willow. You might as well go home, I'll
keep looking myself and let you know if I actually find anything."

Xander and Anya left quickly and Willow slowly packed up her things.
Spike watched her every move. "That's it?" he asked, "No impending
doom or evil to fight? What a bloody boring night." He plopped
himself down on the couch.

Well," Willow answered, "the night is still young, go do something."
She swung her backpack over her shoulder and started for the door.
"Night Giles."

"Good idea Red." Spike jumped off of the couch after her, "Let's go
paint the town."

"What? With me?"

"You see any other redhead around?" Spike dragged a stunned Willow
out the door.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Sam couldn't believe the ease with which he could see in the dark of
the night. He could have easily driven the car without the lights on
and have seen perfectly. Cordelia slept against the passenger window
as he drove, instinct and something he simply could not define,
drawing him to his destination. Cordelia had jumped at the chance to
go back to Sunnydale. She had simply assumed that they were going
there to look up the dealings with Wolfram & Hart in the hellmouth
and Sam had immediately agreed. Al insisted that she would be an
asset to bring along since she knew everyone. Sam desperately wanted
to tell her about his situation but he had discovered that she had a
bad habit of letting words fly out of her mouth without thinking
first, which could potentially lead to bigger problems so he kept
quiet about it.

Al materialized in the back seat, "Sam, have you eaten yet?"

"If you mean have I drank any blood, the answer is no." He whispered
back at the hologram. He had tried to satisfy the hunger that
lingered inside of him but could not bring himself to drink a bag of
blood. The thought at once sickened him and stirred the demon settled
in this body. He had never felt the lingering presence of a being
after he leaped into their bodies before but the demon inside Angel
was ever present.

Al sighed from the back seat; "You need to nourish Angel, Sam." When
he didn't receive a reply he changed the subject. "You know, Ziggy
says that Angel now has only a 44% chance of losing his soul, so we
must be on the right track with this Willow girl."

Sam smiled, "Thank God! I do not want to be in this body any longer
than absolutely necessary. So what do we do when we get there? Is
there a specific destination?"

Al punched some buttons on his gadget. "There's a man called Rupert
Giles, it seems he is a central character in the lives of the whole
ring of people you'll have to deal with. He might know where this
Willow is and how we can contact her."

Sam nodded as he turned off of the highway, now only minutes from
Sunnydale. Relief threatened to rise to the surface but Sam was wary
of letting it get the better of him. <When did I become so brooding?>
He asked himself. He heard Cordelia stir and watched her stretch her
slender arms.

"Ooh, we're almost there!" She beamed. Hey, let's go passed The
Bronze to see if the gang is hanging out. Angel, turn here."

Sam followed her orders and parked the car outside of a club.
Annoying music was coming from inside and Sam thought how kids
listened to such crappy music these days. Cordelia held his hand as
she led him through the crowded place. She searched the club for any
familiar faces. "Hey!" she cried pointing, "There's Willow!"

Sam's eyes widened at the mention of her name. Could he actually be
that lucky? He followed Cordelia through the masses of people until
they came upon a slight redhead sitting alone at a table.

"Willow!" Cordelia embraced the girl, "How are you? Where is
everyone?"

Willow was surprised to see the two to say the least. "Hey guys! I
didn't know you were coming out here. Buffy is out patrolling with
Riley and Xander and Anya are probably out shagging somewhere."
Willow burst into a fit of laughter.

Sam rolled his eyes, great; the one person that could help him was
smashed. Cordelia looked shocked, "Willow Rosenburg! Are you drunk?"

"Here you go Pet." Spike came over with a tray of alcohol and
stumbled onto his chair, nearly falling on top of Willow in the
process. "What the bloody hell are you two doing here?"

Cordelia smiled, "Research actually. But we thought we'd come in and
have some fun first. It looks like you guys are way ahead of us."

Spike stared at Angel, something was not quite right with him. He
pointed a wavering finger at him, "Peaches, something is strange
about you."

Willow laughed again and elbowed Spike in the arm. Spike barely
stayed on his stool and elbowed Willow back, the two of them laughing
so hard they held their stomachs.

Sam sighed inwardly; there was no way the spell was getting done any
time soon. He went to the bar with an order from Cordelia. Bringing
back the drinks, he settled in the chair when Spike once again stared
at him. Sam knew he was also a vampire and wondered if he also had a
soul like Angel.

Spike slammed down his glass, "Who the hell are you mate?" he
demanded.

"Back off biteless!" Cordelia defended, "Are you too drunk to even
recognize Angel?"

Spike pointed accusingly at Sam, "That is not the poof. Sure he's got
the poof's body and all but I know my own bloody sire when I see him
and I'm telling you, that ain't him!"

All eyes fell on Sam, "Shit." He muttered.
 

next