The next night.

Buffy didn't go out patrolling. Afraid she would feel him again. After the dream last night, she couldn't handle the feeling anymore. She had locked her bedroom door so that no one would disturb her.

A few times, Dawn would ask to see if she wanted anything, but she would get no answer. Everyone began to worry about her. Willow had called Giles and left a message on the answering machine to call her back.

******

Buffy laid awake, staring up at the ceiling, counting how many tiles are up there. She'd cry when she would get to a certain number, remembering that's how old Angel was. She felt miserable�afraid�alone� She knew that she had worried her friends. For the last half hour, someone would be knocking on the door, to see if she wanted anything or to talk. She didn't mean to worry her friends. She just wanted to be alone, to think her feelings through.

******

Willow was on the phone with Giles. Xander, Anya, Tara and Dawn waited on what he had to say.

"Okay. Thank you Giles, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear," Willow said. She said her goodbye and hung up the phone.

"That was Giles. He said, he'll be on the first flight to America tonight," Willow told everyone.

"I�I hope this will help her," Tara said.

"Me too. I haven't seen her like this, since Joyce died," Xander said, as he removed his arm from around Anya and sat forward.

"It was hard on everyone," Willow said. She glanced up at Dawn. Sadness was in her eyes. Willow got up and walked over by Dawn. Dawn rested her head on Tara's shoulder, as she remembered the frightening news, which her mom had died.

"Dawnie, you alright?" She asked, as she sat on the edge of the couch.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just a little worried about Buffy."

Willow put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "She'll be okay. She just need a little time to her self."

"Wanna come out with me while, I patrol?" She whispered. This caught Dawn's attention. She never had gone patrolling with Buffy. Said, it was too dangerous for her. She shook her head.

"Go put your shoes on," Willow told her.

Dawn got up and headed up stairs.

"I'm gonna go take Dawn for some ice cream. Anybody want any?" Willow asked.

"Chocolate fudge sundae for me," Xander said. He turned to Anya. "You want anything?" She shook her head no.

A few minutes later, Dawn came down, ready to go.

"We'll be back," She said, kissing Tara.

"Be careful," Tara told her.

Willow and Dawn left the house.

******

Buffy got out of bed and went to her window. She heard the door close. She could see Willow and Dawn, walking down the street. She looked at her alarm clock. It was past 10:00.

"I hope she isn't taking her patrolling," She said, as she headed back to her bed. "Maybe they're going out for ice cream. The shop doesn't close until 11:00. But she should have taken Xander with them. Ahh, Willow will know what to do if they run into any trouble." She covered back up with her blanket. Then it hit her. What if anything happens to them, it would be her fault. She was too worried about her own problems to watch out for them. Guilt ran over her face.

She got out of bed and got dressed. She threw on a pair of sweats and her shoes. She walked over to her window and opened it. A cool gust of wind blew through the room. She grabbed her stake off her nightstand and climbed out through the window.

She was just going to make sure that they got through safe and back home.

Chapter Seven

Willow and Dawn, walked through the gravesite. Dawn held a cross close to her chest and a small stake in her left hand. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to use it. She wanted to go along, to see how they do it, but she doesn't want to come across anything that she would have to kill.

"We have to stop at the ice cream shop before we head home. I told them that's where we were going," Willow said.

"Okay. I could use some chocolate ice cream," Dawn told her.

"We can head there now. Looks like no vampires tonight," Willow said, as her and Dawn started walking in the direction of the Ice Cream Shop.

******

Buffy walked a couple feet behind them. Making sure that nothing happened to them while they walked to the Ice Cream Shop. Her thoughts wondered to her dream. It felt so real. His touch. His kisses. The way he felt against her body. Tears started building up in her eyes.

She didn't understand why she was having dreams. She never did except for the first 3 weeks he was gone, but after, they had disappeared. But now, when she had felt him, yesterday, the dreams happened again. And she hated it. She hated the feeling, how real it felt.

******

Angel walked through the gravesite. His mind wondered to thoughts of Buffy. He hated not being able to tell her why he was in town.

Angel looked up when he heard voices. Voices that sounds familiar to him. He could see Willow and Dawn walking. An idea popped in his mind. Maybe Willow could help him with his problem. He turned and headed in the direction of the two girls.

******

Buffy noticed a dark figure walking towards her friend and sister. She picked up speed, hoping to catch to the figure before it could do any harm to them. She pulled out her stake, and ran. Hoping it wasn't too late.

******

Dawn heard a tree branch break behind them. She jumped a little. "Will, I think someone is following us," Dawn told her, afraid.

"Just keep on walking. We're almost there," Willow said, as she grabbed a hold of Dawn's arm and hurried to the light up ahead.

******

Buffy grabbed a hold of the man and wiped him around, not taking a look at the face as she upper cut him. "Trying to go after my family. Wrong move," She said, as she held the stake, reading to take action.

******

Willow and Dawn stopped and turned around when they heard noises behind them. They saw Buffy standing over a dark figure, who lay on the ground. They ran up to her.

"Are you guys alright?" Buffy asked, taking a glance at them.

"Yeah, just a little scared," Dawn said.

******

Angel lay on the ground. Face covered by his arm. Somebody caught him off guard, before he could se who it was. He felt a large amount of pain shoot through his jaw. For a minute, he thought it was broken, but it wasn't when he moved it back and forth.

******

Buffy turned her attention back to the figure that lay on the ground. "You guys really don't know how to learn. You mess with my family, you mess with me."

The man moved. A few groans escaped his mouth. He knew that voice. A voice that he loved so much. He turned his head as their eyes met.

Buffy stared down at him. Her stake fell from her hands, on the ground. She was over whelmed with emotions as the tears started building up. She closed her eyes, thinking that she was dreaming again. But when she opened them, he was still there.

"Angel?" The words finally escaped her lips.

Chapter Eight

"Buffy," He said quietly. He got off the ground. "Nice upper cut." He placed a hand over the, now red spot on his face.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else," She told him, feeling really bad about this time.

"Hey Angel," Willow said. "It's good to see you again."

Angel looked at her and smiled. "Same here. How you been?"

"Good. Good. Well, we're off now," She said, as she grabbed a hold of Dawn's arm and started walking towards the Ice Cream Shop again.

******

"I wonder what he's going here?" Dawn asked, as they ran across the street.

"I don't know. I'm sure we'll find out," Willow said, as they got in line.

******

Buffy and Angel stood there, awkwardly, in silence. Buffy looked up at him. Their eyes meeting. Buffy smiled shyly.

Angel felt butterflies in his stomach. He smiled back at her. He felt strange standing there. No words said between them. He wished that he could turn and run and hide. But didn't couldn't It was too late to try to hide now.

"Hi," He said, stupidly.

"Hey," She said. "I really am sorry about before. I thought you were someone else. My instincts kicked in, before I realized that it was you."

"That's okay. I probably would have done the same thing. I'll live," He told her, reassuring her.

"What brings you to Sunnydale, if you don't mind me asking."

He hoped that he wouldn't have to answer that. At least not right now. But he knew that there was no way around it. He was going to have to answer, even if a part of him told him not too. He had to stall as long as he could.

******

Buffy and Angel started walking. Soon, before they realized it, they were standing in front of her house. They walked around to the back of the house.

Buffy glanced up, and noticed that Willow and Dawn were there. They had made it back safely. She let out a sigh of relief. She wouldn't know what to do, if anything ever happened to her sister or her friends.

They sat down on the back porch steps. Buffy realized that he hadn't yet answered her question. She knew that he was hiding something. She turned to look at him.

"You never did answer my question," She said. "I'd like to know why you're hear, if that's okay."

Angel knew that he had stalled too long. So, now he knew he had to tell.

"Would you believe me if I told you I just came to visit?" He asked, as he looked in to her hazel eyes.

Buffy sat there for a minute to think. She didn't believe it and he knew that. "Nope. There's something else to why you're here and I'd like to know why. Cause it's driving me nuts. I know you were in the park yesterday. You couldn't fool me."

"Yeah, I was," He said, looking down at his shoes. "It was just really hard to be able to see you."

"Why's that?" She asked, wanting, needing, to know.

"It was hard, because�because I miss you Buffy."

Chapter Nine

"Miss me?" She barely said, above a whisper.

"There I said it. Now that wasn't so bad," He said, letting out a big sigh. He did feel better. He looked at her. Her expression made him begin to worry. Worry that he shouldn't have said anything. "I knew I shouldn't have said it."

"No. No. I'm just�well, taken by surprise," She told him.

Their eyes met again. A warm tingly feeling ran through her body, as she looked deep into his soft brown eyes. All thoughts disappeared in her mind, as she brought a hand up to his cheek and lightly caressed it. Angel leaned forward, inches away from kissing her. A strong force held them there.

Angel brushed away her hair, from her face. She closed her eyes, as she felt his touch. Before they knew what was happening, Angel leaned in and kissed her, softly. Mixed emotions ran through both of them.

******

Buffy finally pulled away, breathless. "Wow." Was all she could say.

Angel looked away. He knew that he shouldn't have done that. But he just couldn't control himself. "Sorry, I shouldn't have kissed you."

"I'm not complaining. It was amazing," She told him. "No regrets. I'm glad that you did." She reached out and touched his hand.

He looked up at her and smiled.

******

They sat there for a few minutes in silences, taking in what had just happened. Buffy couldn't get the words that he missed her out of her head. They played over and over.

"I miss you too Angel," She finally said. "I miss you so much."

Angel looked up. He couldn't help but smile to himself. She did miss him as much as he misses her.

"You know, when I left, I thought I was doing the right thing. Leave you and let you have a normal life. But I never imagine that it would be so hard to live without you apart of my life," He said, softly. "But now, I realize that I made a mistake. Letting you go."

She sat there as she listened to him. Tears slowly making their way down her cheeks. The night of when he left played through her mind.

**

After they had beaten the mayor, she looked around everywhere for him. Hoping and praying that he had made it out. She had run into Xander. He had told her, he made it. A big relief was lifted off her shoulders. But she wanted to see him. To say her good bye. She looked and looked, but he was nowhere near to be found. Then she felt him. She turned and there he stood off in the distance.

They stood there for a few minutes and with that, he turned and left. Walking out of her life. What they once had, was now gone.

Chapter Ten

Pain stabbed her in her broken heart. "Angel, please, I can't hear this. It hurts," She said, as she stood up. "It feels like someone is stabbing me in the heart, all over again. I can't deal with this pain anymore."

Angel stood up, looking at her. He knew what she felt, cause he felt it too. He gently grabbed a hold of her. "I know. I know the pain. I go through it every day. Wondering if I made the right choice. It feels like you can't breathe. You just want to die."

"Please stop," She pleaded.

"Buffy, please listen�" But before he could finish. She pushed him away from her, before she could hear anymore.

"No. I won't. I can't. You have no idea what it's like to be me. Have the one you love, leave you. Your mother dies. Having to grow up before your eyes. Die to save the people you love and the world. Be brought back and now this," She cried. "I just can't handle anymore."

Angel wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close to him, as she cried.

******

"Buffy, I'm not here to make you remember the pain that I caused," He told her. She looked up at him, tearing rolling down her face. "I'm here to fix my mistake."

"Mistake?" She asked, confused.

"My mistake, of letting you go. I want you to be apart of my life again and I want to be apart of yours. I want to be the one that makes love to you at odd hours of the day. Be able to kiss you. Be able to hold you. Be able to wake up in the morning next to you. Fight along side with you. And I want to be the one that loves you like no other has ever loved you."

Buffy looked up at him. "Make love how? I thought you'd lose your soul if you experience one moment of happiness?"

He smiled. "A vampire can't lose his soul, if it's permanent. Long story. Maybe later, I'll tell you."

"You won't leave me again?" She asked.

"No more."

With this, Buffy through her arms around him. "I've waited forever, for this day."

"So have I." He whispered. "So have I."

******

Willow went to the kitchen to get something to drink. She happened to look out the window. She smiled to herself as she saw what was going on out side. Buffy and Angel were kissing. She thought that this had to be a good thing.

"Hey guys. Come here. Hurry," Willow yelled.

Everyone came to see what Willow wanted. She pointed to the window. They looked. Xander smiled. Even though he never really did like Angel, for that he had been jealous of him. He couldn't help it. He was happy. If being with Angel, made her happy, then he was happy for her. For them.

Tara looked at Willow with love. She smiled. Willow smiled back. Tara held Willow's hand as they headed back to the living room to watch TV.

******

"You feel like coming in?" Buffy asked him.

"Sure," He said.

"We'd have to go through the famous window, to my early sneak outs. I doubt they know you're here. And I'm not ready to answer million questions," She said, as she walked over to the side of the house.

"They know. They were standing in the window before," Angel told her.

While they were hugging, after their kiss, Angel happened to look up and saw them standing there, watching.

"Okay. Then we'll use the door."

Angel grabbed her hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed it.

They headed inside. And went straight to her room. Everyone just smiled, said nothing, and continued to watch TV. They'd ask questions later.