����� Welcome to my "Bearing It" series. The series starts about halfway through Season 4 of BtVS and Season 1 of Angel. It's a collection of four (so far) stories, loosely connected by the idea that Buffy and Angel have realized that being apart isn't working. They can't be together, not only because of the curse but because they each now have separate lives that can't be abandoned. Buffy, of course, is the Slayer; she can't leave the Hellmouth, at least not for any extended period. Angel has Angel Investigations; he too is bound by his responsibility, as well as his desire, to help the hopeless.

����� So a compromise was reached. They keep in touch and every so often, say once a month or so, they see each other, taking turns to travel to the other's "turf." It's not completely satisfactory, obviously, but it's better than being separated. In this series the Initiative is pretty much ignored, just because I didn't want to deal with it.

Here are the stories:

Love Is - The first story in the series. Riley learns for the first time about Angel. Then Angel returns. Rated NC-17.

Discoveries - The second story in the series. Kate goes to Sunnydale to find out about Angel, and learns more than she'd planned on. Rated PG. **Winner of a Claddagh Fanfiction Archive Award!**

The Ring Revisited - Third in the series. A reworking of the A:TS episode "The Ring." Rated PG.

Surprises - Fourth and last of the series - so far at least. A burglar picks the wrong house to break into. Rated PG.