- Sunnydale
Buffy sat on the stone bench around an old tree. She saw Willow and Oz approaching across the park, and felt a tinge of jealousy. But her relationship with Angel wasn't the only one that Oz and Willow's had outlasted. There were, after all, Xander and Cordy.
"Hey, Buffy," Oz said. "How goes the slaying?"
"Oz has been out of town," Willow explained.
Buffy nodded. "It's o.k. How are you guys?"
"Great!" Willow exclaimed, then turned red. "I- I mean-"
Buffy smiled at her best friend. "Hey, it's o.k. You guys deserve to be happy."
"I just hate to see you so down," Willow said. "Have you heard from Angel?"
Buffy shook her head. "And I'm probably not going to," she said. "He broke up with me, remember?"
"Yeah, but you did let him drink your blood," Oz said. "You saved his life. That's gotta count for something."
The Slayer sighed. "I don't know anymore. I'd hoped he wouldn't leave, after that, but he did."
Willow saw a figure approaching them. "Hey, who's that?"
Buffy looked up and saw a small girl, with a fiery-red, knee-length braid approaching them. She carried a duffle bag over her shoulder.
When she reached them, the girl stopped. "Are you Buffy Summers?" she asked.
Buffy nodded. "Why?"
"I'm Haidee O'Finn. And I've got a message from Angel."
"Extraordinary!" Westley said.
Buffy shot him a withering glance. "Go on, Haidee."
"Well, the dreams stopped when I promised the woman I'd help him. For two weeks, I kinda watched him at a park, to make sure he was the one I was supposed to help. I wasn't completely sure it was even him until he alluded to his age."
"Yeah, he's kinda older than Buffy," Xander said.
Strangely, everyone laughed.
"You're sure this spell will work?" Willow asked. "'Cause I sometimes have problems getting spells to work right. My friend turned herself into a rat, and I can't change her back."
Haidee smiled. "I've been raised in this magick since I was two. My family is from Ireland. We're not Christian. We're not Wiccan, either."
"Druid?" Giles questioned.
"Kind of," Haidee said. "Older than that."
"I have to agree with Will here," Buffy said. "I want this to work more than anything, but what's the catch?"
Haidee opened her spell book to the marked page. "My family, a long time ago, before Angel was even born, helped another vampire whose soul had been restored and a curse placed on him. It was around 1200 A.D. He wanted more than anything to be able to be with the woman he loved, and we helped him.
"It required them to be locked in a room together, and for them to trust each other completely. They had to each cut the right hand of the other and mix their blood in a bowl. Then, one of the members of my family had to recite this spell from outside the room, three times, and then burn the blood in the bowl."
"That's it?" Cordelia asked. "Just blood in a bowl and chanting?"
Haidee's face flamed. "Well, actually, no. The vampire and the woman he loved had to be naked, and, um . . ."
"Let me guess," Xander said. "Ritual sex?"
Haidee nodded. Everyone looked at Buffy, whose face was also red.
"Um, but if it doesn't work, won't he, like, lose his soul, and he and Buffy will be locked, naked, in a room together?" Willow asked.
Buffy looked down at the table. "I can't believe you guys are discussing my state of clothing."
Giles smiled. "Perhaps it is a little inappropriate."
"You think?" Buffy exclaimed. "You guys are talking about standing outside the door while Angel and I . . ." She couldn't even say it.
"Well, it's not like you haven't before," Cordelia put in. "That's how he lost his soul, and then went and killed Jenny."
"Cordelia, please," Giles said, his face strained.
"Jenny?" Haidee asked.
"Jenny Calender," Oz said. "She was a . . . friend of Giles's, and Angelus killed her."
Haidee's eyes widened. "Did she have dark hair?"
Everyone nodded.
"She's the woman in my dream. She said he'd suffered enough for his sins, and that I was the only one who could lift the curse," Haidee said. Buffy looked out the window. "The sun's setting."
"Yeah, do Buffy and Angel get to bop each other tonight?" Xander demanded.
"Xander!" Buffy and Willow both exclaimed.
Haidee looked at the book. "It has to be done before the solstice. It's tonight or tomorrow night."
Buffy, face red, said, "Um, I need to talk to Angel about this, first."
Angel looked up when the door opened and Haidee walked in. "Did you find her?"
Buffy appeared from behind Haidee. "You could say that."
Haidee discreetly backed from the room. "Um, I'll . . . be outside."
Angel's eyes roamed Buffy's face hungrily. "I didn't think we had a chance, until Haidee came to me. I didn't think I'd see you again."
Buffy took a few steps towards him. "I know. Angel . . ."
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "Haidee already told me it might not work. If it doesn't, I'll lose my soul . . ."
"I'd have to stake you," she said.
"I know," he whispered. "If that happens, I've already died."
"I want to try this," she said. "I've tried living without you, and there almost doesn't seem to be a point."
"I know," he laughed. "I know."
There was a knock on the door. "Guys?"
Angel went and opened the door. "Let's do this tonight."
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