Title: Brother's Keeper
Author: Krystal
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns Buffy and CO. But I own the plot.
Author's Note: I re-watched "Surprise" again, and this idea hit me, plus with a little help from my girl Jyll, thanks for the inspiration.
Summary: In "Surprise/Innocence," Angel didn't lose his soul, he lost his demon, and all hell breaks loose.
"Buffy!!!"
Angel felt a searing pain rip through his body, something was tearing him in two, literally. He screamed in anguish, the pain was unbearable; Angel slumped to the ground, clutching his chest. Suddenly an arm protruded from his chest, struggling to get out, but there was no blood, no signs of any disruption in Angel's body. The arm sticking out of his chest stretched out and a shoulder could be seen coming out, a long with a what looked like a head.
"Ahhhh!!!!" Angel screamed in pain. He tossed his head from side to side, his hands clenched from the pain, desperately wanting the pain to stop.
A few moments later, Angel moaned when the pain stopped, a body rolled from Angel's. The figure shook it's head as if to shake the dizziness away, the figure got up, and stretched out it's arms. Turning to look at a semiconscious Angel, whose eyes were widened at what he was looking at,"Hello little brother."
Buffy awoke to the sound of thunder, she reached her hand out to hold Angel, and felt nothing. She sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. "Angel?" She called, wondering where he was, she thought she heard screams, but now she wasn't so sure what she heard.
A noise from outside caused Buffy to jump, she quickly reached for the dagger that Angel kept under the bed, ready to defend herself. As she slowly got off the bed, Angel tumbled into the apartment, breaking the door; his clothes were ripped and his face was ghostly pale. Buffy ran to his side, with the sheet wrapped around her. "Angel, what happened?" she asked worriedly. He was shaking and mumbling incoherent words, and it was scaring Buffy. She pulled him into her arms and carefully tried to pull him on his feet, Buffy was practically dragging him to the bed.
"Shhh." She whispered, she laid him on the bed, and pulled the blanket over him. Buffy climbed over him, and snuggled close to him; hoping her closeness would calm him down. "Shh, it'll be OK."
Angel felt her near, all he could do was grasp her hand. He hoped and prayed that they would get through what was coming. "Buffy, Buffy." He said her name over and over, he needed to tell her what happened, but he couldn't, he was still weak; his body had gone through so much within the last 15 minutes, he was surprised that he was able to get back into the apartment. After a moment, he fell asleep, and a worried Buffy with him.
Part 1
Buffy hardly had anything on her mind besides the feeling of Angel's shaking, pale form as she walked toward the library. She was scared to death, when she woke up later on that morning, Angel had disappeared, she had no idea where he was or if he was OK. Buffy prayed he came to the library or checked in with them or something, just to know if he was all right.
Buffy walked through the library doors, and was greeted by a room full of worried faces. Willow jumped up. "Buffy!" She cried.
Xander piped in, "We were just going to rescue you!"
Willow shot a nasty look at Giles. "Well, some of us were..."
Giles looked sheepish. "Well, I... I would have."
Buffy bowed her head, everyone was here, except Angel.
Cordelia slid off the checkout counter. "So, what happened?"
"The Judge, is he..." Giles asked.
"No assembly required, he's active." Buffy said, disappointed "Nearly killed us, Angel got us out."
"Why didn't you call? We, we, we thought..." Giles stammered, taking his glasses off.
"Well, we ... we had to hide. Uh, we got stuck in the sewer tunnels..." her mind raced as she tried to avoid telling them what happened last night. "We split up. No one's heard from him?" Buffy asked worriedly.
"I'm sure he'll stop by." Willow said trying to comfort her.
"Yeah." Buffy muttered.
Jenny stood by Giles, observing Buffy, something was wrong and she could tell by Buffy's expressions; Buffy, who normaly looks confidant and free, looked so vulnerable and scared.
"We have to stop the Judge." Giles stated, getting everyone's attention.
"I know." Buffy replied, thinking.
"What can you tell us?" Giles asked.
"Not much. I, um... I kicked him. It was just like a sudden fever. If he'd got his hands on me..."
"In time, he won't need to. The stronger he gets, he'll be able to reduce us to charcoal with a look."
Buffy nodded, the gang and her set up a research date tonight, to try and figure out the Judge's weaknesses, and went there separate ways until tonight.
**************************
Spike rolled around to where Drusilla was laying. "Are we feeling better than?"
Dru turned to him. "I'm naming all the stars."
Spike shook his head and changed the subject. "Do you see what happens to Angel?"
"Oh. I didn't know you cared." A voice from behind called.
Drusilla and Spike turned to see Angel walking into the factory, with an evil smirk on his face.
"Stupid fool, don't you know were going to kill you." Spike said, annoyingly.
Angel turned around and stood face to face with the Judge, he smiled brightly when the Judge touched him and nothing happened, making Spike and Dru realized that there was no humanity in him.
"Angel." Dru sang
"Nope, it's Angelus baby."
Spike smiled. "Your back."
Angelus smirked, he pulled out a cigarette and took a hit, enjoying the freedom he had now; no longer was he bound with a soul, it made him feel good.
Drusilla swayed around Spike and Angelus, humming a little song, until a thought hit her. "Pss, were going to destroy the world." She whispered to Angelus.
The smile dropped from his face. "Yeah, but first I wanna play."
*******************
Later on after sunset, Buffy was on her way to the library where the rest of the gang was, except Angel. She called earlier to see if he'd stopped by and Willow said 'no.' She was beginning to worry, no one had seen Angel, even Willy the snitch didn't know anything. Buffy stopped for a moment and took off the other way, to Angel's apartment, maybe he was there, or at least she hoped he was there. When she got to his apartment, she took a breath before entering, and by the looks of everything someone had been here; the bed was made, the furniture was straightened up. But the one thing that caught her attention, was the shirt laying on the bed. As Buffy walked toward the bed, Angelus came out of the other room behind her, she felt his presence and turned.
Buffy rushed to hug him. "Angel, are you OK?"
"Yeah." He said plainly, trying to just play it off.
"Where were you? I was freaking out." She said, sniffling.
"Been around."
She pulled away from him. "But you didn't say anything, you just left."
Angelus rolled his eyes. "Like I really wanted to stick around after that." He said coldly, walking passed her to pick up his shirt.
Buffy looked at him in shock. "What are you saying?"
"Look let's not make a big deal out of this, let's not even talk about it, it happened." He pulled on his shirt and jacket.
He spoke to her as if there lovemaking was just an incident that occurred, Buffy didn't understand where this cruelty and coldness was coming from. "I don't understand. Was it me? Was I not good?"
Angelus started to laugh. "No, you were great, thought you were a pro."
She gasped in horror, he was treating her like she was a common whore. "How can you say this to me?" Buffy asked on the verge of hysterics.
"It was a good time, it's not like it was a big deal."
"It is a big deal!!" She pleaded.
"Buffy." He said, taking her face in his hand. "It's not like I've never been there before."
Buffy pulled back in pain. "Don't touch me." She said tightly, there was no part of her that could explain how this man who few hours ago proclaimed his love to her, could do a complete 180 and say the things Angel was saying to her.
Angelus smirked at her, the pain in her eyes were priceless to him, he'd missed seeing gut wrenching horror people so much he wanted to do a jig. Shaking his head, he glanced at Buffy one more time, and walked to the door.
"Angel!!" Buffy shouted, trying to get through to him one last time. "I love you."
"Love ya too." He said plainly and walked out the door.
Buffy stood in the room, letting the tears fall from her eyes.
Part 2
Angel walked a long Revello Drive, heading toward Buffy's house. He was just going to let her know that he was OK, physically. But mentally and emotionally he was a wreck, his demon was loose and could be causing the most hellish chaos; Angel needed to find him and kill him.
But first he had to see Buffy, Angel was debating about telling her what happened, that somehow his demon left his body, and was going around wearing his body; like an evil twin. But Angel didn't want to involve her. He didn't want her to see that side of him, the evil and cruel side of him, he'd take care of it himself; Angel just hoped that he would find his demon in time, knowing the demon he would seek out everything and everyone Angel cared about, and destroy it.
Angel stealthily climbed up the tree to Buffy's window and went inside, he could tell that no one had been here, at first he was going to wait, but he didn't know how long that would be and he needed to search for his demon, before someone died. Angel quickly made his way out, and continued his search, not before he left a quick note on Buffy's bed, it read:
"Dearest,
I'm OK, I'll see you tonight. I love you. ~A"
*****************************
Buffy never went home, after the heartless encounter she received from Angel, she didn't want to be alone, she wanted to be surrounded by people who loved her. Buffy made her way to the library and what she saw shocked her beyond anything, Angel stood 5 feet away from her, holding Willow by the throat, taunting Xander and threatening to kill Willow. She took a deep breath, before confronting him, if not; he would see the vulnerability in her eyes and use it against her.
"I've got a message for Buffy." Angelus growled, he was glorifying in this. Feeling Willow's heartbeat race in fear was such a turn on, it'd get only better after Xander was dead.
"Why don't you give it to me yourself." Buffy demanded, hearing his proclamation. She gave him an icy stare, and waited for his response.
"Well, it's not really the kind you tell, it sort of involves you finding the bodies of all your friends." Angelus stated, tightening his grip on Willow's throat.
"Angel this isn't you, there must be a part of you that still exists." Buffy pleaded with him, she wasn't gonna give up on him, he may have been a bastard to her, but she knew it could not be him; Angel, was the one saying all these things and doing all these things.
"Sorry, your boyfriend's dead, well he will be, and your all gonna join him. Oh, and I prefer the name Angelus now." He smirked.
Buffy didn't catch on to his slip up, and stood her ground to his threat. "Leave Willow alone and deal with me."
Rolling his eyes. "But she's so cute." Angelus stroked her cheek and breathed in her scent; fear and pain. "It's such a turn on." While he was distracted by Willow, Angelus didn't notice Xander coming toward him with a cross, until he thrust it into his face. Causing Angelus to throw Willow into Xander's arms, he backed away from them, and grabbed Buffy; she gasped at the sudden force, and he smiled and stared at her with the most coldest eyes. "Things are about to get very interesting." Angelus planted his lips brutally on Buffy's and threw her into the wall, he made eye contact with her as he left.
The whole gang sat in the library, trying to rationalize what just happened. They were all in shock about what happened, things were already bad, and they had just gotten worse now that Angel had turned evil again.
Scratching his head. "Are you positive that Angel has turned into his former self." Giles asked, hoping that they were wrong.
Willow nodded. "Yeah, it was so weird, he came here to kill us." She looked toward Buffy, and saw her fiddling with a ring on her finger.
"Are you OK?" She asked.
Buffy shook her head no, words at this point were useless. She couldn't believe this was happening, and she faulted herself for not noticing it before; Buffy should have known that her Angel couldn't have said these things to her, or try to hurt her and their friends. Buffy felt his presence, and turned in her seat; Angel walked in with a relieved look on his face.
Everyone gasped in horror, they shot up out there seats and took fighting positions; with whatever they could get there hands on, crosses, stakes, anything. Buffy stood in the front, waiting for him to make his move.
Angel stopped suddenly, he was confused about what was going on, but pushed it aside for a moment. "Buffy, I've been looking for you."
Her eyes were pure ice, Buffy could not believe he had the nerve to come back and play games. "You've got guts coming back here."
Angel's brow frowned in confusion, everyone stared at him with anger and betrayal; but the look he received from Buffy was beyond that point, he saw a blackness in her eyes, he wanted to know what caused this. "What's going on?" He took a step forward, a small step.
Buffy shook her head, clutching a stake in her back pocket. "Don't play games. If you wanna fight, you got one."
Angel looked at her for a moment and realized what was going on, and why there was such hostility toward him. "Oh God no." The demon had been here already and just as Angel predicted would begin causing hellish chaos. "Guys it not what it seems, that was not me that was just here."
"You really expect us to believe that." Xander said, holding is cross up high.
Exhaling deeply. "I don't expect you to, I'm hoping." Angel pleaded, he looked at Buffy straight in her eyes, he could tell she had been crying and was on the brink of tears. "Buffy look at me, I don't know what he did to you, to all of you, but it was not me."
Buffy was trying to hold it together, she wanted so badly to believe him, but she wasn't sure.
Angel saw the emotions running over her face and he knew this was so hard for her. "Buffy, you have to believe me. I love you, and I would never hurt you." He cautiously walked toward her, until he was a few inches away from her. "Look into my eyes."
Buffy stared up at him with tears hiding in her big lashes, she looked for a sign that could prove to her that he was telling the truth. Before she had seen coldness and evil in his eyes, but now all she saw was love, guilt, and desire; no one could look at her with that much love but Angel. A tear fell from the corner of her eye. "Angel." She whispered.
The others stood back, they put there weapons down and breathed a big sigh of relief.
Angel pulled her to him, without thinking. He crushed her against his chest and wrapping his arms around her as she wept against his chest, Angel kissed her hair soothingly, whispering comforting words in her ear, telling her how sorry he was, and that they would make it better.
Part 3
The whole gang sat around the large table, they were all a little stunned about the situation, the Judge was on the loose, with Spike and Drusilla behind him; but what made it worse was that Angel's demon was set free and was roaming the streets, doing God only knows what. Everyone sat in an uncomfortable silence, unsure of what to say, or what to do to help rectify the problem.
Breaking the silence. "Buffy are you sure it's him." Xander said, being on the safe side.
Buffy, who was settled on Angel's lap, wrapped in his arms. Reluctant to be any further apart that they had to be, she turned to her worried friend, "I'm sure, look at his eyes."
Xander took a look. "Yeah, it's are deadboy. I can just see the brooding waiting to come out and play."
Giles cleared his throat and looked to Angel. "Yes, were all glad you are still with us Angel, but your demon is on the loose, how?"
Angel shook his head. "I don't know. All of a sudden last night, I felt this excruciating pain, and my demon was tearing through me, literally. I couldn't think, I couldn't do anything but scream." He winced at the looks everyone was giving him, they had looks of pity and remorse; that Angel had to endure such pain made them sad, and it made him feel bad that he had too give such vivid details of what happened. "When I was able to stand the pain, I looked up and saw him staring above me, I was seeing myself with such evil and blackness in my own eyes. I don't remember much afterwards." Angel muttered. A smile crept on his saddened face, when Buffy and Willow held both his hands, they must have sensed that retelling that experience was painful. "I tried to look for him, to kill him, without involving you guys, but I was too late."
"It's not your fault." Buffy stated. "I should have know something had happened, he was different, the things he said, you would never have said to me."
"What else was different?" Jenny interrupted.
Willow turned to her quickly. "Speaking of different, how did you know he was different when he attacked, you told me to get away from him."
"Well, I saw his vamp face, and he sounded different, cold and harsh." Jenny said quickly, covering her tracks.
"I wonder how it happened." Giles said out loud.
"What?" Buffy said, that caught her attention immediately.
"Something happened, something triggered this event to take place, if anyone would know it should be you two." Giles focused on Buffy and Angel.
Buffy zoned out for a moment. Buffy turned to Angel, and he had the same expression on his face.
When they didn't answer, Giles prodded. "Did anything happen last night?"
"No." The both said.
Buffy couldn't think, the demon's harsh words played over and over in her mind. "I need to go home." She said suddenly, getting up from Angel's lap, she ran out of the library.
Angel looked at the group one last time and ran after her.
"I think this was a little too much for her right now." Willow explained, understanding the weight that was nearly burying her best friends shoulders.
"Yeah, well there's still the Judge and a psychotic twin Angel running around, so she needs to get over it." Cordelia replied, standing from her seat.
Xander cleared his throat. "I don't know what to do about deadboy 2, but I have a plan for the Judge, I'm gonna need everyone's help.
**********************************
Buffy ran through the streets of Sunnydale, she needed to get home, she needed to be alone. She didn't even hear Angel calling her name, until he caught up with her.
"Buffy, stop!!" He said, grabbing her arm.
"I just want to get home. I'm tired. I want to sleep." Buffy said simply, trying to pull away, she didn't want him to see the tears falling from her eyes.
"OK, I'll walk you, I don't want anything to happen to you, especially when you're like this." Angel said, wiping her tears away with his fingertips. He took her hand, and walked to her house.
Her mother was not home, so that eased Buffy's mind a little, she didn't want to have to explain why she was crying. Angel led her to her room, and helped her get settled; he sat her down on the bed, he took her shoes, and jacket off. He looked back at her when he finished his task. "Hey." Angel touched her cheek.
Buffy flinched, and got up; and paced the room. "Don't."
Angel bowed his head. "What did he do to you?" He said, walking toward her, pulling her reluctant body into his arms, Buffy fought him a little, but eventually let him hold her.
"What did he do?" Angel looked in her eyes.
Buffy stared back at him. "It's not what he did." She whispered. "It's what he said."
Angel clutched her head between his hands. "Buffy, whatever he said, it wasn't me. I would never say or do anything to cause you this much pain."
Buffy pulled away from him. She desperately wanted to believe him, but a thought was plaguing her. Angel always said that the demon had one trait that was the most evil, it said things that people would not want to here, basically it told the harsh truth without any remorse. She observed him closely, his eyes, his lips; those same lips that had once praised her endlessly and caressed her so passionately. And then been turned to the cruel smirk of a demon that delighted in her pain and laughed at her tears. "It may be what you want to say, but is it the truth?"
Angel's eyes widened, he knew exactly what she meant, Angel turned her face to him. "What did he say?"
Taking a deep breath. "That it didn't matter, I wasn't good enough." She whispered.
He pulled her into his arms, Angel was so infuriated he needed her in his arms to hold him back, he had visions of killing his demon slow and painful.
"Buffy, last night was the happiest night of my life. I felt whole, like I was complete, like my other half was merged with me. I reveled in the feel of you in my arms, without barriers, just you and me, experiencing each other."
Buffy could not stop the tears from flowing, his words made all the pain go away. A moment ago, Buffy had felt like she was nothing to him, she was just his whore. But now, hearing Angel's soothing voice and his calming words, she felt like a goddess; Angel made her feel like the whole world should bow down to her.
Sniffling, she tightened her arms around him. She lay her head in the crook of his neck.
Angel buried his face in her hair. "I love you." Angel whispered. "I'm sorry this happened, I never meant for this to happen, I hate seeing you cry."
"I know." She whispered. "Forget about it now, just hold me."
He tightened his grip, and he held her.
Part 4
*Buffy stood at a grave, in full daylight, she hugged herself tighter, as Angel walked toward her. She looked at him, confused.
His face was bathed in the sunlight, it startled her.
He looked up at her. "You have to know what to see."
Buffy turned around to see other people, and saw Jenny lifting a black veil from her face. *
Buffy awoke in her darkened room, sitting straight up in the bed, causing Angel to stir and awake.
"What's wrong?" He asked tenderly, holding her to him.
Calming her breathing down. "I know what to see." Buffy answered cryptically.
********************
Buffy marched toward Jenny's classroom, she wasted no time going through the halls, ignoring everything around her. Buffy went into the classroom, she saw Jenny and Giles having a conversation.
As soon as she was close enough, Buffy shoved Giles out of the way and clutched her hand around Jenny's throat. Jenny's eyes widened in fear as Buffy shoved her on her back onto a desk; Buffy's eyes gleamed with anger.
"Buffy!!" Giles cried, pulling his slayer off Jenny.
She pulled away from Giles. "Did you do it? Did you do this to Angel?" Buffy said, in a deadly voice.
Giles was confused. "Buffy, calm down," was all he could think of to say." You can't go around accusing people...."
"I didn't know, everything." Jenny pleaded
Buffy looked at her angrily, while Giles stood with his mouth. "Jenny?"
"I'm sorry, Rupert. Angel is supposed to pay for what he did to my people." She went on.
"Oh really." Buffy demanded, getting right in Jenny's face
"Buffy, I'm sorry. They wanted Angel to suffer. They told me to keep you two apart, they didn't tell me what would happen."
"So it was me, I did it." Buffy said, nearly crying.
Jenny nodded sadly. "I think so, if..."
"How?" Giles interrupted
"The curse, if Angel achieved true happiness, even just a moment. The curse would lift." Jenny explained.
"How?" Buffy asked infuriated.
Jenny exhaled. "The guilt in his heart is what held the curse, and at that moment, he no longer felt all the pain and guilt. That's why I was sent here, to make sure Angel could not achieve happiness."
Giles took looked at Buffy confused. "But, how do you know you were responsible?"
Buffy stared at him for a moment, silently letting him know that she was the one who gave him a moment of true happiness.
"Oh." Giles said.
"If there's anything.."
"Curse him." Buffy interrupted. "Curse the demon."
"I can't. There's no way. I can't help you." Jenny explained sadly.
Buffy shook her head in disgust and took off out the door, leaving Giles to stare at Jenny in betrayal.
After calming down, Buffy went to the library and called Angel from Giles' office in tears, telling him as soon as the sun sets she needed him here. He said he would and hung up, but not before telling her he loved her, and that they would get through this.
**********************
At the factory, the Judge stood. "I am ready."
Angelus nodded and walked over to Spike and Dru, who were kissing in his wheelchair. "Let's go Dru." He said smirking at Spike.
"Have fun." Spike said, disappointedly
"Well be thinking of you." Angelus whispered, in Spike's ear. He took Dru's hand and started toward the door, he glanced back at the judge. "Don't you look spiffy." Angelus chuckled.
******************
Buffy and Angel sat in Giles's office, she had just told him everything Jenny had told her and Giles. There were no words to express how angry he was, and it was evident by the way he was pacing the room.
"Angel?" Buffy called, breaking the silence, and most of the tension in Angel's body. "I'm sorry."
He stopped pacing. "For what?"
Sighing. "For everything, maybe this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't pushed."
Angel pulled a chair next to her and took Buffy's small hands in his. "You didn't do anything Buffy. Do you regret our night together?" He asked, hoping that she did not regret their first union
Buffy shook her head 'no.'
Exhaling with relief. "Then don't blame yourself, it's no one's fault."
Buffy nodded, agreeing with him.
"You'd think after a hundred years, they'd get over it." Angel chuckled, trying to cheer her up.
It worked, Buffy's eyes brightened a little, it wasn't the smile he wanted, but it was a start. "I wish that you never got hurt, I'd kill to see you smile again, to hear your laughter tingle in my ear."
Buffy cupped his face with her hand. "You will, I just need a little time to adjust to this. The enemy has your face now, it hurts when I see your face look at me with such hatred." She stroked his cheek. "To see your lips say all these hateful things." She brushed his lips with her fingertips. "And when I see you afterwards, not him you; and you say all these wonderful things to me, it makes me so confused. I sometimes don't know if I can trust your face again."
Angel breathed a hard sigh. He knew this would happen and he cursed his demon for it. "Buffy, I know this is hard for you, I know that seeing him and them me can be confusing. But all I can say is don't look at me with your eyes, look at me with your heart; feel my love for you and if I have to, I will say it every second of everyday."
Angel was just about to utter the words, until Buffy placed her finger over his lips. "I know." Slowly she brushed her lips across his, letting his lips linger before pulling away.
Just then, Xander and Oz came crashing in, followed by Cordy and Willow; interrupting the moment. Giles came in to help, and the boys slammed a large crate onto the desk in front of Buffy and Angel.
"Happy Birthday, Buffy. I hope you like the color." Xander stepped back, out of the way, and let her get to the box.
Buffy got up and looked at Giles, going into slayer mode. "Giles," She said, "They're on the offensive. We need to figure out where they'll go."
Giles pulled a crowbar out of the cabinet and set it in the box's lock. He lifted and the clasp broke easily.
"Agreed," he said, and lifted the lid.
Buffy looked into the box, "This is good."
Unknowingly, Jenny appeared in the doorway.
"Do you, uh..." Giles turned to look at her,
"Is there something I can do?" She asked nervously
"Get out." Buffy snapped, without even looking.
"I...I just want to help." Jenny said.
Giles looked away from her. "She said 'get out.'"
Buffy looked up at Giles, as he looked sadly into the box. Jenny turned around and left.
Xander stepped up behind them. "Do you want me to show you how to use it?"
"Yes, I do." Buffy said.
*********************
Buffy and the gang headed over to the factory, hoping they weren't too late to stop them without casualties. But unfortunately they were gone. "There gone. Where could they be."
"I mean, okay, he wants people, right? He'd go to a place where there's lots of people." Willow analyzed
Buffy nodded. "The Bronze?"
"It's closed tonight," Xander replied.
"Well there aren't many places in Sunnydale," Cordelia muttered. "It's not like people are gonna line up to get massacred."
"Hey, guys?" Everyone turned to look at the usually quiet Oz, who had spoken up. "I know where I'd go if I wanted to line up..."
Part 5
Buffy, with Angel by her side and the others marched into the mall. They headed toward the front of the mall, where most of the people were shopping, and where the Judge would most likely go. "OK, take out the lesser vampires if you can and if you need to; otherwise stay out of sight. I'll handle the smurf." Buffy commanded
Vampires piled into the mall. Standing on the balcony above all the people, Drusilla stood on one side of the Judge, while Angelus stood on the other. "Lock the exits, boys," he commanded the other vampires. The Judge stepped forward, he moved his hand to some people. A bolt of energy shot out and everyone stopped, as if paralyzed. Drusilla jumped up and down. "Oh, goody!" she cried.
A bolt fired into the Judge's chest, causing him to withdraw his energy. Ripping the bolt out. "Who dares?" Angelus and Dru looked at her pissed, especially Angelus, who was also gleaming at his other half.
Buffy focused from where she was standing. "That got his attention," she muttered. She glanced down quickly to make sure Angel and Xander were opening the box with the rocket launcher.
"You are a fool." The Judge said. "No weapon forged can stop me."
"That was then," Buffy said. She lowered the crossbow and Xander took it from her. Angel lifted the rocket launcher and gave it to her. "This is now."
She turned it on, letting the massive machine power up. Angelus and Drusilla looked at each other briefly and then they both started getting away from the Judge. All the lesser vampires were running to get away. Only the Judge stood now.
"What does that do?" the Judge asked curiously
A rocket fired from Buffy's hands and hit the Judge directly in the chest. The force of the explosion blew Angelus and Dru over the railing.
Everyone in the mall ran in panic.
Buffy gave the rocket launcher back to Xander. "Best present ever."
"Knew you'd like it." Xander smirked, taking it from her.
Buffy glanced up and saw Angelus running to a nearby exit. She jumped from where she was standing and followed through the crowded mall. Angel tried to follow her, but lost her through the crowd. Buffy went through a door and looked, she was soaking wet from the sprinklers, she turned around and was struck from behind.
Angelus stood above her, just as wet as she was. "You know what the worse part was?! Pretending that I loved you, if I know how easily you'd give it up, I wouldn't have even bothered." He said cruelly.
Buffy looked up at him. "It doesn't work anymore, you're not Angel."
"You'd like to think so, it doesn't matter. The important thing is you made me the man I am today."
Buffy lashed out with a kick to the chest, he blocked and punched her in the face. She punched back and it landed on his jaw, he retaliated by throwing her to the ground. "Come on Buffy, you know you want it huh." He smirked.
She jumped up and ducked from his attack, she grabbed him by the collar and slammed his head into a glass case, and pushed him away with a kick to the head. Buffy was about to reach for a stake, but felt a pair of hands go around her waist, she turned quickly, it was Angel.
"Don't let him hurt you anymore." Angel pleaded, now wasn't the time for her to fight the demon, she was still in anguish and it would weaken her in this fight. "Come on."
Buffy let Angel pull her away, while demon stood up laughing. "Hey little brother."
Angel glared at him angrily. Trying to get Buffy out of there, before the demon said anymore.
"Come on Angel, lighten up. Were brothers. Twins!!" Angelus said excitingly. "That means we share everything, blood, looks, lovers." He smirked at Buffy.
Buffy broke free of Angel's hold and attacked Angelus, she kicked him in the chest and pulled out a stake, she could do it, she could end it right now; but she remembered Angel's words. Angelus got up slowly, smiling at her as she lowered her stake. "You can't do it, you can't kill me."
Buffy trembled, before lashing out at him, she kicked him in the groin. Making Angelus fall to his knees in pain. Buffy turned around, and walked out with Angel holding her hand. "Give me time."
***********************
After everything was settled at the mall, the judge's pieces were thrown into the ocean, Giles gave Buffy and Angel a ride back to there own homes. She told him that she wanted to be alone tonight, and he understood. Angel got out of the car, knowing that she would be OK, and that they would talk later. Giles parked outside of Buffy's house and turned off the engine.
Buffy sat in the car silent, she had been silent the entire trip. Buffy had no idea what to say, so Giles started.
"It's not over, he'll come after you particularly."
"You must be so disappointed in me." She muttered
"No." Giles shook his head. "No, I'm not."
Sniffling. "But this is all my fault." Buffy whimpered
"I don't believe it is. Do you want me to wag my finger at you, and tell you, you acted rashly; I can and you did. But I know that you love him, and he has proven more than once that he loves you, you couldn't have known what would happen." Giles stated, he held her hand in his, giving his surrogate daughter comfort. "The coming months are gonna be hard, I suspect on all of us, but if it's guilt your looking for Buffy I'm not your man." He swallowed. "All you will get from me is my support, and my respect."
Buffy forced a smile through her tears. "Thank you."
Giles nodded, and squeezed her hand. She nodded back and got out of the car, and went inside to the comfort of her mother's arms.
Part 6
Buffy walked down the hall of Sunnydale High, she made her way to her locker, when Willow ran toward her; after having a long talk with Oz.
"Hey Buffy." Willow said, cheerfully.
Buffy glanced at her quickly. "Hey Will."
"Are you OK?" She asked, noticing Buffy's semi sad look.
"I'm getting there."
Willow put her hand on Buffy's shoulder, trying to comfort her friend. "Have you talked to Angel?"
Buffy shook her head. "Yeah. We talked everything out and cleared up some things."
"But?" Willow implied, knowing something was still bothering her.
Buffy sighed. "But it still hurts. Not just what his demon said, but I keep thinking this is my fault. Angel tells me all the time that 'it's not true, it's not my fault,' I can't shake the feeling."
"Buffy it's not your fault, you had no idea what would happen. I can't say it won't be hard, but don't let the demon get to you." Willow explained.
Slightly smiling. "Thanks Will." Buffy said. "Hey, speaking of boyfriends, what's going on with you and Oz?" She pushed aside her small problem, to put Willow on the spot.
Willow blushed a bright red. "I almost asked him out."
"Go Will!" Buffy exclaimed. "So you're over Xander huh?"
She frowned slightly. "Yeah, I think so. He's with.." Willow paused to make a face. "Cordelia, and there together now; ewww."
Buffy started to laugh. "We never saw it coming. But Oz, you gonna ask him out?"
"I want too, I'm just...."
Buffy grabbed Willow by the shoulders. "Will, there is nothing standing in your way. You want Oz, take the challenge, and go for it; be persistent, no guy can resist the Willow charm. Besides Oz likes you, so that's a plus."
Willow nodded nervously and they made there way to class, where they continued there conversation through notes.
***********************
Later on that night, it was a beautiful full moon, and teens from all over were enjoying it at Lover's Lane; especially Xander and Cordelia. They were sitting in her car seriously making out, just when it started to get more hot, Xander pulled away thinking about the conversation he had with Buffy and Willow earlier.
"What does she see in him?!" He questioned, referring to Oz, Willow had told him that she was going to date Oz, and he was confused.
Cordelia rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Not Willow again. We did not come here to talk."
Xander carried on, ignoring Cordelia. "I don't trust that guy, he's a senior, that makes him older. He's OK in the cute department, and he's in a band; which attracts groupie's."
Sighing. "Xander I've dated guys in bands...." Cordelia stated.
"I rest my case."
Cordelia looked hurt, but brushed it off. "Do you even wanna be here?" she asked.
"I'm not running away."
"When you're not babbling about poor, defenseless Willow," Cordelia implied, "you're raving about the oh so wonderful Buffy!"
"I do not." Xander defended himself.
"Xander, we are on Lover's Lane, there's a big full moon out, that makes the setting romantic, so shut up." Cordelia demanded, and they began making out again. Until Xander broke it off again.
"Did you hear that?" He glanced around outside.
"What?"
"I thought I heard something." Still looking for something or someone.
Cordelia sighed and pulled him back into her embrace, and they started making out again. A moment later, Xander pulled away again.
"I heard something!" He exclaimed.
"That's it." Cordelia yelled. "You haven't been hear all night......" Cordelia rambled, until a hairy arm with claws broke through the roof of the car.
"Get us out of here!!!!" Xander yelled.
Cordelia started the car and took off in reverse, seeing the creature fall of the car. She had drove frantically back to the library, when they arrived the rest of the gang, except Giles came out to investigate.
Buffy and Angel inspected the hole in the roof. She turned to Cordelia and Xander. "Are you guys sure it's a werewolf?"
Cordelia with her hand on her hip. "Yes, big, hairy, ugly thing; yep it was a werewolf."
Just as they were about to walk back into the library, they turned around to see Giles walking toward them with a newspaper in his hand.
"So what'd you find?" Buffy said.
"Well," Giles started. "It seems that there were a-- a number of attacks by this creature. Several animal carcasses were found mutilated." He handed the paper to Buffy.
"Ewww, gross." Stated Cordelia.
"Well, at least their weren't any people hurt." Buffy spoke, trying to look on the bright side of the situation.
"For now, but it might be back for the next full moon" Angel said, adding his thoughts.
"Maybe tonight." Giles said. "There is a cycle, the night before the full moon, the full moon, and the night after."
"Great." Buffy muttered. "Were hunting werewolves."
"Then we must be careful, when we face this creature." Giles implied
"Why? We kill it, then we party." Xander stated.
"This werewolf is human the other twenty-eight days of the month, Xander," Angel said.
"Then we bring it back alive, no exceptions." Buffy explained.
While the gang made there plans about how to take care of the werewolf, across town, a girl walked swiftly, trying to get home. She rounded the corner and bumped into a large body. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's all right." The guy said. "Hey don't I know you, your a friend of Buffy's."
"You know Buffy." She smiled.
"I know her very well, I'm Angel." Angelus smirked.
"I'm Theresa."
"I was on my way to see Buffy, but why don't I walk you home first, it's dangerous out tonight." Angelus offered.
"Sure." Theresa said happily, not seeing the evil in the man's eyes that she was trusting to keep her safe.
Part 7
Deep into the woods, a low growl could be heard turning into a slight moan. The creature lied curled up beneath a tree, shaking and moaning as it's features began to transform; the massive hair shrinks back, it's hands morphs into a human state. Oz awoke disoriented, he sat up slow, and looked at his naked form. "Whoa."
After a moment Oz gathered himself and swiftly ran home, very aware that he was roaming the streets naked. When he got home, Oz made a phone call that changed his life that moment.
After learning the information he needed, Oz quickly got to the library to tell everyone what had happened to him, but as soon as he arrived he noticed there was a cloud of tension over everyone's head. "What's going on?"
Buffy sat angrily at the table. "Theresa's dead, she was killed last night."
Shocked, Oz slowly asked. "Was it the werewolf?" He prayed that he had not killed one of his friends.
"No." Giles spoke up. "Angelus was responsible, at her memorial service Theresa arose and attacked. As a message for Buffy."
Oz breathed a sighed with relief. "Thank God."
"What!?!" Buffy snapped, she couldn't believe Oz would say such a cruel thing, it was so unlike him.
"I thought I had done it." Oz muttered, when he saw Buffy's shocked face, he knew she misunderstood.
Willow walked up to him. "You're the werewolf." She analyzed quickly.
Oz nodded. "My cousin bit me, he's a werewolf."
"Oh dear." Giles muttered, taking his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose, he found himself doing that a lot these past few days.
Buffy sat there still fuming, she was happy that they could help Oz and his situation, but it angered her that while she was out chasing a wild dog, she forgot about her duty and let Theresa get killed by the very thing she was to protect her from. Even if he did have the face of her lover.
She got up quickly and grabbed her bag, Buffy stormed out of the library, the school and head to Angel's, she needed someone to talk to.
The others just stared and watched her leave.
********************************
Angel sat in the darkness of his apartment. He was having deep thoughts about everything that has happened in the past few days. His demon being released, the demon joining forces with Spike and Dru, the demon hurting Buffy; that thought stuck out more that the rest. No matter how many talks and acceptance he and Buffy had, this problem was still a big issue, and it was straining there relationship; just when they had gone beyond any levels there relationship could go.
Angel felt a tingle go through his spine, and heard the scraping of a key. He turned in his chair, staring at Buffy as she walked in. "Hey."
"Hi." She replied, shutting the door softly. Buffy went to Angel and sat down beside him in another chair. She stared at him for a second, before looking around the apartment curiously. "Why is it so dark in here?"
"I was thinking."
"You were brooding again." Buffy teased.
Angel cracked a small grin, and nodded. They sat there for a moment, until Angel got curious. "Not that I don't want to see you but, why are you here?"
"Um, we found the werewolf, it's Oz." She explained.
"Oz?"
"Yeah, his little cousin bit him, and he's a werewolf; blah blah."
Angel nodded, he saw a look in her face, a mix of anger, and guilt. The look that said she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to approach the subject; and it pissed her off that she couldn't. "There's something else."
Buffy looked at him angrily. "Angelus sent a little message for us."
That got Angel's full attention. "What happened?"
"He turned a friend of mine, and she came after me, he sends his love by the way." Buffy got up, and paced the room. "While we were running around looking for this werewolf, I was ignoring my duty."
"Buffy it's not your fault. You were doing your job to protect." Angel explained.
"And I still let Theresa die." She turned her back to him. "I should have killed him when I had the chance, but I was too weak."
Angel reached up to take her hand, but she pulled her hand away in anger. "Don't!! Everything I touch suffers."
Shaking his head, Angel got up and grabbed her arm to stop her from pacing, he was angry; the demon still had an emotional hold on her. "No, you are not weak, that wasn't a good time to fight him." He said, trying to soothe her, while hiding the anger he felt from his realization.
Buffy opened her mouth to interrupt, but Angel silenced her with a finger.
"I'm not gonna let you push me away, I can't live with that." Angel proclaimed. "Buffy, he is just doing this to strain us, so he can get us when were vulnerable, and were letting it happen. We have to stop dwelling and try to move on."
Buffy nodded her head in agreement. "When did you get so wise?" Buffy teased, feeling better now that she had gotten everything out of her system, communicating is good.
"It took years, literally." He teased back, and was pleased at the smirk she gave him, it still wasn't the happy smile he wanted, but he would wait, and try to bring it out of her again.
Angel tilted her chin up level with his, searching her face for anymore guilt or pain, happily he saw a small look of contentment on her face. Slowly he placed his lips on hers, gently kissing her with all his love and desire for her; Angel started off tender, not sure if he should, but couldn't help himself.
When she didn't pull away, he cautiously deepened the kiss, she kissed him back, enjoying the feel as his tongue brushed against her tingling lips. Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck and he buried his hands in her hair, relishing in the feel of her.
Of course she needed to breath and he pulled back, when he looked at her a feeling of joy ran through him, Buffy smiled the brightest smile she had ever given him in the past few days. The one he'd been waiting for. Angel smiled back and pulled her into another kiss when a bang at the door interrupted them, the door had been broken, it was hanging on by it's hinges.
Angel quickly stood in front of Buffy as if to protect her. He clutched his fists in rage, furious to see the demon that was causing Buffy and him so much emotional turmoil. "You shouldn't have come here." He said tightly.
Angelus smirked at his other half's anger. "But I live here too." He pouted, in a playful manner. He leaned his frame against the doorway, staring at the two lovebirds, it was sickening.
"You're gonna die here if you don't leave." Angel shot daggers at him.
"What are you gonna do, talk me to death. You don't have the guts to do anything to me, I'm the one who showed you everything you know; without me you can't do anything." Angelus mocked, he smiled even brighter as he saw the way Angel was tightening his hands, it was such a pleasure to see, Angelus wanted more, and he put his attention on Buffy. "Hey baby."
Buffy glared daggers at him. "What do you want?"
"Oh, my favorite question. But it's not a question of what I want, it's what I can give you." He smiled. "I think you'll like it, just get on your back like usual and I'll give......." Angelus was cut off by Angel punching him in the face. He had enough, Angel let out every thought of killing and torturing his demon into his actions, he grabbed Angelus and threw him into a wall, and advanced on him with fierce kicks to the chest.
Buffy stood back and watched them fight, or rather Angel fighting Angelus. She cringed at the look on Angel's face, she'd never seen such hatred before and it scared her. But Buffy would not interfere, this fight was between Angel and his demon.
Angel kept on kicking him, he was in such a rage, his brain completely shut down. He suddenly stopped kicking Angelus, thinking the demon had enough. Angel stepped away, panting, his hands were shaking.
The demon shook the dizziness out of his head and started to laugh. He got up slowly. "That was good Angel, you didn't disappoint me." Angelus chuckled. "Did it turn you on Buffy?"
Angel growled in his chest, he was about to lunge for him, but felt Buffy grab his hand gently, he didn't look at her; Angel just needed to feel her, and he calmed down. "Get out."
I'll see ya around." Angelus backed up toward the door, before he turned to leave he stopped. "Oh yeah, I have a gift." He reached into his pocket and tossed something at Buffy.
On instinct, Buffy caught the object, not realizing what it was until she looked at it. Her eyes widened in revulsion and dropped it with a shriek. "On my God!" Buffy and Angel stared at the red sphere, still pulsing with blood. A human heart. Buffy's face paled, she shivered at the gruesome sight, it looked fresh. She held up her hands and saw them covered in the dark blood, even pieces of the heart was sticking to her palms. In disgust, Buffy ran to the bathroom, she grabbed a cloth and scrubbed her hands, she scrubbed desperately, using soap and water, but nothing helped, she still saw blood everywhere. Buffy's face was pure white, she felt a nauseating feeling go through her, and she dropped to the floor.
Angel came into the bathroom, to see her retching in the toilet. He went to her and rubbed her back as she finished. She wiped her mouth when she was finished, and kept her gaze on her hands, Buffy couldn't believe this. Angel took her hands in his, with the cloth he began to clean the blood from Buffy's hands. He whispered to her, telling her it would be all right.
Buffy shook her head 'no.' "It won't be until he's dead." Her voice shaking.
Angel closed his eyes with guilt, thinking he should have killed the demon right then and there. His heart went out to Buffy, Angel knew she had seen some really horrible things, but a live human heart being thrown into her face, and being covered by it's blood had unnerved her, and it was just the beginning.
Part 8
"Are you OK?" Willow asked worriedly. She and Buffy were walking across the quad, while Buffy told Willow what had happened yesterday.
"Yeah, it just unnerved me a little." Buffy answered.
Willow pulled Buffy into a small hug. "So what are you gonna do?"
"I don't know. My first instinct is to kill him, but I can't, and I don't know why." Buffy said, she was so confused, she was sure that she had gotten over the fact that Angelus may look like Angel, but he's not. And she could not understand what was stopping her. "Why can't I kill him?" Buffy asked.
"Maybe, you still see him as Angel, despite what he does." Willow implied.
"Angel's not like that, Will." Buffy defended.
"Well, Buffy just because the demon has no emotions, and is evil; it doesn't mean that there aren't some characteristics of Angel in the demon."
Buffy became silent. She had never thought of that, could it be possible that Angelus was just another side of Angel that was waiting to come out, aside from the sweet, quiet Angel, there was an angry, outspoken, rebel somewhere in the picture. "I don't know." Buffy whispered.
"Buffy don't worry about it right now, you're starting to brood." Willow teased.
Buffy forced a smile and nodded in agreement. To quickly change the subject, Buffy turn her attention to Oz, who was sitting alone on a stone bench. "OK, then help me UN-brood, and talk to the cutie sitting over there." Buffy pointed in his direction.
Willow blushed a bright pink. "Umm, I don't.."
"Will, go talk to him." Buffy turned her around and gave her a slight push in his direction.
Willow walked over toward him, she smoothed her hair down, and straightened her clothes. "Hey Oz."
Oz stood up quickly. "Hi."
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, still a little confused about this whole thing, but I'm managing, as long as I chain myself up."
Willow nodded, she took a deep breath. "So, what. What about us?"
"I didn't think you'd want to be around me. I mean I'm not exactly the best guy to have around especially 3 days out of every month." Oz explained, she was so sweet.
Willow smiled shyly. "Well, I'm not the best to be around 3 days every month either, but I want you around.
Oz smiled brightly. "OK."
Willow nodded, and started to walk off. But a thought hit her, Willow turned back, and kissed him. She let her lips linger until she pulled away eventually, and walked away quickly to join a surprised Buffy.
Oz stood there stunned, he let his fingers touch his lips, he could still feel her on them. "A werewolf in love."
****************************
Two weeks later, Valentine's Day was in full bloom, everyone was running around with hearts, flowers, and candies. Other than that, it was surprisingly quiet all around, especially in vamp activity. Buffy and Angel sat in the cemetery, waiting for some sign of the undead, excluding present company of course.
"This sucks, no pun intended." Buffy exclaimed. "We could be at home, vegging, but no, we have to stay out here; where nothing is happening."
Angel chuckled.
"This is so not funny, you insisted to come. Why? Giles said around this time vamps are quiet." Buffy realized.
"Except one." Angel answered cryptically, but she got the hint.
"Oh. So is this like an anniversary for him?"
"You could say that, Valentine's Day was special for him. That's why I insisted on coming, we have to be prepared for him."
Breathing a sigh. "Will you tell me some of the things he did? So I'll be prepared." Buffy asked, cautiously. She knew that these stories would be as gruesome as ever, but she needed to know.
"Are you sure you wanna hear this?" Angel asked.
Buffy nodded.
Angel closed his eyes, bringing back the memories he had tried to bury in his head. "One time he went after a noble woman on Valentine's Day." He paused for a moment. "He nailed her puppy to her....."
"Skip it." Buffy interrupted. "I don't have a puppy. Skip it." She answered quickly, she was already having a scary visual. "Anything else?"
"Nothing really, just killed, sent love letters, and flowers; with body parts, and etc." Angel replied.
Breathing a sigh. "OK, I'm prepared.
Angel bowed his head, he knew she was uncomfortable about hearing this, and he felt guilt that he somehow made her feel that way. "I'm sor.." Angel started.
"No." Buffy stopped him. "We agreed no more apologies, no more guilt, remember."
Angel stayed silent, and nodded. He went for her hand. "Come on let's go, he would have shone up by now, I think it's safe to say he's not doing anything tonight. We can still enjoy Valentine's Day" Angel joked. "Unlike someone we know.
Buffy nodded. "That's bad, he's still upset about Cordy breaking up with him."
Angel nodded, and lead her home.
Across town in the factory, Angelus laid back on a table deep in thought. Spike was sitting in his wheelchair, watching Drusilla dance around with the present Angelus had given her for Valentine's Day, Spike was quite pissed off about it. He wheeled himself over to where Angelus was laying at. "You've been laying there for over an hour, what are you gonna do about the slayer?" Spike said annoyingly.
"Spike, Spike. Don't have a temper tantrum, every good plan has to be thought out thoroughly." Angelus replied, with smirk on his face, that was pissing Spike off.
"What are you planning to do? Send the bitch love letters."
"Actually yes. Dear Buffy." Angelus stopped for a second, and sat up quickly. "I'm still trying to decide the best was to send my regards."
"Why don't you rip her lungs out? That might make an impression." Spike said, sarcastically.
Angelus took a moment to think about it. "Lacks...poetry."
"It doesn't have to. What rhymes with 'lungs'?"
"I didn't know you were the poetic type Spike." Angelus chuckled, he got up from the table, and walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" Spike yelled.
"To see my valentine." He answered, leaving out the door.
***************************
At Buffy's house, she and Angel sat on the couch cuddled in each others arms, watching sappy romance movies. They were so engrossed in the movie and themselves that they let everything else outside there world leave there minds. They were Buffy and Angel, a happy, normal couple, holding each other as a sign of affection. Angel unconsciously played with her hand, stroking each finger gently, and the ring her gave her as a sign of his loyalty, fidelity, and love for her. When Buffy gripped his hand, he came out of his trance to focus on the ring he had been stroking.
Angel breathed a sigh before opening his mouth. "Buffy."
She turned away from the movie, to look at him.
"I know that this might not be a good time but, I sort of have a little valentine's day gift for you." He stuttered.
Buffy smiled and gave him her full attention. "What is it?"
"Well, the ring I gave you. I meant to tell you the real meaning of it, but it never came up, so I figured now was a good time to tell you." Angel stated, he was a little worried about what her reaction would be. "In Ireland, these rings are considered wedding rings, when I put it on your hand, I married us."
Before Angel could continue, Buffy had thrown herself into his arms, knocking him down onto the couch, with her on top. She hugged him tightly as she kissed him deeply on the lips, Angel could do nothing but respond, he realized that her sudden actions meant that she was happy, and kissed her back. The kiss became even more passionate and soon they were seriously making out, Angel pushed his hands into her hair; letting the strands tangle around his fingers, and pulled her body more into his.
Buffy was about to start unbuttoning Angel's shirt, when a knocking at the door interrupted her. She was about to get up and answer it, but Angel held her around the waist. "Ignore it." He said, and placed his lips on her neck to nibble her flesh. Buffy considered it, but the knocking continued, reluctantly she got up, and answered the door. When no one was at the door, Buffy cautiously looked around for anyone or anything, she glanced down real quick, and noticed a bouquet of roses. She picked them up and walked back into the house, into the living room, and sat back down next to Angel.
Angel leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "You have an admirer, should I be jealous?"
Buffy smiled until she opened the card that came with the roses. "I don't know if jealous is what you should be." She replied, showing him the card. Angel's smile dropped. Written on the card was only one word, that had thousands of meanings. "Soon."