A New Knight In The City Of Angels

© 2001 Kizmet

LaCroix looked over the glittering lights of his newest hunting ground. This frantically busy city lay in the outskirts of territory forbidden to his kind.

The Slayer, the eternal hunter claimed territory near here. The girl herself was no more than any other hunter, the first had been a hunter, but her essence had been bound to something ancient, bound to this plain of existence. The organization which supported her preserved her knowledge from one incarnation to the next, increasing the danger which she represented. Killing her would not be sufficient to eliminate the threat of her existence. So the Community simply avoided her.

The Slayer believed she knew of vampires. She ruthlessly hunted down and destroyed the Failed and their children, believing that they were the sum and total of his race. The Community was happy to leave her to her chosen amusement.

And while the Community hid itself from her, the others, the Failed flocked to her. Drawn by a survival instinct that they didn't begin to comprehend they gathered en-mass in the no man's land between the Slayer and the Community.

LaCroix came here to loose himself in the thrill of the hunt, to forget grief and guilt in carnage. The Failed were the only fair game left. They were unprotected by the mortal world and condemned to death by the Community.

In hunting them LaCroix could open himself to his darkest impulses and wash away the memory of Toronto and the unmarked grave that held his most difficult but most beloved child and Nicholas' mortal love whom he had followed into death.

Los Angeles was exactly what he needed to escape the all too human grief that Nicholas' death had infected him with.

++++++++++++++++++++

"So how goes the studying?" Cordelia asked cheerfully.

Angel snarled in reply.

"Having an actual investigator's license isn't complete a bad thing," Wesley offered. "The knowledge it represents may prove useful and the less documentation that Willow forges for you, the better."

"This is all Kate's fault," Angel growled.

"Yep, she's a bitch," Cordelia said happily.

"Detective Lockley has been something of a nuisance lately," Wesley admitted.

"She tried to have me deported!" Angel exclaimed. "Not to mention her sudden problem with my lack of an investigator's license."

"Yes, well Willow was most helpful in those matters. Although I do believe that Mr. Giles was somewhat disconcerted by the illegal nature of her assistance."

"Giles always protests when we do something illegal in the name of Slaying," Cordy remarked. "It doesn't really mean he objects, it's just observing propriety or something like that."

"The point of the matter isn't that we got the documentation," Angel argued. "It's that I have better things to do with my time than jumping through Kate's hoops."

"Like what? At the moment we have no clients and no office. Besides that, I haven't had a vision in weeks. Now is as good of time as any for getting all the formalities taken care of. I mean, sure Kate's a pain, but at least she doesn't have the resources Wolfram and Hart do. If they'd been the ones to think of the mundane ways to get rid of you, you'd have been on a plane back to Ireland, but now, thanks to Kate that angle is covered," Cordy said.

"But."

"But you don't like studying for the exam, heck you didn't even like studying for your driver's license, which should have been way easy since you've been around longer than cars have," Cordy replied. "Well Angel, get used to it. Buffy, Willow, and I got through years and years of tests, I'm sure you can too. Even Xander managed it, sort of, you'll survive."

"I'd rather face a demon," Angel growled.

"Well it's only an hour till sunset," Cordy commented. "Use the time to study, then go find some nasty demon to kill, I'm sure it'll make you feel better. After that we'll all team up to go looking for new offices."

++++++++++++++++++

LaCroix dropped from the sky to confront the blood-spattered parody of what a vampire should be.

He grabbed the creature by its throat and lifted it off the ground, smashing it against the dirty brick wall of the ally.

"It seems you've been finding trouble," LaCroix commented, taking in the battered condition of the Failed. "Did your prey fight back? Let us see this fearsome mortal that could put a vampire, a shadow of the vampire in any case, to heel."

LaCroix scraped a bit of blood from his prisoner's hand and tasted it, only to freeze in shock as the much to familiar wash of emotion filled him. The blood was a vampire's, but not this creature's. The blood told of guilt and remorse, of longing for redemption, tangled and confused with longing for the sun until the two were inseparable, until they weren't even regarded as separate desires. A vampire's innate darkness and the brightness of a kind soul coexisting in a single body.

"Nicholas," LaCroix breathed. "How can this be?"

A second taste of the fading blood brought bitter answers. The emotions in the blood might have been familiar, but the details were not. This creature hadn't encounter LaCroix's lost son, the blood lacked the richness of time, the other vampire was little more than a fledgling, younger even than the irresponsible Spaniard. Not Nicholas, just a child who shared his dreams and delusions as well as the heavy weight of guilt that came with them.

LaCroix glared at the creature that dared to offer him hope, only to snatch it away again. Ice blue eyes caught fire as his captive struggled, becoming golden as the vampire surfaced. LaCroix tightened his grip on the unfortunate vampire's throat, ripping it away. The creature fell too the ground, stunned but still clinging to its existence. Disdainfully LaCroix brought his heel down on the spinal column gleaming through the torn flesh of the creature's neck. As the bone crumbled under the pressure and the spinal cord snapped the body of the creature crumbed into ash. Still angry that he could so easily be tricked into embracing hope, LaCroix lifted into the night, looking for others to take his ire out on.

+++++++++++++++++++

"You're sure you haven't had any visions?" Angel asked.

"Oh yeah. right. I had a migraine with gross-out pictures and it somehow slipped my mind until just now. Not!" Cordelia said rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry Cordelia. Of course you wouldn't forget a vision. It's just that I've been hearing rumors of some new power around town. One that's got most of the locals scared."

"So? This thing's scaring demons, that's a good right? I mean they're bad so. enemy of my enemy and everything?"

"No, it generally means something bigger and worse moved into the neighborhood," Angel replied.

"And I think you're just assuming the worst case. Angel do you even know the meaning of optimism?"

"In my experience it's often synonymous for self-deluded." Angel said.

"Ha-ha. You just want an excuse to get out of taking your test Wednesday."

"Cordelia, I'm not anywhere near as worried about that test as you think I am," Angel protested. "I'm trying to evaluate a potential threat."

+++++++++++++++++++++

LaCroix stood outside the burned out building that had once held the offices of Angel Investigations.

He knew that the child who reminded him of Nicholas had once considered this place home. Obviously that was no longer the case.

Since tasting the young one's blood LaCroix had been unable to forget him. He wanted to see this child who was so reminiscent of his Nicholas. LaCroix couldn't say why he was so drawn to the other vampire; he wasn't Nicholas, he simply shared Nicholas' most exasperating characteristics. LaCroix could see no reason why he would wish to involve himself with yet another troublesome, doomed individual, and this one wasn't even family. Hadn't Nicholas caused him enough pain? If he had any sense left he'd want nothing to do with the young vampire. And yet here he was, outside the place which had been a home to the other.

Only it was a dead-end. "Well that's really for the best," LaCroix told himself. Of course his son could have identified a person with much less to go on than this. If Nicholas could manage it, he could hardly do less.

LaCroix stalked into the condemned building. If his quarry were as similar to Nicholas as he suspected the blast had undoubtedly originated in his home.

However, determining ground zero required a knowledge of explosives, which LaCroix lacked. Well, Nicholas had always relied on experts such as the good Doctor in his investigation, LaCroix reasoned turning to the blood-memories he'd obtained. The blood hadn't been fresh the memories were little more than impressions and a certain feel of familiarity which had led him to the building.

Still his quarry had come home to this place hundreds of times. It was a simple thing to allow the memories to guide him to an underground apartment. The place was black with char; many of the furnishings had been shattered in the blast. Nothing whole had been left behind.

LaCroix picked through what had been left. A few broken dishes, still too many for a vampire, perhaps it was evidence of a mortal pet. LaCroix made a note to deal gently with mortal when he found what he sought. He had been cavalier in his regard of Nicholas' mortals, had believed that the Doctor's death would sever Nicholas' ties to the life he'd created in Toronto, rather it had ended Nicholas' interest in life altogether.

When Nicholas had asked LaCroix for his help it had been given. The bond between himself and his child told LaCroix that Nicholas would leave him to follow his Doctor, to follow Natalie, one way or another. LaCroix had always said that Nicholas didn't know what he wanted, but in the end, he wanted to with Natalie, and between Nicholas' beliefs and Natalie's time frame and LaCroix's own interference, Death had been the only place they could be together. Given the option to go back, LaCroix would not have left Nicholas with so few options.

"There is no way back," LaCroix reminded himself angrily. "What's done is done and can only be lived with. I will not fall into Nicholas' trap of guilt and endless morning for that which is lost."

Decisively the ancient vampire turned his attention back to the charred apartment and the task at hand.

A more diligent search turned up only one other object of interest, a half burnt, badly water-stained address book. The tattered book yielded only a few names and telephone numbers, two of which were useless for LaCroix; the entries for Giles and Buffy had mailing addresses in Sunnydale, the current Slayer's base of operations. The other entries were more helpful, Doyle, Cordelia Chase, Wesley Wyndom-Price and Kate Lockley all possessed Los Angeles numbers.

LaCroix found the first two numbers disconnected and no one answered at the third, but Kate Lockley answered promptly with a curt, "Detective Lockley here."

LaCroix smiled dryly, it didn't surprise him in the slightest that the younger vampire had ties with the local police department. "Still the police had such a habit of unnecessarily complicating matters," LaCroix thought as he hung up without speaking.

++++++++++++++++++

Prank calls, Kate Lockley thought with a scowl turning back to the individual who'd been waiting at her desk when she'd arrived for her shift.

She'd originally thought he was Angel, the look the officer manning the front desk had given her when he mentioned that someone was waiting for her was the same one that she encountered when certain colleges made comments about how maybe they should become PI's with only one name if they wanted a favor from her.

Once those comments had caused her to blush and her snarls had only covered her embarrassment. Once, back when she'd believed Angel was just a handsome man as awkward in social situations as she was. Kate had thought that maybe he was the one. Gorgeous, painfully sincere in his desire to help people, and best of all he didn't seem to expect her to be some helpless damsel in distress.

But it was all a mask. Angel wasn't her type. Hell, he wasn't even a member of her species, and if the legends she'd found about Angelus contained even a kernel of truth, he was a serial killer without equal. At least not in the human world, she had yet to determine the scope of his atrocities in his world's scale.

He said he'd changed, and Kate knew it was the truth. Angel wasn't the psychotic killer she'd read about, but he was a part of that other reality. The reality that had killed her father. A reality that included creatures that made a mockery of the laws she was sworn to up-hold. They blended with her society when they choose then shattered it with their violence whenever the mood struck. Even Angel, with all the changes he was so proud of, could cast every trace of humanity when it suited him.

Angel killed that thing on the train without a second thought, and then had the nerve to come tell her, "Oops, that one wasn't evil after all." He didn't even feel guilt about it.

That told Kate more than she needed to know about demons, about their reality. The only law they lived by was the last one standing is right.

She'd wanted to believe Angel was different, but she knew better. The night that her father died Kate had abandoned her reality for Angel's. She walked into that warehouse with every intention of taking her vengeance their way, making them pay with her gun and the stakes she'd brought.

Kate had killed a person in the line of duty before. After weeks of second guessing herself IA had cleared her of any wrongdoing. Sometimes she still wondered if it had had to end with a man dead by her hand. Kate couldn't have imagined that a time would come when she'd kill for vengeance, but she had.

Afterwards, as she sat in the ruins of her self-image, Angel had resumed the cloak of normality and offered condolences for her father's death. He could step between her world and his without pause. Behead a demon one minute and play the part of a concerned friend in the next. She couldn't do that. Once she stepped into Angel's world there was no way back for her. The shadows were full of monsters now and Kate had originally believed that nothing could change that.

Now she had hope though. Her visitor of the night had given her that hope.

Corin had spent almost two hours talking around the subject before he came to his point. He was a demon hunter. Specifically a vampire hunter, he believed that the reality Kate had been forced into could be washed from existence.

He had more experience with demons than Kate had. Corin had been bitten by a vampire and had lived to tell about it. Had been changed by it in a way that was much more personal than what Angel had done to Kate. Corin had gained an intimate knowledge of vampires from that bite, he knew their weakness and could sense their presence. He had even gained a part of their strength and speed. He had the ability to destroy them where they hid, and he wasn't alone. Kate wasn't alone any more; she wasn't the only human in a sea of horror story monsters. They had allies and a cause: to rid their reality of those creatures which had no place under the sun.

"Your Angel won't be alone," Corin was saying. "Vampires don't work that way. They need their Community, their contacts. It's how they blend in, how they cover their kills. They all kill Detective; don't delude yourself on that point. They may be able to obtain sustenance in other ways in this day and age, but they're still predators. They need the kill as much as the blood.

"You don't have to convince me of that," Kate replied.

"You're lucky then," Corin said, fingering the jagged scar on the side of his neck. "It took this to convince me. Marissa and I had been a couple for five years when she did this to me. I thought she loved me, but in the end I was just prey. I got lucky, Marissa was injured when she attacked me, I managed to break free of her and got the curtains of the apartment we shared open before she could finish the job."

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how I'd have felt if I'd been in your place." Kate said. "What can I do to help you?"

"We find your friend Angel, he's our key to the Community."

+++++++++++++++++

LaCroix's hunt had been much more satisfying that night.

He had found Wyndom-Price at the address listed and followed him to Miss Chase's new residence, a distinct step up from the multi-level hovel that he had been referred to. Both were mortal, but Miss Chase's other guest was distinctly not.

LaCroix had known that this was the one he sought from his first glimpse of the young vampire. The light that he had only previously associated with his Nicholas was an integral part of the other vampire, a fact that surprised LaCroix to no end. He had always believed it was Nicholas' coloring; curly sun-gold hair and clear blue eyes like a summer sky, that had caused his favorite child to become linked to LaCroix's fading memories of the day. But this young one, dark of hair and eyes, glowed with that same light.

LaCroix kept his presence carefully cloaked from the younger vampire as he neared the window of the apartment.

The two males sat at the kitchen table, searching intently through a stack of antique tomes, occasionally referring a question to the girl who was slumped on a nearby couch, a damp rag on her forehead and a bottle of aspirin clutched in her hand.

Sneaking a quick look at her thoroughly busy companions, the girl quickly opened the aspirin bottle.

"Cordelia." The vampire objected. "You're not supposed to take anymore for another twenty-four hours."

"Angel," the girl whined. "I swear my head's going to literally explode. Just one more, please?"

"I'm sorry Cordelia," Angel said softly regret filling his dark eyes. "It's not safe."

"Perhaps you should schedule an appointment with a doctor. Ever since Vocah's attack the pain accompanying your visions has been worse. There might have been some lingering damage done," Wyndom-Price suggested.

LaCroix easily deciphered the look of guilt that settled on Angel's face. Such a destructive emotion, LaCroix thought. Nicholas had invited such misery into his life through his endless fascination with claiming responsibility for everything that went wrong. Such a pointless waste of time and energy. Even when the fault truly belonged to Nicholas nothing was changed by his guilt. More often the fault lay elsewhere but Nicholas still choose to suffer the guilt.

+++++++++++++++

"Patterson, you're the one proctoring the PI licensing exam right?" Kate asked.

"That's right Detective, is there a problem?" the officer asked.

"No," Kate laughed nervously. "It's just that a friend of mine is taking the test. We've been planning a surprise birthday party for him, but we couldn't think of a way to get him there without making him suspicious and I was thinking, you could tell him that the test had been rescheduled."

"I don't know Detective."

"The party's two days before he's scheduled to take the test. It won't cause any problems," Kate pushed. "I'd owe you."

"Well. Maybe."

"I'd forget the identity to the person who broke the Captain's special coffee mug, the one his daughter gave him."

Patterson blanched. "How'd you? . What's your friend's name?"

"You remember Angel? He escorted me to my Dad's retirement party."

+++++++++++

"Well, that was quite invigorating," said Wesley shakily as Angel helped the battered Watcher back to his feet.

"Invigorating?" Angel asked examining the notch the demon's scaly hide had taken out of his axe blade.

Wesley retrieved his glasses from his pocket, briefly glanced at the twisted bit of metal and glass then sadly tossed them into a nearby dumpster. "Destructive?" he offered.

"I'd throw in painful and exhausting," Angel said rubbing his badly bruised shoulder.

"It could have been worse. Cordelia did an amazing job of describing the demon, if we hadn't been able to identify it, hadn't known about that spot on the Raknid's spine, we never would have managed to kill it." Wesley said.

"Uh. Wes, things just got worse," Angel said.

"What?"

Angel nodded toward a clawed hand reaching around the corner in front of them. "Looks like it had a friend."

"Oh dear."

The second Raknid, an ugly conglomeration of fur, feathers and scales built roughly along the same lines as Raptor, with a crocodile's snout and a long prehensile tail with a bony knob on the end stalked into view.

Wesley and Angel moved apart, faces grim, weapons raised.

The creature's eyes, glowing like molten lava, moved from one man to the other, evaluating which represented the greater threat. With a high-pitched scream the Raknid threw itself at Angel.

The souled vampire smashed the flat of his axe into the demon's bony snout, briefly stunning it. Seeing an opening Wesley lunged for the kill spot on the Raknid's back. The demon's tail snapped like a whip, the heavy end catching the ex-Watcher squarely in the chest.

Wesley fell back with a moan, his sword dropping to the ground as he gasped for air.

"Wes!" Angel yelled, ice forming in his stomach at the sound of bones cracking. However long he did this Angel didn't think that he'd ever get used to the terror he felt at the possibility of loosing one of his mortal friends. He never used to think about it, not really. Before Doyle had died he had believed that somehow his friends would always be saved. Like a teenager he'd believed that they were invulnerable. Buffy had been dead, but Xander brought her back. He'd been sent to Hell but he came back only a little worse for wear. They'd faced the Master and the Mayor's ascension without casualties. The only people he'd ever lost had been lost to the demon that shared his body, and Angel had come to believe that the only thing he really needed to fear was himself. As long as he took precautions to ensure that his soul stayed firmly in control everything would work out okay. and then the Scourge had come and taken Doyle from him.

Still clutching his chest and struggling to breathe Wesley forced himself to meet Angel's eyes then nodded toward the demon.

"Right," Angel said softly allowing the change to over-take him. An angry rumble filled the air as Angel focused on the creature, now in full demon mode himself. "First take care of the threat, then you can get Wesley to the hospital." He thought glaring at the Raknid with glowing yellow eyes.

Angel feinted forward then ducked under the Raknid's tail. As it swept past him Angel snapped his axe into place. The force of the creature's own momentum drove Angel's blade through its flesh. The bony weight that had done so much damage to Wesley fell to the ground as the Raknid shrieked in pain and outrage.

The Raknid swiveled quickly on its powerful hind legs, grabbing Angel's arm in its jaws then jerking its head away.

Angel was pulled off balance, as he fell the Raknid's teeth tore through his heavy coat and the flesh beneath. The dark haired vampire rolled back to his feet, out of range of the demon. Painfully Angel transferred his axe to his good hand, trying to ignore the slow dripping of blood from the jagged wounds in his arm.

Both injured and more cautious now Angel and the Raknid circled each other, looking for an opening. The Raknid's high screams punctuated Angel's continuous low snarling.

In the background Wesley shakily reclaimed his sword and staggered to his feet, leaning his weight against the wall, cradling his cracked ribs with his free arm.

The Raknid lunged at Angel, who dodged to the side, completely forgetting the demon's shortened tail in his haste to avoid its teeth and claws. The forgotten tail cracked against the side of Angel's knee forcefully.

Angel's fangs bit through his bottom lip as he felt something tear in his knee.

The Raknid followed up its latest attack with another lung, trying to catch the vampire in its jaws. Angel jumped back, his injured leg collapsing under him as he landed.

Grimly Angel got back to his feet, preparing for the next attack.

"You appear to be in need a assistance," a smooth, deep voice announced.

All three combatants turned to stare at the new comer. He was a tall, painfully pale man wearing a black suit and shirt. His close-cropped hair was stark white, only a shade lighter than his skin, pale blue eyes, cold as ice surveyed the scene.

He took in Angel's fangs, glowing eyes and demonically twisted features with a hint of surprised confusion apparent in his eyes before turning his attention to the Raknid, this creature he regarded with simple distaste.

"And I believed that the Slayer was the only reason to avoid Hellmouths," the stranger sighed.

The Raknid attacked its newest opponent only to find its teeth clacking together on empty air as the stranger moved out of its way faster than the eye could follow. Confused the creature looked around for its missing enemy.

While it was distracted Wesley drove his sword into the creature's flank. Infuriated the Raknid turned on him, only to have Wesley snatched out of its reach by the pale-skinned man.

The demon screamed a challenged at this new enemy and to Wesley and Angel's shock the man responded with a threatening snarl. His pale blue eyes caught fire and his teeth elongated into fangs.

As the stranger changed Angel was suddenly filled with the sense of another vampire, one which was ancient, much older than the two-hundred and fifty year old vampire had believed was possible, even for a member of his species.

The Ancient grabbed the sword Wesley has left embedded in the Raknid's side, dragging it down through the creature's body as he tore it free. He smiled around his fangs as he raised the gore-covered sword to the ready.

As the creature turned to face the other vampire Angel threw his axe, it twirled, end over end, twice before sinking cleanly into the Raknid's back, perfectly centered between the creature's shoulder blades, severing it's spinal cord.

With a last, sickly whimper the creature sank to the ground.

Limping heavily Angel placed himself between Wesley and the older vampire.

"I have no intention of harming your pet," the ancient vampire said, tossing Angel the gore-encrusted sword he'd taken from the Raknid's body.

"Who are you?" Angel asked, allowing his features to shift to their normal, human seeming.

"Lucien LaCroix," the older vampire replied. "And you are Angel, correct?"

Angel nodded. "What do want?"

"We will speak more later," stated LaCroix. "For the moment tend to your injuries and those of your mortal friend." With that the ancient took flight, rapidly disappearing from Wesley and Angel's startled gazes'.

+++++++++++++

"What exactly was the boy," LaCroix wondered. He was so like Nicholas and yet his true countenance showed the taint of one of the Failed. In LaCroix's experience the Failed were twisted, evil beings, completely consumed by blood lust to the exclusion of all else. To compare Nicholas to one of those creatures bordered on the sacrilegious, and yet Angel, despite his appearance, was not what LaCroix had come to expect from one of the Failed.

Angel possessed the same basic goodness and innocence that had been central to Nicholas despite his eight centuries of darkness.

But Angel was undeniably Failed. His speed was only a fraction of a true vampire's and his presence was much weaker than LaCroix had expected, Angel's blood tasted of centuries but a twenty-year-old fledgling could have presented a stronger front.

+++++++++++

"I can't understand it. LaCroix feels older than time, but his demon form is less corrupted than a newly risen vampire," Angel said. "Cordelia, you've seen the Master, he was only six hundred."

"He was in major need of a facial. Can you say eeew? I wonder if his face got stuck that way, cause if I were him I would have covered it up," Cordelia commented factiously.

Angel repressed a snort of laughter, "I asked him that very thing the first time I saw him."

"LaCroix was amazingly helpful and friendly for a vampire," Wesley said, steering the conversation back on track. "Also he flew, I didn't think vampires could fly."

Angel shrugged. "It's not a common ability, a few of us can. Penn and I could both jump farther than our strength could account for. A few others like Dru and Master have mesmeric powers. I've seen stories where all sorts of powers are attributed to vampire, but the reality is none of us have all those things, a very few of us have one of those abilities, but that's it. I wish I knew what LaCroix wants with us."

"If he's as old as you think he is there should be some mention of him in the Watcher's Diaries," Wesley said. "I'll have to ask Giles to check them for us."

"Well, in the meantime, Angel your test's been moved up," Cordelia commented. "It's at 9:00 tomorrow morning at 6775 NE Clover Dr. Office #6."

"Did they say why?" Angel asked.

"Nope, they just called and gave the new info," Cordelia replied.

"That's after sunrise," Wesley said. "And Clover's far enough in to the suburbs that tunnel access isn't likely."

"What do you want to bet Kate's involved somehow," Angel remarked. "She's completely dedicated herself to making my life miserable."

"She needs more hobbies," Cordelia said.

+++++++++++++++

"Alright, I got the last of the Holy Water unloaded," Kate said. "Why do we need so much?"

"He won't give us the information willingly," Corin said.

"Can't we just threaten to lock him in a sunny room?" Kate asked.

"Vampires understand what it means to fall into the hands of a Hunter. Death isn't a threat in that situation, it is simply the inevitable conclusion of the proceedings," Corin replied.

"Okay." Kate said a bit uncertainly.

"Despite his outward appearance, Angel is a monster, remember that," Corin instructed.

"What else needs to be done?" Kate asked, steeling her resolve.

"We're ready," Corin said. "As soon as the vampire is captured we can start."

+++++++++++++++

"We're here," Wesley said. "It doesn't look like much, are you sure this is the right address?"

"Of course it's right, I took the message," Cordelia said. "Now Angel do you want us to come in with you?"

Huddled under a blanket in the back of the car Angel rolled his eyes. "That won't be necessary Cordelia, but thank you for asking. Wesley, I think the test lasts three hours. Which side of the car is closer to the building?"

"Mine, it's the red brick one right across from us," Wesley answered getting out of the car and leaning the seat forward.

Angel pulled his coat over his head and dashed across the sunlit sidewalk into the welcome shelter of the building.

"Good luck!" Cordelia yelled.

Angel paused just inside the doorway to straighten his cloths to make an entrance like a normal person rather than a vampire fleeing the sun's light.

The office building looked deserted, not to mention being just a few steps away from being condemned.

"Strange place for a test," Angel commented. "Maybe the city's trying to save money. The rent on this place has got to be cheap."

Angel climbed to the top floor office where the test had been scheduled. The room was empty except for a few tables and one other person, a man with dark, curly hair and serious storm gray eyes wide-set in a lightly freckled, triangular face.

"I thought there were a group of us taking the exam," Angel said. "This is where the PI licensing exam is being held?"

"You're in the right place Angel," the man replied. "Please come in."

"How do you know my name?" Angel demanded suspiciously.

"Hello Angel," Kate said from the doorway behind him. Angel turned to see her leveling a crossbow at his chest.

Behind him Corin pulled a cord and the drapes fell away from the room's numerous windows, forcing Angel into the one shadowed corner left.

"Kate? What are you doing?" he asked.

"You told me I should try having you as an enemy. So tell me Angel how am I doing so far?" Kate said coldly.

Angel glanced back at the other man who was also holding a crossbow now. "Who's your friend?" he asked.

"Corin? He's a professional, just full of fun facts about the modern vampire."

Corin cautiously set a glass at the edge of the pool of shadows Angel stood in. "Drink it," He ordered.

Angel picked up the glass, examined it briefly, "What is it?"

"Not important," Corin replied.

"Not thirty," Angel said casually tossing the glass across the room.

Corin fired his crossbow and reloaded in one easy motion. Angel snatched the bolt out of the air a hand's breathe from his shoulder.

"Good reflexes," Corin remarked. "I haven't seen that too often. Can you handle two at once?"

Corin and Kate fired simultaneously. Angel caught Kate's bolt, which would have passed through his heart, but could do nothing about Corin's except wince in pain as it embedded in his thigh.

"What did you think you were doing?" Corin yelled at Kate. "We can't kill him yet!"

"I missed," Kate replied, sounding chastened. "It was an accident."

Angel could feel numbness replacing the pain in his leg, an area of deadened nerves spreading out from the arrow. He fell to his knees as his leg gave out. A few seconds later he toppled helplessly to the floor.

Corin pulled a heavy set of manacles from the bag behind his desk as he said. "Kate, get the body bag."

"What's wrong with him?" Kate asked.

"The bolts were coated in curare, it acts as a highly effective paralyzing agent on vampires."

"He's still conscious?" Kate asked staring at Angel's crumpled form.

"Yes, but he won't even be able to blink his eyes for at least two hours," Corin explained.

"Then why all the precautions?" Kate asked gesturing to the manacles.

"In case I'm wrong."

++++++++++++++++

"Thank you Aristotle," LaCroix said. "Your help has been appreciated."

"I was glad to be of assistance General. I was sorry to hear about Nicholas, he was a good friend. A bit odd, but still a good friend."

"Nicholas should have listened to me," LaCroix said harshly. "There was no other way his infatuation with mortals and guilt could have ended. Thank you for your time and goodbye." LaCroix firmly terminated the phone call, then turned on his computer to retrieve the files Aristotle had sent him.

LaCroix quickly read the summary on the vampire Angel or Angelus, commenting softly to himself as he read.

"Romantically involved with the current Slayer, really Angelus. Gypsy curses? Perhaps some of Nicholas' more obscure cures shouldn't have been dismissed quite so casually. Aw yes, origins; Angelus, child of Darla, child of Joseph Heinlich Nest, failed child of Richard of Kent. Richard always was the careless sort. Nest and Darla both reported dead, the work of the current Slayer."

"Angelus, born in Galway; Ireland, 1727 AD; called Liam Roark; turned 1753 AD. Cursed with a soul,1898, a soul, how quaint. Still it seems the Romany did him a favor, the boy is more than half-way to becoming a true vampire despite his linage."

"If he'd gone on as he began the Enforcers would have undoubtedly taken notice."

Finishing the summary, LaCroix settled in to read the rather extensive files detailing the history of his newest interest.

+++++++++++++++

"Nothing?" Wesley asked sounding stunned. "How can the Watchers have no information on a vampire as ancient as this LaCroix seems to be?"

Giles sighed. "The fact remains there are no records of this individual as a Vampire. However, Willow's friend Tara used to listen to a late night radio persona who called himself the Nightcrawler. She remembered that his true name was Lucien LaCroix. Willow was able to download transcripts of a number of his shows from the Internet. It seems he had a fairly enthusiastic following."

"He broadcasted out of Toronto, Ontario for a few years as well as owning a nightclub there, the "Raven". A headless body was found at the club shortly before it closed, the Nightcrawler program was abruptly discontinued and your Mr. LaCroix disappeared from Toronto."

"Could he have killed the victim?" Wesley asked.

"He was cleared by the police, however; both investigating officers as well as the Medical Examiner assigned to the case all died or disappeared shortly after the incident," Giles said. "This LaCroix seems very integrated into society for a vampire. Angel is the only vampire I've ever heard of who could begin to compare," Giles continued.

"That's not quite accurate," Wesley said. "Angel's first case here in LA involved a vampire industrialist."

"In any case, LaCroix seems like a most dangerous individual, you should be cautious in your dealings with him despite any seeming benevolence on his part."

"Thank you, and please thank Willow and Tara for their assistance. I'll ask Cordelia to retrieve those files from the dread machine," Wesley said.

"Cordelia?"

"Yes, she's become quite skilled in researching via the web."

"Miraculous, just a few years ago Jenny was despairing of the day that it would be feasible to expect Cordelia to complete even basic assignments without a catastrophe occurring," Giles said.

"Speaking of Cordelia, I really must be going. I need to pick her up from her audition before collecting Angel from his exam," Wesley commented.

++++++++++++++++

"Why?" Angel asked as soon as he was able.

Kate and Corin had relocated him to what looked like a larger storage unit. They had chained him to a heavy metal table that reminded Angel uncomfortably of a dissection table and cut away his clothes. Then they left him there while the curare wore off.

Now they'd returned.

"Good, you can speak. Now we can begin," Corin said, taking the lead again. Kate stood in the background looking like she wished she were anywhere else.

"Why?" Angel repeated.

"Where does the LA Community congregate?" Corin asked.

"What?" Angel replied in confusion.

Corin nodded to himself. "Your co-operation wasn't actually expected." To Kate he said, "Vampires fiercely protect their anonymity."

"Where'd you dig this guy up Kate?" Angel asked. "I doubt he's ever seen a real vampire before. Probably just rented out all the vampire flicks at the local video store."

Corin dumped a pitcher of water into a hollow sphere suspended on a chain above Angel. "This is a version of Chinese water torture," he explained releasing the sphere.

A drop of water from the device sizzled as it struck Angel's skin.

"The holy water is what makes it unique," Corin continued. "Come along Kate, it will take a half hour for the water to run out."

++++++++++++++

"He's not there!" Cordelia announced running back to the car. "No one's there!"

"What?" Wesley demanded.

"The whole building's empty and the room were Angel's test was supposed to be had skylights and way more windows that any room needs!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"Oh dear. I'll park then join you in seeking clues."

++++++++++++

Four hours. Eight pitchers of holy water raining down on his unprotected flesh. Innumerable tiny annoying burns, which were beginning to overlap and deepen into more serious injuries as his overtaxed system ceased to heal his injuries. Time broken only by Corin's inane questions and periodic refillings of the torture device.

Three pitchers ago Angel had tried explaining that vampires simply didn't have the sort of orderly civilized society that Corin was seeking. At most they had hunting packs maintained by a particularly vicious or powerful leader, but the packs were autonomous, each guarding its territory with all the jealous of rival gangs.

Corin refused to believe him, and the pointless torment continued.

Angel tried to distract himself from the pain by thinking about other things; unsolved cases, setting up a new office and apartment, the mystery that was Lucien LaCroix; however, it turned out that the holy water was much more effective at distracting him from his thoughts than his thoughts were at distracting him from the holy water. Eventually he gave them up in favor of counting swings of the sphere and trying to guess where the next drop would land so he could brace himself against the pain.

+++++++++++++++

"What if he really doesn't know?" Kate asked.

"They all know," Corin said calmly.

"Angel's killed every other vampire I've ever seen around him. He even tried to kill that Penn guy and Angel was the one who made him. I don't thing Angel socializes much with other vampires," Kate argued.

"I've been inside their heads. Marissa drank from me, I know vampires in a way that you are incapable of. Those who you knew as Vampires were probably rogues. He might even be an Enforcer. Marissa warned me that they hunted down those who broke their code and the mortals who knew of vampires," Corin said. "He lies. Even now he tries to mislead us to protect his people from exposure."

"Angel's only friends are human. Corin I've seen them in sunlight. There is no way I could be wrong. I don't think Angel even likes other vampires," Kate said.

"It's time for another pitcher," Corin commented.

++++++++++++++++

"Angel didn't leave that building on his own," Wesley said. "There isn't any access to the sewers for blocks. He couldn't have made it that far."

"The test wasn't really today," Cordelia said. "Cop Lady had them tell Angel it had been changed and what am I supposed to do? Tell the police that I think their detective kidnapped or killed my friend 'cause he's a vampire?"

"Wesley, Cop Lady couldn't have really killed Angel could she? I mean she's a human; Angel can protect himself from a normal human right? Even if she does know about vampires."

"Angel is quite capable," Wesley said. "Still, we should find him, Detective Lockley has proved that her intentions toward Angel are anything but friendly and I doubt Angel could bring himself to harm her despite her recent behavior."

"Oooh," Cordelia moaned.

"I take it Angelus has gotten himself into trouble?" LaCroix said stepping into Cordelia's living room.

"LaCroix!" Wesley exclaimed.

"You're. you're a vampire," Cordelia stammered. "You can't come in here, I didn't invite you."

"And what, prey tell, does that have to do with anything?" LaCroix asked, annoyed. "What has befallen Angelus?"

"Vampires cannot enter an inhabited human dwelling without an invitation," Wesley explained, feeling slightly ridiculous explaining vampirism to a vampire.

"Why ever not?" LaCroix asked. "Ah, perhaps it's a "psychosomatic reaction" as Dr. Lambert would have said. She was quite convinced that holy symbols were not truly harmful to my kind as well."

"Now, if that is explained to your satisfaction, what has happened?" LaCroix demanded in a tone that brooked no further delays.

"Quite frankly, Mr. LaCroix, we don't trust you," Wesley said. "We don't even know that you aren't involved."

LaCroix stared into Wesley's eyes, focused on his heartbeat and in a deep compelling voice demanded. "Where is Angelus?"

"Missing," Wesley replied in a daze.

"Hey!" Cordelia exclaimed. "What happened to not trusting the creepy vampire?"

"Tell me what you suspect," LaCroix ordered.

"We thing Detective Lockley abducted him," Wesley answered.

And then LaCroix was gone.

"Wow, even Angel doesn't disappear like that," said Cordelia. "Are we sure he's a vampire?"

Wesley shook his head slightly as if clearing away cobwebs. "What happened?" he asked. "I didn't intend to say all that."

"So why did you?" Cordelia asked.

"It just came out, I couldn't not say it. I couldn't hear anything but his voice and I just couldn't not answer," Wesley stammered.

"Well, we'll just have to find Angel first," Cordelia said determinedly. "So what do we do now?"

"Detective Lockley is really our only lead. I think we should follow her," Wesley suggested.

"In that case, it's a good thing cop lady never noticed us, cause she was always to busy staring or glaring at Angel."

+++++++++++++

"Where do we find the Community?" Corin asked implacably.

"There is no Community!" Angel exclaimed.

Angel's chest was a collage of red blisters and charred, black patches. His body's efforts to heal itself had exhausted him. His every cell screamed for blood with which to restore itself.

"Angel," Kate said, speaking to him for the first time in seventeen hours. "Please, just tell him, end this."

"How?" Angel asked.

"Tell us what we need to know," Kate encouraged. "You don't have to hurt anymore."

Angel laughed bitterly. "Nothing to tell," he said. "What he's looking for doesn't exist."

"Your lies are pointless," Corin said. "I know you know."

Silently, tiredly, Angel rolled his eyes. There was nothing he could say to the delusional hunter.

++++++++++++++

This Lockley would not take Angelus from him, LaCroix thought furiously. He would not loose another to some mortal female, certainly not this child who bore such a resemblance to Nicholas.

Angelus was to have been his opportunity to correct the mistakes he'd made with Nicholas. He was to have filled the hole Nicholas' death had left in LaCroix's life.

For eight hundred year LaCroix had dedicated so much time and effort to raising Nicholas. Advising, chasing and punishing his most contrary child, and then Nicholas was gone. After eight centuries he was gone in a single night. The bond of blood that had stretched between them for so long touched on only emptiness now.

Emptiness in his mind and in his life. Nicholas was gone and nothing LaCroix could do had even begun to fill that hollowness.

Then he had found Angelus. When he thought of the young vampire his pain was dulled.

All the violence, all the destruction had done nothing for his grief, but LaCroix found solace in planning how he would help his new protégé.

It was not a cure, but it was a start. The boy was not his son. Nicholas was lost forever, but Angelus was so like him, and he was still within reach.

Nicholas had been destroyed by his foolish quest for mortality, by his guilt, by LaCroix's failure to reach him. But he knew better now, he would not allow Angelus to destroy himself. LaCroix would not let things get so out of control again. And he would not allow a mortal to take Angelus from him.

++++++++++++++++

"I don't know," Angel sighed watching Kate pull the globe away from the table. He waited for her to add more holy water.

He could see the gleaming white of his ribs showing through the charred remains of his chest.

"It's okay. I know you're telling the truth," Kate said. "I'm sorry, this is wrong."

Kate laughed hysterically. "Can you imagine what my parents would say if they were alive to see you? If they knew I was involved in this? I'm a police officer, police officers don't torture people, we're the good guys."

"Of course police officers aren't supposed to kill people either, but that's okay, because you're not really a person are you?"

"You're not real are you Angel? When I kill you there won't be a body, you'll just disappear, like a nightmare. Not real, you aren't supposed to be real. Monsters aren't supposed to be real. and they're not if you kill them."

"But this is real," Kate said, brushing her hand across Angel's scorched arm. He gasped in agony. "At first the burns just went away, and it was okay, but they don't anymore. This is real, and it's wrong."

"Kate, let me go," Angel pled.

Kate shook her head. "I can't."

Angel watched helplessly as Kate raised a roughly carved stake over his heart. He couldn't believe he was going to die like this; at the hands of a deranged friend turned enemy, for no reason.

The stake halted in it's decent a millimeter above Angel's body. Both Kate and Angel stared at the pale hand gripping the stake below Kate's hand. Slowly their gaze followed the dark clad arm to the tall harsh looking vampire who had introduced himself to Angel as Lucien LaCroix.

His icy blue eyes took in the damage Angel had suffered before turning to Kate. She shrank away from his imposing presence. She'd been a member of the police force for six years; dealt with all sorts of violent, dangerous and intimidating people. She'd never backed down before today, never met anyone who simply radiated evil like this creature did.

LaCroix cut off her retreat, taking her arm in a vice-like grip. He traced the line of her jaw with a gentle touch, Kate shivered at the cool feel of his fingers and at the deadly intent in his eyes.

"How shall I kill you my dear?" he asked.

"Don't," Angel objected weakly.

"Even after this you would argue for her life?" LaCroix demanded in shock.

"Please don't."

LaCroix sighed, "As a favor to you child, she may keep her life, but this will not be repeated."

LaCroix turned his formidable gaze back to Kate. "Look at me Detective, listen to me. There are no such things as vampires. Do you understand Detective?"

"I understand," Kate replied tonelessly.

"The very idea of the supernatural is ludicrous to you," LaCroix instructed. "Now leave."

Kate turned robotically and walked out.

"What?" Angel asked looking after Kate in confusion.

"Don't concern yourself," LaCroix said.

He examined Angel's bindings briefly with a faint growl tore the hinges of the manacles apart.

Angel sighed in relief as his over-extended muscles were finally able to relax. The relief was short lived as the movement shifted badly burnt flesh.

LaCroix took a knife from his pocket and drew it from Angel's wrist to his elbow, then repeated the cut on his own arm and pressed the wounds together.

Angel gasped as he felt his body drawing the offered blood into itself. As his damaged nerves began to regenerate.

LaCroix knew it was almost impossible to hypnotize another vampire, but Angel's mind was almost as undefended as a mortal's and LaCroix's blood ran in his veins. Beyond that, LaCroix was not simply another vampire.

"Look at me Angelus," LaCroix said, reaching for the impossibly slow heartbeat of a vampire. When he didn't find it, he frowned in confusion, he could feel Angelus' mind open to him, he should have sensed the boy's life rhythms. LaCroix forced his will onto the recalcitrant organ and reluctantly Angel's heart pulsed. LaCroix sighed in relief as Angel's pulse stabilized.

Returning to his original purpose, LaCroix promised, "There is no pain, sleep now."

Once Angle's eyes had drifted shut LaCroix released his mind. He wrapped a blanket around the dark haired vampire ad took to the skies with his awkward burden.

++++++++++++++

Wesley and Cordelia both jumped as the door to her apartment swung open just in time to admit LaCroix carrying Angel's unconscious body.

"Where should I put him?" LaCroix demanded.

Cordelia jumped up to guide LaCroix to her room, "What happened?"

"Holy water burns," LaCroix explained succinctly. "He won't be able to eat for several days. I will be by to give him blood. Once he has healed enough to feed I'll arrange for human blood to be delivered. I'm quite certain Angelus routinely drinks some form of animal swill. That will not be allowed until he is completely healed. I will hold you responsible for his recovery." Having had his say LaCroix left as precipitously as he had arrived.

+++++++++++++++

LaCroix stood on a bluff above Los Angeles looking out across the lights of the city up into the faint stars.

In the past few years his relationship with Nicholas had been an odd, strained thing, at times held together only by the timeless bond that carried Nicholas' concerns and preoccupations to him while modern technology in the form of radio waves carried LaCroix's voice and words back to his estranged son.

Tonight he set his words on to the wind, trusting, hoping that somehow he could still reach his lost child.

"Nicholas, it seems I've adopted another child," he began. "A rather surprising side-effect of sharing so much blood."

"You would have enjoyed being an older brother to this one. He's so like you Nicholas. As strange as it may sound to you that is what drew me to him."

"Perhaps I have learned to appreciate your peculiarities. Too late, of course."

"Thankfully young Angelus doesn't seek mortality, he merely believes it will be granted as a boon by his Powers should he accomplish the feats which they set forth for him. I have never know a god to be so generous, thus I find it easier to accept his quest than I did yours."

"Also his linage is of the Failed. A Romany spell returned his sanity, or perhaps cast out the demon infesting him. He claims it returned his soul, and I find I can no longer argue against the existence of a soul. Regardless, he is one of us now, a true vampire, my blood completed the transformation begun with the curse."

"I believe I've learned enough from the mistakes I made with you to not drive him away as I did you."

"I find I miss you Nicholas. I hope you were correct and are with your Dr. Lambert as you desired to be."

"Farewell Nicholas, wish me well in my new endeavor."

+++++++++++++++

Angel relaxed as the Quo-Kari demon dropped dead at his feet. It was his first case since being injured and despite what he'd insisted to Cordelia and Wesley he was a long ways from feeling normal.

For one thing he had a sense of the ancient vampire LaCroix. Angel knew he hadn't left the city. He still wondered at the ancient's intentions. LaCroix was unlike any vampire Angel had ever met before. More powerful and yet less mindlessly destructive, but still not trustworthy. Angel had little doubt that the ancient had prevented Kate from executing him and had healed him for some reason other than the goodness of his heart.

Beyond his connection to the other vampire Angel still felt weak his lungs and chest ached strangely. When he switched to his demon form it almost hadn't happened. There had been dizziness and pain, for a moment he hadn't thought the change would come. It had almost cost him the battle. But it hadn't, he reminded himself, and given a little more time he'd finish healing.

+++++++++++++++

Buffy walked into her mother's living room to find her younger sister Dawn watching a recorded episode of "Passions" with Spike.

Dawn lay on her stomach on the couch, casually eating popcorn out of the bowl Spike held on his lap. The peroxide blond vampire sat on the floor leaning back against the couch. As Buffy watched he dunked a piece of popcorn into the mug sitting on the floor next to him. Buffy gagged as Spike tossed the popcorn kernel, now dripping with blood, into his mouth.

"Spike you're gross," Buffy announced. "And why are you here? I thought your TV would be fixed by now."

"The reception's better here," Spike replied absently never looking away from his soap opera. "'Sides blood tastes better if I heat it on a stove instead of in the microwave. I haven't figured out how to get a stove into my crypt."

"Shh!" Dawn hissed glaring at her sister.

Buffy rolled her eyes as she ran upstairs for the clean cloths she was certain she'd find in her closet. Since the start of the new school year she'd been dropping off her dirty clothes at home and miraculously they'd be clean in a few days, without the expenditure of numerous quarters.

A few months ago she might have been more disturbed at finding Spike in her home, but Giles's advanced Slayer training had led to an unexpected discovery about the neutered vampire.

Ever since Buffy first came to Sunnydale Giles had insisted she learn to identify vampires by honing her Slayer senses, not her fashion sense. This year she had finally learned to do just that. Now she understood why Kendra had declared that Willie was "dirty". At the time she'd just written it off as more of Kendra's hit first ask question later attitude, now she knew better. With her newly trained senses she could feel the tarnish Willie's life style had left on him.

Her Slayer sense wasn't really like Spiderman's Spidey-sense, it wasn't always on, it required a certain state of mind to access. It was fun to practice during dull lectures, much better than doodling and with less potential for embarrassment than napping. Using her special senses her classmates gained a glittering rainbow feel to them. Buffy had never thought of colors as having a feel to them before, but they did, most people felt like a constantly shifting display of color. People like Willie, who consistently dealt in shady business gained a tarnished patina. Vampires at least the minions felt black, sometimes with a hungry, angry red flame caged in the blackness, but always predominately black. Vampires like Spike and Harmony still had their full range of colors. In Harmony the colors were still overwhelmed and caged by the blackness, but they were all there.

Which brought her to Spike. Buffy remembered Spike whining about Dru breaking-up with him because he "wasn't demon enough for her", when he came back to Sunnydale on his drunken pity-fest during her senior year but Buffy hadn't thought much of it. Buffy had just thought Dru was being mean because she was mad about Spike teaming up with Buffy to stop Angel from ending the world. Now Buffy was having to admit that Dru might have meant the comment more literally, because Spike just didn't look like a normal vampire.

In Spike the blackness was less a cage and more a lattice holding all the colors in place. He didn't feel human, but he didn't feel like a proper vampire either. Buffy was starting to theorize that the colors were a person's soul and the blackness was were it was missing in vampires, but that meant that vampires didn't loose there whole soul when they were changed, parts of it were left behind. It explained why the Judge had been able to burn some vampires but not others; there was probably some sort of critical soul mass that he needed to burn someone. When the gypsy curse had broken it had done a more complete job of removing Angel's soul then being turned did, so the Judge couldn't burn him, but it also meant he'd been psycho even by vamp standards. Spike had told her once that the Angelus she had fought was a completely different creature from the one he'd know before the curse and that he never wanted to see Angel's curse broken again.

Spike's revelation had given Buffy a whole new dislike for the gypsies and their breakable curse. Sure they hadn't wanted Angel to be happy, they were trying to punish him, but turning him into an even worse monster than he'd been before they cursed him was just so stupid. It didn't hurt Angelus any, just the world, their moronic clause had given the demon exactly what it wanted, and the demon was the one they should have been punishing, not Angel's soul.

Of course the fact that Spike had a lot of his soul left didn't seem to stop him from being evil, but lacking a nutcase of girlfriend to impress, he seemed to have lost interested in being the "Big Bad". Thinking up devious plans certain ranked well below watching his soap opera in Spike's book. Buffy could think of several ways Spike could get around the chip and still cause chaos, but ever since his unsuccessful alliance with Adam Spike had been in major suck-up mode. He'd even been going out slaying other vampires and demons on a regular basis. and making sure Buffy knew about his good deeds. All part of his not-being-staked-through-the-heart campaign.

Which was why Buffy didn't mind having him in the house. Spike had decided that his best bet for survival lay in remaining on the Slayer's good side. Buffy wondered if her mother would consider Spike an acceptable babysitter for Dawn. Plus it was tons of fun to tease Spike and enjoy his inability to retaliate.

Buffy checked in her closet for her clothes, she found a pile of dirty laundry. "Mom!" she yelled.

"I'm not a laundry service," Joyce yelled back.

"But."

"You can use the machine, but don't just slip your stuff into the laundry basket and expect me to take care of it, you're not a child anymore Buffy."

"You did Spike's laundry."

"Because his clothes were filthy and I didn't want him walking around the house naked. Do you realize he only has that one set of clothes? I'm thinking about taking him shopping," Joyce explained.

"Spike, in different clothes?" Buffy giggled. "That could be sign of the apocalypse."

"Hey Spike," Buffy called. "What's with your one outfit look? I thought that went out with the "Dukes of Hazard". Even Dru the nutcase had three outfits. Buffy grinned as Spike's aura flared predictably at the mention of Dru's name.

"I like these clothes, besides the crypt doesn't have closets," Spike muttered.

"Yeah, most corpses aren't up to changing clothes," Dawn remarked.

"And apparently some of their more lively brethren can't manage it either," Buffy added. "Not unless someone's mom points out that they need to."

Spike just glared.

"Now my mom's going to take you shopping, like a little kid."

"I didn't say I'd go," Spike protested.

"Oh and you watch TV with my baby sister."

"Hey," Dawn protested as Spike said. "Watch it Missy, your Watcher likes this show."

"Oh and lets not forget those little marshmallows that you need for your hot chocolate."

"We were trying to watch the telly Slayer," Spike snapped.

"Ooh the big bad. well formerly big bad vampire can't take a little teasing."

"You're one to talk Slayer, at least I don't sleep with a stuffed animal. I think I'll tell the boys down at Willie's about the pig. Course they won't believe without proof."

"You leave Mr. Gordo out of this," Buffy warned.

"It has a name? This gets better and better," Spike said with a grin. "I have to show this to the local demons."

"You wouldn't!"

"Try and stop me," Spike challenged sprinting for the stairs. Buffy took off after him before the last of the popcorn hit the floor.

+++++++++++++++++++

Cordelia dropped the files she was holding as Buffy stormed into the new offices of Angel Investigations.

"Where is he?" the Slayer demanded.

"Angel?" Cordelia asked.

"No, his moronic grandchild!"

"Who?"

"Spike! Where is Spike? I know he's in LA, he left a ransom note!" Buffy shouted.

"Ransom note?" Cordelia asked in alarm. "Spike kidnapped someone? I thought he was on our side now!"

"He took Mr. Gordo!"

"Who?"

Angel walked out of his office a confused look on his face, "Buffy, why would Spike take your stuffed animal?"

"Because he's a evil!"

"I thought Spike was helping you lately?" Angel asked.

"Buffy shifted her weight uncomfortably. "He's still evil."

"And stealing stuffed animals seems a bit innocuous, given Spike's history," Angel continued.

"Huh?" Buffy and Cordelia asked.

Angel grimaced. "Harmless, stealing toys seems like a harmless prank, especially when you consider that we're talking about a person who got his nickname by torturing a guy to death with a railroad spike."

"He's being an immature brat!" Buffy exclaimed. "He's gonna show Mr. Gordo to all the demons he can find and none of them will take me seriously again!"

"Trust me, if they can take someone named Buffy seriously they can deal with the Slayer having a stuffed toy," Cordelia commented.

"There is nothing wrong with my name," Buffy hissed.

Cordelia repressed a snort of laughter.

"Okay, slow down," Angel instructed. "Buffy why are you here?"

"I thought Spike might have come here."

"To me?" Angel asked, confused. "The last time I saw Spike he tortured me, we're not exactly on the best of terms."

"You could find him, couldn't you?" Buffy asked.

"So you can get your toy back?"

"After I stake him."

"You're not going to stake him over a toy," Angel said.

"Why not, he's evil."

"He's been helping you."

"But."

"Find him yourself Buffy, we have real work here and this is just ludicrous."

"Angel please, I promise I won't stake him," Buffy pled, staring at her ex-boyfriend with wide hopeful eyes.

"Buffy."

"Please, it would mean a lot to me."

"Fine," Angel conceded after a few moments. "This is insane, but I'll help."

+++++++++++++++++

"Willow, have you seen Buffy?" Riley asked.

"She didn't tell you?" Willow squeaked.

"Didn't tell me what?"

"She went to LA."

"To LA? To Angel!" Riley demanded.

"She didn't say Angel," Willow said.

"What did she say?"

"That it was an emergency," Willow said. "That was all."

"I'm going after her," Riley said.

"Wait, what if it were a family emergency?" Willow asked. "Her dad does live in LA too."

"Her mother would have know if it were a family emergency," Riley said darkly. "She went back to help him and she didn't even bother to tell me."

"I'm sure it's not like that!" Willow yelled at Riley's retreating back.

++++++++++++++++++

"So what do we do now?" Buffy asked.

"You sit," Angel instructed. "Cordelia is going to go to a couple of the local demon hang-out, she'll ask about Spike."

"Why can't I go? What are you going to do?" Buffy demanded petulantly.

"You're not going because I might want to use these people as sources again, and your not being even vaguely rational about this," Angel said.

"Well what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to be working on a real case. You shouldn't come, it's not a demon thing; if there's any violence it'll be guns. You could get hurt," Angel explained.

"So I'm just supposed to sit here and wait?" Buffy asked.

"You finish my filing for me," Cordelia offered.

++++++++++++++++++

"Does something in your past haunt you my children? Won't your ghosts stay in the grave?" LaCroix asked in his Nighcrawler persona. Since establishing himself in LA he'd purchased another radio station and renewed his Nightwatch program.

Wesley had quickly become a fan, shortly after that Angel had forbid Wesley from to listen to the program within his hearing. He still didn't know what to make of the elder vampire and preferred not to think about him.

LaCroix made that difficult enough without Angel having to listen to his voice every night. The ancient stopped by at least once a week and Angel couldn't exactly kick out the person who'd saved his life only a month ago, no matter how much Angel distrusted him.

"How does your past come to you my children? Does it fill your nightmares or is it more corporeal? Are your ghosts of flesh and blood? Reminders of what once was or what might have been? Tell me my children. Share the skeletons in your closet with your friend the Nightcrawler."

+++++++++++++

"Well, one could say we struck it lucky," Cordelia said.

"You found him?" Buffy asked.

"Not exactly, but he's been showing your pig in half the demon bars in the city."

Buffy groaned. "Oh God, this is awful."

"No it's not. All we have to do is stake out one of the places he hasn't been to yet," said Cordelia. "Spike's sure to show sooner or later. Didn't Angel say he was thorough?"

"I'm going to be the laughing stock of the demon world," Buffy protested.

"Well Spike and Angel have both been in your shoes, and I'm sure you'll handle it exactly like they did," Cordelia offered.

"How's that?"

"Kill a bunch of them, it seems to garner respect," Cordelia said. "Did you know Angel can chase off whole packs of vampires by just mentioning that he's Angelus? And from what I hear, Spike's getting a worse rep since this whole chip thing. See he kills things when he's in a bad mood and since the chip keeps him from killing humans he's always in a bad mood, hence demon corpses tend to pile up in his vicinity."

"Okay, I'm good at killing demons, that could work," Buffy said. "But first where do you think Spike'll show up next?"

"We should wait for Angel," Cordelia objected.

"While we're waiting, Spike's out doing who knows. Riley?!" Buffy exclaimed. "Why are you here?"

"Riley stood in the doorway of Angel Investigation's new office looking anxious and awkward. "You said it was an emergency, I thought I could help," he said.

Cordelia looked Riley over critically. "So this is Riley, he looks. wholesome," she commented.

"And you are?" Riley asked.

"Her ex's best friend," Cordelia answered.

"Riley, this is Cordelia Chase. Cordy, this is Riley Finn," Buffy said hurriedly. "Cordy went to high school with the gang and I."

"So you were part of the Scooby Gang?" Riley asked.

"You haven't ditched that stupid name yet?" Cordelia asked Buffy.

"Yeah she was," Buffy answered Riley. "In a round-about way, she and Xander used to date."

"Please, just bring up my momentary insanity," Cordelia exclaimed.

"Before Xander and Anya got together?" Riley asked.

"Xander's still with demon-girl?" Cordelia asked incredulously.

"Anya's a demon?" Riley asked.

"Ex-demon, it's a long story," Buffy answered. "And yes, they're still together. So how about you Cordy, is there any up and coming movie star type on your social calendar?"

Buffy saw a flash of sadness before Cordelia dawned a bright false smile. "I don't like to kiss and tell," she said. "Unlike some people, or would that be kiss and show, and everyone says I'm the tactless one."

"I didn't bring him here," Buffy protested.

"You don't want me here?" Riley said.

"It's not like that," Buffy objected. "It's just. awkward."

"Well duh," Cordelia said.

"What is it like? You come running at his beck and call. You don't even tell me you're leaving."

"What do you mean she comes." Cordelia began only to be silenced by a quick jab from Buffy's elbow.

"I didn't want you to get up-set," Buffy said.

"How am I supposed to feel with you here?" Riley demanded.

"You're supposed to trust me," Buffy snapped. "Remember?"

Riley glanced at Cordelia's rapt expression then said. "Look, I don't want to get into this here. Where are you staying? We can talk there."

Buffy stared at her feet. "I'm staying here," she mumbled.

"What!?" Riley yelled.

"It's a hotel building, there were lots of empty rooms," Buffy defended herself.

"Then I'm staying too," Riley said.

"We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone," Cordelia said, smiling.

"Cordelia!" Buffy hissed.

"What! Even you admit he doesn't belong here. Send him home, we deal with your problem, then you go home and our lives go back to normal. Hopefully without Angel getting all depressed like he did every other time you visited."

"Why are you being so hostile?" Riley asked.

"What part of 'I'm Angel's friend' didn't you understand?" Cordelia snapped.

"He broke up with Buffy," Riley protested.

"And if you think that means he does still love her you're even dumber than you look, which I didn't think was possible."

"Hey!" Buffy and Riley both exclaimed.

"Look, Angel still thinks she walks on water, so even if you were Brad Pitt, I wouldn't like you," Cordelia stated.

"Alright," Riley sighed. "I won't expect even basic good manners from you, happy? Buffy I'll go find someplace else to stay. I'll reserve a room for you as well, at least think about using it."

"Sure," Buffy said absently, still staring at Cordelia.

"So you're leaving now," Cordelia said escorting Riley through the door. "Good. Oops, that's supposed to be goodbye. Don't come again."

+++++++++++++++

Buffy quickly packed her bag, her thoughts racing a mile a minute after Cordelia's confrontation with Riley.

Angel stopped in the doorway of her room. "You're leaving?" he asked.

"Riley followed me, things are bad enough between us without me staying here," Buffy replied.

"What happened?"

Buffy gave a small sad laugh. "Not enough, he thinks I don't love him. We're trying to work things out."

"Do you love him?"

"Maybe, I thought I did. He's what everyone wanted for me, even you. Riley's nice. He's normal but not so normal that he can't handle my world. I can introduce him to my parents without them freaking. He tans well. That's what you wanted for me remember? According to everyone we're the perfect cute couple, like Willow and Oz used to be. You heard how that turned out haven't you? Riley fits all the requirements for being the prefect Buffy-boyfriend." Buffy sighed, "Do I love him though, that's harder, and hardly your business. We're ex's remember. Riley and I aren't that, not yet anyway. Do you want me asking what's with you and Queen C? The two of you seem pretty tight theses days. She seems to know you better than I ever did. Why can you be with her but not me?"

"I'm not 'with her'," Angel said. "There are times I don't know what I'd have done without her, and I love her, but I'm not in love with her. Don't worry Buffy, you're still the only one."

"Angel. I didn't mean it like that."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I shouldn't have. She just seemed so sure of what you think, how you feel. I never felt that sure, not even when we were together," Buffy said. "Let's just forget I ever asked. We aren't together; it's not my place. But Angel, Riley and I aren't broken beyond repair yet, and maybe I do love him. I can't tell him I came here because of Mr. Gordo; he'd never believe it. He assumed you called me because of some emergency, could we please keep it that way?" Buffy asked.

"You can't tell him the truth?"

"Not right now."

"If this is what you really want Buffy," Angel said. "I'll play it any way you want."

"Do you have any big prophecies pending?"

+++++++++++++++

"Angel this is really quite ludicrous," Wesley announced.

"I know that," Angel replied.

"We've taken turns staking out this bar for days, and all we've found are rumors of Spike at other locales."

"We have."

"Meanwhile we're all looking for some major catastrophe which might truly justify Buffy's "emergency in LA" message to the detriment of our legitimate business."

"You're not wrong."

"One has to wonder why we're doing this."

"Because Buffy asked me to."

"Angel, that's not a reason."

"It's close enough."

"It's unfortunate that you can't simply whammie Riley into believing there was a crisis," Wesley said.

"I don't want to do that," Angel snapped. "It's too dangerous. Besides I just don't like the idea of playing around with people's minds, it seems. evil."

"It's a tool Angel, not evil unless you use it for evil," Wesley argued.

"Did LaCroix brainwash you into believing that?" Angel asked. "You don't think it's wrong to rearrange Riley's mind because it would save us a little trouble?"

"We're already lying to him, I fail to see the difference."

"Then you aren't looking hard enough," Angel said. "At the moment I'm not taking away his free will."

"Alright Angel, perhaps this isn't an occasion which calls for that. I still wish you'd learn to use that ability. If you'd had it when Detective Lockley and her cohort tortured you, you could have persuaded them to release you," Wesley said.

"And if I loose my soul again? Do you really want me to have the ability to rearrange people's minds at will?"

"And maybe you should cripple yourself because you would be a lesser threat on the off chance that the curse breaks. Of course that would severely limit your ability to help people now."

"Let it go Wesley," Angel said. "I'm not learning that's final. Go help Buffy keep Riley amused. I'll watch for Spike."

++++++++++++++++

"Spike, I hear you've been following in your Sire's footsteps, wearing the Slayer's leash and all," A horned demon laughed, as he saw the bleached blond vampire heading for the bar.

"Well, I got tired of hunting humans, not enough challenge anymore. After you've got two Slayers to your name it gets old hat you know," Spike replied.

"And you're not just scared of this current one?"

"How many Slayers have you killed? And I'm not afraid of any Slayer who sleeps with a stuffed animal," Spike said.

"How could you know what she sleeps with unless you really are following Angelus' example?"

"Angelus is a wanker, but I can't fault his taste in women," Spike said, grinning. "Have you seen the current Slayer Mate? And if you don't believe me about her little friend, well I've got a hostage with me tonight." So saying, Spike drew a well-loved plush pig from a bag at his side. "Isn't it cute?"

"Spike if you've got the Slayer wrapped around your." The other demon fell silent, noticing someone standing in the shadows of the bar they'd just entered.

"Let's just say she's been less than accommodating ." Spikes' voice choked off as a hand clamped around his throat. He suddenly found himself dangling several inches off the floor.

"I think everyone's tired of your stories," Angel growled.

Spike kicked wildly, trying to wriggle free of Angel's hold. Angel's eyes burned golden for a second, then he dropped Spike clutching the back of a chair to keep his balance as the room spun out of focus. Spike got up from the floor, frowning in confusion. "What's a matter with you?" He asked.

Angel focused on his errant descendant's voice and threw off the last of his disorientation. He snatched Mr. Gordo from the other vampire and turned to stalk off. At the door he turned and glared back at Spike. "She was going to stake you, you know. Don't you think that's carrying a joke a little too far?"

"Give her the lecture, not me," Spike sulked.

++++++++++++++++++

"I found something!" Wesley exclaimed.

"Yes!" Cordelia exclaimed. "I can't believe this, Buffy is such a bad influence, I'm cheering about finding trouble, non-paying trouble even."

"Oh. no, this won't work," Wesley continued. "The caprace demon won't rise for another century."

+++++++++++++++++++++

Buffy. and Riley," Angel said. "Buffy you forgot this."

Buffy took Mr. Gordo, "Oh. um, Angel thanks. Dawn will really appreciate getting this back." She looked at Riley then added. "Dawn left it at Dad's last time she was down."

"Buffy, I ran into a mutual acquaintance of ours. He's headed back to Sunnydale, might pay you a visit. I know you're upset with him, but he's promised better behavior from now on. if you quit teasing him," Angel said.

Buffy slowly turned a dark shade of red. "Maybe I was a bit out of line."

"It's not easy for him Buffy. This goes against everything he's learned for a long, long time," Angel said. "He sees this as the only way to survive, and he is helping you. You might try cutting him a little slack, or at least not rubbing his nose in how much he's had to change."

"Who? What's he talking about Buffy?" Riley demanded.

"You remember Spike?" Buffy asked.

"Hostile 17? You still haven't gotten rid of him," Riley accused.

"His name is Spike," Angel said. "He's not an experiment."

"Whatever, he's a vampire. I thought you guys had an emergency?" Riley asked angrily.

Angel glanced at Buffy; she smiled back hopefully, pleadingly. "It hasn't materialized quite as quickly as we anticipated," he said without enthusiasm. "Cordelia and Wesley are checking into the whys."

"Don't you think maybe you jumped the gun a little in calling Buffy? She has a life of her own you know," Riley accused.

"Riley, in theses cases it's better to be safe than sorry," Buffy said.

"Right," Riley snapped.

"Look, I'd better check on Wesley and Cordelia, I'll just be going." Angel said as he turned and walked out of the hotel room.

"He shouldn't have called you," Riley said to Buffy once Angel had left.

"Come on Riley, it was business, world in peril stuff. Angel didn't do anything wrong," Buffy objected.

"Open your eyes Buffy. Nothing happened, nothing is going to happen. Angel just wanted you here, with him."

"You don't have the right to say that," Buffy snapped. "You don't know the first thing about Angel."

"I know he still loves you, his 'best friend' said as much. I know you let him further into your heart than you've ever let me."

Buffy bit her lip. "It's not like that. Angel's in my past and he's going to stay there. Neither of us wants a repeat of last time. In high school I thought we could work around the curse, but Angel's right, Spike's right; we'd destroy each other. But we're in the same business; we can't exactly cut all ties. This is why I didn't want to get involved with you Mr. Initiative Soldier, for fear we'd have a messy, painful break-up but still have to work together in a crisis. You know there's a reason why office romances are a bad idea."

"That would all be great. if there had been a crisis. There wasn't Buffy. How can you move on if he keeps calling you back?" Riley asked.

"Drop it Riley, please. Angel wouldn't call me if he didn't think he had a good reason. Maybe he didn't need me this time, everyone makes mistakes, but I know Angel, he didn't have any ulterior motives, case closed."

++++++++++++++++++++

"What are we going to tell him?" Angel asked.

"There's always the novel concept of telling the truth," Wesley replied.

"I promised Buffy I wouldn't," Angel said. "That goes for you two as well."

"So she won't have relationship issues with Mr. Personality?" Cordelia asked skeptically. "I'd think you'd be happy that they're not working out. Why don't you tell Buffy about the prophecy, about you becoming human? I'll bet she drops him like a hot potato."

"I told her to move on, how can I take that back now? Besides, she shouldn't waste time waiting for me."

"Well, whatever you're going to tell Riley, you'd better decide quick," Cordelia said staring out the window. "'Cause he's coming."

Both Angel and Wesley stepped back as Riley barged through the door; Cordelia stepped forward to confront him.

Riley sidestepped Cordelia in order to march up to Angel. "I know what you're doing," he accused.

"Trying to run a business?" Cordelia asked hurrying to impose herself between Angel and Riley again.

"Cordelia," Angel said softly as he gently nudged her to one side.

"You're trying to take her back," Riley continued obliviously. "You gave her up. Buffy's my girlfriend. I'm better for her than you. You can't have her back."

"She's not a possession," Angel said mildly. "She makes her own choices."

"You're the one trying to make choices for her, not me," Riley said. "You're the one spinning her head. First you dump her, then you tell her you still love her. You keep popping back into her life every time she starts to figure out what she really needs, then you duck out again. You keep her in constant turmoil. Buffy trusts you, she can't see what you do to her, but I do. I won't let you wreck her life anymore than you already have. If I have to kill you to get you out of her life I will."

"Mr. Finn, I believe you're operating under a false perception," Wesley said. "I was the one who called Buffy. I found a prophecy about a carpace demon rising in downtown LA; I believed that the Slayer's presence would be vital in preventing civilian casualties. It was only a few moments ago that I became aware that I had miscalculated the date of this event. We were just about to call Buffy and let her know about this mix-up. You really shouldn't blame Angel for what happened. It was my mistake."

"The last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt Buffy," Angel said. "Riley I'm doing my best to deal with this relationship so as to minimize her pain, but I will always be there for her if she needs me. I know this is awkward, and maybe I've made mistakes, I'm not good with people, but don't ever think I'm trying to hurt her."

"Trying or not you do," Riley said glaring at all three of them before turning to leave.

++++++++++++++++++++++

"Tragic love, it makes for excellent fiction," LaCroix said asperically "But what is it to live it? Romeo and Juliet lie moldering in the grave. Princes claim their unattainable maidens but did they truly live 'happily ever after' or is that just a convention of the storytellers."

"Tonight's callers have been sorely lacking in happy endings. Take heed gentle listeners, forbidden love is forbidden for a reason. Listen to those who have been there my children. Listen to your elders whose eyes are not blinded by love."

"The path you walk is strewn with shards of broken glass and the prize you seek is a poisoned apple."

"Take joy in what you may have and ignore the lure of the impossible dream, it will only bring you pain."

+++++++++++++++++++++

"So you saw Angel?" Willow asked her tone making clear that by saw she was referring to Buffy's Slayer-sense, not the conventional saw.

"I almost didn't check," Buffy replied. "I don't know what to think, his aura's all weird. I think the blackness in vampire's must be the actual demon, cause Angel's got it too, but it looks like something's trying to pull it out of him."

"That would be good right?" Willow asked. "No more Angelus."

"It looks painful," Buffy replied. "It's part of him and his soul's getting all ripped up in the process. I think something's wrong. I'm going to ask Giles to start talking to Wesley to keep tabs on him. If Angel's being hurt some way, I need to know about it. I'll fix it."

"What about Riley, he won't like this," Willow said. "Remember what you told me about making sure Oz knew he came first? I think you need to do that for Riley. Angel can take care of himself plus he's got Wesley and Cordelia looking out for him. He doesn't need you and you'll really hurt Riley."

Buffy looked down at her hands. "I can't not look out for Angel. I'd like to put Riley first, but Angel is Angel, he'll always be the one I love," she said. "I'm not honest with Riley. I want to love him, but it isn't the same. Five minutes with Angel and I can't pretend something's not missing in Riley and I's relationship. How do I get in these messes Willow?"

+++++++++++++

Willie glanced nervously at the new face. The guy was drinking red, in here that didn't refer to wine, and raving, never a good combination.

Willie set the bottle on the table and started backing away. The vampire grabbed his arm. "I'm cursed," He exclaimed. "Everywhere I go it follows me, insanity, absolute insanity. The Enforcers think it's my fault, they're after me. But they won't come here," he giggled. "They can't come here, she's here. I'd rather face her than them."

+++++++++++++++

"So how was patrol?" Giles asked as Buffy and Xander slumped tiredly into a pair of armchairs.

"It's totally crazy out there," Buffy said.

"The vamps are acting like wrestlers the week after the season ends," Xander said.

"In English please," Giles replied.

"They're eating everything in sight," Buffy explained. "It's not normal, if vampires normally ate like that there wouldn't be anyone left in Sunnydale by the end of the month."

"Could you have run into a group of fledglings? You know newly risen vampires tend gore themselves. That why it's always essential to get to them before they make it out of the cemetery," Giles said.

"These weren't newbies, Spike recognized the one that bit him," Xander said.

"A vampire bit Spike?" Giles asked incredulously.

"We told you they were eating everyone in sight," Buffy said. "If it makes you feel any better, Spike couldn't believe it either."

"We'll start researching," Willow said. "There's got to be a reason for this."

"Great. Meanwhile I'd better go back to patrolling, the way things are out there it's just scary."

+++++++++++++

Buffy watched the sun sinking with a groan. "It's going to start again," she said. "And people are going to die, I just can't be everywhere."

"You won't have to be," Riley said. "I called the Initiative, they'll be patrolling too."

"Oh dear," Giles said. "I asked Angel to come."

Looking even more tired, Buffy dropped her head into her hands. "Can everyone say disaster in the making?" She asked. "I don't suppose you can tell the Initiative to go home?"

"Why don't you send Angel back to L.A.?" Riley demanded.

"Because I trust him more than the organization that made Adam and secretly drugged it's own subordinates," Buffy replied. "Okay, if last night was any indication I'll probably need all the help I can get. This can work. Riley, tell the Initiative to stay away from Angel and Spike. If either of them turn up missing, they'll have to answer to me. I'll tell Angel to be on his best behavior if he runs into any soldier-types, so there's no chance of misunderstandings. When is Angel getting here Giles?"

"He promised he'd be here by sunset. Angel said he'd bring reinforcements as well," Giles replied.

"Alright, I sent Xander to collect Spike. They should be here a few minutes after that. We'll coordinate patrols then. We need to be sure we cover the whole town, plus with the Initiative around Spike and Angel can't do solitary patrols."

++++++++++

"Spike! Rise and shine!" Xander yelled barging into the crypt the blond vampire called home.

When no one responded, Xander walked further into the crypt, peering through the gloom. Suddenly he was yanked back against a cool, powerful body. Xander's knees buckled as he was pulled down to comfortable biting height by the shorter vampire, he felt fangs graze his neck then the vampire pushed him away with a yelp of pain.

Xander rolled to his feet, pulling a stake from his coat then relaxing as he saw Spike clutching his head in agony. "Serves you right Fangless, you could have given me a heart attack. I thought you were someone who's actually dangerous."

"Too bad.. I didn't," Spike panted. "I could drain you if you were dead."

"Not funny Spike. Now come on, Buffy needs help patrolling tonight," Xander said.

"Tell. the Slayer. to sod off," Spike replied brokenly. "Not gonna. torture myself. hanging around. blood I can't eat."

"I don't have time for this," Xander said, grabbing the blond by the arm and hauling him toward the door.

A second later they sprung a part, Xander in shock, Spike reeling in renewed pain, the result of a second failed attempt to bite the mortal.

"Have you gone mental?" Xander demanded.

"I'm hungry!" Spike snapped.

"Then eat something! You remember where the butchers is," Xander yelled.

Spike laughed bitterly, "I've already fed more in the last twelve hours than I'd normally need in a month. It doesn't do a bloody thing for me. I feel like I've got bleeding black hole in my gut."

"Giles and Willow need to know about this," Xander said.

"I won't be their lab rat!" Spike growled.

+++++++++++

"You're sure she's this Slayer chick," Gunn commented upon being introduced to Buffy. He looked her over with an obvious appreciation that set both Angel and Riley's teeth on edge. "Shouldn't she be bigger?"

Buffy glared irritably at Angel's new friend/ally or whatever.

"Considering the supernatural source of a Slayer's power, their physical size is quite irrelevant." Wesley lectured. "Although historically they do tend to be fairly petite. Some have hypothesized that it gives them an added shock value."

"In other words, if you make another crack about my size, I'll break you in half," Buffy threatened pleasantly. "Why do people always say I'm little?"

"Maybe we should get to business," Angel said, hiding a grin as he looked down at the 5'4", just over a hundred pounds Slayer.

"Right. Isn't Cordy coming?" Buffy said.

"She had a doctor's appointment," Angel replied, Buffy frowned at the sudden surge of guilt in his voice.

"Okay, well I already had Riley tell the Initiative units to cover campus and the northern residential area. Gunn take your group and cover down town, also could you have a guy or two go with Angel and Wesley. Angel you've got the docks. Riley, you, Graham and I are taking the eastern residential area. When Xander and Spike show, tell them to watch the crowd at the bronze. Everybody else, keep researching."

"Let's get moving then," Gunn said.

++++++++++++

"Giles, I think I found something," Willow said. "This has happened before. The police reports don't say vampire attacks, but that's what was happening. Two weeks ago in Twin Falls, Idaho. A month ago in Fort Collins, Colorado. Three weeks before that in Hannibal, Mississippi. I keep finding more of them. There's a rash of vampires attacks killings, dozens of them in some of the bigger cities, presumably with matching larger vampire populations. Then, after a week or so, they stop."

"Just like that? No cause, no reason?" Giles asked.

"No one knows why it starts, no one knows why it stops," Willow replied. "It certainly wasn't because of anything the police did. They're all unsolved cases."

"Well keep looking, there have to be some clues, somewhere," Giles sighed. "At least now we know that it can be ended."

"Hey guys," Xander said walking through the door. "Whatever it is that's making the vamps so hungry, it's contagious. Spike's got it, says he started feeling it less than an hour after getting bit. He's coming in the back way; he didn't want to walk into a whole roomful of people, cause he keeps forgetting about the chip whenever he smells blood. I'm going to go chain him up, in case it gets bad enough that the chip stops being a deterrent."

"Contagious?" Willow said. "Like some sort of disease."

"A disease that effects vampires, and I called Angel for help," Giles said. "Xander come with me, we've got to tell Angel to return to L.A. Willow, take care of Spike."

++++++++++++++

"It's fortunate that they're all hunting singly," Wesley commented.

"If they were in a pack we could set up an ambush," Jared, the guy Gunn had sent with them, disagreed. "Get this over with quick."

"Guys we've got one," Angel said, head cocked listening to something only he could hear. All three men turned and raced toward the screams Angel had heard.

They found a vampire trying to force his way into a small opening beneath the pier. At their arrival the vampire turned away from the crevice to stare at them like they were the main course at a banquet.

Wading into the ankle deep water beneath the pier Wesley and Jared separated from Angel, moving to flank the other vampire.

"Angel, you should have stayed gone," the vampire said glaring threateningly, but his attention strayed to Angel's human companions and the promise of food that they represented.

"You're going to do something about me being here?" Angel asked sarcastically, drawing the other vampire's attention back to himself.

The vampire launched himself at Angel without another word. Almost casually Angel tossed him into the pilings. The other vampire grabbed a loading hook as he rose. The long heavy pole, capped with a sharpen hook made a formidable weapon.

Angel ducked the first swing then jumped back to avoid the recovery. The long pole was also holding Wesley and Jared at bay.

After a few moments' stalemate, Jared lost patience with the situation. Recklessly he dove under the pole and tackled the vampire. Confronted with a warm human body, the vampire forgot everything but its hunger.

Angel hurriedly joined the fray, yanking the snarling vampire away from Jared's throat.

Infuriated, the vampire clawed Angel across the face.

Reacting automatically to the sudden pain Angel called on his demon. A second later Angel found himself kneeling in the murky water as the world spun wildly around him.

The other vampire kicked Angel in the side of the head, then turned back to his meal. As the vampire jerked Jared's head to the side Wesley, completely forgotten by the other combatants, drove a stake through his heart.

"Are you unharmed?" Wesley asked Jared.

"I'm good. Nice timing man," Jared replied.

"Happy to be of assistance. Now if you could check on what ever had captured the attention of our departed playmate? I'll check on Angel," Wesley replied.

Wesley knelt in the water beside Angel and pulled the dark haired vampire to a sitting position. "Angel?" he asked.

Disconcerting yellow eyes attempted to meet Wesley's, but couldn't seem to focus. Wesley frowned, certain that the change in Angel's features was less pronounced than usual. "Angel?" he repeated.

"Wha. Where am I?" Angel asked, disoriented.

"The middle of Sunnydale's harbor," Wesley said.

"Oh," Angel said, standing shakily. "That would explain the water. Weren't we fighting a vampire?"

"It's been taken care of," Wesley replied.

"That's good. Would you please stand still? Watching you is making me dizzy." Angel requested.

"Angel, I'm not moving," Wesley replied. "I didn't think he kicked you that hard."

"Hey Fangs, you'd better change back," Jared said, returning with a six or seven year old child clinging to his neck.

"Huh?" Angel asked.

"You're still "grrrr" as Cordy would say," Wesley explained.

"Oh," Angel said, gradually the demon melted away to show Angel's human face.

As they started back to the shore Angel stumbled. Wesley managed to catch him before he fell back in the water.

"I think we'd better call it a night," Wesley said pulling Angel's arm over his shoulder.

++++++++++++++

"So you're comfortable?" Willow asked uncomfortably.

Spike glared up at her from the nest of blankets she'd made for him on the floor of the training room. He wondered what he'd been thinking when he agreed to be chained up. Oh, right he'd been thinking he was out of money and at least they'd have to feed him. He'd dealt with being trussed up before, no big, but this being fussed over was going to drive him insane.

"What I want is for you and every other human I can't eat. Can't you let me be miserable in peace?" he snapped.

"Well if you're going to be like that, I'm not going to feel guilty about chaining you up anymore," Willow huffed.

"Fine! I don't care, just scram," Spike growled, curling around his aching stomach.

Willow's eyes softened. "Okay Spike, yell if you need anything," She said turning off the lights and quietly shutting the door behind her.

"How is he?" Tara asked looking up from the map she was working on. She'd been transferring all the incidents to it in hopes that they'd see a pattern.

"Cranky," Willow said. "Still he's sick, I should make allowances."

"It's a new experience for him," Tara said. "He's probably frightened. Vampires aren't supposed to get sick."

"Do you think we could catch it too?" Anya asked, peering over Tara's shoulder at the map. "I got the flu last month. It was unpleasant. I'm opposed to getting sick again. Everyone incubating germs should be quarantined, like they used to do."

"Like that worked so well," Willow said rolling her eyes. "Someone always panicked, decided they weren't sick, even if they'd been exposed and ran."

"A...also, there were cases l.like Typhoid Mary, people who carried the disease but didn't show the symptoms," Tara added.

"She should have been killed," Anya said callously. "She endangered everyone else."

++++++++++++++

Giles' shoulders slumped as he took in the approaching group.

Angel's movements were halting and uncertain, even with Wesley's support he was barely on his feet. Blood dripped down his cheek from three parallel wounds.

"You already encountered some of the infected vampires," Giles said tiredly.

"Three of them," Wesley replied.

"That's probably more than enough," Giles said.

Xander went to help Wesley support Angel. "Come on, we'd better get him back to the shop before he decides to start biting people."

Angel raised his head to glare blearily at Xander.

"What? The chip isn't stopping Spike from trying, why would your soul stop you?" Xander asked.

"It's hardly the same thing," Wesley said irritably.

"It's contagious," Giles said. "We don't know how badly it will effect Angel. I never should have called him, I knew vampires were behaving strangely, but I didn't think. Buffy was being run ragged."

"Don't," Angel said. "What's wrong. it isn't that."

"Then what is it?" Wesley asked. "You can't say this is normal."

"After effects," Angel mumbled.

"From what happened with Kate?" Wesley asked.

"I get dizzy when the demon comes to the surface," Angel admitted. "It must be because of all the holy water."

"And you just let Cordelia and I think you were ready to go into a fight again?" Wesley asked angrily. "You could have been killed Angel."

"I'm fine as long as I don't change. I was dealing," Angel argued. "Tonight I made a mistake. I didn't expect a minion to be able to hurt me. I got surprised into changing."

"It doesn't matter that this is a pre-existing condition," Giles said. "You've been exposed, the only safe thing to do is assume that you're infected, at least until we discover how strong it's effects are."

Angel nodded his agreement, being chained up didn't really sound so bad as long as he could sit down and close his eyes. It had been almost two weeks since he'd let his demon even approach the surface of his mind and if anything the situation was getting worse.

When Angel had first connected the bouts of dizziness with the emergence of the demon it had only taken him a few seconds concentration to throw off the effect. Now, even ten minutes after he'd resumed his human form the world was still revolving around him like a top.

Giles turned to Jared, noticing the child he was carrying for the first time.

"Vamp was trying to make a snack of her," Jared explained.

"We'll have to locate her parents immediately, they must be frantic," Giles said with concern. "Unless. They weren't?"

"I don't think so," Jared replied. "Didn't see anything to indicate that."

"Excellent," Giles sighed.

"I'll take care of getting her home," Jared said. "Isn't the first time we've found lost kids while we were looking for vampires."

+++++++++++++++

Two hours away in LA, LaCroix frowned. He'd felt twinges of discomfort from Angel before, the result, undoubtly, of a reckless lifestyle.

This time; however, the feeling wasn't dissipating. Additionally there was an accompanying fear of illness. At that LaCroix felt a ball of ice form in his stomach.

It can't be that, he thought. All the same it wouldn't hurt to be prepared when he went to determine what trouble his newest child had managed to get into this time.

+++++++++++++++++++

At dawn Buffy trudged into the Magic Box, looking utterly exhausted. "Xander said Angel was hurt?"

"He and Spike are in the back. Spike has definitely been infected. Angel, we're not sure, he says it's related to an earlier injury," Giles replied.

Buffy nodded as she walked past her Watcher. She found both vampires curled up in nests of blankets and sleeping bags on opposite sides of the training room. Spike was sitting against the wall, nursing a tumbler of blood. Angel lay on his back eyes closed, looking even paler than usual.

Buffy sank to the floor beside Angel and took his hand.

"Buffy?" he asked without opening his eyes.

"I thought you were sleeping," she said.

"Just tired of watching the room spin. it's unsettling, Spike's blood doesn't help," Angel explained.

"When I was a little girl I used to spin around in circles to get that effect," Buffy commented.

"I've never asked about insanity in your family before have I?" Angel said.

Buffy giggled only to be interrupted by a yawn. "Patrolling all night is brutal," she commented. "I think I'll blow off classes today. I'm gonna sleep all day, but I needed to see how you were first."

"I'm okay," Angel said. "This is mostly just precautionary," he added raising his other hand to display the binder around his wrist. "The idea of eating makes me want to be sick." He raised his voice slightly as he added, "I can't imagine being hungry enough to want to bite Xander."

"Hey," Spike objected weakly. "Blood's blood, even if the packaging is obnoxious."

"So you're okay," Buffy said, tiredly lying down beside Angel. "That's good."

Angel smiled softly at the familiar feel of Buffy's warm body curled against his side, her head pillowed on his shoulder. After a few minutes though, he remember she was dating someone else and this was probably a bad idea.

"Buffy?" he said quietly. "You should go home now."

In response Buffy cuddled closer to him.

"Buffy," Angel repeated.

"'m comfy," She protested more than ninety percent asleep.

Angel started to sit up, figuring she'd wake up if he dislodged her but the slight movement started the room spinning even more violently. "I guess it can't hurt, post-Slayage naps being traditional," he thought dropping back with a moan. It wasn't as if he really wanted her to move. He was quite content to have her stay exactly where she was as long as she wanted.

Spike rolled his eyes in disgust as the former lovers fell asleep together. The natural way they fit together was disgustingly cute.

Still the sleeping part didn't sound so bad. Spike set aside his three-quarters empty mug, trying to be happy about his hunger having finally receded. Deep down he knew it wasn't a good sign though. He should have felt satisfied. Bloody hell, he should have felt stuffed to the bursting point. All he did feel was not-hungry and kind of listless.

Pushing away the very bad feeling he had about this latest turn, Spike drew a blanket around him and slid into a restless sleep.

++++++++++++

"Have you seen Buffy?" Riley asked, stopping by the magic shop after his morning classes ended.

"She was checking on Angel," Anya said, frowning at him for interrupting her while she was dealing with paying customers.

"Thanks," Riley said unhappily. He opened the door to the training room come sick room.

For a few moments Riley just stared at the sleeping couple. Then his mouth tightened into a grim, miserable line. He shut the door and returned to the store proper. Once Anya was finished with her customers he said, "When Buffy wakes up tell her I'll send someone else with Graham when she patrols tonight."

"Why? Are you going to be busy?" Anya asked.

"I'll be with one of the other units. If she asks why, tell her I'm tired of being the consolation prize," Riley replied.

"Oh. OH!" Anya said. "I suppose I could give you a spell for getting in touch with my old counterpart, but Xander would probably get upset."

"Counterpart?" Riley asked in confusion.

"I used to be the patron saint of scorned women," Anya explained, she tried to avoid the phrase "vengeance demon" around Initiative types, even supposedly reformed ones.

"Oh," Riley said. "Um. no thank you. I need to go now."

++++++++++++++++++

Buffy woke feeling a rightness and security she'd almost forgotten. For a few blissful seconds all felt perfect in her world.

Then reality crashed in, reminding her that Angel was hurt, that she was technically dating Riley, that practically every vampire in Sunnydale was in the middle of a feeding frenzy. Still it had been nice waking up beside Angel regardless of the circumstances.

Buffy sat up slowly, trying not to disturb Angel. For a moment she closed her eyes meditating. Maybe her new sense could do more than just detect vampires; maybe it could provide a clue as to what was wrong with Angel.

When she looked at Angel again Buffy had to smother a gasp, Angel's aura looked like it had been ripped to shreds. The demon had been forced almost complete out of Angel's body, only a single tentacle tethered it to him, but it had left gaping tears in Angel's essence where it had been.

To make sure that this wasn't the illness, Buffy looked over at Spike; the blond looked the same as always, only dimmer. It really didn't look good, Buffy couldn't help but equate dimming with dying, but what was happening to Spike was definitely not what was happening to Angel.

Quietly Buffy retreated for the room. She found Wesley looking over some of Giles' texts on the store's balcony. "I'm sure Angel's right about not having what Spike has," Buffy said. "We need to start figuring out what is wrong with him."

"I called Cordelia last night, she's looking into Angel's suspicions. Don't worry, he's our friend, we won't let anything happen to him," Wesley promised.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

LaCroix landed outside the Magic Box's back door. It was locked but a judicious application of forced fixed the problem.

He walked into the darkened training room and stood staring down at Angel, a mixture of concern and aggravation in his eyes. "Angelus, how did you manage to be taken captive again?" He asked in exasperation when he sensed the Angel was awake.

"I'm not a captive, I agreed to it, just in case I have the same thing Spike does." Angel explained with a grimace. "Don't hurt anyone, they're my friends."

"I need to know everything about this illness," LaCroix ordered.

When Angel had finished explaining, LaCroix glanced across the room at Spike, the bleached blond had sunken into a state of semi-consciousness. "I've seen this before," LaCroix said. "But we dealt with it, it can't be here." He drew a couple of bags of blood from his pocket and tossed one to Angel before jarring Spike into full awareness. "If it's the Fever this blood will cure it."

"What's in it?" Angel asked. Spike stared at LaCroix with suspicion, obviously awaiting the answer as well.

"The Fever is the result of an engineered virus. It kills us. Blood infected with the HIV virus kills the Fever virus," LaCroix answered shortly. "If the Failed has is the Fever this will cure him. Then we need to learn how it came to be here and destroy it."

Spike shrugged weakly, "Can't hurt," he said using his fangs to puncture the bag.

++++++++++++++++++

Buffy checked the alley, searching the shadows for demons. What she found was the back door of the Magic Box swinging open, the lock twisted into a useless lump of metal.

She'd sent the two Initiative soldiers back their unit. She didn't really need a partner, not with all the vampires hunting solo, and she the Initiative soldiers gave her the creeps, well, all except Riley. Who was in a snit about something, Buffy supposed she'd have to ask him about it, do the whole make up thing, again. But after this was over. Riley and his problems could just wait until Sunnydale was back to the normal level of bizarre.

Riley really picked a rotten time for this, she thought irritable as she snuck through the open door, hoping to surprise whatever nasty had dared threaten her friends.

She froze for a moment at the sight of a tall, imposing stranger standing over Angel. The man's pale skin absolutely screamed vampire to the Slayer, no one human could be that pale.

Without another thought Buffy charged across the room and kicked the strange vampire away from her boyfriend.ex-boyfriend she amended in her thoughts.

Distracted by his concern for Angelus, LaCroix failed to notice the new arrival until he was sitting on the floor in an undignified heap.

As he rose LaCroix knocked Buffy back across the room. Angel could feel the homicidal rage radiating off LaCroix as he stalked toward Buffy. Angel lunged off the floor, catching LaCroix in a restraining embrace.

"He's here to help Buffy!" Angel yelled. No longer content with just spinning the room was now developing patches of black nothingness to Angel's eyes. He knew he was on the verge of passing out be he couldn't, not until not yet. "This is a misunderstanding," Angel said to LaCroix. "She'll apologize."

Feeling waves of dizziness and near panic from Angel's mind, LaCroix forced himself to relax. "Your Slayer, I take it?" the ancient asked with a hostile glance at the Slayer.

"Buffy," Angel affirmed, gasping for air. An analytically, detached portion of his mind wondered just when his body had become so obsessed with oxygen.

"I will allow this incident to pass without reprisal," LaCroix said, forcing Angel to sit again. "But this favor is not free."

Angel nodded in understanding and acceptance of LaCroix's terms. This was just a misunderstanding; there was no reason for anyone to die tonight. Angel resented LaCroix using Buffy's impetuous attack to put him in dept to the older vampire, but it still wasn't worth someone's life, certainly not Buffy's. Buffy was an incredible fighter, but against LaCroix, with only a stake to defend herself, Angel didn't think she'd have a chance so he agreed.

Turning to Buffy LaCroix said, "If you can restrain yourself from attacking me I was attempting to determine what harm Angelus has done to himself this time."

Bristling both at LaCroix's sarcastic, condescending tone and at the use of the name she associated with the soulless version of Angel Buffy began to retort only to be interrupted by a quiet "Buffy, don't," from Angel.

"Fine," Buffy snapped.

"Angelus, how did you manage to stop your heart again?" LaCroix demanded ignoring Buffy.

"I'm a vampire, my heart isn't supposed to beat," Angel replied, relieved to find the black spots were slowly receding from his vision.

"Mon Fils, one mustn't take that Stoker nonsense seriously," LaCroix reprimanded Angel with exasperated affection.

At the expression of outraged shock on Angel's face Buffy and Spike, both of whom had heard more than one of Angel's vampires as represented in fiction rants, broke into laughter.

"Angelus," LaCroix said, already trying to capture Angel's mind as he had before. "I have been a vampire for two thousand years, kindly refrain from arguing with me about what a vampire should and should not do. Your heart should beat, very slowly by mortal standard, almost imperceptibly, but it must happen or you will die." LaCroix frowned as Angel stopped him from entering his mind. That would be the one lesson Angelus would learn quickly and well, LaCroix thought. "Stop shielding yourself," he ordered.

"I've been fine without a pulse for over two hundred years," Angel argued. "And I don't like you in my mind, you know that."

"I have followed your wishes with regards to both the Slayer and that repulsive police woman. You will obey me in this," LaCroix said angrily, in his tone was the implicit threat that he might change his mind about either Buffy or Kate.

Looking unhappy Angel relaxed the barriers to his mind.

Needing to know what was happening Buffy examined the pair with her Slayer sense. She frowned in confusion; there wasn't any blackness in LaCroix, he didn't have a demon, just a core of dark red hunger shimmering behind an icy wall of controlled power. She could see the beginnings of a similar core in Angel, now that she was looking, and whatever LaCroix doing, it made Angel's demon curl in on itself, further reducing it's connection to the souled vampire.

LaCroix stepped back after a few minutes, Angel looked up at him in surprise. "I feel better," he said.

"Your welfare is always my concern," LaCroix replied.

"I don't understand," Angel continued. "I know my heart isn't supposed to beat, vampires are dead." Buffy and Spike nodded their agreement.

LaCroix examined Spike for a minute. The peroxide blond was sitting up looking alert and considerably more healthy than he had when LaCroix had arrived, but there was still no sense of life in him.

"The demon infested creatures you are familiar with, like that one, are dead," LaCroix agreed. "You are not. True vampires are not dead."

"What's wrong with being undead?" Spike sounded insulted. "I like it."

Buffy and Angel exchanged a confused glance.

"Now that that had been resolved we need to determine how the Fever made it's way here," LaCroix continued.

"We've got a map," Buffy said going to get it.

Angel looked thoughtful. "Judging from how Spike was feeling it should start burning itself out in a few days," he said. "How much of the population do you think it would have infected?"

"Most," LaCroix said darkly. "Even so small a thing as sharing a glass can spread the virus."

Buffy returned with Tara and Willow's map. They'd traced the occurrences back almost a year, to an outbreak Buffalo, New York, not even a month after the events in Toronto, which Dr. Lambert and Nicholas had successfully buried.

LaCroix stared at the map and the dates, "It's one of us, a plague carrier," he muttered before abruptly leaving.

+++++++++++++++++

"Angel!" Willie exclaimed in surprise. "Long time no see," nervously the weasely little bartender backed away from the bar.

"I'm not looking for information," Angel reassured him. "I just want you to pass on a message for me."

"Sure Angel," Willie replied. "You know me, always eager to help."

"Right," Angel said. "I want you to be on the look out for any vampire who doesn't act quite normal. Let them know that they're being hunted."

"By you?" Willie asked.

"No, I'm trying to save him or her," Angel replied.

"Try to help another vampire?" Willie asked. "Isn't that sort of out of character Angel?"

Angel smiled grimly. "This person is killing off vampire much more effectively then I do."

Willie's eyes strayed to the new arrival and widen with alarm. Angel turned to face whatever threat had materialized. LaCroix, golden eyed with anger, caught the younger vampire by the throat and slammed him against the bar.

"You know, that looks almost as uncomfortable as it feels," Willie commented cheerfully, only to find himself the new focus of LaCroix's distinctly unfriendly gaze.

"Leave. Now," LaCroix commanded, his tone included the entire room.

"You can't just." one demon began to argue. LaCroix hissed at the creature, filling the room with his presence. Seconds later it was empty of all save LaCroix and Angel.

"I've taken care of our plague rat," LaCroix said conversationally, still pinning Angel against the counter top.

"Too bad," Angel replied. "I'd never heard of a more useful vampire."

"Kill all the Failed you like," LaCroix said, his tone revealing barely controlled fury. "I could care less but if you threaten the Community again you and all your mortals will be destroyed."

Angel twisted free of LaCroix's grasp and stood a few feet from the older vampire, balanced on the balls of his feet, eyes sparkling, anger pushing him to the verge of changing. "I won't let you touch them," he stated flatly.

"You want to protect what is yours," LaCroix said, his own fury cooling slightly. "Good. Perhaps you can understand that I will do the same. I will protect my people Angelus, just as you would. I will protect them even from you Mon Fils. Don't ever press me on this matter again."

++++++++++++++++++++

"He's even more difficult than you were Nicholas," LaCroix said to the night. "For all your desire to be mortal again, you never hated us as a species, but what can I else can I expect of him? The Failed are all he knows."

"He would happily destroy us and never understand what it was he destroyed. Like the Fever he would have unleashed on us he doesn't differentiate between true vampires and the Failed."

"He must be made to understand, but how can I bring him into the Community as he is now? The Enforcers would destroy him within the first night."

"I wish you were here Nicholas. Just by being yourself you could have shown him we aren't the thing he so hates and maybe in helping him to accept us you could have learned to accept yourself.

**********

Kate stared at the vaguely familiar man barreling across the police station toward her. She couldn't place him and that was frightening. It was strange how hard it was hitting her; it didn't feel like she'd just forgotten him, it felt like her mind was somehow failing her.

"Kate, I've got a new lead," he declared when he reached her, his eyes glittered with a fanatic's intensity. Kate found herself caught in a storm of conflicting emotions; he was an ally, a source of hope, a source of disquiet, a vigilante of the worst sort.

"What kind of lead?" Kate asked hoping he'd say something that would spark a light in the black pit she could almost see in her normally clear memories.

"I located two more vampires," he said.

Kate couldn't fight the derisive laughter his words brought. "Vampires don't exist she said.

"They got to you," her visitor replied sadly. "They went into your mind and took your knowledge from you. I'm surprised they didn't just kill you... I suppose it's possible that they didn't want to deal with the death of a police officer. I suppose your life will be easier for not knowing. Goodbye Kate."

Kate watched the man turn and walk out feeling disturbed; vampires didn't exist, she was more sure of that fact than she was that the sky was blue. and yet. what he'd said about her mind, that struck a cord deep inside her and it rang true.

+++++++++++

"Vision!" Cordelia yelled. Angel dropped the book he was reading and bolted to her side, catching her as her knees began to buckle. For a few second her body convulsed in his arm then she was still, utterly drained.

Gently Angel set her on the couch.

"Aspirin, right," Wesley said, hurrying to be of assistance.

"No," Cordelia mumbled. "New stuff, prescription."

After she'd downed two of the pills Cordelia began talking, "Parking garage. North side of town. Fantasy mural on the side. A girl, Mercy, alone, hunted, terrified. He killed her. I don't know, it's confusing. Her lover? Her father? Both of them maybe. She's never been alone before, always taken care of, no one left. So hungry, but she doesn't know how to get food. Afraid, so afraid. It's not supposed to be like this!"

"We'll help her," Angel promised. "Just rest Cordy." Angel stared at Cordelia's face and the pain that still heavily marked it. "Wesley, maybe you should stay with her, she doesn't look too good," he said softly to the ex-Watcher.

"Of course," Wesley agreed, forgetting that he didn't believe that Angel was completely healthy as he watched a few tears trickle down Cordelia's cheeks as the pain of the vision consumed her.

+++++++++++

Angel saw a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. "Mercy?" he called.

When the girl stepped out of the shadows Angel just stared, he'd never seen a real person who looked quite so much like a china doll before. The girl was barely five feet tall, with curly pale golden hair cut in a page boy style that made her look no more than fifteen years old. She had cornflower blue eyes, wide set in a heart shaped face. Tears tracks marred the carefully applied blush on her cheeks and her frilly, impractical dress was torn and dirty.

"Did Gary send you for me?" she asked in a quavering voice. "No. he couldn't," she continued before Angel could answer. "Gary's dead."

Fresh tears filled the girl's eyes and she began to tremble. Angel disregarded the strange vibe he was picking up from Mercy and went to comfort her.

"Shhh, it's alright now," he said slowly reaching out to brush away her tears, trying not to startle her. "I'll help, I promise."

Just as his fingertips brushed her cheek a shot crack through the air. Shot gun, Angel thought as a few pellets from the near miss lodged in his are. He grabbed Mercy's hand and pulled her to a run.

Mercy stumbled awkwardly after Angel. He glanced down to see she was wearing heels even less practical than her dress. With a sigh Angel scooped her into his arms and kept running.

Angel climbed up to the next level of the parking garage then stopped to shove a rock under the door, jamming it shut.

"All right," he said putting Mercy back on her feet. "We've got a few minutes. Who's after you and why?"

"I don't know," the girl said tearfully. "He just attacked us. Gary told me to run so I did. Gary fought him; he was trying to protect me. Gary always takes care of me, but that man killed him. It just doesn't seem real; Gary can't be dead. What am I supposed to do without him?"

Angel stared down at the girl in dismay. He couldn't help but flash back to the Halloween when a spell had turned Buffy into some helpless damsel in distress. He felt confident he could save Mercy from the shotgun-totting nutcase chasing her, but what exactly was he supposed to do with her afterwards? He was apparently too late to save her caretaker, and she didn't seem even vaguely capable of caring for herself.

++++++++

"I've gotta call the doctor," Cordelia groaned trying to sit up.

"Why?" Wesley asked. "Where's the number, I'll take care of it."

"Purse, outside pocket. They wanted to run some tests on me right after I'd had a vision. migraine, can't tell the doctor I get visions."

"Oh, of course. I think I found it."

Wesley showed the card to Cordelia then dialed the number. "Hello, is this Dr. Gerim's office? Cordelia Chase, one of his patients, has just had a severe migraine. What should I do? The hospital!" Wesley's voice rose in alarm. "Yes, we're on our way now.

"I have to get you to the hospital," Wesley repeated to Cordelia.

"That's probably where the medical stuff for the test is," Cordelia said.

"Certainly, you're right. I'm over-reacting. I'll just call a cab and we'll go. or maybe they could send an ambulance?" Wesley stammered.

"A cab," Cordelia suggested.

"Right, a cab."

+++++++++++

"This is a woodchip," Angel said in confusion, examining the pellet he'd picked out of his arm. "Who loads a shotgun with woodchips. soaked in garlic juice?" He added feeling a burning in his fingers and smelling the pungent herb.

Mercy reacted to his statement with a panicked moan.

They'd been trying to find a way past Mercy's pursuer. After five minutes in her company Angel had decided that the best course of action was to get her to the relative safety of his car and then go back after her assailant alone. That way he wouldn't have to worry her fainting, Angel had reasoned.

Only the other man had turned Angel's trick with the doors against him. Now every stairwell they'd tried was jammed shut, trapping them on the sixth story of the parking garage. They were being driven into a dead end trap.

Another shotgun blast shattered a car window beside Angel.

"Stay down," Angel ordered pushing Mercy toward a narrow gap between a concrete pillar and a van. "I'm going to end this."

With Mercy safely stashed away, Angel began stalking their hunter. He'd had enough of pretending to be prey.

A few minutes later Angel spotted the hunter closing in on Mercy's hiding spot with an uncanny precision. "What's he doing here?" Angel thought as he recognized the man as Kate's vampire hunting friend, Corin.

Seeing the hunter was almost even with Mercy's nitch Angel stepped out into the open. "I thought you were interested in more dangerous games than terrifying little girls," Angel said.

Corin spun. "You!" he snarled bringing up the shotgun.

Angel dodged the worst of the blast, but still got caught in the edge of the hail of wooden pellets it produced. The garlic added a burning agony to the injuries sending Angel to his hands and knees, fighting the instinct to change to his normally more powerful demon-form. To change now might very well render him unconscious and waking to another of Corin's question and answer sessions wasn't on his to do list.

Seeing Angel go down, Corin turned his attention back to Mercy. The slight girl hissed at him, golden eyes glowing in the shadows, looking and sounding more like a frightened kitten than the monster Corin knew her to be.

As the shotgun leveled on Mercy, Angel lunged off the floor at the Hunter. He defected the barrel of the gun upward, letting it discharge harmlessly before ripping it from Corin's hands and sending it flying into the night. Angel yanked Corin's arms behind his back then turned to check on Mercy. When he caught sight of the vampiress he froze.

Corin pulled himself free of Angel's loosened grip and fled. Mercy met Angel's eyes then she began wailing, her human guise returning as she did so, changing her back into the frail china doll.

"Why me?" Angel asked the heavens glancing between Corin's rapidly retreating form and the sobbing vampire-girl.

+++++++++

"Now I'm going to have to give you an injection, the medical technician told Cordelia. "It helps things to show up more clearly in the CAT Scan."

Cordelia held out her arm nervously chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to find somewhere reassuring to look. Not at the big needle sliding into her arm, certainly not at the machine they were going to use on her. Wesley had been left in the waiting room. Finally she settled on the technician's face.

His nametag told her that his name was Kevin; he wasn't that much older than she was. So flirting wasn't eeew or anything, and it would be distracting. She could pretend she was back in High School and that everything was okay.

Putting on her brightest smile Cordelia said. "So Kevin."

+++++++++

"You're going to turn me over to him," Mercy whimpered.

"I'd kill you myself before I'd give you to that sadistic bastard," Angel replied, then winced as Mercy let out with an ear shattering wail. "Not that I'm gong to," he yelled over her racket. "The Powers that Be want me to save you for some unknown reason, so I'm saving you okay?"

Mercy quieted, cringing and sniffling in her protected nitch, wide childlike blue eyes welling with tears.

Angel sighed, he'd seen Darla do it, he'd seen Dru do it, in fact every female vampire he'd ever know had done it from time to time, he'd never been particularly impressed by it. "Mercy, drop the helpless fair maiden act," he said. "You're stronger than any human and you kill people for food. In fact, you're the thing I spend most my time rescuing people from, so this whole damsel in distress thing is pretty ridiculous."

"I never killed anybody," Mercy protested.

"How do you feed?" Angel demanded disbelievingly.

"You think I hunt?" Mercy asked, her delicate face twisting in dismay. "No one hunts anymore, if we did people would hurt us. Gary buys our blood. I like the nice stuff with Champaign in it, except Gary never lets me have much; it makes me tipsy. But that awful mortal killed Gary. What am I supposed to do without him?"

Tears began spilling over her cheeks again and Angel almost believed they were caused by genuine grief and fear. He felt like a jerk for upsetting her, and like a fool for believing her. He still didn't know what he was going to do with her. Then he remembered her golden eyes and neat fangs set in an otherwise perfectly human face and smiled. He knew exactly how he could deal with this confusing, frustrating girl. "Come on, I know someone who'd be happy to take care of you," he said. "He's a vampire, just like you."

+++++++++

"They're all done, at least for today," Cordelia said as she joined Wesley in the waiting room. "Now I go home and take things easy for a few days while they analyze all the test results. Then they tell me if there's anything medical science can do about vision headaches. Not that they had much luck last time I was here. Still I did get industrial strength painkillers out of it."

+++++++++

Angel rang the bell outside of LaCroix's radio studio then waited for the elder vampire.

Mercy stood beside him, still sniffling and generally looking pitiful. During the half-hour drive across the city Angel had come to the conclusion that Mercy wasn't faking anything, and that he wished that she were.

Mercy was almost a caricature of everything that he'd always despised about noble women. She'd spent eighteen years as a human being sheltered from the world by her parents and the next one hundred and fifty years as a vampire being sheltered and protected by Gary. In her entire life she'd never once done a single thing for herself. She was coddled, helpless, naïve, and agonizingly ignorant of everything.

Sure she was a vampire, but Angel couldn't think of her as evil, not in comparison to every other vampire he knew. She didn't kill or create chaos, her only purpose in life seemed to have been hanging off her boyfriend's arm and looking lovely. Vampires were supposed to be demonic, soulless, and evil. Mercy didn't even seem terribly predatory. Angel couldn't help but feel that killing her would just be wrong, even though she was a vampire and his stated desire was to destroy every vampire in existence. Angel didn't like to admit it, but he didn't really want to kill Spike or LaCroix either.

Angel never really wanted to kill vampires he'd turned, it felt wrong. It felt like making them pay for his mistakes. He'd wrecked their mortal lives, and no matter how much damage they did ending their existence as demons felt like he was compounding his original crime. Spike was Drucilla's; made on Angel's suggestion that she find someone to entertain her and thus it was Angel's fault that William's mortal life had been ended when he was barely two decades old. Angel knew the chip didn't make Spike any less evil, but it provided him with an excuse for not killing the blond and Angel was happy to have that excuse, he'd already taken too much from William.

LaCroix had saved his life, more than once; it made it hard to work up any dislike for the older vampire. Beyond that, Angel found himself fighting against a desire to let himself reciprocate LaCroix's feelings of family. The blood ties that had formed between them when LaCroix had practically remade him showed Angel that LaCroix saw him as a son, and somehow it felt real. Angel had never looked at Darla as a parent despite the fact that she had sired him she had always been his lover. Penn and Dru both saw him as a parent, but he hadn't loved them; Drucilla had been a project, a challenge to prove just how thoroughly he could twist and break someone. Penn was proof; proof that he could be a better father than his father had been, it didn't mean he'd cared about Penn. Angel had taken Penn and shaped him into exactly what Angel wanted him to be, something his father had completely failed to do with him. His father hadn't even been able to explain to him what he wanted from Liam. Back then, when he'd been alive, he'd wanted so badly to be whatever his father wanted, but he'd never understand how to win the approval he sought.

A part of Angel still stung from Darla's long ago revelation that even without his soul he had still wanted his father's approval. "He'll never approve of you either, not in this world or any other," she'd told him so very long ago. It was still true, deep down a part of him badly wanted his father to have pride in him, to love him, but that could never happen, he'd seen to that.

It made LaCroix very dangerous, LaCroix promised Angel a chance at something he'd wanted for a very long time, something that once he'd have done anything to obtain, but he couldn't trust that his and LaCroix's beliefs coincided in any shape or form. Still he found himself considering LaCroix's insistence that there was a difference between LaCroix and the vampires he'd always known, hoping that it was true. Angel found himself hoping that LaCroix would like who he was, and fearing the temptation to become someone else to please the ancient.

Angel was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the presence behind him until he heard the click of a shotgun being cocked, and there was barely time for him to pull Mercy into the shelter of his body before the gun went off and he was enveloped in pain.

The woodchips were too light to work as intended, they couldn't provide the necessary force to penetrate his heart but they burrowed into the muscles of his back where they burned like phosphorous.

"Don't change, don't change," Angel chanted to himself, wondering if it even mattered. The world had disappeared in a haze of pain, for all he knew he'd already passed out. He could feel the change coming, like air pushed before a tidal wave and then it hit and Angel was swept away in the torrent.

LaCroix's hand was on the doorknob when the shot was fired. By the time the door opened he had been transformed by fury.

For the second time that night Corin's gun was ripped away from him, this time so violently that his finger broke against the trigger guard. An inconsequently injury, as LaCroix's fangs broke the scarred skin on Corin's neck a split second later. When the Hunter's heart stopped LaCroix dropped him to the pavement.

LaCroix glared at Mercy who had just managed to pull herself free of Angel's dead weight. "Take care of the body," LaCroix ordered.

"I don't know how, I never." Mercy began.

"Then I suggest you learn," LaCroix snarled carefully lifting Angel from the ground, trying not to touch his torn back.

Mercy nodded, her voice frozen with terror.

+++++++++++

Kate stood in the morgue staring down at the body of one Richard Corin, self-proclaimed vampire hunter.

A person who'd know her, only she couldn't remember him.

He'd died of shock brought on by blood loss. Nearly half of his blood was missing. All lost through two insignificant puncture wounds neatly tapping his jugular vein.

He'd said he'd found two vampires, which was impossible because vampire didn't exist. Twenty-four hours later he was dead and real or not it certainly looked like he'd been the victim of a vampire attack.

He'd said they taken her knowledge of vampires from her mind, and there were blank spots in her memories. Ever since he'd said that Kate had been looking at the things she didn't remember, and she'd found them: The Pope Killings for example. The case was technically still open, but she'd filed it as if it were closed. She didn't know why. She was the one that had found her father's body, but she couldn't remember that. Angel had been involved with both incidents. It was in her official notes about the serial killer, he given them a drawing of the suspect. She didn't know how he'd been involved with her father's death, but she knew, beyond any doubts, that he had been involved. Every memory she had of Angel after the Pope Killings was hazy, obscured, wrong. Whatever had been done to her, Angel was at the heart of it.

Kate knew that somehow she had to find out what had happened to her.
________________________________________________________________________

LaCroix set the innocuous cardboard box on his desk then sat down across from it, watching it as one would watch a venomous snake.

He wondered if Pandora's box had looked so mundane from the outside. Pandora's box had held all the evils in the world. and hope. Most of the time LaCroix didn't see the distinction. To hope was to invite despair. and yet, was it possible to truly live without hope? He'd always believed that he had, even so he'd hoped for the day Nicholas would give up his foolishness until Nicholas' death, and he hadn't felt alive again until he'd found Angelus. Now it seemed he would loose Angelus as well, to some unknown malady, but today he hoped otherwise.

When he'd left Toronto he'd taken the box with him. He should have destroyed it and everything it contained. There was no ration in his desire to keep it, but he did. That box represented the summation of the quest that had killed Nicholas. Twenty-three notebooks and three computer disks filled with Dr. Natalie Lambert's neat, precise, scientific notes on the condition of vampirism.

When Diva had offered him this life, he'd believed she'd made him a god, above morals or mortal concerns, free of humanity and all its attendant miseries. It had been magic, mysticism, power.

Almost two millennia later a lovely, stubborn coroner had looked at the same phenomenon and had seen a disease, an addiction, a virus.

And then there was Nicholas, who saw curses and eternal damnation. Nicholas, who found disillusion and disappointment in everything. A knight of the crusade who lost faith in God. A vampire striving for light. Nicholas who couldn't understand that what he was didn't define who he was. Who, despite the example of his own life couldn't believe that a vampire could also be a good person. Who condemned both himself and the woman he loved to death rather than accepting himself.

The box contained meticulous descriptions of every misery Nicholas had endured in the name of finding a cure. It told of willful starvation, of regiments of exposure to substances that caused him pain, of noxious substances meant to replace what his body craved and cried for, of reckless experiments, all in the search of a scientific cure. In those records were also frustrated accounts of Nicholas' other attempts to cure himself. It seemed that no matter how she tried Dr. Lambert had never fully made Nicholas a convert to the faith of science. As he had ever been, Nicholas had remained a willing and eager believer in every possibility, no matter how unlikely. From magic to playing pretend, Nicholas had tried everything. At least Natalie had truly cared for his son, unlike the various charlatans LaCroix had been forced to rescue Nicholas from over the years.

But like Pandora's Box, this box also held hope. Without the hope of a cure would Nicholas have survived as long as he did? LaCroix couldn't be sure anymore. And now it contained a new hope, hope that all of Dr. Lambert's tests and measurements and defining of vampirism in scientific terms might give them some clue as to what was happening to Angelus. ________________________________________________________________________

Wesley looked around at the assembled group, taking one last moment to gather his thoughts before beginning. "It's been two weeks since Angel was shot, although his injuries have completely healed, he has yet to regain consciousness, and despite that he has remained in his demon form."

Buffy wanted to tell Wesley to forget all the preliminaries and get right to how they were going to fix Angel, but she knew lecture-mode was a comfort zone for Watchers and after the last two weeks she wouldn't begrudge Wesley the right to present their findings as he saw fit.

She doubted he'd slept for more than an hour or two at a setting since Angel had been injured. He had coordinated everyone else's efforts and dealt with frayed tempers, as well as doing his own research. He had cajoled Spike into the roll of a test subject to provide them with data on what a normal vampire was physically in comparison with LaCroix's type of vampire. He had spent long hours pursuing LaCroix's explanations of the how's and what's and why's of his kind of vampire. More than anything else that last effort had won Wesley Buffy's respect. She could hardly stand being in the same building with the ancient vampire.

Willow, who had the strongest science background had been given the task of deciphering Dr. Lambert's baseline study of vampirism and performing a similar study on Spike and Angel so they could determine exactly what Angel was physically.

Buffy and Giles had been trying to determine the meaning behind what Buffy could see with her Slayer sense.

LaCroix procured outside assistance where needed, found equipment and arranged for lab work to be done without questions for Willow.

Cordy, who was seriously ill herself, if Buffy was translating some of Cordy's more cryptic disagreements with Wesley correctly, was taking care of Angel.

Xander, Anya and Tara were holding the fort in Sunnydale.

Buffy wasn't sure where Riley was. She'd never found time to talk with him between the Fever dying out in Sunnydale and her rushing to LA upon hearing that Angel had been injured a few days later.

"When one of LaCroix's type of vampire turns someone there are three possibilities," Wesley was saying. "After the individual is infected with the virus that causes vampirism they enter a state of near death while it adapts their body. During this period the person's soul leaves the body. The first possibility is that the soul will choose to continue on and the person will die. The second possibility is that the soul will return to the body and they will become what LaCroix refers to as a true vampire. The third possible outcome is that a demon will find the undefended body and take it, then the body will rise as one of the Failed, one of the vampires we have all become familiar with."

"When the Failed turn someone there are no options, the soul is ripped from the body and replaced with a demon, as you all know."

"While the soul is absent from the body the virus sustains it in a state of suspended animation. There is no breath, no heartbeat, any externally imposed changes, such as injuries are repaired," Wesley paused to glance at LaCroix, his eyes deeply troubled.

"Put your mind at ease," LaCroix sighed. "I did not turn someone simply to obtain that information."

"Thank God," Wesley sighed. He had commented that it would be useful to have more data on the intermediate phase between human and vampire, a few days later LaCroix had presented him with exactly what he'd asked for. Wesley had been afraid to ask how he got it.

Returning to his lecture, Wesley explained. "The Failed are still physically in the intermediate stage, the final changes don't occur until after the soul returns. We're not sure if Angel didn't finish transforming when the gypsies first cursed him because of the demon's presence, because his soul was returned magically or simply because the virus had been in the sustaining mode for so long. Several months ago LaCroix saved Angel's life by giving him massive amounts of blood and using his mesmeric abilities to convince Angel's heart that it should beat, somehow this jumpstarted the process. The virus in Angel's bloodstream is becoming active.

"Where the difficulties come in is Angel's demon is still present. Buffy and Giles have discovered that the type of demon that creates a vampire cannot possess a living body. As Angel's body exits the state of suspended animation that it's been in since he was turned it is rejecting the demon. Unfortunately the demon isn't leaving without a fight."

"I believe that the best course of action would be for us to remove the demon before it can do any further damage. The demon's presence isn't essential to Angel any more; it's actually detrimental to him. There isn't a single reason not to do this."

Buffy raised her hand tentatively. "How much are we hypothesizing when you say Angel doesn't need the demon any more?"

"I'm sure Buffy," Willow said. "Physically Angel's way closer to Dr. Lambert's subject than he is to Spike. Plus he needs a functioning circulatory system. When the demon manages to stop his heart it doesn't look like it would if he were human but it's pretty much what's happening, only slower. Vampires, LaCroix's kind anyway, have a really, really slow metabolism. As long as Angel doesn't do anything diffusion can almost suffice, but not quite. That's why he felt dizzy; it was sort of like he was suffocating and starving because without his heart to pump blood his cells don't get oxygen or anything else fast enough. In other words, when the demon starts trying to make itself at home, Angel starts dying. I think that's pretty strong proof that he doesn't need it."

"So just to be clear here," Cordelia said. "We're talking exorcism, like with crosses and holy water. All things which hurt Angel, remember?"

"Even so, it will work," LaCroix said. "My son, Nicholas was briefly possessed, a priest was able to exile the creature in spite of Nicholas' nature."

"There is one other factor we should consider," Giles said. "You've thoroughly looked into whether or not we should perform an exorcism, but have you consider that we may not be able to do it?"

"We did one last spring," Cordelia said. "Okay, Angel did the kicking the demon out part, but Wes and I helped."

"And how long had the demon possessed it's victim?" Giles asked.

"It would be difficult to determine," Wesley said uncomfortably. "Due to the circumstances surrounding the case."

"How old was the victim?"

"Seven."

"So you're comparing the removal of a demon which had at maximum of seven years to establish a foot hold in it's host with one that has been an integral part of Angel for two and a half centuries?" Giles asked. "Have you started looking into a plan B yet?"

"The demon is using all its resources to simply retain its connection to Angel. We'll be providing the added push to remove it completely," Wesley replied. "But feel free to start looking for something else since my plan couldn't possibly work."

"Guys, lets put the profession, or not so professional, differences on the back burner till Angel's okay, alright?" Cordy asked.

"I'll start preparing for the ceremony," Wesley said sounding subdued. "I don't need much help, the rest of you could put your efforts into looking for alternatives."
________________________________________________________________________

"Go down stairs, help the other," LaCroix said to Cordelia. "I'll watch him. I am not a team player."

Cordelia smiled half-heartedly. "Way understatement. Thanks."

When the door closed behind her LaCroix took her chair beside Angel's bed. He brushed one fingertip over the ridges in Angel's forehead. "We'll get it out of you," LaCroix promised softly. "One way or another. The Slayer says I make the demon retreat when I touch your mind. Shall we try a small experiment?"

LaCroix rearranged the pillows so Angel was semi-upright. Then LaCroix carefully bit his wrist and pressed the bleeding wound to Angel's lips, with his free hand he massaged Angel's throat until he felt the younger vampire swallow. "Good boy," LaCroix said with a faint smile.

When he was certain Angel would continue drinking he brought Angel's wrist to his mouth, as soon as he tasted Angel's blood LaCroix was drowning in the battle occurring inside Angel. Change, confusion, fear, anger, malice, hope, determination. Identity breaking down, separating, reforming.

The demon, which had existed in a shifting balance with Angel's soul for so long was being displaced, forced out by the emergence of a true vampire's core, the thing that made them predators, human no longer. That core blended with his soul, becoming a part of him, making the demon other than him. LaCroix knew that sometimes the predatory core became dominate, distorting the original personality, as had happened to Richard Lambert. LaCroix had neglected to tell the others of that possibility. It didn't happen with proper precautions and given that Angel had controlled the demon's desires for a century it would hardly be an issue in this case.

LaCroix wasn't sure if this sharing of blood would help or not, but it would reaffirm their bond, thus making it easier to monitor Angelus' well being during the coming trial.
________________________________________________________________________

"How far can we trust LaCroix?" Buffy asked Wesley as they prepared for the exorcism.

"Just as long as our interests coincide," Wesley replied.

"Do they? Why would they?" Buffy asked.

"If you haven't noticed, his feelings toward Angel are distinctly parental," Wesley explained.

"Come on, Angel's way too old for that," Buffy objected.

"LaCroix is considerably older, in comparison Angel is little more than a child," Wesley replied. "I don't know how his feelings for Angel developed so quickly but they did, as long as Angel's life is endangered we're on the same side."

"And beyond that?" Buffy asked.

"So far he hasn't shown any interest in destroying or ruling the world. If he saw you dying in the street he wouldn't care. He's not our friend but he doesn't have to be an enemy. I wouldn't want him for an enemy," Wesley said seriously. "So it's best if we don't unduly antagonize him." ________________________________________________________________________

Wesley glanced around the room, making sure everyone was prepared. They had chained Angel in addition to creating a warding circle around him. Angelus wasn't someone they looked forward to seeing again. Still, for the exorcism to work the demon had to manifest.

Seeing Buffy and Cordelia's nods that they were ready and LaCroix's unflappable stare that said he was never caught unprepared, Wesley tossed a handful of grayish powder over Angel completing his spell.

After a few moments Angel's golden eyes opened and glared at the foursome with absolute hatred. "Now why would you call on me?" the demon asked.

Wesley immediately began reading the Latin ceremony in a firm voice.

"You might want to listen to what I have to say before you do that Wes," the demon hissed. "You kick me out of this body and I'll make sure the only thing it's good for afterwards it burial."

"Angel doesn't need you anymore," Wesley said confidently.

"Doesn't matter," the demon replied. A second later blood started dripping from Angel's ears, nose and eyes.

"Desist," LaCroix ordered.

"Tired of burying your children Lucien?" the demon asked. "You're little blood sharing game works both ways you know. It's all there in the blood; how you killed them. Diva, Nicholas, both dead by your hands. Angel you started killing the moment you touched him. Why is it that you destroy everything you love Lucien? Have you ever wondered that?"

LaCroix smiled coldly. "You are the one who is loosing demon. However this night goes you still loose."

"If you want your son alive you'll change him back to what he was," the demon ordered. Then it redirected its attention to Buffy. "I'd rather deal with you lover, but we all know how much Angel means to you."

"'What we have is something new. I trust him. I know him,'" the demon quoted in a mocking parody of Buffy's voice. "You couldn't have hurt him any more if you'd literally ripped out his heart and stomped on it. Even if he lives he'll never look at you the same way again now that he knows what you're capable of."

"We won't set you loose," Buffy said.

The demon laughed. "I don't give a damn, Soul-boy will eventually get worn down, all this misery he subjects himself to. it won't be worth it when you're gone Slayer, and we all know how long Slayers last don't we? All I want is to stay right where I am until Angel's ready to admit he'd rather be me."

"Are you done yet?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, you and the dethroned princess aren't worth my time," the demon said. "None of us has much time, I wouldn't want to waste it chatting. Fix this body or I'll kill it. You have less than a week."
________________________________________________________________________

"Please don't say it," Wesley said to Giles as he, Buffy, Cordy and LaCroix descended the stairs.

Giles could easily see the defeat and pain in Wesley's eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. "We haven't had any luck either."

"So what do we do now?" Cordelia asked.

"I will not allow that creature to have him," LaCroix declared.

"That isn't even an option," Wesley sighed. "The supernatural is where our expertise lies not in medical science. Perhaps your Dr. Lambert could find a way to reverse the progression of the virus, but even with her help we couldn't do it within the necessary time frame."

"So back to the books," Willow suggested.

Several hours later Wesley angrily shoved the book he was examining away. "I can find a dozen ways to remove the demon," he exclaimed. "But not one is fast enough! We need something that works instantaneously so that the demon can't retaliate."

"Like when Angel turned human?" Cordelia asked with a yawn.

The stack of books Buffy had been carrying crashed loudly to the floor, the sound echoed in the suddenly dead silent room.

"What?" Cordelia asked realizing everyone was staring at her.

"When was Angel ever human? Why didn't I know about it? And why is he a vampire now?" Buffy demanded.

"Oops," Cordelia said, realizing that this was a cat no longer in the bag situation. "Well Angel fought this Mora demon. Their blood mixed. Angel turned human. As I understood it that was pretty much a now you see it now you don't moment. Bad stuff happened, Angel had to ask the PTB to turn him back. End of story."

"What 'bad stuff'?" Buffy asked.

Cordelia squirmed, she was a rotten liar and she knew it. "Highly non-relevant to the current topic bad stuff."

"The demon that broke into Angel's office last Thanksgiving, he said it was a Mora demon," Buffy remembered. "He said he knew how to kill it because he'd read about them. Why would Angel lie to me?"

"So I take it these Mora demons are fairly common," Wesley said. "That's excellent."

"I will not have Angelus turned into a mortal," LaCroix announced glaring intimidatingly at the others.

"Not all that common," Cordelia said. "That was the only one we ever ran into."

"LaCroix, right now Angel's choices are human or dead," Buffy said staring into the ancient vampire's eyes. "Are you with us or not?"

LaCroix considered Angel's blood memories of the forgotten day and why he'd asked to be made a vampire again. "When you put it so charmingly my dear." he said.

"Good. Giles, Wes find me one of those demons so I can make it bleed. Cordy, lets do the girl talk thing," Buffy stated in a hard voice. ________________________________________________________________________

"Now remember, the pentagram will only contain the demon as long as it remains unbroken," Wesley said.

"How are we supposed to get the Mora's blood without breaking it?" Buffy asked. "I doubt it'll just give us a cup full."

"You won't," Wesley replied. "I'm just warning you as to what to expect."

"Once you have the blood you must shatter the gem set in the demon's forehead," Giles instructed. "It will regenerate if you fail to do this. We will have summoned this demon into our dimension, any harm it does is our fault."

"But you can't shatter the gem until after you have the blood," Wesley said. "This spell won't work twice in a century."

"I know all that already," Buffy said. "Lets stop talking and get this done."

"I shall leave this to you," LaCroix said withdrawing from the group.

"I thought you were helping," Cordelia said.

"Not with the collection of a substance that makes vampires mortal," LaCroix stated walking toward the stairs.

"Shut the door behind you," Buffy said.

Willow lit the last candle then nodded to Giles and Wesley, together the trio began chanting.

A fog filled the pentagram and slowly condensed into the Mora demon. "That's the mutant Ninja I was looking for," Buffy commented hefting her ax.

The Mora drew its sword. "Who dares summon me?" it demanded.

"Well you forgot to give during the last blood drive. We wanted to give you a second chance," Buffy said swinging the ax with all her strength.

The Mora blocked the blow with its sword, cutting the head off of Buffy's ax. She leaned back and kicked the sword out of its hands then spun, catching the severed head of her ax as it fell and buried it in the Mora's chest.

"Glass," Buffy said kneeling over the body.

"That was fast," Cordy commented handing it to her.

"I was motivated," Buffy replied freeing the ax from the wound and dipping the glass in the demon's blood. Once it was full of the glowing blue substance Buffy handed the glass back to Cordelia and smashed the gem in the Mora's forehead. The demon disappeared in a flash of light. "Let's go."

Buffy reclaimed the glass of demon blood from Cordelia and started up the stairs, out of the basement. Wesley, Giles Cordelia and Willow followed her. As they crossed the lobby LaCroix fell in with them.

"Does he die or have you figured out how to keep me around?" Angelus asked as they entered his rooms.

"We found a way to fix the problem," Buffy said icily.

Wesley stepped forward and turned Angel's hand palm up then cut a deep slash across it.

Buffy stepped forward and emptied the contents of the glass over the injury.

Angelus' eyes narrowed in fury then he gasped. Seeing his expression soften and loose the demon's arrogance Buffy sat beside him on the bed. She pressed her hand to his chest and smiled as she felt his heart speeding up to a moral pace, she could feel the warmth racing into his flesh as the Waters of Eternity regenerated him.

"Buffy?" Angel asked.

"You're human," she said leaning over to kiss him passionately.
________________________________________________________________________

Cordelia coughed loudly, when she had everyone's attention she announced. "We're all glad your alive Angel and we'll just be going now, before things get too disturbing."

"Thanks guys," Angel said. "But you don't have to leave, Buffy and I shouldn't."

Buffy kissed Angel again intently, pulling back only when she felt him gasping for breath.

"Bye," Angel managed.

The others, exchanging knowing smirks began filing out of the room.

"Keys?" Buffy requested gesturing to the chains they'd restrained Angel with before they had forced the now absent demon to manifest.

"Oh. yes," Wesley commented digging through his pockets.

In a much too innocent voice Willow asked. "You're sure you want them right now?"

"Willow!" Cordelia shrieked, scandalized and shocked that it was the girl she remembered as a shy computer nerd who'd made the suggestion.

"Didn't say anything about using them right away," Buffy replied smiling seductively at Angel, who found, to his surprise, that he could blush now.

Wesley tossed Buffy the keys and hurriedly exited.

LaCroix made no move to follow the others out.

"Didn't you get the hint?" Buffy asked the ancient vampire.

"I would speak to Angelus before things get. too carried away," LaCroix said.

At that Buffy turned to glare at him. "Let me guess, you want to talk about turning him back right? Forget it, it's not happening."

"We shall see," LaCroix said coldly.

Tension sparkled between them as the staring match lengthened. Then Angel whistled sharply, bring their attention back to him. "I'm right here," he pointed out.

"Yes and nothing has changed since the last time you were mortal," LaCroix said. "All the reasons you couldn't stay like this last time still exist."

"No," Buffy argued. "I know what you told Cordy, and you were wrong."

"I'm not having this conversation while chained to my bed," Angel said firmly.

As Buffy unlocked his restraints she continued arguing. "Chances are, the thing that kills me is going to be the one I don't see coming. You're going to be setting in LA unaware while I'm dying in Sunnydale."

"Where as if you were human, you'd be dying right along side her. Incapable of doing anything but getting in the way," LaCroix added sardonically.

Angel started to say something only to be interrupted by Buffy. "You think you'll be a liability to me in a fight, but how would any other normal person be less of a liability."

"Yes Angelus, stay out of trouble, let her protect you, forget about your redemption," LaCroix said.

"You've got nothing to make up for," Buffy insisted.

"I doubt Angelus would agree with that evaluation," LaCroix shot back.

"Then find a new way to fight," Buffy argued. "You were only human for a day last time, you didn't even try. You have two and a half centuries of experience, that's got to count for something."

"As a vampire, without that asset all your experience will get you is killed," LaCroix replied.

"Are you two finished?" Angel asked loudly. "Can I talk? It is my life you're debating. It's going to be my choice."

"Why?" Buffy asked. "You decide what I need. Why can't I do the same to you? Did I ever tell you I wanted a boyfriend who tanned rather than combusted? Or kids, did you even listen to me when I told you I didn't care about having children?"

"It's not the same thing," Angel said.

"Right, I remember this part," Buffy snapped. "Cause I'm a swoony school girl who doesn't know what she wants. "Well this time I think it's your judgment that's bad. You hate yourself so much that you can't accept anything good that happens to you. You have to find someway to ruin it so you can go back to being miserable!"

"And you can't accept that he will be better off as a true vampire," LaCroix said. "Angelus there will be no curse, no demon."

"No," Buffy interrupted. "You're lying, you just want him to be like you."

"I want what's best for him," LaCroix replied.

"'Cause your Nicholas was so happy as a vampire?" Buffy asked sarcastically. "He was the one Dr. Lambert was studying right? You thought we wouldn't figure it out, giving us only a few of the notebooks, tearing out pages. You tried to cover it up, but Willow says she was looking for a way to make a vampire back into a human. If there's no catch, why didn't he want to be a vampire anymore."

An expression of mixed anger and pain flickered across LaCroix's face, disappearing instantly. He met Angel's eyes squarely. "I made mistakes with Nicholas," he said sincerely. "By your lights, I may very well be evil. I have killed before and will again. I feel no pangs of guilt for this. I never did. The vampire does intensify the characteristics which you would object to, but it does not control me, it does not make me evil. I make my choices, not the beast."

"When I turned Nicholas I tried to reshape him in my image. He was a good person. For a time he lost sight of that. When I found him he'd seen the ugly truths of the Crusades, he'd lost his faith and was willing to accept any guidance. But he couldn't stop being what he was forever. In time he rejected everything I was including the vampire."

"He spent centuries torturing himself over what he was and never realized who he was. Nicholas wasn't evil. That he was a vampire couldn't change that simple fact."

"You can't trust him Angel," Buffy exclaimed.

"We've shared blood, you know what I say is true," LaCroix said.

"You can't turn him," Buffy stated. "I won't let you. Even if Angel gives you permission, you'll have to go through me to get to him."

"Stop it!" Angel exclaimed. To LaCroix he added. "Please leave. I can't deal with both of you."

"Will you be able to choose if you delay?" LaCroix asked softly.

"Don't go into my mind," Angel requested tiredly.

"I'm only stating what you know to be the truth," LaCroix answered.

"Just leave."

As the door shut behind LaCroix Angel turned his attention back to Buffy. "You don't mean that," he said.

"Yes I do, Angel I'm so sick of you digging up reasons why we can't be together. Don't you love me?" Buffy asked tearfully.

"Buffy I love you, with everything I am, you have to know that," Angel replied. "I just. I want to do what's right."

"You won't even try to be with me," Buffy cried.

"I can't turn my back on what's out there," Angel said.

"I didn't ask you to! Just learn to help as a human," Buffy argued.

"I tried that last time," Angel said quietly. "I almost got us both killed. I don't think I can't overcome two hundred and forty-eight years of reflex conditioning. LaCroix's right about that, I'm used to being able to walk away from being shot or run over or impaled. Ask Cordelia about all the injuries she's patched up for me during the last year. I never even think about it. Wesley and Gunn are a lot more careful when we fight; they have to be. I'm used to healing almost immediately. How long will it take me to get over that? How long will everyone around me have to watch that I don't do something stupid and get myself killed?"

"Try," Buffy insisted. "Don't spend a few hours as a human then go after some demon-super-assassin like nothing's changed. You've dealt with demons that you couldn't beat in a flat out slugfest before. You can do it again, there's just a lot more things that fall into that category now."

"You don't believe that," Angel said.

"I want you to stay human," Buffy said. "I want you to realize you have nothing to make amends for. I want you to come home to me."

"How can you say that? You know what I've."

"What the demon's done," Buffy insisted. "It's gone, it's dead, you're free."

"It's not that simple," Angel said.

"Could you ever have done what it did?" Buffy demanded.

"It is me," Angel stated flatly.

"No it's not the demon's gone. Angel, you're right here. How can you be the same thing?"

"What I was before, as a human, formed Angelus: my anger, my hurt, my self-centeredness. I didn't kill for food or power, Buffy I did it for the shear pleasure I got out of inflicting pain. Physical or mental I liked it. Liked it so much even other vampires couldn't understand why I did the things I did. So it didn't come from the demon, it had to have come from me."

"With your soul intact could you have done what the demon did? Could you?"

"It was my."

"Yes or no Angel, could you have done it?"

"No. After the curse I tried to go back to Darla. I couldn't do it. I couldn't be that anymore."

Buffy smiled softly. "I know. Maybe there was some darkness in the person you were before you were turned, but that wasn't all there was in him, because he became you."

"It doesn't matter. I can't give up what I do here Buffy, no more than you could give up being the Slayer. But I'll try it as a human and if I can't help the people in Cordy's visions this way, I'll find a way to verify what LaCroix said. I'll figure out what the catch is before I agree to anything."

"And then we'll talk about, okay?" Buffy requested. "You won't just decide for both of us this time."

"I can do that," Angel promised.

"It'll work out, you'll see," Buffy said kissing Angel.
________________________________________________________________________

Hearing an argument LaCroix paused.

"It doesn't matter what the doctors said Wesley," Cordelia insisted. "Angel's human now, there won't be anymore vision. So who cares anyways?"

"Why won't you tell me what the tests showed?" Wesley asked. "First you said wait until we dealt with Angel's collapse, now you say it doesn't matter."

"Because it doesn't. Nothing is going to happen to me. No more visions remember?" Cordelia replied.

LaCroix opened the door and joined the pair. "Miss Chase, you didn't realize your predecessor. Doyle? Continued having vision even when Angelus was human? Your Powers don't care that he is no longer suited to be their Warrior, they will continue using him until he has died for them. It will certainly happen sooner with Angelus fighting as a mortal, they don't seem to care. Perhaps his death will end your visions, or maybe they'll send you another warrior to replace him. Like you replaced Doyle."

"Cordelia, what did the doctors say?" Wesley asked again.

"They said I get the headaches because when I have a vision the blood vessels in my brain get really narrow and I could end up having a stroke," Cordelia said.
________________________________________________________________________

Giles knocked on Angel's door then yelled, "Xander called, Buffy you're needed back in Sunnydale."

"We'll be down in a minute," Angel called back.

"You don't have to come," Buffy said as Angel handed her a shirt.

"I want to help," Angel replied.

Buffy looked uncomfortable. "You were going to get used to being human first, that's what we agreed."

"I'm not planning on going solo," Angel said. "How can I find out what I need to know if I stop fighting demons?"

Fifteen minutes later Buffy and Angel entered the Hyperion's lobby still arguing. "I'm just saying it's too soon," Buffy protested. "And it's Sunnydale, not exactly your responsibility anyway."

"Angel we need to talk with you," Wesley said. "I think it would be best if you let Buffy handle this demon on her own, we have a problem of our own.
________________________________________________________________________

Where the Oracles and their domain had followed Greek lines this temple was Egyptian in style as was the cat headed man Angel spoke with.

"The Powers did this to her, they have to fix it," Angel insisted.

"The visions were not harmful until the dark one interfered with your Seer," the man-cat replied, sounding unconcerned. "You should have taken better care of her. It is not our responsibility."

"Then give me the vision, if it were my carelessness that caused this, let me pay the price for it, not her," Angel argued. "They're killing her."

"Your paths are already set. It is not for me to change them."

With that Angel found himself smashing into the wall opposite the portal's entrance.

"Is there anyone left on the list?" He asked Wesley as he stood.

"We've used every channel I know of," Wesley said tiredly.

"Then we'll start at the beginning again," Angel replied. "Maybe if I keep trying they'll help just to get me to stop bothering them."

"No," Cordelia said. "I don't think ticking them off is a good idea Angel. We haven't looked through all of Wes' books yet and we still have to figure out what we're going to do the next time I have a vision."

"We need to get you fixed before your next vision," Angel argued.

"We don't know that it will happen the next time and I've got medicine to mitigate the danger," Cordelia replied. "We'll look into other ways to stop the visions from hurting me, but we have to be ready for the next one as a team."

"We'll deal with it when it happens," Angel said. "Until then this is more important."

"Look Angel, I'd be happier if you'd go spar with Gunn for a while," Cordelia insisted. ________________________________________________________________________

"You need help killing something?" Gunn asked when he saw Angel.

"Not today," Angel replied.

"So what is this, a social call?" Gunn asked.

"No it's. um. Could you." Angel gave up and stepped into a patch of sunlight.

"That's new," Gunn commented. "You're not catching on fire."

"Comes with the whole being human package, along with mortal strength, healing and reflexes. I was hoping you could give me some pointers on fighting with demons now that I'm not one."

"I'm cool with that," Gunn replied with a shrug.
________________________________________________________________________

"Angel, that's a two handed sword, means you should be using one more hand," Gunn said, watching the sword waver in Angel's grip. "Here, try this one, it was meant for what you want to do."
________________________________________________________________________

"Give it up Angel, no one's fast enough to finish that move before they end up dead," Gunn said.

"No one mortal," Angel sighed. "Personally I always liked it."
________________________________________________________________________

"How'd you do that?" Gunn asked looking down at the point of Angel's sword.

"Not everything is about brute strength, or even inhuman reflexes," Angel replied with a slight smile. He leaned down to pick up Gunn's sword and handed it back to him. "Ready to go again?"
________________________________________________________________________

"Did you find anything?" Angel asked as soon as Wesley answered the phone.

"There were some possibilities," Wesley said. "I'm looking into them. How did things go with Gunn?"

"It wasn't a complete disaster," Angel replied. "The bruises haven't faded yet."

"Give it a couple days," Wesley suggested.

"That long?" Angel asked. "Is there anything I can do to help with Cordy?"

"If you could, find me a copy of the Traden Diaries," Wesley requested.

"I haven't heard of that one, but I'll check into it," Angel said.

"Tomorrow we'll go over everything," Wesley said. "Tonight you look for the book, I've still got to finish translating another of my texts."

"Tomorrow," Angel replied hanging up the phone.

"The girl isn't doing well?" LaCroix asked, stepping out of the shadows.

"No and I don't know how to help her," Angel admitted. Then, more suspiciously, he asked, "Is there a reason you're here?"

LaCroix's fangs emerged. "Actually there was."

"Don't," Angel protested, understanding the ancient vampire's intent instantly. "Don't do this. I don't want it."

"You need it," LaCroix replied. "Your Slayer lives in a fantasy world. Following her wishes will lead you to the grave."

"My choice, not yours."

"Sometimes children don't know what's best for them," LaCroix said. "Sometimes it's a parent's duty to make the wisest choice for them."

"The way you tell it, the final choice has to mine," Angel replied.

"You won't choose to die," LaCroix said. "Buffy, your redemption, your friends, you have too much to live for."

"I won't be forced," Angel said. "Don't put me in a corner, you won't like the results."

LaCroix's eyes faded to blue. "This would have been the easy way out," he said. "You would have been what you are meant to be and the Slayer couldn't have blamed. I've always been the villain; I could have lived with your hatred, but you picked the one consequence I won't risk."

Angel smiled sadly. "And then I would never know if I could make it as a human. I promised Buffy I'd try; I won't go back on that. Besides I prefer not to have reason to hate you."

"And I would rather face your hatred than your death," LaCroix said softly. "If I try to turn you will choose to die. If I leave you a mortal you'll get yourself killed and even if you manage to avoid that you will still die, it's what mortals do. Why must you make this so difficult? How can you be so enamored with death?"
________________________________________________________________________

"Miss Chase."

Cordelia shrieked as she jumped and spun to face LaCroix. "Do you have any idea how much I hate that you don't need an invitation?" she asked.

"I come offering assistance with your illness," LaCroix said.

"What do you mean? How?" Cordelia asked.

"I am offering to turn you."

"Into a vampire? No thanks," Cordelia said. "I know about vampires."

"You know that what you call a vampire wouldn't be you. It would only be a corpse with your face and memories animated by a demon," LaCroix replied. "I assure you that is only true of the Failed, if I turn you, you will remain Cordelia Chase."

"You're only offering 'cause you think it will help you convince Angel to let you change him," Cordelia accused.

After a pause LaCroix said, "Do you expect me deny that?"

"Well, kind of," Cordelia said. "If you're trying to seduce someone to the dark side telling them they're just exhibit A isn't really very convincing."

"You should find my motives reassuring," LaCroix replied.

"How so?"

"If what I've told Angelus was untrue I'd hardly volunteer to do this," LaCroix explained. "It would defeat my purpose."

"Why do you care so much about Angel being a vampire?" Cordelia asked.

"Because the demon was correct; I weary of burying my children," LaCroix said softly.

"Angel isn't dying anymore," Cordelia argued. "And he isn't really your kid."

"My blood runs in his veins," LaCroix said. "That is real and he is dying, just as everything mortal is dying. Each tick of the clock is a step in their inevitable march toward death."

"Can I think about this?" Cordelia asked.

"Be my guest but if Angelus is killed before you decide, my offer is withdrawn."

________________________________________________________________________

Angel walked into Gunn's home base, and then stopped and stared. The old warehouse resembled an ant's hill that had just been kicked. People were rushing around, shouting and tossing weapons to one another.

"You're just in time!" Gunn greeted Angel as he waded through the chaos. "Derrick spotted a demon nest."

"What kind?" Angel asked.

Gunn shrugged. "He said they were metallic looking things, scaly but human shaped."

Angel frowned the description sounded familiar but given the amount of time he spent digging through tomes of demon lore that was hardly surprising, especially when one added in over two centuries of knocking around the demon world.

"So you in or out?" Gunn asked.

"I'm in," Angel said pushing aside the almost memory. "It's about time I got back in the fight." ________________________________________________________________________

Angel hung back with the main group of Gunn's demon hunters as Gunn himself drove his modified truck through the warehouse's loading dock door.

As soon the nest was breached Angel and the others hurried in, spreading out around the truck.

The demons, gleaming like polished brass even in the dim lighting, quickly moved to meet them.

Angel aimed a blow at his first opponent only to watch his sword glaze harmlessly off the demon's scaly armor. From the dismayed cries around him, Angel knew he wasn't the only one having problems.

Gunn's people were forced back toward the truck and surrounded.

A sudden, triumphant cry from a human throat caught everyone's attention. Angel saw one of the demons go down with a crossbow bolt protruding from its chest.

"Their armor's no better than plate," Angel realized.

In the moment's distraction the man to Angel's left fell. The former vampire moved to aid him, but not quickly enough. Before Angel could reach his side the downed man was pulled deeper into the warehouse, away from his fellow demon hunters.

Angrily Angel turned his attention back to the fight at hand. The next time he managed to gain enough respite to go proactive he lunged forward using his sword like a spear, putting his whole weight behind it, hoping to pierce the demon's armor. The sword sank deep into the demon's body, but before Angel could free his sword another demon was on him, tearing the sword from his grasp, hitting him with heavy metallic fists. Angel went down under the assault and received a viscous kick to the head. Sparks shot though his vision than everything went dark.

Angel woke to a throbbing skull and the nauseating sensation of being carried slung over someone's shoulder. From the uncomfortable feel of hard metal scales digging into his abdomen it wasn't hard for Angel to deduce he'd been captured by one of the demons.

Before he could gather his wits to struggle he was unceremoniously dumped to the floor and the demon turned and left.

Angel blacked out again as his head hit the floor. When his vision cleared for the second time Angel found himself staring at the rocky ceiling of a cave. "Below the warehouse?" he wondered.

Angel could feel warm blood trickling down the side of his face and back through his hair. He raised a hand to wipe it away and was shocked to feel a painful gash along his temple under the blood. For several minutes he puzzled over the warmth of his blood before remembering he was human now.

Out of the corner of his eye Angel noticed movement and turned toward it. Soft, unfinished looking humanoids approached from the shadows, they were roughly the size of a five-year-old and the color and texture of maggots.

One of the disgusting things leaned over a body lying on the ground and, for the first time, Angel realized he wasn't the only captive here. Several dozen other humans, some of them Gunn's people lay scattered about the cavern. The white things crawled on to the first body they encountered and pressed their featureless faces to the unconscious captives in a parody of a kiss.

The almost memory that had been dancing on the edges of Angel's mind solidified into knowledge as he watched one of the things disappear into the body of one of the other captives.

Then Angel felt a slight weight drop on to his chest. Small, nailless fingers tangled in his hair and pulled his head back to face one of the maggot things. Angel raised an arm to push it away, ineffectually. It was either much stronger than it looked or he was hurt worse than he realized.

At the last moment Angel remember the spring-loaded stakes hidden beneath his coat sleeves. He raised his hand to the side of the creature's head and triggered the stake. It sunk into the thing's skull with a dull crunching sound then the creature collapsed into death becoming a thick viscous mass of liquid.

Angel rolled to his hands and knees, unsteadily he pushed himself to his feet and staggered deeper into the caverns, toward the darkness where the maggot things had come from.

Eventually he saw a glowing, pulsating mass in the dark before him.

Behind Angel one of the other captives, eyes glowing with an inhuman light, scales sprouting from its skin rolled to its feet and stalked toward the ex-vampire.

Angel dropped to his knees by the glowing mass searching the ground for a stone or any other sort of makeshift weapon.

The transforming former captive yanked Angel away from the fleshy mass; hauling him to his feet and wrapping it's hands around his throat.

Angel dug into a pouch on his belt; he pulled out one of the throwing stars he regularly carried now since becoming human hadn't altered their effectiveness. He shoved the sharp edged piece of metal between the growing scales on his opponent's throat and was rewarded with a gush of blood. They fell together and Angel ended up pinned beneath the other man's body. He couldn't seem to find either the strength or coordination to push the dead weight off of him.

After several futile attempts to free himself, Angel stretched his arm back behind his head until he felt the warm slimy mass that was the demon's center. He triggered his remaining wrist-stake, hoping it would do enough damage as unconsciousness reclaimed him.

The mass lost its glow, becoming an unremarkable gray lump. The remaining small demon things dissolved into puddles as the infested captives began vomiting up the remains of the creatures that had merged with them.

Back in the warehouse above, Gunn and his few remaining people watched in amazed relief as the bronze warriors staggered off to collapse, vomiting and coughing violently as their scales fell away to reveal the human hosts beneath them. ________________________________________________________________________

Wesley was too deeply engrossed in his research to even notice something so mundane as a phone ringing but long practice as a teenage girl ensured that Cordelia reached it by the second ring, despite having been in the Hyperion's kitchen when the first ring sounded.

"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless," she chimed in her receptionist voice.

"It's Gunn," the caller replied. "Gunn?" Cordelia echoed, his tone sent ice through her veins.

"I'm at the hospital," he said. "A third of my people are dead, three-fourths of the remainder are hurting. I figure all of us would have died if Angel hadn't been there."

"He's not?" Cordelia asked choking on fear.

"He's hurt," Gunn said. "The doctors are looking at him now. He was out when we found him, hasn't woken since, but he's still got a pulse."

"Which hospital?" Cordelia asked, then waited while Gunn relayed the question to someone on his side of the line.

"St. Francis' on 12th and Market," he answered.

"We'll be right there," Cordelia replied hanging up.
________________________________________________________________________

The hospital emergency room was crowded and hectic. Cordelia and Wesley joined Gunn in one corner.

"Angel's got a fractured skull along with a bad concussion," Gunn told them. "Doc said it was one of those wait and see if he wakes up situations. He's still better off than the people that got used as hosts by the demons. Almost an hour and they're still gagging on demon remains. Three people died so far, and it's showing no signs of being over. The stuff gets in their lungs and they suffocate."

"I'll look into it," Wesley offered.

Gunn waved over one of his remaining people. "Take English here to see Jamill, he may be able to help."

"I'd like to see Angel first," Wesley objected.

"Angel's stable, plus what are you going to do about a cracked head? The others are dying because of some demon thing," Gunn argued.

"All right," Wesley agreed, turning to follow his guide.

"Where's Angel?" Cordelia asked.

"They moved him to one of the rooms upstairs," Gunn said. "217, I think."

"I hope Wesley can help with your friends," Cordy offered before heading for the elevator.

She found Angel's room without incident. He was almost as pale as she had been used to seeing him up until a few weeks ago except for the dark ring of bruises around his neck. There was a bandage wrapped around his head and his eyes looked sunken.

Cordy took his hand and sat silently beside him for a while. "I guess I'd better call Buffy and LaCroix," she said after a long while. "You couldn't wake up and save me from that could you Angel?"

She waited for several minutes, hoping against all odds that he'd respond to her request.

"So which is going to be worse?" she asked. "Well, I'll call Buffy first, she's got the longer trip and she can't fly. I hope she'll bring Giles or someone calming with her. I so don't look forward to refereeing between her and LaCroix. You know how they both are, but I still have to call them, in their own ways they both love you. So do Wes and I so you better wake up, okay?" ________________________________________________________________________

Buffy and Giles arrived to find Cordelia and LaCroix with Angel.

As soon as they walked into the room LaCroix was at Buffy's side, his hand wrapped around her arm in a bruising grip dragging her toward Angel.

"This is your doing," he said, shaking her roughly. "If not for you he would be a vampire again and healed by now."

"Let me go," Buffy said pulling away from LaCroix. "Angel promised he would give himself time."

"He did," Cordelia objected. "He was training with Gunn and he was with Gunn's team when it happened. Gunn's great at the fighting, but not so good on the research end of things. They didn't have a clue as to what they were walking into. Angel should have know better, but that has nothing to do with him being human."

"It was too soon. He shouldn't have been there," Buffy said.

"He had to be there," LaCroix replied. "It's his nature, nothing can change that, but I can give him the ability to survive it."

"No," Buffy protested.

"I can make all of this," LaCroix's gesture took in the entire hospital. "Go away."

"No! He'll get better. I won't let him get hurt again," Buffy said.

"How will you stop it?" LaCroix demanded.

"I will!" Buffy shouted.

"Okay, not the place," Cordelia said. "Giles, Wes is downstairs dealing with a bunch of people who are dying from the after-effects of demonic possession. Go help him fix them. As for you two, I think one of you visiting Angel at a time is all he can handle." ________________________________________________________________________

"We actually make a good team when we're not trying to show up the other," Wesley said watching the last of the demon's victims relax as the potion the two ex-Watchers had concocted disintegrated the last of the residue.

"That we do," Giles agreed. "It seems it is well past time we set aside our earlier difficulties."

"It shouldn't be hard. The Council fired both of us after all, and we aren't vying for the same job anymore," Wesley pointed out. "And there's more than enough work to keep both of us busy. In fact, I could use your help looking into a problem with Cordelia's visions." ________________________________________________________________________

Cordelia trudged tiredly through the hospital halls to their new home away from home, or at least that's what Angel's room felt like, especially since Wesley had moved a number of his books there so he could continue researching her condition while they sat with Angel. Cordelia couldn't help but think how sick she was of hospitals. If the doctors weren't running a new barrage of tests on her she was sitting beside Angel waiting for him to wake up. She hadn't been to the Hyperion except to pick up more books and her apartment was just a place to take a shower and change clothes.

"Look what they did to my hair," an unexpected and familiar voice complained.

Cordelia broke into a wide smile ad darted around the doorway to see Angel sitting up in bed, running his fingers over the shaved spot on the side of his head.

"It'll grow back," Wesley assured him. "Now will you leave it alone, you're going to pull out the stitches."

"Angel!" Cordy squealed happily giving the former vampire a hug. "You're up and talking and yeah! So there's no brain damage or anything right?"

"He can count fingers without difficulty, knew his first name and it only took him two guesses to figure out which last name we'd given him."

"Wes could have told me I was your brother before he called the doctor," Angel said.

"Yes, well I didn't realize they would ask that," Wesley replied. "He doesn't have a clue as to who the president is, but knows the dates and names of every major war since he was turned. Finally he broke out laughing upon being asked the date of his birth. The doctors are fairly concerned, but I'm satisfied that he's fine."

"That sounds like our Angel," Cordy said smiling and kissing him on the cheek.

"They should have a different set of questions for ex-vampires," Angel sighed.

"We'll be sure to explain that to the medical board," Cordelia said. "Why didn't you call me Wes?"

"Because I knew this would be your first stop after your tests," Wesley replied. "Buffy should arrive momentarily and LaCroix will arrive at sunset."

"Speaking of Buffy," Angel said grinning at the blond slayer standing in the doorway.

"Guys, could I talk to Angel alone for a few minutes?" Buffy asked.

As Wesley and Cordelia left they heard Buffy exclaim, "You scared me half to death Angel! What the hell were you thinking!"
________________________________________________________________________

Doctor Gerim stepped into the waiting room with Cordelia in tow. "Mr. Chase, could I speak with you for a moment?" he asked.

When no one responded he repeated. "Mr. Chase?" in a louder voice.

"Angel!" Cordelia hissed.

Startled Angel looked up from the thick tome of supernatural remedies he'd been reading.

"Come on, the Doctor's going to show you, how to give me my meds," Cordelia explained.

"If you'll both follow me?" the Doctor requested.

As they trailed along several paces behind him Angel whispered. "Why do I have to keep using your last name?"

"Because it's all over your hospital records okay? I think they'd notice if you changed it now."

"Why didn't you just use the last name we put on my ID's?" Angel asked.

"I'd already told them you were my brother so they'd tell me what was going on," Cordelia explained.

"You could have been married or we could have had different fathers," Angel complained.

"I didn't remember what name you'd used," Cordelia replied. "If you actually bothered to carry a wallet they wouldn't have had to ask me."

They ended their whispered argument abruptly as the doctor led them into a small office.

Once they were seated he set a small box on the desk between them.

"I've prescribed a daily medication that should help to prevent the migraines from occurring," The doctor explained. "But we're treating symptoms not causes so it won't be a hundred percent effective. That's were you come in Angel. Cordelia tells me you two work together as well as being family so you stand a good chance of being with her when one of the episodes occurs. I'm prescribing a second medication, it thins the blood and dilates the veins which should help to restore proper circulation. The sooner Cordelia receives this drug after one of her migraines begins the better her chances of coming through it without damage."

Angel nodded watching the doctor with an intensity that assured him that Angel was taking this very seriously.

"The medication needs to be administered intravenously and given the effects of the migraines Cordelia won't be able to do it for herself, so I'm going to teach you to do it. Cordelia, if you have a roommate I'd like to teach her, or him, as well."

Suddenly Cordelia broke into a fit of giggles. "I'm sorry," She gasped. "It's just."

She looked at Angel and erupted into fresh giggles. As their eyes met Angel knew exactly what she was thinking. He envisioned the doctor's reaction to Cordelia's roommate, and then considered the idea of being taught how to locate a blood vein. Of course he was human now. As a vampire he'd frequently been almost painfully aware of the blood rushing just beneath the skin of his mortal friends, now. Suddenly Angel was very nervous. What if he couldn't do this? What if Cordelia died because he did something wrong?

Dr. Gerim waited patiently for their reactions to run the course. He wasn't surprised at the odd outbursts. An unexplainable illness was horribly stressful in and of itself for a family. Add to that Angel's recent injuries, probably the result of being mugged, and given Angel's unnaturally pale pallor it seemed likely that Cordelia wasn't the first member of the family to suffer a serious illness. Obviously the siblings were suffering from an awful case of it never rains but it pours.

It was amazing that they were dealing as well as they appeared to be.

"I've found the most effective way to teach this is a partner and a saline solution."

"I'm not volunteering," Cordelia objected. "You guys have already made enough of a pin-cushion of me. You doctors are practically as bad as the vampires."

"No worries, one of the nurses will be helping Angel. They're drawing straws now."

"Won't it hurt her?" Angel worried. "Maybe I should practice on a dummy or something first?"

From the door way behind them a woman said, "It's not that bad, but if you want, you could take me out for coffee afterwards as an apology. I'm Jessica by the way."

Cordelia took one look at the way Jessica was looking at Angel and groaned. "He's already got a girlfriend," she informed the other woman. ________________________________________________________________________

"Have you reached a turning point in your life?" LaCroix demanded of the city. "Why do you hesitate? The present is unsatisfactory. Clinging to the past is impossible, time moves forward and so must you. The future beckons yet you resist."

Angel frowned at the radio, "Why do you listen to that?" he asked Wesley.

Angel's ban on the program had gone out the window since Wesley had, for all intents and purposes moved into the hotel a few weeks ago. It saved precious minutes for him to sleep closer to the books. Not that he or Angel had had much real sleep since learning that her visions could literally kill Cordelia.

At Cordelia's insistence Angel was still sparring with Gunn regularly. Still patrolling with him as well, but that was Angel's secret. Wesley and Cordelia would have supported his choice, but the news had to be kept from both Sunnydale and LaCroix, which meant the fewer people that knew the better.

Wesley glanced up from the book he was studying with a confused look on his face.

"I just asked why you like listening to LaCroix's ranting," Angel reiterated.

Wesley smiled. "Because they frequently provide insight into what you're thinking."

Angel made a face. "Not tonight," he said.

"Perhaps not," Wesley replied. "I think your new-found mortality is creating difficulties for him."

Angel's eyes glinted with a sudden spark of mischief. "It would be awful of me to rub that in wouldn't it?" he asked, reaching for the phone.

LaCroix's greeting echoed from the phone to the radio. "This is the Nightcrawler, do you have something to share with our audience?"

"I just thought you seemed a little off tonight," Angel said. "I was worried."

"Your concern is touching, Mon Fils," LaCroix replied with an unusual good-humor. "But I'm not always speaking to you."

"Oh," Angel said and Wesley almost laughed at the hurt expression on his face.

"Tonight I speak of internal constraints against progress, uncertainty, doubt, fear of the unknown and the future is always unknown is it not. I do not speak of external constraints, such as those imposed on us by others."

"Are you sure it's her that's the external constraint and not yourself?" Angel asked.

"I know your heart Mon Fils. Light is only an illusion, it is redemption you crave," LaCroix answered.

"Why can't I have both?" Angel asked.

"You already know why," LaCroix said. "But we could always speak of that at more length later. I await your invitation."

"Not right now," Angel said hanging up.

"You miss him," Wesley accused.

"Why would I miss having the most dangerous person I've met in centuries trying to control my life?" Angel asked. "Besides, I know he's just being more subtle in how he manipulates me lately."

"You really do miss him," Wesley insisted as they returned to their respective books. ________________________________________________________________________

"I was listening to that!" Cordelia complained when Dennis turned off the radio.

Instead of meekly turning it back on her ghostly roommate opened the door to her bedroom and turned down the covers invitingly.

"Not you too," Cordelia groaned. "These are visions people! It doesn't matter if I'm well rested or not!"

Not that Angel or Wesley cared a fig for logic. Oh no, she was sick, she had to go home and rest. Well after Angel had made sure Dennis could treat her if she did have a vision.

Cordelia grinned evilly at the memory of Angel teaching Dennis to give shots. She saw the painful bruises he'd received in the process as his just disserts for treating her like an invalid.

"Turn the radio back on Dennis or I'll just get up and do it myself," Cordelia threatened.

Contritely the radio clicked on, just in time for Cordelia to catch LaCroix and Angel's conversation.

Cordelia sighed. She had a feeling she knew who LaCroix was talking to tonight. But making the choice wasn't as easy as he made it sound.

The best-case scenario was she would be Cordelia Chase only she'd be a vampire too. On the plus side vampiric healing meant no worries about a stroke, assuming that it would even be a concern with a dramatically reduced metabolism. Her problems stemmed from decreased blood flow to her brain, but Angel had been able to survive no blood flow at all with no worse side effects than dizziness for hours. She'd also have strength and speed to rival a Slayer's, not to mention being able to fly and to talk anyone into anything. Then there was the whole immortality thing, which looked great in theory, but did she really want to live forever? The downside included no sunlight, ever, which would put an end to her aspirations as an actress. How could she explain no natural lighting to a director? It would also severely limit her diet. During the months after LaCroix first donated blood to Angel they'd all noticed his sudden inability to stomach anything other than blood. and the whole drinking blood at all was a major eeew in Cordelia's book. Although she probably wouldn't feel that way after the change and that was a terror too.

That was the best that could happen, the worst included the possibility of her friends being forced to stake her demon-infested corpse.

And still LaCroix made it sound like the only possible solution to even be considered. Like she should be honored that he'd even offered. ________________________________________________________________________

"I can't remember!" Cordelia sobbed as soon as the phone was answered.

"Cordy, what's wrong," Angel demanded, his voice filled with concern.

"I don't know, there's someone out there who needs us but I don't know where or who or why. I can't remember the vision at all Angel. I had a vision and it's gone and we're not going to be able to help them because I can't remember."

"You had a vision? Are you all right? Did Dennis remember to give you your shot? Should I contact the Doctor?" Angel asked, rapid fire, his worry for Cordelia overwhelming all else.

"I'm fine Angel!" Cordelia snapped. "But I can't remember the fucking vision!"

Angel paused for a moment. "It's okay, as long as you're okay."

"It is not okay Angel!" Cordelia yelled. "Someone is out there, dying maybe, because I can't remember. That is not okay and you know it. That's why you aren't living happily ever after with Buffy isn't it? Because it's not okay for us not to be there when people need us."

"It's not your fault," Angel replied. "I'll go to the new oracle. I'll make him tell me what the vision was. Don't worry Cordy, I'll make it all right." ________________________________________________________________________

"What if Angel's too late?" Cordelia asked. "Maybe you should have gone with him. What if he needs back up and he doesn't have time to come back here?"

"If I'd gone with Angel he'd be too distracted worrying about you to accomplish anything," Wesley said. "I'm certain he'll call Gunn if he needs help, he's been quite good about observing his limits since the last hospital visit."

"What if he doesn't have time? You know he'll go. Angel could get hurt; I never should have taken that stuff. It's why I can't remember."

"Cordelia stop it!" Wesley exclaimed.

Cordelia took several deep, calming breaths. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just feel so helpless. Like I'm failing everyone. Doyle trusted me with the visions and I'm not strong enough. It's so hard, feeling their pain, their fear, but I deal because by feeling it I can make it better. Now I can't do anything and I hate it Wesley."
________________________________________________________________________

Cordelia pounced on Angel the moment he walked through the door. "Well?" she demanded.

"A cult practicing human sacrifices," Angel reported. "All I had to do was tell the police where and when."

Cordelia sighed in relief.

"It all worked out fine," Angel said. "You didn't have to worry. Things may be a little awkward until we find a way to make the visions safe for you, but we'll manage."

"Right," Cordelia said with a smile. "We always do."

"Of course we do. Now I'll give you a ride back home and you can get back to resting, okay?" Angel replied.

Cordelia made a face, but it was two in the morning. Bed didn't sound that bad really, even if Angel was being over-protective again. ________________________________________________________________________

Several hours after dawn, Angel returned to the Hyperion in a foul mood. He stormed downstairs and proceeded to pummel his punching bag.

When Angel failed to reappear after what Wesley considered a reasonable amount of time the ex-watcher decided to check on him.

Angel was still pounding on the canvas bad with a frustrated fury.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Wesley asked.

"Do you think I could force one of the Conduits to the PTB to fix Cordelia," Angel asked. "I could torture one."

"I wouldn't advise it," Wesley said. "Things weren't resolved as simply as you led Cordelia to believe were they?"

"Things weren't resolved," Angel snapped. "They didn't know what Cordy had seen. 'Each Seer receives different glimpses of what will be,' can't tell what yours might have seen. They're all useless! They won't help Cordelia. They can't help me. Do they even care about anything?"

"Why did you lie to Cordy?" Wesley asked.

Angel turned away from the punching bag to face Wesley. "Do you know what the fastest way to break someone is? You do it for no reason. You'd be completely awed by what a human can tolerate for the sake of a cause, but take away their causes and they break like twigs. I won't do that to Cordy. I won't let her know her suffering was for nothing!" ________________________________________________________________________

"It is your fears that hold you back," LaCroix declared in his Nightcrawler persona. "Share them with me. Let them be revealed for the harmless shadows they undoubtedly are. The future will not wait forever, step into it before it's moment is past and you are left with nothing but your fears."
________________________________________________________________________

"Vision," Cordelia shouted.

Angel leapt to catch her as Wesley hurried to prepare her medications.

"Wait," Cordelia protested. "Not until I've told you."

Then the vision took her completely. Angel laid her on the couch and began to sterilize her arm in preparation for her shot.

"Shouldn't we wait?" Wesley asked.

Angel's eyes were hard as he took the hypodermic from Wesley. "If the Powers want my help then they can find a way to deliver their messages that doesn't endanger Cordelia he said administering the shot.

They watched the lines of pain smooth out of Cordelia's face.

"Cordy?" Angel asked. When she didn't respond he repeated her name in a louder voice.

"Cordelia?" Wesley echoed.

"She's not coming out of it," Angel said.

"We need to get her to the hospital," Wesley said.

Angel scooped Cordelia up. "You're driving," he said.
________________________________________________________________________

"Miss Chase is going to be fine," The doctor said. "You did everything right and minimized the damage. She woke up a few minutes after we started the exam."

"Can we see her?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, go right ahead," the Doctor said. "But you can't stay long, she should rest."

"Thank you," Angel said.

Together they entered Cordelia's room.

"How are you doing?" Angel asked.

"You gave it to me," Cordelia accused. "The vision's gone again."

"It doesn't matter," Wesley replied.

"How many times do I have to explain to you two?" Cordelia exclaimed.

"I'll take care of it Cordy," Angel said. "Just like last time, no worries remember?"

"Well get a move on it." Cordelia said making shooing motions. "Times wasting." ________________________________________________________________________

"Angel what are you doing?" Wesley asked in alarm as he watched Angel prepare for war.

Wesley had seen this ritual before, had watched Angel methodically empty his weapons cache, check each instrument of destruction before strapping it to himself. Angel would never use more than one or two of the things, but he'd carry many more and every one of those weapons would come to his hand at a moment's notice. Angel would never humiliate himself hoping around a battle trying to free a knife he'd taped to his ankle, not even now when Angel was as human as Wesley himself was.

Wesley watched Angel pick up his ax, spin it awkwardly then exchange it for a lighter one. Gunn's training was showing. Angel had systematically shifted to lighter weapons that a human would wield with the same speed and grace he'd once had with they're much heavier cousins.

Wesley had seen the ritual before and it always meant trouble. When Angel over-prepared it was always personal.

"What are you doing?" Wesley repeated.

"I don't care if torturing the new oracle is a bad idea," Angel said. "I'm going to make him fix Cordelia."

"Please Angel," Wesley asked. "Be reasonable."

"I can't stand by and watch her suffer," Angel growled.

"I know. I feel the same way. Still torturing a representative of the Powers that Be?" Wesley asked.

"I don't have a choice."
________________________________________________________________________

Cordelia looked around, everything was quiet in her corner of the hospital. She lifted the phone and dialed LaCroix's radio station.

"The Nightcrawler is listening," LaCroix answered.

"I made a choice," Cordelia said.

"We're off the air," LaCroix said.

"I want you to turn me," Cordelia said.

"What brought about this?" LaCroix asked.

"I won't be helpless, I won't fail and I don't want to die either," Cordelia replied.

"A reasonable attitude, I only hope Angelus will prove as pragmatic," LaCroix said. "Where are you?"

"At St. Francis', room 315," Cordelia said.
________________________________________________________________________

As soon as Angel stepped into the Egyptian temple the cat-headed being said. "The crossroads have been left behind. There is nothing left for you to do."

"What do you mean?" Angel demanded.

"The visions can no longer harm your Seer. She has seen to that."

"How?" Angel asked.

"That is for her to say. Now be gone." With a flick of it's wrist the creature sent Angel flying back through the portal.
________________________________________________________________________

The phone rang; Angel picked it up without interest. The former vampire looked awful, his clothing was rumpled, it had been days since he'd shaved and the dark circles under his eyes attested to very little time spent asleep in recent weeks.

"Angel Investigations," he said.

"What happened to 'We help the hopeless'?" Cordelia asked. At the sound of her voice Angel seemed to come to life, a frantic energy replacing his earlier exhaustion.

"Cordy! Where are you? What happened? Why didn't you call?" Angel stammered. At his words Wesley jumped up off the couch and hurried to Angel. He switched the call over to the speaker so they could both hear.

"I did call," Cordelia protested. "I left a message, didn't you get it?"

"Yes," Wesley said. "We came back and found you missing from the hospital, the only clue as to where you'd gone was a two minute blurb on the answering machine about a potential cure and then a month of nothing. We've been worried sick."

"It's been a month?" Cordelia asked. "How could it be a month? It doesn't feel like a month."

"Thirty-three days, four hours and twenty minutes since you disappeared off the face of the earth," Angel said, his voice wavering between relief and anger.

"I'm sorry," Cordelia said. "I really didn't realize. it's all been so intense. I'll be back soon. Don't worry. I'm better. I called because I had a vision, the first since that night. You wouldn't believe how much it didn't hurt. Anyway, I saw a gym; it was set up for a dance. I think their mascot is some sort of cat. The people looked pretty young, probably middle schoolers. There was something stalking them."

"We'll start looking into it," Wesley said. "Now where are you Cordelia? We'll come get you."

"Not yet, okay guys? I'm better I promise, but I'm not ready to come home quite yet," Cordelia replied.

"Give us a number, some way to contact you," Angel pled.

"It'll be just another week or so, I promise," Cordelia said. "I miss you two."

Wesley and Angel stared at the now dead phone.

"Something's wrong," Angel said.

"I don't doubt it," Wesley replied. "She's hiding something, but what can we do?"

"Look into her vision," Angel said. "At least it will keep us busy while we wait." ________________________________________________________________________

"I found a middle school with a mascot to match Cordelia's vision," Wesley reported. "And their homecoming dance is scheduled for the night after tomorrow."

"We're going to look really out of place," Angel said.

"We'll pretend to be chaperoning parents," Wesley said.

"I don't think we look that old," Angel argued.

"I think we can fake that more easily than if we claimed to be students," Wesley replied. "I'm certain some of the parents are in their early thirties."

"I was twenty-six when I was turned," Angel complained.

"Wesley sighed, "You do realize that it's just wrong for someone who's seen the century turn more than once to be sensitive about their age. What are you going to do when you actually start getting older?"

"There are some drawbacks to humanity," Angel said with a grimace. "It wouldn't have been a bad thing if I'd stayed a vampire for a few more years, Buffy could have caught up. You don't think I'm too much older than her?"

"Isn't it a little bit late to worry about that now?" Wesley asked. "How old was Buffy when you started dating, fifteen?"

"She was sixteen, and it didn't matter so much. I knew she'd catch up eventually." Angel replied. "Besides she never really seemed younger. When I met her I was averaging decades between conversations. I'd forgotten just about everything I knew about socializing. Buffy thought I was being cryptic to annoy her, but the truth was I didn't know how to talk to her. Plus I figured she'd realize what I was and kill me if I spent more than a few minutes near her."

"And I thought talking to attractive women was stressful for me," Wesley said with a smile. ________________________________________________________________________

"What the hell am I supposed to wear for this?" Kate demanded.

"Don't complain to me Kate. Unlike me, you asked for this case," Detective Jacks said.

"I didn't realize it was going to entail chaperoning a junior high dance," Kate replied. "When I passed the ninth grade I swore I'd never set foot in another one of those hell holes."

"It wasn't that bad Kate, and besides you're the authority figure now, doesn't that make it better?" Jacks asked. "And it's called middle school now."

"No, it just makes me have to ask what does an authority figure wear to a middle school dance," Kate replied.

"I was going with a suit and tie," Jacks said.

"I don't see that working for me," Kate said.

"How am I supposed to know what women wear to this sort of thing?" Jacks asked. "Wear something like the chaperones wore when you where a student."

"Look, I didn't go to dances in junior high, or high school for that matter," Kate exclaimed. "I thought they were a waste of time. It never occurred to me that they could be considered research for future undercover work, okay?"

Jacks rolled his eyes. "Wear a dress, I remember you wore one to your father's retirement party so you must own at least one. I'm sure that will work, so stop fussing already."
________________________________________________________________________

He combed his hair carefully, checking the picture in the in the magazine from time to time. His cloths were laid out on the bed already. Sure he'd been hunting LA for about a month now, but it always paid to take a few extra lengths to make sure everything was right.

Teen, especially early-teen, fashions were just so variable and looking dated wouldn't do.

He pulled out a strand of hair and checked that the frosting was still present. He hated his hair; it was always the hardest thing to get right.

Oh well, he thought, it could be worse; he could have been a girl. Then he'd have to worry about make-up too.

He dressed in slacks and dark blue button down shirt that the sales lady swore brought out the color in his eyes. He ran a comb through his hair one last time and then grinned at the empty mirror.
________________________________________________________________________

"How can anyone think with all this noise?" Angel asked, yelling to be heard over the music.

"I don't believe thinking is on anyone's mind tonight," Wesley yelled back. "I wish the lighting was better, do they do this on purpose to make chaperoning impossible?"

"As long as they keep the strobe off I'm fine," Angel said.

"I don't see how, you don't have a vampire's enhanced senses anymore," Wesley said.

"I know, but my night vision is still much than average, in fact my eyes haven't really adapted to daylight yet," Angel replied. "I'm just as happy most of our cases happen at night."
________________________________________________________________________

"This is what the fuss was all about?" Kate yelled to her partner looking around the darken gym. "I actually thought I might have been missing something."

Jacks sighed. "I just hope the killer shows before I get a migraine from all this racket.

"He'll show," Kate replied. "There's been at least one body at almost ever middle school event this month. The only ones he's missed were because he couldn't be in two places at once. This dance is the only event tonight. He'll show." ________________________________________________________________________

"Are you new here?" a girl asked.

"Just started classes last week. I'm Matthew," he said.

"Josey," the girl replied. "Wanna dance?"

With a smile Matthew lead her out on the floor.
________________________________________________________________________

Angel stared at the couple working their way toward the door. The girl stared adoringly up at her companion, who leaded close to her ear and said something that made her giggle.

Angel tried to ignore the cropped hair with bleached tip and focus on the face beneath it. The secretive dark blue eyes and confident, cocky smile hadn't changed in the last hundred and fifty years.

"Matty," Angel said putting a name to the face. "Come on Wes, we've got our demon." ________________________________________________________________________

"Come on," Kate said, recognizing Angel as he stepped into the well-lit hall.

"You saw something?" Jacks asked.

"A PI who's always neck deep in some kind of trouble," Kate said.

Together they worked their way across the gym as quickly as possible. Even so, by the time they reached the hallway it was empty.

"I'll take the left," Jacks volunteered.

"Sounds good," Kate replied.
________________________________________________________________________

"Wes stay back, be ready to get the girl to safety," Angel whispered as they trailed the couple into the school band room.

"You're sure this boy is a vampire?" Wesley asked.

"Matty's the only one I ever turned by accident," Angel replied. "That made him fairly memorable."

"Accident?" Wesley asked.

"He was supposed to be a snack, only he bit me back," Angel explained. "Wait here."

Angel swaggered boldly into the darkened room, imitating Angelus' manner. "Matty, it's been a long time," he said.

Matty looked up from his prey in surprise, his eyes already glowing yellow, giving Josey her first good look at what she had been necking with. Whimpering she struggled futilely in his grasp.

Matty smiled broadly, revealing a mouthful of jagged fangs. "Angelus!" he exclaimed. ________________________________________________________________________

Peering into the band room Kate pressed her hand to her mouth holding back a gasp as she saw the boy's demonic visage.

"Angelus!" he greeted the older man in pleased recognition and Kate knew that if Angel were to turn toward her his handsome face would also be distorted into something monstrous. But he didn't turn; all she could see was the back of his head.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Angel ordered. "This place is a dump."

"You think I don't know that?" Matty replied. "It's not like I can hunt bars looking like this. Couldn't you have waited a few years?"

"Come now, did you think I wanted my own Peter Pan tag-along?" Angel said with the good-natured familiarity of someone entering into an old, old argument, one carried on for tradition's sake with all the sting long gone. "You should have kept your teeth to yourself boy."

"You're one to talk," Matty snorted. "If you wanted someone who'd lay down and die for you, you should have stuck to Gentles like Dru's pet and left street rats to their devices."

"And yet William was always the one to embarrass me when we went out in public," Angel commented.

"Is Will still trying to compensate for having been a unmatched prig when he was human?" Matty asked.

"He was having a punk phase last time I saw him." Angel said and Matty laughed.

"How are the others? Does Dru still talk to that doll?"

"Yes, and before you ask Miss Edith is still a very bad girl and gets punished regularly. Penn got dusted."

"Penn always was an idiot. That serial kill schick of his was bound to get him more attention than he could handle. I saw Darla not a decade ago. What the hell happened between you two that she'd go back to old Bat-Nose?"

"You know how it goes, a guy develops a few new interests and your girl takes it all wrong," Angel fabricated.

"Don't tell me," Matty laughed. "I've got a gorgeous new little sister and you paid more attention to her than Darla. So dearest Grandmumma stormed back to her sire in a jealous rage, right?"

"Something like that," Angel said. "Ready to be leaving yet?"

"If you hadn't noticed I was just about to have dinner," Matty replied gesturing to the girl still cowering in the back of the room.

"Don't you ever get tired of teeny-boppers?" Angel asked with a distasteful glance at the girl.

"Again, not much selection what with looking thirteen and all," Matty complained.

"What say you forget her and we do a joint hunt," Angel offered. "With my help you could do better."

Matty grinned. "For old time's sake and all. Let go 'Gelus."

As the pair left through the far door Kate hurried to the young girl's side. "Go back to the others, don't let anyone get you alone," Kate ordered then hurried after Angel and Matty.
________________________________________________________________________

As Angel led Matty past Wesley's hiding place he turned and grabbed the child vampire. Pinning Matty's arms to his sides. In that moment before Matty could free himself or even react to the warmth of Angel's now human touch, Wesley staked him.

The feel of the body of his accidental child crumbling to dust in Angel's arms sent a wave of guilt and even sadness through him.

"Matty actually bought it," Angel said tiredly. "All of the others knew I'd changed. He didn't even fight. How could he not know? I'm more different now than I ever was before. How could he not realize I was going to betray him?"

"It had to be done," Wesley said.

"I know," Angel replied. "It doesn't change how I feel about what I just did."

"Where is he?" Kate demanded breaking into the quiet hallway, her gun held before her.

"It's taken care of Kate," Angel said tonelessly.

Kate pointed the gun squarely at Angel. "Where is that creature, Angelus?"

"Forget him Kate, you'll only hurt yourself chasing myths," Angel replied. "Matty will never kill again, be satisfied with that."

"I can't do that," Kate said. "There's something going on, something I should understand and don't think I won't figure it out." Reluctantly she pointed her pistol past Angel and continued down the hallway looking for Matty.

Angel and Wesley turned and left.
________________________________________________________________________

As Angel and Wesley walked back toward the car Angel sensed someone behind him a second before a pair of delicate, powerful hands gripped his shoulders and lifted him up into the night sky.

"This is so great!" Cordelia exclaimed. "I can't believe you wouldn't let LaCroix teach you to fly. I adore it."

"Cordy?" Angel's voice was filled with a disbelieving horror. "What did he do to you?"

Cordelia set Angel back on the ground then moved to face him before answering. "I chose to save myself," she said firmly.

"Let me see," Angel ordered, though he dreaded having this be real.

Cordelia didn't have to ask him to clarify his request. She closed her eyes for a moment when they opened they gleamed gold.

Angel stepped closer and tilted her face up to the light, scrutinizing every change; the faint hint of fangs pressing against her lower lip, the molten gold of her eyes, but looking beyond that there was no change. Her features were smooth and lovely; her skin was human, not the more leathery vampiric version. For a long moment he stared deep into her eyes, trying to see his best friend's soul in their golden depths.

"Is it that awful?" Cordelia asked worriedly, her eyes turning back to brown.

"No, you're beautiful," Angel reassured her. "Exotic even."

"But I'm a vampire," Cordelia finished. "I swear Angel, I'm still me inside."

"Are you?" Angel asked uncertainly still staring into her eyes.

"Really truly," Cordelia promised. "I mean okay, there is the whole bloodlust factor. That's why I had to stay away at first, but look at me. Here I am, sure I'm aware of the blood in your veins, of your pulse, especially with your thumb pressing against my jaw and all..."

Angel dropped his hand and stepped away from her quickly.

"But I'm in control," Cordelia finished a little forlornly.

"I'm sorry," Angel said. "I should know, better than anyone, the things that make dealing with mortals harder."

Cordelia smiled sadly, accepting the apology but not able to ignore the spark of fear in Angel's eyes. She understood it, no matter how much she trusted Angel she had never forgotten that he was, by nature, a predator of humankind. Now the situation had been reversed and it was Angel who exhibited a trace of caution in dealing with a creature that, even though she was his friend, was still designed to hunt him.

"I know you don't like what I did, but I didn't have a choice Angel. I'm only twenty, I didn't want to die," she said.

"And it's my fault you were put in that situation," Angel replied.

"It's not your fault!" Cordelia exclaimed. "And it's not that bad either. Just, please don't push me away."

Angel took her hands and squeezed them warmly. "Never," he promised.
________________________________________________________________________

Angel woke up to an aching head and a painful soreness in his arms. He remembered the man appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the road, remember swerving to miss him and the pain that had preceded blackness as his head hit the steering wheel while the car hit the concrete barrier on the side of the road.

He didn't remember how he came to be here, his arms chained to the wall above him making him a prisoner in what looked like an upscale apartment.

Somehow he wasn't surprised though. Angel thought it must be a law of nature that he and Buffy couldn't possibly spend time together like a normal couple. Something bad, usually of the demonic variety, just had to happen no matter what their plans were.

Up until he'd tried to leave town it had been a remarkably disaster free weekend. ________________________________________________________________________

Angel took a deep calming breath and rang Buffy's doorbell. He was nervous, that was beyond denying. Sure he'd met Buffy's family before. and been told to get the hell out of her life before he wrecked it. but back then his own beliefs about whether or not he had any business being a part of Buffy's life had made that sort of reception expected.

Now he was human. He'd proven that he wasn't helpless, at least to himself. Buffy still wanted him and for the first time he had hope that Buffy's mother might approve of his dating her daughter. That was why he was nervous. Before there'd been no point in hoping, no parent in their right mind would have approved their child having a relationship with a literal monster, but he wasn't anymore so maybe. Angel felt guilty that he was relieved that Buffy's father wasn't around to judge him, Joyce was hard enough to face and if he remembered correctly fathers were supposed to be worse than mothers when it came to this sort of thing.

Buffy opened the door and greeted him with a quick kiss and a reassuring smile. "Relax Angel, you've been dealing with LaCroix for months, my mom's going to be a piece of cake."

Under his breath Angel muttered, "But LaCroix likes me."

The plan was for them to have lunch together with Joyce and Dawn, thus giving Buffy's Mother a chance to get to know Angel. Buffy had chosen a restaurant that had a patio; Dawn had told Angel it was because Buffy thought it would help her mother to see Angel in a different light if she saw him in the sunlight. Angel decided Buffy was becoming a fairly decent tactician.

Ten minutes into the meal Angel found himself wishing desperately for his sunglasses. He left them behind because he felt it was rude to hide his eyes and he didn't want to do anything that might make a bad impression.

In addition to his eyes' sensitivity to light being out in direct sunlight still made him feel vaguely uncomfortable. Oh he loved the sun, the feel of it, warm and welcoming against his skin, but the brightness was less enjoyable.

Angel had spent months trying to convince Cordelia that his preference for low lighting in his rooms wasn't just him setting the mood for brooding but was done because it was more comfortable for eyes naturally adapted to the dark. It had taken her becoming a vampire to convince her that he was telling the truth about that.

Angel hadn't expected that sensitivity to remain now that he was human, but that was the case or maybe it was all in his head. One of the few things Angel actually remembered about Hell was that it was bright, bright and cold. Not at all the lava lit pit he'd envisioned, instead it had been a cold barren, plateau without a single shadow to hide in.

More than once Angel had had to stop himself from correcting someone when they used the phrase "When Hell freezes over," to mean never. Or maybe that was just how he'd perceived it because they'd know how he'd hated the cold and the unrelenting brightness was it's own subtle form of torture. When Spike described being a prisoner in the Initiative Angel had felt an involuntary pang of sympathy, it sounded like the Initiative had created their own little slice of Hell.

Maybe his discomfort in brightly lit places was just bad associations. Or maybe he was just so used to being part of the shadows that he didn't know how to leave them behind and let people actually see him.

Still Joyce did seem to be giving him a chance.

"Um. Angel how old are you?" Joyce asked and Angel wondered if his previous thought had been premature.

He glanced down at the table, fidgeted with his fork for a few seconds then said. "I was turned in 1753."

"I didn't mean." Joyce began. "I meant how * old * are you?"

"Oh, twenty-six," Angel replied, hoping that wasn't going to be too bad.

"Oh." Joyce echoed, and from her tone Angel knew it was a bad as he'd feared. Still he was certain that some of the guys Cordelia had gone out with were more than six years older than she was.

"Riley was twenty-four," Buffy reminded her mother quietly.

Joyce smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry Angel," she said. Then changed the subject. "Buffy mentioned something about one of your friends being ill? How is she?"

"Cordelia's not in any danger anymore," Angel replied relieved that it was true even if he wasn't entirely certain about the cure she'd found.

"You found a way to stop the visions?" Buffy asked.

"No, but they don't really hurt her now," Angel replied, unable to bring himself to tell his girlfriend, to tell the Slayer, that the young woman whom he thought of as family was now a vampire.

"You aren't doing anything about the visions though?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"They're messages from the Powers that Be," Angel said gently. "Ignoring them isn't really a choice."

"Of course not," Buffy replied without conviction.

"It hasn't been anything too bad yet," Angel reassured her. "A child vampire, a drunken feryal demon."

"Giles got turned into one of those on Buffy's birthday last year," Dawn volunteered.

"How did that happen?" Angel asked.

"Ethan Rayne," Buffy replied.

"It fits his style," Angel commented.

"Ethan's almost fun," Dawn said. "Remember Princess-Buffy being all 'Save me! Save me!' while Xena-me kicked Spike's butt?"

"Dawn!" Joyce exclaimed.

"What? I did, it was cool," Dawn replied.
________________________________________________________________________

Despite Angel's fear the day had gone extremely well. He'd been shocked to realize that he was disappointed when the check had arrived ending the event.

He'd expected that to be the Buffy/Angel catastrophe of the weekend, not this.

A very human looking man knelt in front of Angel and gently peeled back the bandage on his forehead.

"What's going on?" Angel demanded. "Why are you holding me prisoner?"

"It's not me, it's Glory who captured you," The man insisted. "I'm just treating your head wound. By the way how are you feeling?"

"Constrained," Angel replied tugging against his restraints.

"Look, I need a real answer," Ben sighed. "You were out for quite a while, I'm worried that you might have a concussion."

"My head hurts," Angel said.

Ben pulled out a penlight and flashed it in first one eye than the other. "Pupils react equally," he said. "You'll be fine."

"You're sure about that?" Angel asked. "Maybe you should take me to a hospital."

"I'm a medical intern, I know what I'm doing."

"Why are you doing this?" Angel asked.

"The Hippocratic oath, I'd be better off if you just died."

"Why?"

"Glory's going to trade you for the Key."

"The what?"

"Your girlfriend is the Key's guardian. Glory needs the key. If she gets it I'm screwed. I wish her damn minions had been just a little bit stupider and killed you before I ever saw you."

"You could let me go," Angel suggested.

"I'd love to, but they won't," Ben said pointing to the brown habited minions just visible through the door.

"Unchain me, give me a chance. I'll get out," Angel said meeting Ben's eyes with absolute certainty. "Or die trying. I won't be used as a hostage against Buffy."

"Do you really think they'd trust me with the key to your manacles?" Ben asked with a snort. ________________________________________________________________________

"You aren't even speeding," Xander said to his co-worker as they drove out to the day's job site. "Can't we listen to the radio instead of the police scanner?"

The complaint was almost a tradition after three months.

"Black Plymouth, license plate number NKO 714, found off the road at mile post 43 on HWY 110," An officer reported.

"You should." Xander's co-worker began but Xander held up a hand to silence him.

"The vehicle is abandoned. There's blood on the windshield," the report concluded.

"Find a payphone," Xander said urgently.

"What is it?" the other man asked.

"The guy that drives that car dates a friend of mine," Xander said. ________________________________________________________________________

"What happened to just sparring until I decided you were ready for active duty?" Buffy had asked once she and Angel were alone.

"Reality happened," Angel said. "LA's demons, not to mention the lawyers at Wolfram and Hart aren't going to take a vacation until I convince you I'm still capable. I can hold my own with any of Gunn's people and I know my limits well enough to know when I need back up. If I need supernatural help I've got LaCroix and . and a few other contacts in the demon world."

Buffy listened to the rock solid certainty in Angel's voice. Her expansion was caught between fear and something that almost looked like relief. "You're back aren't you?" She asked. "Nothing I could say is going to stop you from being the PTB's warrior is it? Because you know you can do this."

Angel felt surprised at her reaction. "We're not going to have a knock down drag out fight about this? No emotional blackmail?"

Buffy frowned at his choice of words. "I never."

"The Hell you didn't," Angel cut her off, smiling slightly to take the sting out of his words.

"Alright I did," Buffy admitted. "But only because I was worried about you. You were all 'I'm going to go out and get myself killed to prove I can't make it as a human.' You didn't care enough not to jump in over head."

"And now?" Angel asked.

"You wouldn't be Angel if you didn't insist on helping people anymore," Buffy said.

"You're not going to try to keep me out of this Slaying like you did to Riley and Xander?" Angel asked suspiciously.

"You're not Riley or Xander," Buffy sighed. "For Riley this stuff is a job, Xander does it because he's my friend. Which isn't to say that Xander isn't a big help a lot of the time. With him I think I just got scared. Riley, I don't know, he wanted to help but it never felt right to have him along. Still, neither of them have the PTB sending them messages. I can't keep you out of this any more than Mom could keep me from being the Slayer."

"So you're really okay with this?" Angel asked.

"We're okay," Buffy said.
________________________________________________________________________

Angel smiled a little at his memories.

"You're not paying attention to me!" Glory pouted, slapping Angel.

Angel rolled his eyes. "What do you want now?" he asked boredly.

"What do you think of this dress?" Glory asked. "Be honest."

"Don't your minions have more practice at that sort of 'honesty'?" Angel asked.

On key two of the minions immediately broke into a spade of "Oh most beauteous Glorifious, no mere article of clothing can do justice to your overflowing radiance."

"Shut up!" Glory commanded. "I want an opinion from a person with actual taste."

"Could we please get to what you actually want?" Angel asked. ________________________________________________________________________

"Do we know what happened to Angel?" Xander asked.

"Glory has him," Buffy said. "She wants to trade the Key for Angel."

"What did you tell her?" Willow asked. "I mean we don't have the Key."

"That it would take a couple of days for me to get the Key back from where I'd hidden it," Buffy said. "That gives us time to figure out where she's got Angel and rescue him."

"Where do we start looking?" LaCroix asked walking into the Magic Box, Cordelia a step behind him. ________________________________________________________________________

Angel's mouth quirked as he watched Glory terrorize her minions over some inadequacy in the repairs they'd done on one of her outfits.

The vain goddess's aversion to damaging her cloths, nails, hair, shoes and everything else related to her appearance was going to provide Angel with his escape route. Like he'd told Ben, he wouldn't be used as a hostage against Buffy.

"I guess you're more interested in that dress than you are in the Key," Angel said casually.

In less than a blink of an eye Glory was standing in front of him, her hand tangled in Angel's hair forcing him to look up at her. "What do you know about my Key?" she demanded.

"I could lead your minions to it," Angel offered. "Being in your company is more torture than I can take."

"Really, you could? Now aren't you just the sweetest thing," Glory purred. "Tell me, where is my Key?"

"I said I'd take your people there," Angel replied. "Your mush brained minions wouldn't learn the directions in a century, and you don't really want to go into the sewer tunnels yourself, do you?"

"Oh minions," Glory chimed. "You're going with this sweet man to get me my Key." ________________________________________________________________________

Spike glanced at Cordelia, then a second later he frowned and turned back for a second, more appraising look. "Pale looks good on you Ducks," he said with a leer.

Cordelia glared at him irritably. "You'll keep your eyes and your mouth to yourself, Fangless, if you know what's good for you."

"You do look a little pale," Willow said, sounding concerned. "Are you sure everything's okay now?"

"I'm great, wonderful really," Cordelia babbled. "I just need to catch up on my sun-tanning."

"Daughter," LaCroix reprimanded in a voice too soft for human ears.

Cordelia mentally pouted at him, it didn't change the disapproval he was directing back to her.

This was part of the deal. LaCroix didn't want her hiding what she was from Angel or any of his and Buffy's friends who were in the know about vampires.

Cordelia had tried to explain that this was going to backfire, because there was no way they were going to accept the new her. Wesley would and maybe she and Gunn could establish an understanding like he'd had with Angel, but telling the Sunnydale crew. It was just a bad idea. They'd hate her and that would nothing to forward LaCroix case for Angel letting himself be turned but the General didn't take advice from his daughter.

Which meant she couldn't try to hide it. Even though Xander had been arguing that Angel should be staked from day one and would probably want her dead too now. Then there was Giles who wasn't exactly fond of vampires, souled or otherwise since Jenny. Plus Buffy and Willow didn't like her as a human, why would they like her any better now?

LaCroix's stance hadn't softened even a little.

"And if I live to be a thousand, which is a possibility, I never will be doing any Sun-bathing again. Sun-anything sort of off the menu from here on out," Cordelia sighed, bracing herself for the explosion.

Giles took her hand and pressed his fingers to the underside of Cordelia's wrist.

"If you wait long enough it will happen," Cordelia said. "I'm a real live vampire, not a dead one like bleach-boy over there."

"You did this to her!" Xander accused LaCroix indignantly.

Slowly LaCroix turned, daining to make eye contact with Xander. "Of course," he said, as if it amused him to humor an insect such as this. Cordelia wondered how many decades LaCroix had spent perfecting his ability to reduce a person to nothing with just a look.

"Bastard!" Xander hissed, grabbing LaCroix's jacket.

Cordelia closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to see Xander turned into a pile of assorted body parts.

"Release me," LaCroix commanded, putting enough whammy in his voice to make Xander trip over his own feet in his haste to obey.

"It was my choice," Cordelia declared moving to stand between LaCroix and the Sunnydale crowd.

"How could you do something so stupid?" Buffy demanded.

"Gee, souled vampire minus the curse part or brain damaged soon to be corpse," Cordelia said tossing her hair over her shoulder disdainfully. "It was such a hard choice."

"So it's all Angel's fault," Xander said regaining his feet and his poise.

"You'll never suggest that to Angel," Cordelia commanded throwing every bit of whammy that she had into that order, hoping it would work.

Whamming didn't come naturally. It took practice, and Cordelia was fairly hesitant about actually overriding someone else's will. Sure she'd made Wes get her coffee on a regular basis, but she could never be sure that it was her powers and not his manners that made it work.

She'd tried it on Angel once, a harmless little suggestion about paying her a week early so she'd have the money to take advantage of this really great sale, but Angel had recognized what she was doing instantly and the betrayal in his eyes hurt so much Cordy knew that she'd never try influencing him that way again.

"If you're done harassing my daughter, shall we look into rescuing my son?" LaCroix asked.

"Angel isn't yours anymore," Buffy huffed.

"He will always be mine," LaCroix replied with a fierce possessiveness. "Nothing changes that." ________________________________________________________________________

Angel led Jinx and Dredge through the least habitable parts of Sunnydale's immense underground.

Every few feet the former vampire slipped on the slimy floor, forcing the two minions to rush to catch him and help him back to his feet.

"Please, be more careful most gracious and knowledgeable one," Jinx pled. "Our illuminous Glory would inflict untold suffering on our insignificant selves if anything should happen to you before we recover the Key."

"I'd have a lot better balance if you untied my hands," Angel suggested, covering a grin.

"This we cannot do, most helpful Angel," Dredge simpered.

"Road's only getting worse a head," Angel said. "Narrow, steep, bad footing. I'll have to go first of course, since I'm the only one who knows where we're going. If I fall, you won't catch me, I'll probably break my neck."

Jinx and Dredge exchanged worried glances. "Our most creative and lovely Glorious will define new forms of torture for our punishment," Jinx pointed out.

"Perhaps we could untie you," Dredge offered. "If you swear that you won't try to escape."

"Scouts honor," Angel replied innocently.
_______________________________________________________________________

"Hi," Glory said walking into the Magic Box. "I just dropped by to say I don't need you any more. At this very moment your boyfriend is leading my minions to the Key. You know I expected him to be the noble type."

"Angel wouldn't help you," Buffy said. Plus he doesn't even know about Dawn she thought, which makes this a plan of some sort.

"Sure he would Honey. I'm a god," Glory replied. "He figured out which side is going to win."

"You, little girl, are supposed to be a god?" LaCroix asked.

"I am a god!" Glory screeched, backhanding LaCroix.

LaCroix surged off the floor into Glory. Using his ability to fly, he slammed her against the wall, about halfway between floor and ceiling.

Buffy and Spike exchanged a glance then a shrug and went to join LaCroix in pounding on Glory.

The Hell-goddess swatted LaCroix away and both crashed to the floor.

Before Glory could get up, Spike kicked her in the ribs. When he tried for a second kick Glory grabbed his ankle and squeezed. Spike gasped in pain as the small bones were reduced to splinters by her grip.

Glory stood, tossing Spike across the room as she did so. Then Buffy punched her. The two exchanged a few blows before Buffy was sent flying. When Glory tried to go after the Slayer, Cordelia grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her side.

A moment later Cordy hit the back wall of the shop, smashing into a display cabinet.

"Desist!" LaCroix ordered his voice filled with an icy power.

Glory paused.
_______________________________________________________________________

Angel grinned smugly at the two minions groaning on the cavern floor.

"You promised," Jinx whimpered.

"Well, you know I never was a boy scout," Angel replied glibly. "As far as I know, I've never even eaten one. I'd say it's been fun guys, but it really wasn't. Be sure to tell Glory worst of luck with that Key thing, will ya."

Still looking very pleased with himself, Angel turned and headed back out of the tunnels. ________________________________________________________________________

"You're trying to screw with my mind?" Glory asked LaCroix in disbelief. "Baby, that's just not how it works."

Glory drove her fingers into the sides of LaCroix's skull and the ancient screamed.

A second later Cordelia echoed him.

In a Parisian nightclub a woman's glass tumbled from suddenly nerveless finger. As she collapsed the man she'd been talking to leapt to catch her. "Jeanette!" he cried in alarm.

In the tunnels beneath Sunnydale Angel stumbled, falling to his knees. "LaCroix?" he asked, concern filling his voice. He forced himself to take a deep breath then climbed back to his feet and took off running.

In a tightly shuttered loft apartment with the still atmosphere of a crypt, a presence glanced up from its intent study of a particular spot on the floor in front of the fireplace. It wavered and for a few moments seemed to disappear. Then strengthened and resumed its vigil.

In the magic shop Glory shrieked in outrage and staggered back from LaCroix. "Fine," she spat. "I didn't need it anyway. I'll just go get my Key!" With that she stormed out of the store.

"LaCroix?" Cordelia asked unsteadily. "Are you okay?"

"Bleeding bitch broke my leg," Spike exclaimed.

Willow checked his injury and made a sympathetic face. "Smushed it is more accurate," she said.

"LaCroix?" Cordelia asked again, her voice wavering.

"I'm well child," LaCroix replied without opening his eyes or moving from where he slumped against the wall. After a pause he added. "Thank you for your assistance in repelling that vile creature from my mind."

"No big," Cordelia replied going to sit beside him.

"I violently dislike her," Buffy said craning her head to inspect a bruise forming on her shoulder.

"So, would Angel really take her to this Key thing?" Xander said.

"How would he do that?" Giles asked. "When he doesn't know the first thing about it?"

"Oh right," Xander said with a touch of embarrassment.

"Spike broke the cash register when he fell on it," Anya said irritably.

"Next time I'll ask her to throw me at you instead," Spike grouched wincing as Willow used her magic to harden the bandages she'd wrapped around his ankle into a cast.

A few minutes later Angel burst through the doors, completely out of breath from running across town.

"You escaped," Buffy exclaimed happily launching herself into Angel's arms.

"Is everyone all right?" Angel asked.

"More or less," Buffy said.

"Less, most bloody definitely less," Spike complained.

"LaCroix?" Angel asked as he hugged Buffy tightly.

"You heard me call," LaCroix said with satisfaction. "Even as you are now, you heard and responded."

________________________________________________________________________

“So do we call you Dead-girl now?” Xander asked Cordelia.

LaCroix smirked with satisfaction as Angel visibly stiffened, his eyes flashing with anger.

“If you don’t mind being totally wrong,” Cordelia returned. “Oh, look who I’m talking to, go right ahead.”

“I shall be returning to Los Angeles. I wish to look into this Glory.” At the hell-goddess’ name LaCroix’s voice sank into a threatening snarl. “Cordelia, see if you can keep Angelus out of trouble until his visit to this place is concluded.”

“I escaped on my own,” Angel pointed out.

“This time Mon Fils, but you are such a magnet for trouble and you’re only mortal,” LaCroix said. “For the moment.”

“Forever,” Buffy contradicted LaCroix.

“Mortality is never forever, girl,” LaCroix said coldly.

“Why are you investigating Glory?” Giles asked.

“I don’t care for loosing,” LaCroix said.

“We… um… would appreciate it if you would let us know anything you learn about her as well,” Giles stammered, feeling like he was making a deal with the devil.

“Certainly,” LaCroix replied, the glint in his eyes showing that he knew precisely what Giles was thinking. ________________________________________________________________________

For a brief second sparks lit the darkness, they reflected off gleaming bits of metal.

“So this is what it feels like to be a vamp,” a deep, perpetually sardonic voice said. “Buried alive, I guess that’s another thing I can thank Finn’s girl for.”

Once again the crack of metal meeting concrete sounded muted in the tight confines.

The voice broke into an evil chuckle as the concrete began to crumble under the repeated blows. ________________________________________________________________________

“Cordy’s cure was to get vamped,” Buffy said. “You sort of forgot to mention that.”

“Didn’t seem to be a good time,” Angel replied

“But she’s still good?” Buffy asked.

“Yes.”

“And you’re not thinking maybe LaCroix had ulterior motives?”

“He openly admits it.”

“You’re not tempted or anything, right?” Buffy asked.

Angel smiled at her. “Why should I be, I’m doing fine as a human.”

“You are aren’t you,” Buffy said. “You did get away from Glory with nothing worse than a bump on the head.”

“Buffy, Glory’s tough sure, but she’s not all powerful,” Angel said. “She’s vain, stupid and unstable. You can’t slug it out with her, but that doesn’t mean you can’t beat her. When she went after LaCroix’s mind we didn’t stop her with brute force. Which isn’t to say he didn’t try. LaCroix isn’t used to running into anything stronger than he is, he’s two thousand years old; you know vampires only get stronger with age. When that didn’t work he called on Cordy and I plus a couple of others I didn’t know and he threw all that power at her, which didn’t work either. We still won though. We sent her chasing after shadows and illusions, she got frustrated and impatient. She blustered around for a while; did some random damage then withdrew in a huff. We won’t beat her by playing to her strengths Buffy, but she’s got plenty of weakness to exploit.”

“Sounds like I’m getting a dose of my own medicine here,” Buffy said with a sigh. “I miss the old days when I could just pound the baddies into dust.”

“We’ve got a body,” Angel said, pointing to a hand sticking out from under a bush.

“I hate this part of being the Slayer,” Buffy said as they moved to investigate.

“We’ll deal with whatever it is,” Angel said solemnly.

As they rounded the bush Buffy froze at the sight of a dissected, inhuman corpse. “Deja vu of the worst sort,” she said.

“What?” Angel asked.

“This, it looks like Adam’s MO, but not even the Initiative would be stupid enough to build another of those,” Buffy explained. ________________________________________________________________________

“How’d I get nominated to patrol with you?” Cordelia asked.

“Because no one else wanted a vampire for a partner Ducks,” Spike replied. “You’d better get used to being treated like a leper, cause in their eyes, that’s what you are now.”

“Hostile 17, been looking for you.”

Cordelia and Spike turned to stare at the six-foot collection of spare parts and bits of bare metal gleaming through charred flesh.

“Well if it isn’t Mr. Bits the second,” Spike said. “Looking a tad more assorted than usual.”

“You know this patchwork quilt of eew?” Cordelia asked. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Hostile 17 and I go way back,” Forrest said. “In fact he owes me an eye.”

“So that’s why you’re chopping people, and others, up, for replacement parts?” Cordelia asked.

“My old pal Riley did some damage with that fire ball,” Forrest said flexing one fist, showing the metal substructure showing beneath the burned flesh. “Course the eye is curtsey of your boyfriend there, seems fitting he should provide the replacement.”

“Well, info gathering over,” Spike said turning to run.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Cordelia protested vehemently.

Forrest started after Spike but after only a few steps it was obvious he’d never catch up. “Well you’re still here,” he said turning to Cordelia. “Yours’ll even match brown-eyes.”

“I think not,” Cordelia said rising to hover in the air a few feet out of his reach. “What is it with people wanting to gore out my eyes anyway?”

“Hey! Come down from there,” Forrest said pointing at Cordelia, a gun barrel erupting from his arm. ________________________________________________________________________

“Ow,” Cordelia moaned, squirming as Angel used tweezers to extract the bullet embedded in her shoulder. “Getting shot really hurts, even now.”

“It’s something to be avoided as much as possible,” Angel said. “Even if it can’t kill you it’s never a pleasant experience.”

“I’ll be sure to add it to my list of things not to try again, right below being impaled with a rebar.”

“Impalement is one of the more important things to avoid, especially if wood is involved,” Angel replied. “Got it.”

Cordelia whimpered as he extracted the bullet. “We didn’t really treat you like leper back when I was in high school did we?” she asked a moment later.

“What brought this on?” Angel asked.

“That’s what Spike said they’d treat me like, because of… you know,” Cordelia said. “And you’re avoiding the question aren’t you.”

“It’s not the same situation Cordy,” Angel said. “You know how good I am at socializing. I avoided them as much as they avoided me. You’ll be fine. Just give them a chance to get use to the idea of you being a vampire.”
________________________________________________________________________

“Forrest is back?” Buffy asked.

“Former Initiative flunky turned the son of Adam? Yeah, that’d be our new mate” Spike reported.

“So we’re going to do a repeat of combo-Buffy?” Xander asked.

“I’m afraid the First Slayer wouldn’t co-operate again,” Giles said.

“He’s probably just a cheap copy anyway,” Willow said hopefully.

“Hey, look everyone, vamp-girl’s back,” Xander said as Cordelia and Angel returned from the training room.

“Are you alright?” Willow asked.

Cordelia smiled and gingerly flexed her arm. “The bullet’s gone, the bleeding’s stopped, the pain is fading. Some times I really like being a vampire.”

“Cordelia told me what we’re up against,” Angel said, glaring at Xander. “Do we have a plan?”

“We need to immobilize him long enough to get to his battery out,” Buffy said.

“I could try whamming him,” Cordelia suggested. “He didn’t seem like the mentally focused type.”

“You could really make a person stand still while we cut a vital part out?” Xander asked. “That’s pretty cool… in a very scary way.”

“LaCroix could,” Cordelia said. “I can try.”

“Cor…” Angel objected.

“You’re the one who’s always going on about how you have to keep taking risks Angel.” Cordelia said. “Well I have to do this. What’s the point of having these nifty powers if I don’t use them?”

“We’re going to practice,” Angel said firmly.

“Okay, so Cordy tries this hypno-thing. If it works I move in with cutting implements,” Buffy said. “If not Cordelia flies off, no harm done.”

“Minus a few more bullets in her,” Angel cautioned.

“It won’t kill her. She’s a vampire, so who really cares anyway?” Xander said.

Angel grabbed Xander by the arm and dragged him back toward the training room. “Could we talk?” he asked grimly then sent Xander stumbling ahead of him. Angel shut the door behind them.

“What was that about?” Anya asked.

Cordelia felt herself trying to blush as Spike explained, “Peaches is threatin’ bodily harm to the twit if he doesn’t knock off with the vampire cracks. Must be fun getting ta to get even for all of Xander’s crap in the name of chivalry.”

“God, this is embarrassing. Couldn’t they have picked someone else to go all macho over?” Cordelia asked.

“If Xander’s involved in macho posturing it should be over me,” Anya declared, stalking to the closed door and throwing it open.

“You know, I hate to sound like Anya,” Buffy said. “But this time I have to agree, any stupid testosterone displays my boyfriend gets into should be about me.”

“So it’s unanimous,” Anya said, stepping through the door to glare at Xander and Angel. “If you two want to fight over a girl it has to be about Buffy or I, preferably me.”

“Cordy’s family,” Angel said. “That means I get to defend her. Right Xander?”

“You know ex-Deadboy, the growl’s less impressive now that you’re human,” Xander said irritably.

“Excuse me,” Cordelia interjected, noticing the angry glitter in Angel’s eyes. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“I’m sorry Cordy,” Angel said. “But he doesn’t have any right to treat you like that.”

“Why not?” Xander asked. “I do it to you and Deadboy jr., why should Vamp-girl be any different?”

“Because she’s Cordy in every way that counts,” Angel replied hotly. “And unlike Spike and I, she hasn’t killed anyone, so just drop it already!”

“Maybe we should get to work on the plan,” Buffy suggested awkwardly.

________________________________________________________________________

“Practice, right,” Cordelia said. “Are you sure about this Angel?”

“I’m sure,” Angel said.

“So should I tell you what I’m going to make you do?” Cordelia asked.

“Probably not,” Angel said. “Just try not to embarrass me too much okay?”

“It’s a deal,” Cordelia said. “Wanna try?”

“Let’s do it,” Angel said sitting down across the table from her.

Cordelia concentrated; let the sound of Angel’s heartbeat fill her senses. Once it steadied she met his eyes and immediately exploded into laughter.

“What?” Angel asked.

“Okay, let’s try again, without the giggles,” Cordelia said. She forced herself to calm down and caught his heartbeat again. Then she met his eyes and watched them loose focus.

“I guess that makes it truth or dare time,” Cordelia muttered. “Okay Angel, remember back before I knew about you being a vampire?”

“Yes,” Angel replied expressionlessly.

“I used to try to get you to notice me, what was I doing wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Cordelia blew out a breath in an exasperated sigh, “I was certain it was working.”

Cordelia reached for Angel’s heartbeat again, but to her surprise it was still perfectly steady, slow and even, just like it was supposed to be. “Okay, let’s try another question. Why didn’t you notice me?”

“You weren’t Buffy.”

“Maybe it did work,” Cordelia said consciously letting Angel’s mind go. “Did it work Angel?”

“It did,” He replied shaking off the last of the effect. “Now try again, this time I’m not gong to make it easy for you… and next time, go for dare.”

________________________________________________________________________

“I think we should be aiming for maximum carnage,” Buffy said. “Even if Cordy’s idea works I think Forrest will snap out of it when I start cutting into him. Giles do you still have that chainsaw from last Halloween?”

“Are you sure Buffy? A chainsaw makes a clumsy weapon,” Giles warned.

“Plus you hit one of his metal parts it’ll be the same as trying to cut into a spiked tree,” Xander said. “You could get hurt.”

“So what do you advise?” Buffy asked.

Giles dug through his weapons chest and produced a long elegant sword.

“Wow, pretty,” Buffy said testing the balance. “But looking for big damage, remember?”

“It’s a katana, Buffy. Watch the edge, it will cut through almost anything.” Giles said.

“Like a light-saber, only without the cool sound effects?” Xander asked.

“Precisely,” Giles said.

Buffy and Xander both stared at him in slack jawed amazement. “You got a cultural reference,” Buffy stammered.

“Please, I was in my twenties when Star Wars came out, of course I’ve seen it.”

________________________________________________________________________

“We’re ready?” Cordy asked.

“Ready,” Buffy said. “As soon as we’ve got a place we’ll be on our way.”

“It worked!” Willow exclaimed and Tara shifted uncomfortably. “Last year we tried this spell to find Adam and it kerplooied, but look!” She pointed to the map of Sunnydale drawn in sand on the table, a concentrated spot of red grains moved across the campus.

Buffy sheathed her katana, “Let’s get this over with,” she said.

Cordelia studied the map for a few moments more then walked out the door. “Wish us luck guys,” she said wrapping an arm around Buffy’s waist then the two girls lifted off.

Cordelia touched down a few yards from Forrest’s position and the two girls approached on foot.

While Buffy waited in the shadows Cordelia stepped out to confront the monstrosity. She reached out with her mind, but more than one rhythm defined the creature before her.

“The flying chick,” Forrest said smiling evilly as he recognized her. “Wonder if I could add that ability to my arsenal. Cutting you up is going to be a pleasure.”

Cordelia picked what seemed to be the major pulse and made eye contact. “Freeze,” she commanded.

Forrest’s advance ground to a halt. Buffy waited a few seconds, but when he remained statue-like she moved forward, sword held high.

Cordelia felt the secondary pulse go wild. “Hurry up!” she yelled. Then the primary pulse faltered, Forrest’s eyes gained focus.

The gun in his forearm popped out and he began to turn. Cordelia lunged forward and grabbed his arm with both hands. Multiple shots exploded into her chest at point blank range. Still Cordelia retained her hold on him even as she collapsed.

Buffy swung the sword; it passed through Forrest’s body just above his power source. The two halves joined Cordelia on the ground. Buffy spotted the glowing battery shining through the gore and ripped it out. “I guess we’ll have to take it back to Willow for disposal this time,” she said.

“Did we win?” Cordelia asked in a pained whisper.

“Oh god, Cordy!” Buffy exclaimed. She dropped to her knees beside Cordelia. “You’ll be okay, bullets can’t kill you anymore,” she stammered.

“Hurts,” Cordelia whimpered blood sweat dotting her forehead.

“I’ll get help. Just hang on,” Buffy promised.

Cordelia coughed violently, bringing up blood. Then her eyes fluttered shut.

“Stay with me,” Buffy begged, shaking the other girl to no effect. Desperately Buffy cut her hand on the sword blade and let her blood run into Cordelia’s mouth. ________________________________________________________________________

“Is she going to be alright?” Buffy asked as LaCroix descended from Giles’ loft.

“Cordelia will recover,” he said and the whole group released a collective sigh of relief. “I find that I am in your dept Slayer. Cordelia was too young to survive that magnitude of damage alone, your blood kept her stabilized long enough for me to return.”

“No you’re not,” Buffy replied. “Cordy’s one of us. What I did, it had nothing to do with you.”

________________________________________________________________________

Kate stared at the autopsy report, the neck punctures that had been the only wounds found on her father weren’t as clean as those found on Richard Corin, but the similarities out weighed the differences.

Richard Corin had been killed by a vampire, so had her father. Angel had been there when her father died, of that Kate had no doubts. Her father had been killed by a vampire. A vampire like that boy she had seen with Angel. A vampire like Angel.

Angel had been there when her father had been killed by a vampire. Opportunity and means, that just left motive.

Richard Corin was connected to her and he was a vampire hunter. Something involving Angel had happened and it had been bad. So bad she’d developed mixed feelings about Corin. She hadn’t wanted him as an ally, not after what had happened, whatever that was. Trying to think about that blank in her mind made Kate sick to her stomach. She’d been in involved in something bad. Something that had been done to Angel.

Her father had been killed by a vampire. Motive.

________________________________________________________________________

Cordelia groaned, her hands flying from her still intensely painful chest wound to her throbbing temples. Just what she needed, Cordelia thought disparagingly, a vision headache on top of a shattered breastbone and healing heart and lungs.

The vision came, a blur of color and panic, then everything became clear for a moment and Cordelia could see a street sign.

After giving her head a few seconds to clear, Cordelia swung her feet over the side of the bed with a sigh. Slowly she made her way downstairs to Giles’ living room. He and Angel were discussing something in hushed tones over tea.

“Cordy, you should be in bed,” Angel said, jumping up to help support her down the last few steps.

“Vision,” Cordelia explained with a grimace. “I got an address, it’s back in LA. There was a lot of panic, this is going to be a public one.”

“Call Wesley, let him know we’re coming. I’ll go get us a car,” Angel replied.

“I’ll drive,” Giles volunteered. “I’m certain Buffy will want to come along as well.”

“That isn’t necessary,” Angel said firmly.

“You are short a team member with Cordelia injured,” Giles pointed out. “And if you’re going to be fighting in a crowd you’ll need to finish it as quickly as possible to avoid having innocents caught in the middle.”

“Okay,” Angel replied reluctantly. “Collect some weapons for her, I’ll get Buffy.” ________________________________________________________________________

Kate looked around the empty lobby nervously. She wanted to get this over with, not sit around and think about it.

She was going to avenge her father’s death. Angel wasn’t really the handsome private detective who’d saved her life and whom she’d been attracted to, not really. The truth was he was a monster.

The boy-vampire had called him Angelus and that was a name that survived in legend. Kate had found several books mentioning him already in her apartment, evidence that she’d looked into his past before he’d messed up her mind.

Angelus, the one with the angelic face, the scourge of Europe, was one of the most evil creatures to ever exist. After what she’d learned of his past Kate couldn’t believe how he could have put up such a convincing front.

A part of her wondered if it were possible that he’d changed but she crushed down that traitorous thought. Angelus was the thing that had killed her father. A cruel and remorseless killer who’d escaped justice for centuries, nothing more. ________________________________________________________________________

Angel carried his coat draped over his arm, hiding the sword he was carrying. Buffy discretely hid her knife in a gym bag as they blended into the crowd surrounding the demon’s body. Thankfully the crowd was too busy staring at it to really pay attention to the pair that had killed it.

“I think someone must have been giving that bear some kind of drugs,” a witness confided loudly to a police officer.

Several other members of the crowd offered conflicting theories, all equally implausible but easier to take than the truth.

“I told you the aliens were coming!” One man exclaimed and Angel grinned, sometimes fact and fiction could be equally strange.

“I haven’t heard that one before,” Buffy said.

“I’m just glad Kate didn’t show,” Angel replied dumping the sword into the trunk of Giles’ car. “The last thing she needs is to connect me with another supernatural incident.”

“Perhaps she took your advise from the last time and has given up her hunt for demons,” Wesley said.

“We can all hope,” Cordelia replied twisting back to look at the others from her place in the front seat.

“Don’t squirm,” Wesley reprimanded her. “You’ll aggravate your injuries. You really should have stayed at the office.”

“And if you’d needed back-up? Who has the mental link with the really, really old vampire?” Cordelia asked.

“I have a cell phone with Gunn’s number on speed dial,” Wesley replied. “And I’d prefer his assistance, it doesn’t come with strings.”

“You used to like LaCroix,” Cordelia rebuked Wesley.

“Before he used your illness to further his agenda with Angel,” Wesley replied. “I always knew we couldn’t trust him, but until then I hadn’t realized the depths he’d sink to to get what wants.”

“Am I going to have to go through this with everyone?” Cordelia whined to Angel.

“Wes isn’t attacking you Cordy,” Angel sighed. He hesitated for a moment then regretfully added, “And he’s right about LaCroix.”

“I trust you completely Cordelia,” Wesley assured her. “This has nothing to do with you, it’s about LaCroix; he’s amoral, opportunistic…”

“He’s doing his best to take care of his family,” Cordelia argued. “He’s not amoral, he follows his beliefs about what’s right and wrong without fail, they just don’t match yours. He really cares about us, Angel and I anyway, that’s more than I can say of my human parents.”

Buffy shifted uncomfortably, bothered by Cordelia’s impassioned defense of the ancient. ________________________________________________________________________

Kate prowled restlessly around the office, twisting her crudely carved stake in her hands, before trading it for the more comforting familiarity of her gun.

She wished she’d found something to back up her conclusion that Angel was a monster and mass murderer.

Sure she’d found well-maintained weapons and blood in the refrigerator in the lobby. But the weapons weren’t even circumstantial evidence, her father’s death had been caused by fangs not weapons and the blood was actually a mark in his defense, he wouldn’t have needed it if he were hunting.

“He did kill my father,” Kate reminded herself sternly.

“Would a jury find him guilty?” Her conscious asked. “You don’t have any hard evidence.”

“He screwed with my mind! He’s hiding something,” Kate argued.

“But is it murder or just that he’s a vampire?”

“Even if he didn’t kill my father, which he did, he has killed,” Kate shot back. “He’s a vampire, by definition that makes him a serial killer.”

“What if he’s changed?”

“The thing I read about, that doesn’t change. Psychopath doesn’t even cover what he is, he’s a monster, plain and simple.”

“He saved your life.”

“He killed my father!”
________________________________________________________________________

“I’ll be right back,” Angel said. “I need to get the demon blood off my sword before it corrodes the metal.”

“An excellent thought,” Giles said with a significant look at Buffy. “I’m certain Buffy’s ax could use some attention as well.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Bring an extra rag,” she said to Angel. “Maybe if you’re here I won’t get the lecture on proper weapons care again.”

“I’ll give it to you myself,” Angel said walking into his office. “Kate,” he exclaimed in unhappy surprise. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Angel,” Kate replied walking toward him, her hand at her side, the gun she held hidden by the folds of the long jacket she was wearing.

“Why are you here?” Angel asked.

“I figured it out,” Kate said raising the gun. She fired twice then as Angel staggered back she pulled the stake from her coat pocket and drove it into his chest.

Angel collapsed to his knees, a fresh gout of blood spurting from his chest as the stake was wrenched free. Shock held everyone frozen for a timeless moment. Kate stared, horror-strickened at the blood on her hands. Slowly her eyes rose to meet Angel’s uncomprehending gaze. He coughed wetly and blood flecked his lips.

Kate screamed and suddenly the paralysis that had gripped the room was broken.

Buffy kicked the gun out of Kate’s hand, breaking the detective’s wrist in the process then knocked her back against the office’s far wall.

Cordelia caught Angel as he lost consciousness and gently lowered him to the floor, pillowing his head on her knees.

Wesley opened up his cell phone.

Giles moved to stand guard over Kate as Buffy went to Angel.

“He’s alive,” Cordelia reassured the Slayer.

Buffy took Angel’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “You’ll be okay,” she told him with complete and baseless certainty.

“The ambulance is coming,” Wesley said.

Kate was still staring at Angel. “He isn’t…” she was muttering. “Oh god, I was wrong. I was wrong. He’s not…”

“Do shut up woman,” Giles snapped harshly.

Kate pulled her knees to her chest and began rocking slowly back and forth.

The sound of shattering glass announced LaCroix’s arrival. He didn’t ask any questions, between his residual link with Angel and his full link with Cordelia he knew everything that had happened.

Gently he lifted Angel from Cordelia’s lap. Buffy glanced up as Angel was moved, seeing LaCroix’s golden eyes and bared fangs she reacted automatically. Bracing her hands on the floor she twisted from her kneeling position to kick LaCroix away from Angel.

Hardly expecting to be attacked LaCroix fell back.

Moving inhumanly fast Cordelia managed to catch Angel and settle him back without jarring him.

Buffy didn’t give LaCroix a moment to recover, springing to her feet and delivering a spinning kick that knocked him on his back.

LaCroix snarled, fury and fear for Angel turning his eyes a burning crimson. He lunged off the floor, plowing into Buffy with brutal force. They landed in a heap, LaCroix’s much greater size pinning Buffy beneath him. He tangled one hand in her hair and jerked her head back, baring her throat to him.

Buffy managed to get one hand under LaCroix’s chin and forced his head back, away from her jugular vein.

Wesley grabbed LaCroix by the shoulder and tried to pull the ancient vampire away from Buffy.

LaCroix turned toward Wesley growling, his fiery eyes bore a mad glow.

“Angelus!” Wesley exclaimed. “It’ll destroy him if you kill her! You know that.”

LaCroix abruptly released Buffy and rolled to his feet, his eyes regaining a measure of sanity along with their more familiar golden coloring.

“Tell her to stand aside!” LaCroix ordered. “We’ve run out of time for this fool’s game.”

“Angel won’t die!” Buffy insisted. “The ambulance is coming, they’ll make him better.”

“Don’t delude yourself,” LaCroix growled. “I am the only way to save him.”

“Let the doctor’s try,” pleaded Wesley.

“I won’t risk my child!” LaCroix snapped.

“You’ll have to go through me,” Buffy shouted back.

“Through all of us,” Giles amended as he and Wesley moved to flank Buffy.

“Can you do that to Angel, kill the people he cares about?” Wesley asked. “And would he return to you if he sees our deaths in your blood.”

“Don’t include me,” Cordelia stated. “LaCroix’s right, you’re not protecting Angel, you’re killing him.”

“I won’t sanction turning him,” Giles said firmly. “Even if he dies it’s better this way.”

An astounded sound burst from Cordelia. “You’re a bunch of idiots! Being a living vampire is way better than a dead human.”

The ambulance crew rushed in disrupting the stand off.

“There,” Buffy said gesturing to Angel. Reluctantly Cordelia fell back letting the EMT’s have access to Angel. LaCroix turned away, hiding his eyes, with a visible shutter he forced his human seeming back into place.

“What the hell happened?” one of the EMT’s demanded carefully removing a palm-length splinter from Angel’s chest before applying a compression bandage.

“This woman attacked him with a wooden stake after shooting him,” Giles said, his tone implied that he couldn’t imagine why anyone would ever dream of using a stake for anything other than securing a tent.

“He’s going into shock,” The second paramedic announced. “The sub-clavicle artery was damaged, there’s heavy internal bleeding.”

A third member of the ambulance crew relayed the information back to the hospital.

LaCroix stepped forward but Buffy reminded him of her ultimatum with a glare.

“They’re here, just give them a chance,” Wesley begged quietly. “Buffy will stand aside if he’s not going to make it, but let him have the chance to survive as a human.”

LaCroix took a deep breath and Cordelia sensed a brittle version of his customary icy control replacing the near panic he’d felt since Angel had been injured. “We have to stay close,” He said guiding her toward the door. “I won’t be able to do anything if he actually dies. But Wesley is correct, the safest path is to give him every chance to survive as a human. I can’t be certain what he’ll choose if I try to turn him now.”

The EMT’s transferred Angel to a stretcher as a couple of uniformed police officers appeared on the scene. They stared at Kate with shocked recognition.

“Detective?” the younger one asked, shaking her lightly.

“I’m going with Angel,” Buffy insisted forcefully and room was made for her in the ambulance.

“I was wrong. Oh God I was wrong,” Kate repeated staring blindly into space.

Cordelia and LaCroix discretely worked they’re way out of the Hyperion and took to the skies to follow the ambulance.

“Send someone to the hospital to take the girl’s statement the older officer ordered before turning his attention to Wesley and Giles. ________________________________________________________________________

The atmosphere in the waiting room was painfully tense. Buffy and LaCroix stood in opposite corners, glowering at each other, while Cordelia hovered by the door, listening intently, flinching every now and then, looking pale even for a vampire.

“They’re still operating?” Giles asked as he and Wesley joined them

“They’re doing some sort of tests,” Buffy said.

“It’s bad,” Cordelia added. “I don’t understand a lot of what they’re saying, but it’s really bad.”

“As long as he’s not dead I can fix this,” LaCroix reassured Cordelia.

“No,” Buffy said, but her voice wavered uncertainly.

“Would you let him die?” LaCroix asked. “Your insistence that he remain human is the only reason we’re here now. Will you not end this stupidity and let me offer him the protection being a vampire provides?”

“It was a goddamn stake, LaCroix!” Buffy snapped. “Being a vampire isn’t protection against that.”

”She missed. The danger to a vampire would be pasted by now.”

“If you hadn’t screwed with her mind she wouldn’t have gone after Angel in the first place!” Buffy accused angrily.

“She tortured him extensively with holy water before I ever met her, and if it weren’t for Angelus’ all too human sensibilities she wouldn’t have been alive to present any further threat to my son after that incident.” LaCroix said.

“Angel doesn’t want what you have to offer!” Buffy insisted. “He won’t accept it, you’ll just finish killing him if you try to turn him.”

“You don’t want him to accept it,” LaCroix said. “His desire to please you is what is killing him.”

“He’s not going to die!” Buffy exclaimed.

“He is dying and your wishes are all that kept him clinging to humanity,” LaCroix replied. “Grant him your permission to choose and see what he decides.”

“He’s happy as a human.”

“He was and he will be again once he truly understands what being a vampire is,” LaCroix admitted. “Mortality is fleeting. Angelus’ is over. We aren’t debating human or vampire any long. The choice is between vampire and corpse.”

“I don’t accept that!” Buffy said stubbornly.

“They’re finished,” Cordelia hissed backing away from the door. “The doctor’s coming.”

A tired looking older man appeared through the doors Cordelia had been listening at. “Is Ms. Chase here?” he asked.

“How is he?” Buffy asked.

“Ms. Chase?” The doctor questioned.

“That would be me,” Cordelia said. “What’s going on?”

“May I speak with you in private?” the doctor asked.

“What’s going on? Angel didn’t die, so what is this?” Cordelia demanded.

“Please allow me to speak to you alone,” the doctor requested.

“Fine,” Cordelia snapped. “Just tell me what’s going on!”

The doctor led Cordelia to his office. The others remained fidgeting impatiently in the waiting room, trying to ignore the ominous feeling settling over the room in the wake of the doctor’s request.

LaCroix used his link to Cordelia to eavesdrop on her conversation with the doctor. After several minutes he stormed out of the hospital without a word of explanation.

________________________________________________________________________

The police officer mindlessly stood by as LaCroix walked past him into the room containing Detective Lockley.

As she had at the hotel, Kate was still curled in a ball mumbling her endless protestations of guilt-leadened remorse. LaCroix stared down at the woman without pity.

I shouldn’t be here, LaCroix thought; I should be turning Angelus right now regardless of his or the girl’s feeling on the matter.

This was literally his worst nightmare since Angelus became human almost five months ago; Angelus’ life was in jeopardy and LaCroix could do nothing. The Slayer would force him to kill her rather than accept that the only chance to save Angelus was to return him to his proper state. And while LaCroix had no moral compunction about killing her he could hardly expect to successfully turn Angelus when his culpability in Buffy’s death would lie plainly in the blood he would have to share to turn him. Angelus would see that and flee from him straight into the arms of Death.

LaCroix’s control was too precarious to risk an extended debate with the girl the moment. Her stubborn denial of simple facts was more than enough to tempt him into killing her. Until he had gained a measure of control it was best that he stayed away. And LaCroix was forced to admit he was fearful of trying to turn Angelus at this point. Until he tried he couldn’t fail. LaCroix didn’t want to face loosing yet another child so soon after Nicholas, but there were so many things that made turning Angelus, at this juncture, a potential disaster.

He looked down at Kate, LaCroix had thought her the perfect target for his fearful frustration and rage, and yet…

“I’m sorry, I was wrong,” Kate was still babbling.

LaCroix caught her chin and forced her to look at him. “Once before you threatened to take my son from me,” LaCroix said. “I foolishly allowed you to walk away from that without repercussions. That mistake may cost me his life but it will be rectified. Although, at this moment, ending your pathetic existence seems almost a mercy. Still it is a mercy I am willing to grant.”

LaCroix gripped the back of her head with his free hand then twisted her neck sharply. Kate’s body dropped bonelessly to the floor, dead even before she fell.

LaCroix turned away from his empty revenge and walked out of the precinct, his departure no more remarked upon than his arrival had been. ________________________________________________________________________

“Angel isn’t going to make it, not as a human,” Cordelia said bluntly, stalking up to Buffy. “Maybe not even as a vampire.”

“Don’t say that, especially not here!” Buffy hissed angrily with a significant glance at Angel’s unconscious form.

Cordelia shuttered at the numerous tubes and wires practically hiding Angel beneath them, remembering what the doctor had told her about his condition. Then her earlier anger returned in a rush. “It doesn’t fucking matter what I say!” she snapped shoving a sheath of papers into Buffy’s hands.

“What are these?” Buffy asked in confusion.

“Organ donor forms,” Cordelia explained mercilessly. “Kate damaged the arteries supplying blood to Angel’s brain, it took the doctors too long to restore the blood flow. Angel is brain dead. LaCroix isn’t even sure if changing him will fix things. If you hadn’t interfered at the hotel it wouldn’t be an issue. The damage wasn’t caused directly by what Kate did; it was the delay in treatment. If we’d been able to change him immediately there wouldn’t have been any damage,” Cordelia accused.

Buffy’s knees gave out and she slumped into a chair beside the bed, “I was trying to protect him,” she whispered staring up at Cordelia with wide grief stricken eyes. ________________________________________________________________________

Angel stared down at the headstone with dismay.

He didn’t understand what was happening; he knew where he was, if not how he’d come to be here. But he didn’t understand why he couldn’t leave. The cemetery covered less than a acre, he should have been able to walk to the edge in minutes, but no matter how he tried he always found himself back here, staring down at the very grave he’d risen from centuries earlier.

Determinedly he turned his back on the stone once more and began walking. ________________________________________________________________________

Buffy met LaCroix at the door to Angel’s room, “Tell him I love him and I want him to come back to us,” she said tremulously.

LaCroix nodded sharply as he walked past her to Angel’s bedside. How was it, he wondered that these setting could make anyone appear so frail?

LaCroix reached through the tangle of medical equipment to brush his fingers across Angel’s cheek. LaCroix’s eyes closed for a second and he sighed in relief at the faint spark of life he could still sense.

With renewed certainty LaCroix turned to study the various machines surrounding Angel. The last thing he needed was for one of these devices to bring a nurse at an inopportune moment.

After several minutes study LaCroix deftly switched off the alarms. Then he gently removed the respirator tube from Angel’s mouth as well as the IV lines in his arm.

LaCroix bit into Angel’s wrist, flinching almost imperceptibly at the dull taste, a faint, distant, confused frustration was all the life left in his blood. Hopefully that would be enough. LaCroix used his fangs to open the veins in his wrist and pressed the sluggishly bleeding wound to Angel’s mouth. ________________________________________________________________________

Angel glanced down at one of the other tombstones in the cemetery then stared, transfixed. The name and dates silently accused him, but Jenny Calendar’s final resting place was in Sunnydale not Galway.

Fearfully Angel read the names on several more stones, he recognized them all.

What was this place?

Angel hurried forward only to find himself standing over his own grave once again. He turned to walk away and was confronted with a closed door, standing alone in the middle of the cemetery.

A man in his mid-thirties with disarrayed blond hair sat casually leaning back against one of the tombstones surrounding the doorway.

“Is that the way out?” Angel asked.

“It’s one way,” the man answered opening crystalline blue eyes and smiling up at Angel. “Possibly not the way you want.”

“What are you doing here?” Angel asked uncertainly.

“Enjoying the sun,” The man replied and for the first time Angel realized he’d been walking unharmed through the sunlit cemetery for what seemed to be an eternity.

“It hasn’t hurt either of us yet, so I’m not going to worry about it,” the man… no, the other vampire said. “I like your representation of this place better than my own, at least yours has grass.”

“You know where we are?” Angel asked.

“It’s the place where we choose, the place between life and death,” the vampire said. “You can go through the door, to where-ever it leads, or go back and live, but as a vampire again. Or for the first time, you’ll actually be a vampire if you go back now, not one of the Failed.”

“What’s you’re purpose in all this?” Angel asked. “Guide? Gatekeeper? Guard?”

The blond vampire grinned boyishly. “I’m not actually sure. When I was in your place I thought the person I met was a gatekeeper. The first time she was a lovely woman who begged me to crossover. The second time our esteemed parent barred my way and told me I still had to make amends in the world.”

“That doesn’t sound like LaCroix,” Angel commented.

“You’re right, he isn’t much of an advocate of redemption,” Nick said. “It might be that our minds, our subconscious thoughts give form to this place. Nat would tell you that this is all just a hallucination brought on by the lack of blood to the brain. Something scientific and quantifiable.”

“Except I’ve never met you, so why would my subconscious conjure you up,” Angel said.

Nick shrugged. “Science can’t explain everything.”

“What would your lady say?” Angel asked good-humoredly remember the Natalie Lambert’s journals had relieved that the doctor had possessed little tolerance for Nick’s belief in the supernatural.

“What would yours say?” Nick replied lightly.

Angel smiled fondly. “My lady is not overly fond of science. Particularly when it is encountered in the form of a quiz.”

Nick laughed softly.

“But you’re not a gatekeeper?” Angel asked returning to the subject at hand.

“I don’t feel like a gatekeeper, more like an older brother,” Nick said. “Someone who’s been here before, several times actually, and might be able to offer advise.”

“Well I already know how you chose,” Angel said sitting down beside Nick. “So I guess why would be the better question.”

Nick sighed. “I chose between death and vampirism six times, half of those with regard to my own life. The first time I chose to go back not knowing what I was going back to but afraid to go on.”

“I made a devil’s pact with LaCroix to keep him from offering this choice to Fleur, my sweet, little Fleur. She was innocence and sunshine, I couldn’t imagine her as anything else. No matter how well intentioned, a vampire can never be innocent, not when we hunger for human blood.”

“A few years ago I tried to unmake my original choice, I told you what happened.”

“Jenette, my lover and my sister as you are my brother, found mortality and death and I forced her to face this choice again. With her I couldn’t imagine her being dead anymore than I could imagine my mortal sister as a vampire.”

“Finally Nat, my beloved Natalie, demanded that I either step fully into her world or take her fully into mine. I failed to do either and so I joined her in death.”

“Usually you need to go to more than one person for conflicting advice,” Angel commented.

“I said I’d been here before, not that I knew what I was doing. I haven’t much experience in giving advice or taking it either for that matter,” Nick replied and to his own surprise Angel found himself smiling in response.

“So what’s on the other side of the door?” Angel asked.

“For you? I honestly don’t know. Unlike myself, you don’t bare full responsibility for your past. The demon may have taken form from what you were in life, but it wasn’t exactly you. I envy you that.”

“It doesn’t wash the blood from my hands,” Angel said quietly.

“Then perhaps you should return. You’ve a destiny to fulfill and people who would miss you. The door will always be here and they’re worried for you.”

“That was pretty straight forward. Buffy would give you points for not being cryptic,” Angel said. “But aren’t you breaking some sort of rule? I thought messages from the PTB were required to be obscure.”

“Who said I was that?” Nick asked lightly. “I’m just a manifestation of your subconscious remember? And since you always knew what you wanted why should I confuse the matter?”

“A fairly independent manifestation,” Angel laughed. “Goodbye Nick, I’m glad I met you. Say hello to Natalie for me.”

Nick’s eyes turned sad and serious. “Some promises can’t be kept. Death was neither what I hoped for or what I feared.” ________________________________________________________________________

Angel’s dark eyes blinked, for a few seconds he just took in what had happened. Then his gaze met LaCroix’s; relief was evident in the older vampire’s expression.

“You turned me,” Angel said. “With Buffy’s blessing.”

“You were dying Mon Fils,” LaCroix replied.

“Oh,” Angel said, uncertainly. Then he glanced around himself. “How can we explain…”

“Your sister and I will see that the good doctors see nothing untoward about your sudden recovery,” LaCroix promised. ________________________________________________________________________

“So is it different?” Buffy asked absently, playing with a button on Angel’s shirt as she reclined against his chest.

“Not entirely,” Angel answered. “There’s still the need for blood. If anything that’s stronger now, more a part of me. It’s strange I never
realized how separate the demon was before. No standard of comparison I guess.”

“So this isn’t better?” Buffy asked.

“No, I wouldn’t say that,” Angel replied. “I feel more in control, more whole, not soul and demon, just me. There is the blood lust; I am still a vampire, but no demon. The hunger is a darkness in me, but it isn’t the absolute evil that the demon was. I can live with this.”

The End

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