Author's notes: This is the third story in my "Strange Place to Live" series. This means it takes place in my parallel universe that diverges from the show prior to "Helpless." The previous stories are Coming Home and Demon Hunter. I really recommend you read those stories first, but you should be able to catch on anyway. This story also makes reference to events and includes characters from some of my other fan fictions. Robin Cunningham-Baker was introduced in "We Do What We Can." Colleen Cunningham is the main character of my "Journal of the Observer" series, especially "Sunnydale." I think you should be fine without reading either of these stories, but if you want to know more about these characters . . . .
Disclaimers: I don't own Buffy: The Vampire Slayer or any of the related characters. I'm just borrowing them. What I do own is the plot and events of these specific stories, and any characters you don't recognize.

"If everyone in the world
would give me their treasure
I would not want for more
than I have right now"
~I Couldn't Love You More
Sade

"Romantic Dinner and Slay Ride"

Buffy smiled as she cleaned her plate of the last of her dinner. "Delicious," she said.

"Thanks," Angel replied, looking at her through the candlelight. "I'll have to thank Willow for the cookbook."

They sat quietly for a long moment, just content being together. The mansion was lit by candlelight, silent beyond the main room. Of the many evenings they had spent together here, it was nice to have one that was purely romantic, just to be a normal couple.

Okay, almost normal. "I really should patrol before going home," Buffy said, breaking out of the moment.

Angel nodded and stood up. "Let me just clear the table. I'll be back in a minute."

Slipping on her jacket and gathering her things, Buffy waited patiently for Angel to return. She was fidgeting with slight impatience by the time he did so. "What took you so long?"

"I had to get something," he said casually, putting on his jacket and slipping a stake up his sleeve.

The night was a bit cool for late summer, with a gentle breeze that made it a good evening for a pleasant walk. If one could ever have a pleasant walk in Sunnydale. The two of them walked side by side, wary and alert for the town's nocturnal denizens. They were silent, and so was the night around them, as none of the vampires seemed to be making a move. By the time they finished patrolling vampire hot-spot number three and entered another of Sunnydale's graveyards, their manner became more relaxed and the silence grew uncomfortable.

"So," Buffy asked finally, "what's up?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh, that says a lot," she said. "You're being incredibly quiet, even for you, tonight."

Angel shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant but clearly preoccupied. "I was just thinking."

"About?" Buffy prodded. When Angel didn't reply she continued, "You know, I do believe we're way past the point in our relationship where you need to be all silent and cryptic."

Walking a moment longer in silence, he just nodded. "Let's sit," he said then, leading her to a bench-like grave marker.

They sat next to each other, and Buffy watched as Angel fidgeted, searching for words. "Why," she said with a grin, trying to lighten the mood, "I do believe you're nervous!"

Angel gave her a half grin in return. "I haven't done this before," he explained.

"Something Angel hasn't done before? There's a rare event!" Buffy said.

"It happens," he returned. "Are you teasing me?"

"Yup!" she grinned.

"I love you, Buffy."

"I love you, too."

"This isn't exactly the most romantic place for this." Angel paused, sorting out what he was going to say. "This past month has been incredible," he began. "Getting to see sunlight again, with you, to really get to know you and your friends and all the little everyday things I was never a part of before . . . I want it to go on forever." Removing a small box from his pocket, Angel dropped to one knee in front of her. "Buffy," he said, "will you marry me?"

Buffy took the box gently, her hands shaking, and opened it to reveal a ring glinting in the moonlight. As she stared at it in surprised joy, Angel took it from the box and slipped it onto Buffy's finger. Holding her hand in his own, he looked up at her expectantly.

She was about to express her answer most passionately when movement in the darkness distracted her. "Angel, behind you!" she cried, then launched herself off the bench at the vampire creeping up on them. He was a new vampire, an easy kill, but Buffy didn't have time to get in a proper fighting stance before the vampire was on top of them. It delivered a lucky blow that sent her sprawling. As the Slayer scrambled back to her feet, the vampire continued on, concentrating on Angel instead. They both went down, the vampire on top of Angel, who had been unable to get out his stake in time. They grappled in the moonlight, neither of them winning. Suddenly Buffy was on top of them both, and then the vampire was dust, leaving Buffy and Angel alone once again.

They lay there for a long moment in silence, Angel staring up at Buffy.

"So," he said finally, "was that a yes?"

The man shuddered with sudden cold. That the voice spoke at all was a surprise. It had not spoken in . . . a long time. Though little scared the man, the voice did, and he trembled. "The time?"

"The Slayer weds."

Facing the darkness fearfully, the man protested. "We already stopped that prophecy for you," he said. "That Slayer is dead."

"No," whispered the voice, "that future has yet to pass."

"Are you sure? I mean, no Slayer -"

"Do you question me?"

The man shrank back in terror. "No! Of course not."

There was a long silence. Then, "She is the one," whispered the voice, "that could destroy us both. It can not be clearer."

The man said nothing in response.

The voice rose in anger then. "Why have you allowed it to come this far? The Chosen One and one of darkness have been together for years. Must I tell you to do everything?"

"No, of course not!" sputtered the man. "But . . . Angelus had left. We thought there was no problem!"

"He has returned . . . to her."

"Yes," whispered the man.

"You will take care of this . . . problem," said the voice slowly.

"Yes."

The voice sighed. "Good. I don't need to remind you of the consequences to us all if you fail."

"Why worry, there should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now?"
~Why Worry
Dire Straits

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah."

"Oh, wow!"

Buffy laughed. "You already said that, Willow."

"Well, yeah," the red head said with a huge grin. "I mean, congratulations! Wow, married. Can I see the ring?"

"Of course," exclaimed Buffy, lifting her hand off the table so Willow could examine the ring closer.

"Oh, wow," she said again.

"Yeah," Buffy grinned and pulled her hand back, fiddling with the engagement ring a moment before putting her hand back on the table.

"So," Willow asked, "did you tell Giles yet?"

"Yup," Buffy said, "I called him this morning. Last I heard he was diving into his books to see if a Slayer has ever gotten married. He was muttering something about 'most eventful Watcher journal' when he hung up the phone."

She was still grinning from ear to ear. Willow thought that if she didn't stop smiling soon her cheeks were going to cramp. "And what did your mom say?" she asked.

Buffy chuckled slightly. "Ah, my life's priorities," she said with a laugh. "First Giles, *then* my mom."

"I . . . well," Willow began, a bit defensively.

"I'm kidding, Willow."

"Oh, right."

"Actually, she was cool about it, happy, you know?" Buffy finally answered. "After we got past 'you're too young' and 'shouldn't you wait and finish school first?' that is."

"But, you shouldn't wait!" blurted Willow. "Remember, seize the moment?" She trailed off.

Buffy's grin slid off her face and she looked down, staring into her cup. Willow thought about the full advice Buffy had given her when they first met. "Seize the moment, because tomorrow you might be dead," or something like that. And the last time she'd reminded Buffy of that motto, things hadn't turned out well at all. She instantly regretted saying anything. She was about to stammer an apology when Buffy looked up and spoke again.

"It's okay, Willow," she said softly. "I said something like that last night. I mean, I've lived pretty long for a Slayer. Who knows how long my luck may last." She was silent for a moment, then slowly began to grin again. "So," she said finally, "I'm just going to have my happiness as long as I possibly can!"

Willow smiled for her friend, thinking that if it was at all possible, somehow, Buffy and Angel would live 'happily ever after.' "Have you talked about when the wedding’s going to be?" she asked.

"Oh," Buffy thought for a second. "We sorta didn't get to that part." At Willow's confused look, she explained. "We were patrolling, then he proposed, then we got attacked by this suicidal vampire, then I had to go home." She shrugged.

"Suicidal vampire?"

Buffy laughed slightly. "Yeah, a really stupid vampire that attacked us. He was dust in less than 30 seconds. I figure he must have had a death wish."

Willow frowned. "Isn't that . . . I don't know, weird?"

"Nah, sometimes they do that. Stupid newbies. That's not weird."

Walking by them at that moment, a girl carrying drinks for some friends at a nearby table cried out in surprise and stumbled, her drinks spilling all over Buffy. Buffy yelped in response, springing to her feet as the hot coffee hit her. It wasn't quite hot enough to burn, but it did leave a hideous brown stain on her shirt.

The girl scrambled to her feet. "Who did that!" she cried.

Buffy helped her up. "Did what?"

"Somebody pushed me!"

Sitting at the table, Willow shook her head. "I didn't see anyone."

The girl looked around wildly. "I felt it! Somebody shoved me in the back!" Finally she began to calm down and noticed the stain on Buffy's shirt. "Oh my, I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," the girl said softly. "I'm fine." She wandered away, looking confused.

Buffy picked up a napkin from the table and began to wipe at the stain. She stopped after a moment, looked at her shirt, and sighed.

"Now that was weird," Willow piped up.

"Nah, just a klutz in Sunnydale. Blaming someone who wasn't there." Buffy stood up and gathered her things. "I'd better go home and change. See you at Giles' later?"

Willow nodded and smiled, and Buffy walked out the door. As soon as she was gone, the smile slipped to a frown. She couldn't help but think of the girl who had fallen. She had tripped over nothing, and Willow still heard what she'd said. Somebody pushed me!

Tonight he walked with a small, half grin on his face, lost in thought. He was joining Buffy's friends at Giles' house. Usually Buffy would then go on patrol afterwards, but somehow he didn't think she'd get to that tonight. He wondered how many of her friends she had already told about their engagement. Angel wished that he had someone he could tell the news to that would really understand how wonderful and incredible it was that he and Buffy were going to get married. For the most part, his friends were Buffy's friends. There were also some of his coworkers at the museum, whom he had told today, but they didn't know the whole history, plus they didn't yet know Angel very well. There were a couple of others he could have told, if he knew how to reach them, like Whistler. Angel only hoped that there'd be someone at Giles' tonight who didn't yet know, so he could be there when they found out, if not be the one to tell them himself.

Angel saw no cause to worry as the sun set completely. First off, he was in too good of a mood. Secondly, it was still early for any vampires to be out and hunting. If anything, they were only just waking up. Finally, he wasn't used to having to worry about vampires, or seeing the darkness as dangerous. So it was that when he was about two blocks from Giles' home that he was surprised by the vampire's attack.

They waited for several minutes during which they made polite small talk. The conversation faded, however, as time passed and Buffy became increasingly worried over the late arrivals. Willow and Oz could tell she was concerned, though she tried to hide it.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Buffy stared out the front window. Willow had been talking for a moment earlier, but had stopped as she noticed Buffy's distraction.

"I'm sure they're fine," she said into the silence, hoping to reassure Buffy.

Buffy said nothing in response, simply nodded in vague acknowledgment, her focus out the window and down the street. It wasn't until several more uncomfortable silent minutes had passed that she sprung out of her chair to open the door.

In the silence caused by Buffy's sudden actions came the sounds of both missing persons, Xander and Angel, chatting amicably. Before anyone could comment on this favorable turn of events, however, the two of them came into the light of the door where everyone could see them.

"Good lord, what happened?" exclaimed Giles, just now coming back into the room.

Xander looked normal, but Angel definitely looked the worse for wear. Buffy moved to his side immediately as he came in and partially supported him as he limped over to the couch. There was no other injury evident, but he looked decidedly disheveled.

"A vampire surprised me," he said simply. "I just wrenched my knee when I fell."

"You killed it?" Giles asked.

"Actually, Xander scared it off," Angel explained.

Xander smiled and held up a cross. "Don't leave home without it!" he said.

No one had a response to that. Giles went to get Angel ice for his knee and they all sat around for a moment waiting for whatever they were going to do next. Buffy fussed over Angel, much to Willow's amusement. Xander chatted on obliviously to it all while Giles rummaged around in the kitchen. Giles came back with an ice pack for Angel, and everyone looked at him expectantly.

"So," said Buffy, "What's up?"

"Well," said Giles, looking at them all, "assuming this was just a normal vampire attack, then, um, nothing's 'up.' This was just a usual vampire attack, yes?"

Holding the ice to his injured knee, Angel nodded. "As far as I could tell."

"In that case," replied Giles, "there's nothing unusual going on at the moment . . . that I know of."

"Nothing?" asked Buffy in surprise. "No vampiric plots? Doomsday prophecies? Giant bugs?"

"No, uh, nothing."

Xander laughed. "Now that is unusual. For Sunnydale."

"So," said Oz, "what are you to do when nothing unusual's going on?"

"Well," said Giles, "I've been doing some reading in some of the old Watcher diaries, and, Buffy-"

"Do I get the prize for most eventful Watcher's journal?" Buffy asked with an impudent grin.

"Most unusual, certainly," replied Giles. "If all goes well, you'll have another first to your credit."

"Did you hear that?" Buffy said, smiling at Angel. "Another first." They kissed lightly.

"Yeah, congratulations you two," said Willow.

Oz and Giles wished their congratulations as well. Buffy and Angel just smiled.

"Wait, I'm confused," Xander said at last. "What exactly are we congratulating? And what's this about firsts?"

"First Slayer to get married," Buffy replied.

"You mean you and Dead Boy are . . . ?"

"Engaged to be married," acknowledged Angel with a smile. "And I thought I asked you not to call me that."

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't quite fit anymore," Xander said in response, "but I'm not going to stop using that name to tease you. Especially when I'm the last one to hear about things like this." He paused, then smiled at Buffy. "I guess my congratulations are in order for you two, too. So, um, congratulations."

Everyone smiled and babbled for a moment, then Buffy looked at Giles. "So, um, if nothing's up, can I skip patrol for one night?"

"Well, I suppose . . ." Giles stuttered indecisively. "That is, yes, you may."

"So, what do you say, Buffy?" Willow asked. "Partying at the Bronze?"

"Sure!" she replied. Then, she turned to Angel. "That is, if your knee's feeling okay?"

"Never better," he said softly. When Buffy looked at him skeptically, he spoke up. "No, really, it's healed most of the way already. At least my healing is still, um, enhanced."

"So, Bronze!" Xander said gleefully.

The gang of them quickly got together and made their way out of Giles' house. Giles smiled as he watched them go, for the moment simply normal, happy teenagers. They didn't need to be reminded right now of what they were - a witch, a werewolf, a 250-year-old ex-vampire, a Slayer, and . . . one normal teenager, all with a destiny to fulfill. No, right now they were happy, and so with a small sigh Giles closed the door behind them and returned to the one Watcher's journal that worried him, the only one that mentioned a Slayer who got engaged . . . .

"These days you might feel a shaft of light
make its way across your face
and when you do
you'll know that's how it was meant to be"
~These Are Days to Remember

One week later

Exhausted, Buffy tossed in her bed. She was at that strange point where she was so tired she couldn't fall asleep. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was getting worried. The last several days had been crazy. Vampire activity was . . . well, nuts. She'd had to fight multiple vampires every night, two tonight just between her house and the mansion after she and Angel had finished patrolling.

It was all putting a damper on Buffy's good mood, and she was trying so hard to avoid that. She had tried to deny to herself that there was anything unusual going on when it came to the vampire activity, but it was getting to the point where she'd have to tell Giles.

Oh, well, perhaps tomorrow. Right now all Buffy wanted was to get to sleep. Trying to calm her troubled thoughts, Buffy rolled over in bed. A cool breeze entered through the window, open to help alleviate the summer heat.

She was startled for a moment by the sight of a dark silhouette outside, until she recognized who it was. "Angel?" Buffy asked in surprise, sitting up in bed.

"Hey," he said softly. "You couldn't sleep."

"Nope," she replied with a sigh. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you just got home all right."

Buffy got out of bed and stood next to the window. "You couldn't sleep either, right?"

"Right."

"Hey," Buffy whispered, standing just inside and leaning out, "are you going to come in, or were you planning to stay out there all night?"

Angel smiled slightly and climbed through the window.

"You know," said Buffy once he was inside, "I walked home with you to make sure *you* got home all right. I wasn't expecting you to follow me home."

"I was worried about you," Angel replied.

"Yeah, well, I worry about you." Buffy stepped closer to him, concerned. "As much as I . . . appreciate your concern, you really ought to be getting some sleep. You alright?"

"Fine. I was just remembering other times watching you sleep, good and bad," Angel replied. Buffy knew this wasn't a complete explanation of what he was doing here, however, and let her face show that. Reluctantly, Angel continued. "I'm fine, I just still have trouble sleeping sometimes. Sleeping at night."

"Oh," said Buffy finally in understanding. She was going to say more, but standing so close she forgot what she'd been thinking. She reached up and kissed Angel deeply. He returned the embrace until both of them had to break for air. Buffy smiled, sighed, and leaned into Angel's chest. "What was I saying?" she asked softly.

"It's late," Angel said after a moment. "I should go." He pulled away and started to lean down to leave back through the window.

"Hey," said Buffy, hesitantly taking a hold of his arm. "You could . . . stay."

Angel stopped and looked at Buffy in surprise, saying nothing.

"I worry about you. It's crazy out there right now, and I don't want you getting hurt." She stepped close to him again, keeping a hold on his arm even as he straightened back up. "Besides," she said softly. "I think I'll sleep better with you beside me."

"Are you sure you want me to stay?" Angel asked softly.

"Yeah, I am," Buffy replied, smiling slightly. "I'm . . . not ready for . . . anything else to happen, not yet," Buffy added reluctantly, "but I want to fall asleep beside you, and have you still here when I wake up." She looked at her fiancé hopefully. In response, Angel kissed her tenderly for a moment. Buffy laid back down in her bed, and after a moment Angel took off his shoes and joined her. Buffy pillowed into his shoulder, comfortable.

"I love you," Angel whispered.

Sighing contentedly, Buffy allowed the unfamiliar sound of Angel's heartbeat to lull her finally to sleep.

Buffy stirred ever so slightly beside him, and Angel smiled. On the night stand sat the engagement ring he had given Buffy, put aside for sleep, its diamond glinting in the sunlight. The sunlight shown off Buffy's hair as well. Angel lay there, not wanting to wake her, more content than he ever thought possible simply by studying her in her sleep. He could have laid there forever and been happy. Not for a moment did Angel forget how fortunate he was, and he knew he never would.

A stray hair fell across Buffy's face, and ever so gently Angel brushed it away. Stirring at his touch, Buffy opened her eyes. She smiled. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," Angel replied. "Sorry I woke you. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, snuggling into his shoulder, "very well. Thanks for staying."

Angel just smiled.

Smiling in return, Buffy sighed slightly. "You know," she said, "this is a nice change."

"Hmm?"

"Laying here, listening to your heartbeat, and waking up to you in sunlight . . . it's nice."

Holding her close, Angel continued to smile. "I was just thinking the same thing," he said softly. Then, after a moment, "Well, the sunlight part."

For several minutes they simply lay there, then Buffy spoke again. "What time is it?" she asked.

Angel rolled over slightly to look at the clock. "Nine o'clock."

"Oh," said Buffy reluctantly. "We'd better get up then. Mom's going to be wondering why I'm not downstairs." Sighing again, Buffy sat up and slid out of the covers. Angel got up a moment later, and after putting on his shoes and running a quick hand through his hair was relatively ready to go. At least, as ready as he could be until he got home and changed for the day.

Buffy turned around a moment later to find Angel prepared to leave. "You're going?" she asked.

"Yeah," Angel replied reluctantly. "I need to go home, get dressed . . . I didn't exactly bring an overnight bag."

Buffy nodded, a tad reluctant as well. "Stay until I go downstairs, alright?" she asked. "I want to kiss you goodbye."

"You'll see me later."

"What, you don't want me to kiss you?" Buffy asked with a smile.

"You could kiss me now."

"Yeah, I could do that." Buffy leaned up and kissed Angel gently. The kiss started tender, then became passionate . . . .

. . . just as Mrs. Summers knocked and entered the room.

Entering the room, she spoke. "Buffy, are you . . ." her voice faded out as her eyes fell upon the two of them, looking back at her in surprise. "Awake?" she finished her sentence.

"Mom!" Buffy exclaimed in startled response.

Angel dropped his arms from around Buffy and looked at her mother, embarrassed. "Joyce . . ." he began nervously.

"Angel," Mrs. Summers replied dryly.

"I . . . was just leaving." Unconsciously, Angel backed up a step towards the window.

"The same way you entered, I see."

Angel fidgeted nervously.

Buffy looked back and forth between Angel and her mother. She rested a hand on Angel's arm for a moment. "Mom, I . . . " she tried to begin.

Joyce silenced her with a look. "Angel," she said, "I need to speak with you downstairs. Buffy, get dressed and join us for breakfast. Afterwards, Angel, you will be leaving through the front door." She turned to go, and when no one made a move to follow she glanced at them again. "Angel?" she said impatiently.

Angel looked at Buffy, his face showing his nervousness and embarrassment. He did not want this confrontation with his future mother-in-law. Buffy smiled in sympathy. With a sigh, Angel followed Mrs. Summers down the stairs.

When they reached the kitchen, Joyce poured herself a cup of coffee. She glanced questioningly at Angel for a moment while she did so, but Angel shook his head, declining the offer. Then they both sat at the table in silence.

Finally, unable to bear the tension any more, Angel spoke. "I'm sorry-"

Joyce interrupted him sharply. "For what? I know this is awkward, but what good does apologizing do?"

Angel didn't know quite how to respond to that. He looked at Mrs. Summers blankly.

"Listen, Angel," she continued, more gently. "I know you think I don't like you very much, but the truth is I don't know you very well." She looked at him frankly. "I do know that you were a vampire for over 200 years. I know that you had a soul when Buffy met you, and that you lost your soul when you . . . slept together. I know that you hurt her greatly, killed people she knew. I know that Buffy had to send you to Hell, and I know that she took care of you for weeks when you returned. I know that you're human now." Her expression became intense. "But, most importantly, I know that Buffy loves you very much. And that's what's really important, isn't it?" She looked at Angel expectantly, waiting for him to reply.

"I love her," Angel said. "I love her more than anything, more than I ever thought possible." Slowly, he tried to explain his feelings. "For 90 years after my soul was returned, I . . . wallowed in my pain and guilt. I didn't think I could feel anything else anymore." He was looking down at his hands. "Buffy changed all that, with her heart and her energy for life. She reminded me of what it was like to feel human. . . . She taught me to love again." He forced himself to look Buffy's mother in the eye. "Your daughter is an amazing woman," he said.

Joyce looked at him appraisingly, then nodded. "Well," she said, "I wish someone had said something similar about me, and meant it, like you do." She smiled slightly. "That's also the most I think I've ever heard you say about anything."

Angel merely smiled.

"Have you ever told her . . . what you just told me?"

"Not in as many words, but yes, I have." He looked at Mrs. Summers questioningly. "Are you okay with this?" he asked. "With us?"

She shrugged in response. "Not quite, but I'm working on it. I'm having some trouble getting around the fact that my daughter plans to marry someone . . . fifteen times her age. And . . . you've hurt her so much in the past. I'm not quite sure what to think of that." She sighed and smiled slightly. "But in the long run, that's not the point. The point is, you also make her happy, like no one else can. As her mother, it's my job to see that she's happy. Now that nothing else stands in the way of the two of you being together, I can't either."

Angel looked at her in surprised pleasure. "Thank you," he said sincerely. Then, after another silent moment, he said, "You know, last night -"

He didn't manage to get any further, for at that moment he heard Buffy at the top of the stairs. For a moment he was relieved that he would be getting out of this awkward conversation, but then something went wrong. Angel felt a sudden chill, then Buffy made a sound of startled fear, a sound followed by that of something . . . someone falling down the stairs.

Angel sprang to his feet quickly, running for the stairs, followed by Mrs. Summers. He came around the corner to see Buffy sitting on the floor, dazed and rubbing the back of her head. He knelt at her side, concern etched on his face.

"Buffy! Are you alright?" called Mrs. Summers, joining them at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm fine, Mom," she said. "Angel, really."

"What happened?" Angel asked.

"I . . . this is going to sound crazy, but . . . something pushed me."

Her mother looked at her oddly. "Pushed you? Buffy, are you sure? There's no one else here."

Buffy looked at her intently. "I know what I felt. Two hands on my shoulders, and they pushed me down the stairs." She started to stand, then hissed in pain and grabbed Angel's shoulder. He helped her to her feet. "We need to talk to Giles."

"What about breakfast?" Mrs. Summers asked.

"We'll have to miss it, Mom." She limped a couple of experimental steps, still leaning on Angel. "Come on. It looks like you're driving."

“Listen as your day unfolds,
challenge what the future holds,
try to keep your head up to the sky.”
~You Gotta Be
Des’ree

When Giles saw Buffy, Angel, and Joyce at his door early in the morning, he was surprised. When he opened the door and let Buffy- still limping - inside, he was astonished. He ushered the three of them into his house, and, when he discovered they had not eaten, was quick to offer them tea. All three of them quickly agreed.

Once they were seated with mugs of tea, Giles waited for an explanation. Buffy took a sip, then spoke. “We’ve got a problem, Giles,” she said, “and I only want to explain it once. This is going to need the whole gang.”

Giles looked at her curiously, but did not ask anything. He simply called Willow, Oz, and Xander in turn, who responded quickly to the summons.

By the time everyone arrived Buffy had almost completely recovered from her fall. They all waited patiently for her to explain what they were doing here and what had happened. To their surprise, she turned to speak, not to Giles, but to Willow.

“Do you remember last week at the Espresso Pump?” Buffy asked. “The girl with the coffee?”

Willow nodded. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she said. At everyone else’s looks of confusion, she explained, “A girl tripped and complained somebody pushed her, but no one was there.”

“I didn’t believe her,” Buffy said. “I thought she was imagining things, but then, this morning . . . . I was coming down the stairs when the same thing happened to me. I felt someone push me down the stairs.”

Giles looked at her in surprise. “And no one else saw anything?”

“Oh, no,” Willow said suddenly, “do you think we’re dealing with another invisible girl?”

Mrs. Summers looked at her curiously. “Invisible girl?”

“Several years ago –“ Giles began to explain, then faltered. “Um, it’s not important. You didn’t see anyone?”

Joyce shook her head, and Angel spoke up. “We didn’t see anyone,” he said.

Giles nodded thoughtfully, while Xander cast Angel an odd, amused look. “Weren’t you wearing the same thing yesterday?” ha asked.

Angel merely shot him a cross look, then smiled and continued to speak to Giles. “I don’t think it was an invisible person, though,” he continued. “Not in the sense you mean, at least.”

“Why do you think that?” Giles asked.

Angel looked thoughtful. “First, it would have had to have been in the house for quite a while and I don’t think it would have waited so long to do something. But, more importantly, right before Buffy yelled, there was this unusual . . . cold in the house.”

Giles looked thoughtful. “Unexplained cold spots have often been associated with haunting phenomenon,” he said. “This could be a ghost or a poltergeist, though such things are usually confined to a specific location. It is very odd that two separate entities would exhibit the same behavior in such a manner.”

Willow looked at Giles oddly. “What if it’s not two entities?”

Everyone stared at Willow, then looked expectantly at Giles. Giles shook his head. “In order for it to be one entity there would need to be something tying the two events together.”

“There is,” Buffy said softly. “Me.”

Silence greeted her statement.

“I was at both places,” Buffy continued. “The girl at the Espresso Pump was standing right next to me. And, well, today . . . maybe I’m the target. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Oz spoke up. “Why would something be haunting Buffy?” he asked.

Giles looked a bit flustered. “Well, if you’re right, Buffy, and you are indeed the focus of this . . . creature’s malice, then . . . we need to find out why. I shall need to do some research. If you would all assist me . . . .”

The entire group of them started talking at one.

“Everyone? I’m no good at research!”

“Why does something want to hurt my baby?”

“Man, it’s summer vacation! I thought that meant freedom from school work.”

“Great, Giles, but how do we defend against this in the meantime?”

“You know, I kinda had plans . . . .”

Only Willow held her peace. As everyone wound down, she spoke softly, just loud enough to be heard. “Why do we need to know why this ghost’s after Buffy?”

Silence descended on the group again. When no one responded, she continued more forcefully. “Well, we’ve already said that this sounds like a ghost or a poltergeist. Not that this would do any harm if it was something else, like an invisible girl . . . but if it’s not an invisible girl, if it’s a ghost –“

Buffy was impatient. “What is it? What’s your idea?”

Willow nodded. “If it’s a ghost, then we can get rid of it. Exorcism. Right, Giles?”

Giles was about to answer, but Xander spoke instead. “I don’t think so. That didn’t go so well last time we tried. Remember the wasps?”

Giles managed to reply to that. “That was a different sort of case, Xander. Those were two powerful, angry spirits. This spirit, thus far, has shown no strength aside from this. . . pushing. There have been none of the potentially deadly manifestations we faced then.”

Buffy frowned. “It’s ‘potentially deadly’ enough for me. That ‘pushing’ nearly sent me down the stairs head first.”

“Yes,” Giles acknowledged, “but no one has been shot yet.”

“Excuse me, but I’m confused . . . again,” said Mrs. Summers, a touch annoyed. “What exactly are we talking about here?”

“It’s not important –“ Giles began.

“Oh, I think it is. If you’re talking about a ghost attacking Buffy, then ghosts with guns, it’s very important, at least to me.”

Buffy sighed slightly and tried to explain as quickly as she could. “There were two ghosts haunting the school,” she said. “It was a student who killed a teacher and then himself. They were possessing students to reenact their deaths.”

“Oh, dear,” murmured Joyce. “You stopped them, right?”

“Yeah, we stopped them,” Buffy said softly, and volunteered no more information. Sitting next to her, Angel gave her hand a quick squeeze, understanding. He clearly didn’t want to think about it too much either.

“Well,” Giles said finally, “the important thing is that this situation does not compare. If we’re correct, a traditional exorcism should work.”

“And I’m much better at magic than I was then,” Willow added enthusiastically.

Xander was not reassured.

They all arrived at her house around six. Those that needed an excuse for their parents said they had been invited for dinner. Not that they’d made that up; Mrs. Summers did indeed have a meal ready for them when they arrived. She had not cooked breakfast like she’d planned, and she’d used the late afternoon cooking to distract herself from the danger to her daughter.

Willow arrived last, having stopped at Uncle Bob’s Magic Cabinet to pick up the necessary supplies on her way over. She found the mood in the house generally light. Xander was pigging out on the snack food Mrs. Summers had taken out. Giles was speaking to Oz about something, and Oz nodded every once in a while but said nothing. A quick look around showed the unexpected sight of Angel helping Mrs. Summers prepare dinner, while Buffy sat nearby, smiling and chatting.

Even knowing they were about to be attempting something that could be dangerous, the dinner was a cheerful affair. Smiling, they ate dinner together, then cast some small magic together. In the end, the ritual was anticlimactic. The ghost was banished without a disturbance.

The man relaxed in his chair. “I know.”

“You know?! Not only did that little witch get rid of it, it barely had them worried! Is this the best you can do?”

The anger was palpable. “You mistake me, my lord,” the man said. “I had no intention for this attempt to succeed to destroy the Slayer.”

A long silence. “You didn’t,” the voice said, disbelieving.

“Not at all. This was a test.”

Another silence. “Go on.”

“I saw how she dealt with a direct threat. Those friends of hers will be a problem, but they are no concern of mine. No, I will continue to throw small threats at her and around her. Already my vampires have her stretched to her limits. I have more powerful, dangerous beings under my control. All your servants will do your bidding when faced with prophecy. They will overwhelm her before she even realizes the threat.”

The silence was longer this time, then a low, dark chuckle like a roll of thunder built in the shadows. The darkness laughed. “Good.”

“What is the dark;
Shadows around you,
Why not take heart
in the new day?
Ever and always.
Always and ever.
No-one can promise a dream for you,
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you.”
~Once You Had Gold
Enya

Late August

The campus of U.C. Sunnydale was a bustle of activity, swamped with students returned from their summer vacations to the “real world” of school. Those students that lived at the school had already been back for several days, but it wasn’t until the first day of classes that things seemed to have returned to normal.

For Buffy, however, things still felt far from normal. She felt like she was in a daze, separate from the things going on around her. She had a lot on her mind. As classes began, she expected she would feel like she had returned to some degree of normalcy after a long, strange summer, but it was hard. For a moment she felt like the “real world” was slipping away from her.

“Buffy?” Someone nudged her. It was Willow, standing right next to her with a concerned look on her face. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Buffy replied. “I was just thinking. Were you saying something?”

Willow sighed. “I was asking whether you and Angel had decided when the wedding will be yet.”

“Oh,” Buffy smiled slightly. “During winter break actually. We don’t want to wait to long, and we want to go on a honeymoon without me missing too much school, so . . . .” There was something else she didn’t say, that things had such a tendency of going wrong they were afraid that if they waited too long they’d never get married.

“So, what are you planning to do next semester?”

Buffy didn’t get the connection. “Next semester? Shouldn’t I be worried about this semester first?”

“No, I mean after your wedding. You’re planning on moving off campus to live with Angel, right?”

“Yeah,” Buffy replied, not really thinking about it. “It’s too bad the mansion’s not closer, but I’ll manage it.” She smiled, brought back to reality. “Like I wouldn’t manage it.”

Willow laughed in response. “You’ve got it bad.”

“Oh yeah.” Buffy grinned back.

A cry of warning surprised Buffy and Willow a moment before the young man ran into them and knocked them both to the ground. The cause was evident a moment later as a frisbee took a faltering course through where they had been standing a moment ago. The other student looked in the direction it had come from, yelling at someone else, someone Buffy couldn’t see, “nice throw!” His sarcastic comment apparently went unheard by the thrower, who was nowhere to be seen. The young man dusted himself off, then helped the girls to their feet. “I am so sorry about that,” the young man said. “His aim is terrible.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” muttered Buffy, leaning down to pick up her books.

“Here, let me help.” The young man picked up a couple of Buffy’s scattered papers. He had a nice smile, Buffy noticed, and she might have been tempted to flirt with him last year. That was before Angel had returned, however, and she wouldn’t do anything to make him jealous. The other student, however, obviously didn’t have any such thing standing in his way. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”

Before Buffy could point out that it *was* only the first day of classes, she realized that was only if you didn’t count orientation. “You’re a freshman, aren’t you?” she said instead.

“Yup!” he responded brightly. “Matthew Richardson. And you are . . . really pretty, but besides that?”

“Engaged,” responded Willow under her breath.

Buffy laughed slightly.

Matthew looked confused.

“Buffy Summers,” she introduced herself with a grin. “Sophomore, and *so* unavailable.”

The boy shrugged. “Oh, well. It was worth a try, right?”

Buffy couldn’t help but laugh slightly. “It was nice to meet you, Matthew,” she said.

As Buffy moved off, he smiled slightly. “At least let me escort you two ladies as an apology for knocking you over.”

“Shouldn’t you be going to class, too?” Buffy asked.

“Sure, but we seem to be going the same way,” the freshman said with a grin. “Besides, my friends seem to have vanished and I don’t want to walk alone. So, where are you going?”

Willow sighed. Seeing that Matthew wasn’t going to be shaken easily, she replied, “The science building. Buffy has elementary computer programming in the lecture hall and I have a chemistry lab.”

“Computer programming? That’s where I’m going,” he said.

“We just can’t get rid of you, can we?” Buffy asked. At Matthew’s head shake, she said, “Well, if you insist on coming with us, you could carry our books. After all, you *did* knock us over.” With that, Matthew was loaded down with books and marched down the path.

About half way to the class he got up the nerve to speak to Buffy again. “So, where’s your boyfriend . . . er, fiancé? Does he go to this school?”

“No, he’s older. He’s out of college.”

Willow snickered.

He turned his attention to her. “And you? Are you seeing anyone?”

“Yes,” was all she said in reply.

After a moment, Buffy spoke to the younger student. “Listen,” she said, “the attention is flattering, and you’re nice and all, but you don’t have to find a girlfriend on the first day. Join a club or something, meet people there.” She smiled then, softening her statement. “Besides, if you don’t stop hitting on me, someone may beat you up.”

“Your fiancé?” Matthew asked.

“No, me.”

Matthew chuckled slightly. “Point taken,” he said as they walked in the doors of the building.

Willow took her stuff from him then. “This is where I leave you two,” she said, nodding towards some stairs. “Have fun!” With an impish grin for Buffy, she headed up the stairs.

After a moment, Matthew spoke again. “We could still be friends, right?” he said. “I haven’t done something really stupid?”

“You’re a freshman. You’re supposed to be stupid,” Buffy teased. “Actually, if it means you’ll stop hitting on me, friends would be fine.”

“Well, good.” He looked genuinely relieved.

Buffy laughed slightly. She was feeling like a normal student again, fully part of the college reality. “Here we are,” she said, opening up one of the double doors. As a couple of boys sitting in the lecture hall waved at Matthew, she took her books from him. “I think your friends are waiting for you,” she said.

Matthew nodded. “It was nice meeting you, Buffy,” he said. Then, with a mischievous smile, he added, “Give my regards to your fiancé.”

Trying not to smile and not quite succeeding, Buffy replied, “It was nice meeting you, too.” With that she took a seat closer to the front next to someone she vaguely recognized, probably from one of her other classes.

The professor was a short man whose girth made him decidedly round. He had balding hair and a monotonous voice. Buffy had to fight to pay attention. Behind her, someone snored slightly, and she considered falling asleep herself. The vampires had not slackened off at all, and Buffy had not gotten much sleep the night before. She wondered what Angel was doing right now. Had a new artifact been found in Sunnydale that could bring about the end of the human race? Or could it be something good, instead? If there was anything, Angel would tell her about it tonight. They’d talk about work, or school . . . or maybe they wouldn’t talk at all . . . .

Buffy’s thoughts continued on that vein for quite a while before something interrupted her. It was . . . a sound. The barest whisper, or a distant roar. Buffy heard it first, but soon others began to glance around as the sound grew louder. No one could fail to notice when the roar transformed itself into a tremor, one that shook the building. Behind her, the snoring broke off, and the teacher in front of the room stopped lecturing. A scattering of noises -- things rolling or sliding off of desks as the tremor grew worse.

Suddenly, a creature burst through the floor nearly at the professor’s feet. With a startled cry he fell as the ground broke beneath him and a many tentacled creature heaved itself through the hole in the earth. Luckily perhaps he was knocked unconscious when he hit the floor, either fainted or having struck his head, for the creature’s tentacles left bloody lines where they touched him.

While other students reacted in fear, either running from the room or sitting frozen at their desks, Buffy immediately began to size up the situation for attack. She saw quickly that to get within reach of the tentacles would be foolhardy at best. Instead, thinking quickly, she focused on the creature’s one eye amidst its writhing limbs. She only could see it for a moment before the tentacles hid it again, but that was enough. Praying that it was vulnerable and at the same time hoping no one would notice her actions, Buffy took out a stake she carried with her at all times and hurled it towards that small target.

The simple weapon hit its target with such force that the creature staggered back. Its balance gone, tentacles hanging lifeless, it tumbled back down the hole it had created. It fell into the caverns that ran beneath all of Sunnydale and did not rise again.

For a moment the lecture hall was completely silent. Buffy sprang out of her seat, running to where the creature had disappeared and where the professor lay still. He was bleeding badly, and Buffy tried briefly to stop the flow of blood. She looked around quickly to see who was left in the lecture hall. It was mostly empty except for the few students either passed out or too stupefied to move. One of the later was Matthew, staring at her from several rows back.

“Matthew!” she yelled. “Call 911. He needs to go to the hospital.”

Without a word, he ran from the room. All she could do now complete, Buffy spared a glance down the hole in the floor and into the caverns. The creature was nowhere to be seen.

“Damn it,” Buffy cursed softly.

“Hey, you’ve got a phone call,” said one of the other research assistants poking his head in the door.

“Who is it?” Angel asked, looking up from the papers.

“Buffy,” he said. Then, after a moment’s pause, he added, “She sounded upset.”

Quickly getting up from the desk, Angel didn’t ask anything else. He just hurried out of the room to the nearest phone. “Hey,” he said by way of greeting. “What’s wrong?”

The person at the other end of the phone let out a sound of relief. “Angel,” she said. “Could you come get me?” He was right, she did sound upset.

Trying to keep his voice calm, he asked, “Where are you?”

“At school,” she confirmed. “Please? I . . . need to get out of here.”

“Of course,” Angel said quickly. With a glance at his coworker, still hovering nearby, he said, “I’ll be right there.” After a moment Angel asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She still didn’t sound happy. “Thanks. I love you.”

“I love you,” Angel replied softly and hung up the phone. Quickly he gathered up his jacket and headed for the door.

The other researcher looked at him in surprise. “You’re leaving?”

“I’ve got to,” Angel replied. “If anyone asks, the notes and research on that new vase are on the desk, complete.” He hurried out the door before anyone could protest.

Fifteen minutes and several violated traffic laws later, Angel pulled over near U.C. Sunnydale next to Buffy. She nodded goodbye to a young man who stood with her at the curb. Both of them looked far from happy, though Buffy looked happier – or at least relieved – as Angel pulled up. She got in the car quickly.

“Thanks,” she said, and leaned over to give him a small kiss.

Angel smiled very slightly. “No problem,” he said. As they pulled away from the curb, he asked, “Where are we going?”

Buffy sighed. “I hadn’t really thought beyond getting out of here. How about your place?”

“All right,” he relied softly. When Buffy said nothing more, he glanced over at her in concern. She was staring distractedly out the window. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Buffy said nothing for a moment. “One of my teachers got attacked,” she said softly, “right in front of the class. I think I killed the creature, but I’m not sure.” She paused. “The police questioned everyone in the class . . . that didn’t run away, that is.”

Angel looked at her alarmed. “Did you tell Giles?”

They were almost at the mansion. “Yeah, I did. He and Willow are hitting the books.” She paused, and when she spoke again he could barely hear her. “I just had to get out of there,” he said.

Angel didn’t know what to say in response. He knew that Buffy needed reassurance and he was at a loss for words. He was saved from having to say something immediately as they arrived at his house. As they both got out of the car, Angel went over to Buffy and simply held her.

Standing outside the door, she returned his embrace wholeheartedly, sniffling slightly with suppressed tears. “Why can’t I just have a normal day?” she asked softly.

They both knew there was no answer to that.

“And now I hear you speak each and every word
That I didn’t think lonely people heard
You took a long night and turned it into day”
~Sudden Gift of Fate
Mary Chapin Carpenter

By Saturday, neither Buffy nor Angel knew anything more about the unusual activity surrounding their wedding preparations, but both were more at ease than they had been days before. The fact that they had both spoken at length to Giles had helped. Neither of them had truly realized the amount of strain the increased vampiric activity was putting on them until they talked about it. Now everyone had joined in the patrolling like they had during the demon epidemic, and everyone was able to sleep easier.

That same comradery was the other reason Angel was feeling especially content today. The group of them were gathered in Weatherly Park for a picnic lunch. Angel was not used to fitting in a group. As a vampire, he could not be part of human society. With a soul, it was neither desirable nor possible to be part of vampire society either. Since regaining his humanity a couple of months ago, however, Buffy’s friends had accepted him as a member of their group. A year ago they never would have invited him to something as simple as a picnic. Of course, a year ago he wouldn’t have been able to go to one unless it was after sundown, but that wasn’t the point.

Now, as they waited for Xander to arrive with the food, Angel listened as Willow, Oz, and Buffy discussed their first week of classes. He leaned back on his hands, closing his eyes and letting the sunlight fall on his face. Buffy sat close enough to him that their legs touched. She had teased him a couple of weeks ago when she noticed that he had a slight tan. Angel enjoyed every minute of it.

Angel’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Xander, better late than never. Greetings were exchanged all around, but mostly everyone wanted to get down to the business of eating. Much of what Xander brought consisted of junk food, but he had remembered to bring sandwiches for everyone as well. As food was passed around conversation continued. Angel sat up and listened while he ate.

“So,” Oz was saying, “there’s this battle of the bands coming up.”

“The Dingo’s won last year,” said Willow, proud as always of anything having to do with Oz.

“So you’re like returning champs,” Xander remarked around a mouthful.

“Yeah, but we’ve got to defend our title,” Oz continued. “I heard there’s this new band this year that’s really good. Plus, they’ve got groupies.”

“Hey, I’m a groupie!” Willow exclaimed.

“Me too,” joined in Buffy enthusiastically.

“Yeah,” chimed in Xander. “We’ll cheer for the Dingo’s, of course. Those other bands don’t stand a chance.”

Oz smiled very slightly. “Well, thanks,” he said.

Suddenly Angel felt Buffy tense up beside him, sensing something none of the rest of them could see. Before he could ask her what was wrong an unearthly howl broke from the nearby trees.

The animal was visible a moment later. It was nothing Angel recognized, neither dog nor were-beast. The only thing he could think of was a hellhound’s uglier cousin. That was all he had time to think of as the monster ran across the short distance and slammed into Angel, knocking the breath out of him.

Before he could do anything to ward off the attack, the creature’s teeth sank into his shoulder. Vaguely he heard Buffy cry out his name. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Angel repeatedly punched the monster’s head with his free hand. It made a growl of pain in response, but did not loosen its hold.

Then both Angel and the creature were knocked to the ground as Buffy leaped onto the creature’s back. They both grappled with the monster for several moments. Out of the corner of his eye Angel glimpsed a flash of silver as Willow tossed Buffy a knife. Suddenly the hound released Angel’s shoulder with an earsplitting howl of pain. The knife was buried in the back of its neck. After a moment it fell still and died.

For a moment Angel lay where he was, trying to catch his breath. In an uncommon display of her supernatural strength, Buffy pulled the dead hound off him and flung it away. “Are you alright?” she asked.

Angel attempted to sit up and his shoulder complained painfully. The hand he put to it in response came away bloody. “Stupid question,” he groaned.

Buffy reached out to him in obvious distress. “Come on,” she said softly, helping him up, “we have to get you to the hospital.”

Angel simply nodded and gratefully accepted her help.

“I’ll drive everyone in the van,” Oz volunteered, already moving out of the park.

Only Xander was not quick to follow. “We’re just leaving all the food?” he asked.

Angel was briefly surprised by the comment. “Don’t worry about it,”said Buffy softly, but loud enough that Xander could still hear her, “none of us rate above food in Xander’s list of priorities.”

“Hey!”

Despite the pain, Angel smiled.

“Well,” he said by way of greeting, “if it isn’t Ms. Summers and friends. With the amount of times I’ve seen you lot in the last few months you’s think we were giving fequent patient discounts.”

“Perhaps you should,” said one of the young men.

The blond young woman smiled. “Hello, Dr. Baker,” said Buffy. “It’s nice to see you.” She paused, frowning. “Well, not nice, because this is the hospital, but . . . you know.”

“Sure,” the doctor replied, giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He saw this group of youngsters more often than he liked. The last time had been nearly two months ago when a friend of theirs was brought in with a broken ankle and a deep gash in one arm. Before that it had been only a week. He didn’t see that young man in the waiting room, nor a couple of the other people who seemed to be associated with this group. “Who’s the patient today?” Dr. Baker asked.

“Angel,” the redhead provided calmly.

Dr. Baker looked at Buffy in alarm. “It’s not his heart, is it?”

Buffy looked at him blankly for a moment. Of all the times that he had treated members of this group, the only other time the man named Angel was a patient had been the only time he’d come close to losing one of them. He’d been brought to the emergency room only alive due to the quick thinking of a passerby who knew CPR. His heart had stopped two more times after arrival, and getting him breathing on his own had been even more of a problem. Though he had not spoken of it to Buffy at the time, he’d been amazed that Angel had been able to leave a couple of days later as if nothing had happened.

Finally Buffy shook her head. “No, not his heart. We were having a picnic and he got attacked by a wild dog. It bit his shoulder.” She seemed remarkably calm about it.

Dr. Baker could only nod slightly in response. “Well, then I suppose I’d best go take a look,” he said, taking his leave.

The young blond jumped to her feet. “Can I come with you?” she asked, a touch of the worry curiously absent before present on her face. “The nurse wouldn’t let me . . . .”

Looking at the partially disguised concern on the girl’s face, Dr. Baker nodded. He remembered that she “used to be involved” with Angel prior to his last visit. By the time he left it seemed that “used to be” no longer applied. In the midst of their discussion, Dr. Baker had briefly noticed a ring on her left hand. Guessing that they were now more than just “involved,” he led her down the hall.

One of the nurses was taking care of Angel’s shoulder. He was sitting shirtless with his back to the door. From the door the doctor could see that the wound was messier than “bite” would imply, but not too bad. The nurse had already cleaned out the bite, and now she was stitching up one of the deeper cuts on his upper back.

“Well,” she was saying, “it missed your tatoo. That’s interesting. Where’d you get it?”

“I got it . . . a long time ago,” Angel replied.

The nurse sounded amused. “A long time ago? You’re not that old.”

Joining Dr. Baker in the doorway, Buffy Summers laughed slightly. “Watch out, he’s taken,” she said.

The nurse turned around in surprise. Angel did not turn because of the work being done on his shoulder, but his voice sounded pleased. “Hey, Buffy.”

Buffy entered the room, circling until she and Angel were facing each other. “Hey,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“It doesn’t hurt now,” Angel replied.

Dr. Baker couldn’t help but smile at that. “It shouldn’t,” he replied, “considering the pain killers you were given.”

Angel winced slightly as the nurse added another stitch. Buffy reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his knee. “So,” Dr. Baker said after a moment, “not that it’s any of my business, but I seem to see you lot quite often. What’s up with the two of you?” For a moment Buffy looked panicked, and Dr. Baker wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. “I noticed your ring,” he explained.

The flash of relief on the girl’s face made Dr. Baker wonder what she thought he’d been asking. “Yeah, we’re engaged.” Then her face lit up as she grinned at Angel. “Do you have any idea how fun that it to say?” she said.

Angel smiled in response, but said nothing.

Dr. Baker nodded, pleased that his guess was confirmed. That was the only thing he liked about having certain frequent visitors. He felt like he got to know their lives a bit. “Congratulations, then,” he said with a smile.

“All done!” interrupted the nurse as she reached for some gauze. “As soon as I get you bandaged up you’ll be free to go.” She began applying the bandages on his back to match those for the front half of the bite.

“Good,” said Angel in relief.

Buffy nodded in agreement. “The whole gang’s waiting for us. I talked to Giles on the phone, and he said he’ll meet us at your place. He’d better have some information for us, because I’m sick of waiting.”

“Now, Ms. Summers,” Dr. Baker interjected, “he really ought to get some rest. Those pain killers are going to wear off pretty soon.”
The patient nodded, looking as though he was trying to reassure the doctor. “I’ll rest as soon as I can,” Angel said, though Dr. Baker didn’t believe that anymore than he had Angel’s assurances that he would see a heart specialist after the last time he was hospitalized.

“There, that’s it,” said the nurse and began to put away her supplies.

Angel stood and gathered his bloody, torn shirt, careful not to move his injured shoulder. His younger fiancée took his hand as he stood, and together they made their way out of the room.

“Angel, Ms. Summers,” Dr. Baker called right as they were leaving, “could you do me a favor?”

The young couple looked at him curiously. “What is it?” Angel asked.

“Could I please *not* see you or any of your friends for a couple of months?” he pleaded.

Buffy laughed at that. “We’ll try our best,” she replied.

“Thank you again, Doctor,” the young man said as he left, and the two of them went to gather their friends.

Smiling slightly, Dr. Baker made his way to the rest of his patients.

“Don’t lay our love to rest
‘cause we can stand up to the test
We’ve got everything and more
than we had planned”
~All For Love

Giles stood outside the mansion waiting for Buffy and all of her friends to return from the hospital. Buffy had called him from the emergency room, sounding both concerned for Angel and angry that they had been attacked in broad daylight. She was right in assuming that there was more to what had been happening than random attacks and had demanded that Giles would come with some answers.

Now Giles stood outside the front door, several of his books with him, waiting for everyone to arrive. He hoped that Angel was okay. If he wasn’t, Giles knew that he was at least partially to blame. He should have told them everything from the beginning. However, he had not wanted to worry them when he wasn’t sure whether there was truly a reason to be concerned, and if there was he hadn’t known at the time the reason behind the threat.

Now, however, Giles knew the answers to both these questions. As he waited, Giles only had to consider how he was going to tell them. And how much of the prophecies they should know.

Giles had been waiting for about a half an hour when Oz’s van pulled up in front of the mansion. The group of teenagers climbed out, followed by Angel whose bandaged shoulder hampered his movement. Buffy moved at the head of the group, carrying Angel’s bloody shirt in one hand and his keys in the other.

“Hey, Giles,” she said as she ran up to open the door. Everyone hurried inside. “You’ve got something to tell us, right?”

“I do,” Giles replied, pulling out his books.

Angel closed the door behind him as he entered. “Could you hold on a second, Giles?” he asked. “I want to go put on a shirt.”

Giles nodded.

“I’ll help,” volunteered Buffy, following Angel out of the room. He looked at her curiously. “You’re going to need to help to get a shirt on over those bandages.” The two of them disappeared into Angel’s bedroom.

Everyone else made themselves comfortable on the couches. Giles took the books he brought and put them on the table. Willow picked up a book of prophecy from the table and quickly flipped it open to the correct page.

Xander was watching her strangely. “What are you doing, Will?” he asked.

Willow looked at Giles for a moment, her expression clearly saying “can I tell him?” Giles nodded.

“I’m going to be a Watcher,” Willow declared with a smile. “That is, I’m learning. Giles is teaching me.”

“Really?” asked Xander in surprise. “Didn’t we say you’d make a good Watcher?”

Willow nodded.

“Cool,” said Oz.

There was a moment of silence. Xander had a thoughtful look on his face. “Giles,” he asked finally, “I thought you were a Watcher because like your whole family were Watchers or something.”

“True,” Giles replied, “but not all Watchers are from families like mine. Sometimes new people are brought into the Watchers on the recommendation of another Watcher, usually if that Watcher has no family to continue their tradition.”

Everyone nodded their understanding at that as Buffy and Angel returned to the room. Angel had put on a white, buttoned shirt. “What’s going on?” asked Buffy.

“Willow’s going to be a Watcher,” declared Xander.

“Really? Wow,” said Buffy.

“Good luck,” Angel added.

Willow just beamed.

Oz moved over to allow Angel a seat on the couch. Buffy took a seat on the table, now in the center of everything. “Well?” she said once everyone was settled. “What’s up Giles?”

Giles took his glasses off, cleaning them while he thought on how to begin. Everyone except Willow stared at him expectantly. “I should have told you this earlier,” Giles began.

Buffy glared at him angrily at that. “Giles,” she said slowly, “this isn’t going to be like when I died, is it?”

“No, no, of course not,” Giles assured her. She didn’t look appeased. “When you first announced that you were engaged, I looked into the records to see if any Slayer had ever gotten married. None had.”

“Right, you told us this,” Buffy said impatiently.

“What I didn’t tell you is that one Slayer did get engaged.”

Silence met this remark, a silence that Angel was first to break. “What happened to her?” he asked softly.

Giles sighed. “She was killed. Both she and her fiancé died a month before their wedding. It was a demon attack, one no one saw coming.” Buffy was about to speak, undoubtably to demand why they hadn’t been told of this earlier. Giles held up his hands, answering her question before it could be asked. “I didn’t want to say anything until I knew more. It could have just been chance.”

“That seems unlikely, doesn’t it?” muttered Xander.

“Correct,” Giles replied smoothly, “especially now that we have seen similar increased activity. But I still did not know the . . . reason behind it.”

“You mean besides the fact that the bad guys hate us?” Buffy asked.

“Yes, Buffy, besides that. If that was the only reason it still wouldn’t explain the drastically increased activity that we’re seeing. The question is really ‘why now’.”

“I assume you found an answer.”

“Actually, I did,” Willow said, holding up her book. “Giles and I found a whole bunch of references in places like the Pergamum Codex-”

“I hate that book,” muttered Buffy.

“-and other books of prophecy to the ‘wedded Slayer,’” Willow continued as if Buffy had not interrupted. “Mostly just little events and stuff, but I did find something that would be why they wouldn’t want you to be the wedded Slayer.” Willow pointed to a passage in the book she had opened. Reading aloud she said, “Neither her natural enemy nor their inhuman allies shall bring the destruction or death of the wedded Slayer.”

Silence met her pronouncement. “That would be vampires, right? The Slayer’s natural enemies?” Xander asked.

“And lesser demons is the implication, yes,” Giles replied.

Oz smiled. “This is good, right?”

“Yes . . . and no,” replied Willow. “Good for us: Buffy won’t be killed by a vampire or demon if she’s ‘the wedded Slayer.’ Bad for them: evil sees her as undefeatable. Bad for us: evil tries to stop Buffy from being ‘the wedded Slayer.’” After a pause she added, “And it doesn’t say that they can’t defeat her, just that they won’t.”

“Way to look on the bright side, Willow,” Buffy said sarcastically.

“Just looking at all sides, like I’m supposed to,” Willow explained.

A silence fell over the group once again as everyone thought about what had been revealed. “So what do we do now?” asked Buffy.

“What would happen if they got married sooner than planned? Like ASAP?” Xander asked.

“Aside from giving my mother fits?” Buffy remarked.

Giles shook his head. “Probably not a good idea.”

“To give my mother fits?”

“To hurry the wedding,” Giles clarified. “Who knows at this time what is still to be released against you? If you rush the wedding, everything may be thrown at us at once . . . with disastrous consequences.”

Everyone thought for a moment longer. Angel spoke. “What if-” he began.

“Don’t even say it!” Buffy demanded. “Don’t you dare ask ‘what if we cancel the wedding’ or something stupid like that!”

“Buffy,” Angel explained softly, “I want nothing more in the world than to be married to you. But if it comes to making a choice as to whether you live or die, I’d rather not be married to you and have you live.”

Buffy nodded reluctantly at that, but Willow shook her head. “I don’t think that works, either,” she said. “They’re already trying to stop you. I don’t think they’re just going to go away. What’s to stop the two of you from running to the courthouse one day and getting married?”

Giles cleared his throat. “This is not the only mention of the wedded Slayer, and we can assume that whoever or whatever is leading these attacks has access to the same prophecies we have,” he added. “Some of the other instances make it clear that this refers specifically to the two of you, and not just any Slayer who happens to get married.”

“Really?” asked Buffy in surprise.

Giles nodded.

Buffy had a very strange expression on her face. “Are you alright?” Angel asked her.

“Yeah,” she said, “yeah, I’m good. I’m happy, I’m just not sure what to think of being in a prophesized relationship. It’s really weird. Destiny is cool and all, but . . . .” She shook her head slightly. “I’m off topic . . . . I’ll concentrate on that later. So Giles, what do we do now? Do we just continue as we have been?”

“There’s not much else we can do,” he replied.

“We can get help,” Xander offered. When everyone looked at him blankly, he explained. “We all know more people . . . and things . . . that fight evil. Wouldn’t some of them help if we asked?”

“Like Kenneth!” exclaimed Willow.

“Yes,” Giles said with a nod. “I can get a hold of him.”

“Anyone else?” Xander asked.

“Cordelia.” Everyone looked at Angel in surprise. “She helped me in L.A. for a year. She can fight evil alright.”

“How about the woman with the sword? You know, the one who passed through town a couple of summers ago and helped fight vampires. What was her name?” Oz offered.

Willow thought for a second. “Colleen?”

“Alright,” said Giles. Then, after a moment, “Does anyone know how to get in touch with Ms. Cunningham?”

Neither Oz nor Willow had a reply for that. Much to their surprise it was Angel who provided an answer. “Cunningham?” he asked. “I know someone else with that last name, maybe she’s related. I know a Robin Cunningham, a self proclaimed vampire hunter. She doesn’t deal with other types of demons, but she’d probably help, too. She’s already invited to the wedding.”

As everyone stared at Angel dumbfounded, Buffy laughed.

“What?”

“Do you know *everyone,* Angel?”

Angel smiled. “I’ve been around,” he replied.

“Well,” said Giles, “any other helpers anyone can think of?” When no one replied, he stood. “Then we’d best be leaving. It’s been a busy day.”

Everyone nodded as they made their way towards the door. Buffy stood. “I should be going, too,” she said. She kissed Angel briefly on the lips. “You rest. Doctor’s orders.” Then Buffy walked with Giles out the door.

Once outside, Buffy turned to Giles. “What else did the prophecies say?” she asked softly.

Giles regarded her seriously. “Only bits and pieces. Most of it is unclear now, and none of it is of immediate consequence.” That all was true.

Another pause. “It’s good, right? We’re going to make it?”

“It’s good, as far as I can tell.”

Pause. “Giles?”

“Yes?”

“If you found something bad, you’d tell me, right?”

“I would tell you, Buffy.” And that was also true.

“Good.”

“When I rearrange the pieces of the puzzle of my past
I sigh at the heartaches, relive the laughs
And I think about the moments that have left their mark
And the too few faces that shine a little light in the dark”
~Babysitter
Harry Chapin

As the month progressed, encounters with demons and multiple vampires became routine. The no longer caused the same worries - now they were just one more obstacle to overcome. It was the wedding plans which caused much more stress, as Buffy and Angel rushed to book a church, a place for the reception, catering, flowers, invitations . . . plus manage to keep up with school and work, not to mention slaying.

The combined tensions of demons and planning mounted. Buffy had once remarked that when they got together it was always a “blood thing.” To provide a balance and a calming break, Buffy and Angel made sure they spent at least one evening a week together where both slaying and preparations were not the reason to gather, and they could just be a couple. It was a new experience for both of them, and for Angel at least it was a constant joy.

Angel smiled at the smell of cooking food permeating his kitchen. It was a far cry from his meals of the past. He was actually getting good at this - cooking, that is - he thought with a touch of pride. At least, the food was edible. The only other person he'd had around to tell him how it was was Buffy, and her opinions were probably a little biased. One thing Angel was doing for sure was enjoying himself.

An appreciative sigh in the door to the kitchen announced another presence in the mansion. A moment later arms wrapped around Angel's waist. "Mmm," said Buffy appreciatively, "smells good."

Angel stopped stirring for a moment to kiss her on the cheek. "Hey," he said softly. "How was your day?"

"Okay," she replied. "I mean, no weird occurrences, none of my teachers died mysteriously, and I only had to slay one vampire on the way over here." She sighed. "That's good, right? And you?"

"Pretty much the same."

For a moment they simply stood there together, Angel's arm around Buffy's shoulder, and he gave her a small hug. "I'm glad you're here," he said with a smile.

"Wouldn't miss it," Buffy replied with a grin, and kissed him in return.

They were interrupted by two things at once. One, Angel's phone began ringing. At the same time, the pot of water on the stove began to boil over. Breaking from what had been an easy, relaxed moment with each other, Buffy and Angel sprang to action, Angel taking care of the near food disaster while Buffy ran to get the phone.

Rescuing the meal quickly, Angel couldn't help but smile again as Buffy answered his phone. It felt so nice to love and be loved. He had spent so much time lonely, and not that long ago had resolved himself to continuing alone. But he wasn't alone. He had friends . . . he had Buffy. It was nothing less than amazing.

Buffy was speaking to whomever was on the other side of the phone. "Hello? . . . No, this is the right place." A pause. "This is Buffy." A longer pause this time. "Oh, hi! He's in the kitchen . . . . Cooking dinner. . . . Ravioli, why?" Buffy was standing in the doorway now, the cordless phone held to her ear. After a moment of silence, she laughed lightly. "Hold on, he's right here," she said into the phone, then handed it to Angel.

The meal now under control, Angel took the phone and propped it on his shoulder. He wondered who it was - not many people would call him. "Hello?" he said.

"Hey, Angel. This is Robin," came the female voice on the other end.

Angel was pleasantly surprised. Robin Cunningham-Baker was from L.A., a friend and amateur vampire hunter that he'd fought side by side with on occasion. They'd met when Angel had rescued her from a gang of vampires with a grudge. In the continued excitement, he had forgotten to give her a call and ask for her help. "Hey there!" he said with a smile. "How's it going?"

"Real good. The restaurant John and I bought is doing great. How about yourself? Everything going well? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Never better," Angel replied sincerely. "What's up?"

"Well," the voice came back cheerfully, "I went and checked the mail today and found this lovely invitation to a wedding in some town called 'Sunnydale.' Since someone I knew left for that town several months ago and this is the first I'd heard from him, I thought I'd better give him a call."

Angel laughed lightly, feeling a tad sheepish. "Sorry I haven't been in touch," he said. "Will you forgive me and come to my wedding?" My wedding. Now that was something Angel thought he'd never say.

"Of course we'll be there!" replied Robin. Then, after a pause, "That is, if *you'll* be there?"

"Hmm?" Angel was confused. "I'm sorry, I don't follow. Why wouldn't I be there?"

Robin sighed. "Let's see," she said. "I have here an invitation to the wedding of Buffy and Angel . . . no last names given . . . at the Sunnydale Church of God. December 16th at noon." She paused again, then said, "I think it was the 'noon' part that really threw me for a loop. Awfully sunny, isn't it?"

Now Angel really felt sheepish. "Oh. I guess I *really* haven't been in touch."

"No, Angel, I'm guessing not," Robin replied with a laugh. "So," she continued, "I figure this is either the legendary underground church . . . which still requires you to have developed a tolerance for crosses, you've rejoined the land of the living, or a mistake was made on the invitation."

"Um, option number two, actually."

"Really?" Robin sounded genuinely pleased. "Well, in that case I suppose dual congratulations are in order, on your engagement and on your new found humanity. No strings attached, I assume?"

"No strings," Angel replied with a happy sigh. Just Buffy standing in the doorway watching him with a smile was a delight. He'd been so caught up in the joys - and occasional frustrations - of being human again he'd forgotten to tell someone who'd really understand. "It's . . . it's amazing, Robin. I've never been happier."

"I can tell. I've never heard you sound so happy." Angel knew she understood better than anyone else could. When he had first met Robin she had been a bitter, sad young woman who had no desire in life but to take as many vampires with her as she could before she died. Not long after she had met her husband, John, and now they only fought to live. Perhaps she saw a similar change in Angel, a joy where there had been no hope. If nothing else, he knew she understood.

"Well," she said finally, "I don't want to keep you from your fiance any longer. Or your dinner, for that matter." She paused for a moment. "Anyway, congratulations, Angel. John and I will be at the wedding, even if we have to close the restaurant to get there."

As she made as to end their conversation, Angel remembered. "Robin, wait," he said urgently.

"What?"

Reluctantly Angel asked, "Um, do you think you could come to town a couple of days early?"

"For fun, or am I fighting vampires?"

"Vampires and assorted nasties, actually," Angel said, a touch sadly. "We're having a bit of trouble, and it's only going to get worse. It's going to be worst right near the wedding, and I don't know that we'll be able to handle it."

“Of course we’ll help,” Robin assured him. “Don’t know how early we’ll be, but we’ll be there.”

Angel smiled in relief. “Thanks,” he said. Suddenly he remembered why Robin had come up in conversation in the first place. “Um, one more thing. Do you have a relative named Colleen?”

"Yeah. My sword wielding, occasionally vampire slaying cousin. You met her at my wedding."

"Oh, I remember her now. Do you think she'd help?"

"If I can find her. She's a bit hard to track down, though, she's quite the wanderer." A muffled voice spoke in the background. "Listen, I have to go now. We'll try and get there early."

"Thanks, Robin," said Angel. "It was nice hearing from you. Goodnight."

"You too. Keep in touch this time, alright?"

Angel smiled. "Will do. Bye."

Buffy stood watching Angel from the doorway. She smiled at him, and he smiled back lovingly. "Well," said Buffy, "I'm guessing from what I heard that you forgot to include a 'by the way, I'm human' note to Robin."

"Yeah."

"Angel," Buffy said with a laugh, "I think we need to work on your communication skills."

Angel smiled in response. “How about I start with ‘dinner’s ready?’”

“Sounds good to me.”

The dinner was quiet, but that was the idea. They spoke about the newest show at the museum a bit, and how Buffy was doing in her psychology class, but mostly they were comfortable together in silence. As she finished her meal, Buffy looked at Angel still eating and chuckled.

“What is it?”

“You,” replied Buffy in amusement. When he looked at her curiously, she explained. “You once thought you’d have trouble adjusting to being human, but once you decided to, you sure didn’t do anything halfway.”

Angel laughed slightly, finishing his meal. True, he supposed. “What brought that on?”

Buffy shrugged, smiling. “Well, it could be that you seem to be doing your best to become a gourmet cook. You used to have the barest kitchen ever. Now, there’s a mirror hanging in your bathroom. This house in the daytime is filed with sunlight, and if you’re home I usually find you out in the garden. You don’t sneak around like you used to. You’ve got a job . . . .” her voice trailed off. When she continued her voice was no longer teasing. “Sometimes, it’s like you’re a different person. Not in a bad way . . . . You used to always look sad inside, and you very rarely talked about your feelings . . . or anything else, for that matter. You smiled more now, and even laugh on occasion. And talking isn’t *quite* as much of a problem.” She laughed then, sounding a bit nervous. “Did I really just say all that?”

Smiling, Angel continued. “You forgot about being so completely in love with an incredible woman that I want nothing more than to have a family with her, to grow old with her. And now that that’s actually possible . . . . I hope she likes the new, happier, daytime me.” Angel tried to make that a joke, but his voice showed that he really was concerned.

Buffy reassured him without even realizing he had been worried. She was grinning from ear to ear. Getting up from her seat, she said, “You were talking about me, there, right?”

“Could be,” Angel replied with a small smile.

Buffy leaned over to kiss him, and for a moment there was nothing and no one else in the world. Angel held her tightly. When they broke the kiss, Buffy sat herself in his lap and grinned. “You know,” she said, “I’ve decided I like destiny.”

The darkness fumed as well. “You said she would wear down.”

“I know.”

“That she’d never see it coming.”

“I know!”

“She knows what’s going on, now. She’s seen through your attacks.”

“I KNOW!”

The darkness fell into an uneasy silence at his outburst. One did not raise his voice to his master.

“Not to worry,” the man assured in a softer tone, “it’s not over yet.”

“And I can’t feel
Much hope for anything
If I won’t be there
To catch you if you fall”
~Something’s Always Wrong
Toad the Wet Sprocket

Buffy and Angel drove up to the address Buffy’s father had given them shortly before noon. It was a tall office building, and neither of them said anything as they got out of the car and entered. Buffy was nervous. She hadn’t seen her father in a long time now. When she’d called him to say she was getting married, that had been nerve wracking enough. If forces of evil couldn’t stop her from getting married, then her father wouldn’t either, but it was still important to both Buffy and Angel that he approve of their wedding.

So today they had arranged to meet for lunch while Buffy and Angel were in town. Buffy was going shopping for bridal gowns, Cordelia having promised to show her all the finest shops, and Angel wanted to get some things he’d left in his L.A. apartment. First, however, there was the lunch with Buffy’s father.

Buffy approached the reception desk a bit nervously. “Hello,” she said, “I’m here to see Hank Summers?”

The woman behind the desk looked at her with a serious expression. “And you are?” she asked.

“I’m-“ Buffy began.

“My daughter,” said a voice behind them.

“Dad!” Buffy turned around to find her father right behind her.

“Buffy,” he said, giving her a small hug. “It’s been a while.”

“It’s good to see you, too,” Buffy said with a smile. Stepping back, Buffy noticed Angel standing somewhat awkwardly by the reception desk. “Dad,” Buffy said, gesturing for Angel to approach, “this is Angel. Angel, this is my dad.”

The two of them shook hands seriously for a moment. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Summers,” Angel said.

“The pleasure’s mine,” Buffy’s father replied. They let go of each other’s hands and there was an uncomfortable moment of silence. “Well,” Mr. Summers said finally, “I don’t know about the two of you, but I’m starving. How about we continue this somewhere nicer than the lobby?”

“Sounds good to me,” Buffy replied with a grin, and the three of them made their way back out of the building.

The lunch at least started as a tense affair. Aside from her mother, no one in Buffy’s family had met Angel prior to their engagement. Not having spent much time in his daughter’s life in recent years, Hank Summers had been more than a little surprised when she announced she was getting married. Angel and Mr. Summers tried to get to know each other during lunch, but circumstances made that difficult. So much of Buffy’s and Angel’s relationship was tied up in her secret Slayer identity. There was only so much she could tell her father without mentioning vampires. She and Angel had come up with a story to explain what they could, but somehow Buffy felt that her father knew they weren’t telling him the complete truth.

As the meal ended Mr. Summers did something surprising. “What are you doing after this?” he turned to Buffy and asked.

Buffy glanced at Angel for a second, then replied, “Angel’s going to get some things he left in his apartment, and I’m meeting a friend to go shopping for my dress.” She looked at her father curiously. “Why?”

“If you don’t mind the company, I’d like to go with you.”

Buffy looked at him in surprise. “You mean that?” It went unspoken, but Buffy finally felt her father’s approval. After a moment, she frowned. “What about work?”

“They’ll get along without me,” Mr. Summers said. “I haven’t been part of your life much lately, and I’ll only get to be part of your wedding once.”

The building didn’t have any new tenants yet. The office had been packed up, but Cordelia said that most of Angel’s stuff he’d left was still there. It was only a matter of time before everything was gotten rid of, however, and there were a couple of things he wanted. Opening the door, Angel entered the permanently darkened interior.

It was strange entering the office from the bright light of day outside. Oddly, the place looked almost exactly the same as it had when Angel had first entered the place. He didn’t care about anything that had been here. Instead, Angel descended the stairs to the basement apartment that had been his residence.

Angel flicked on the lightswitch to find the room exactly as he had left it. There wasn’t much here he wanted - he had plenty of clothes in Sunnydale, he’d been fighting demons less since he’d lost his vampiric strength so the weapons were sort of pointless, and there wasn’t much else in the apartment.

A couple of boxes were left behind from when the office had been packed up. Placing an empty box on the couch, Angel started filing it with the couple of books he wanted to take with him. Once he’d gone through those, he debated his collection of weapons. Even if he didn’t use them often, Buffy, Giles, or another Slayer might find need of them. Finally he put a couple of swords and other weapons in a box as well. The two boxes he placed in the elevator to take back up. That done, he glanced around the living area, then made his way into the bedroom.

This area had only a couple more things that he wanted to keep. There were things here that he had brought with him from Sunnydale in the first place, things that he’d wanted near him. Mementoes and other items that had some meaning to him went into a third, smaller box.

As Angel sat for a moment on the bed, he noticed a picture on the nightstand. The frame had been knocked over so it lay face down, but Angel knew what it was. He picked up the picture and looked at it with a smile. It was a sketch of Buffy, one he had drawn soon after moving to L.A. He’d wanted to at least have an image of her if he couldn’t be near. Sure, he’d done a lot of good in L.A., but it had been a lonely year.

Now, he didn’t need the picture to have her near. Not with their wedding less than two months away. Still smiling, Angel laid the picture in the final box.

In a moment Angel knew he was not alone. It didn’t take vampiric senses to know there was someone else in the apartment. Just plain human senses did that fine. It also didn’t take vampiric senses to guess who it was.

Angel waited until the footsteps came to a stop outside the bedroom door. “I was wondering when I’d see you again,” Angel said calmly.

“Well, it’s not like you’ve needed my help lately,” the Irish accented voice replied from the doorway.

Angel turned around, smiling slightly. “Nice to see you, too, Doyle.”

The half-demon smiled. After a moment he said, “I figured you’d be back here sooner or later. Of course, originally I thought you were only going to be gone for a week at the most.”

“Plans changed,” Angel replied.

Doyle nodded. “Yeah, I got that. You know how it is - I had a vision a couple of days after you left. Got a glimpse of you and your lady-love taking a sunlit stroll to go with the headache. Figured you wouldn’t be back after that.” He chuckled briefly. “I told you not to distance yourself from the human race, but I wasn’t expecting you to go to the opposite extreme.”

“What can I say, I finally listened to you,” Angel quipped. “Buffy says I never do things halfway.” After another moment of silence he stopped smiling. “I’m really glad to see you, but since I never heard from you these last few months, I’ve got to assume you’ve got some reason to talk to me now.”

“Hey,” Doyle scolded, “you’re the one who dropped out of touch, not me. Left Cordelia and I sort of at a loss of what to do.” Angel began to apologize, but Doyle waved him off. “No, you’re right. Besides, we both got new jobs within the week, and it was ‘meant to be’ after all. That’s not the point - I’ve got a message for you.”

Angel began to protest. “I’m not staying, Doyle. We’re heading back to Sunnydale tomorrow.”

“Nothing like that,” Doyle assured. “This is just a warning for you and your Slayer. There’s hard times ahead.”

“I know. They’ve already been trying to stop the wedding.”

Doyle shook his head. “It’s not just that. There’s more going on than any of us know, and . . . .”

“And?”

“The two of you had better be ready.”

“There you stand in your wedding dress
You’re so beautiful that I must confess
I’m so proud you have chosen me”
~Dreams Go By
Harry Chapin

Buffy smiled contentedly as she rode in the car with her father. Things were going even better than she had hoped when he’d invited her and Angel for lunch. He actually seemed to be okay about everything. This was the way today was supposed to go - absolutely normal.

“You’re very quiet,” Mr. Summers said after a moment.

“And you’re awfully calm,” Buffy replied. “I keep expecting that any minute you’re gonna get angry or something.”

He glanced at her for a moment. “Why would I be angry?”

“Because . . . I’m young, and still in school, and I don’t know what I’m getting into . . . or something.”

“I could say those things, but we both know they’re not true,” Hank said.

Buffy looked at him in surprise.

“You’ve grown up a lot since I saw you last, Buffy. More than just age. And I think you do know what you’re doing. It’s not really my place anymore to pass any sort of judgement. That’s your mother’s job. I only wish I’d been around more so this didn’t come as much of a surprise.”

Buffy chuckled slightly.

“What?”

“You’d probably still have been surprised,” she explained. “Just about everyone was. Mom didn’t even know I was seeing Angel until I’d already known him for a year.”

“Speaking of your mother, what’s she think of this?”

Buffy shrugged. “She’s okay about it, I think. She was surprised, but she’s dealing.” Suddenly, Buffy sat up straighter and looked out the window. “Ooh! We’re here!”

There was no more conversation as Hank Summers pulled into a parking space in front of the bridal shop. Buffy practically jumped out of the car. Cordelia waited for her just inside.

“Hey, Buffy,” she said with a small smile.

“Hi Cordelia.” Buffy smiled. “How are you?”

“I’m doing good. And you?”

“Good.” Buffy gestured to her father. “Cordy, this is my dad. Dad, this is Cordelia. We went to high school together.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Cordelia,” he said.

Showing an unusual amount of restraint, Cordelia glanced at Buffy. “Does he know about . . .” she made a gesture that vaguely resembled staking a vampire.

Buffy shook her head. “So, she said finally, “are we gonna hang out in the doorway or are we going shopping?”

“Shopping,” Cordelia replied with a grin.

What followed was a parade of wedding dresses, most of which blurred one into the other. The sales woman was most helpful, but mostly it was Cordelia who found dresses she thought Buffy would like. They chatted at the same time, catching up on each other’s lives.

“So,” Buffy said as Cordelia helped fasten the who-knows-what-number dress she’d tried on, “what have you been doing?”

“Well,” Cordelia said, “you know how I got that small acting job right after Angel left?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I made friends with the wardrobe lady. She took me on as an assistant. I go to all the local shops and find things for her.” Cordelia was smiling.

“So you basically get to shop for pay,” Buffy said with a grin.

“Of course,” Cordelia replied. “That’s also how I knew you’d like this store.”

“Thanks Cordelia.”

Cordelia didn’t say anything for a moment. “There,” she said, “what do you think?”

Buffy looked at herself in the small mirror. “I want to look at this in the large mirror,” she said with a smile. Already she knew she liked this dress. She left the small dressing room and stood on a small platform in front of the three-way mirror. Cordelia and the saleswoman arranged the skirt so she could see it best in the mirror, all spread out. The dress was relatively simple, white satin with thin straps. The skirt wasn’t as full as some of the dresses she’d tried on and ended in a slight train. Buffy looked at it and grinned from ear to ear.

“Well?” Cordelia said expectantly.

“I love it,” Buffy replied. “This hardly seems real. The fact that I’m actually getting *married* kinda just hit me.” She turned her head away from her reflection to look at Cordelia. “What do you think?”

“Gorgeous,” Cordelia said, then smiled. “I think Angel’s going to faint when he sees it.”

Buffy laughed. “God, I hope not. That would be embarrassing.”

“Hold on just a moment, dear,” the saleswoman said to Buffy, hurrying out of the dressing rooms. A moment later she returned with several veils. She looked at each of them in turn, finally selecting one and positioning it on Buffy’s head so the thin fabric draped down her back.

Buffy stared at her reflection, wide eyed. Cordelia said nothing, only grinned. After a moment Buffy called out, “Dad!”

Hank Summers was behind her quickly. Buffy watched him in the mirror as he saw her standing in the wedding dress. He looked completely shocked.

“What do you think?” Buffy asked softly.

“I think if I was your mother I’d be crying right now,” her father replied.

“Well,” the saleswoman said after a moment, “I take it everyone is pleased with this dress?”

“Definitely!” Buffy exclaimed.

About 15 minutes later they were leaving the bridal shop again, this time carrying their perfect find out to Hank’s car. Cordelia and Buffy said their goodbyes - or “see-you-soons”- and went their separate ways once again. Mr. Summers was driving Buffy back to the hotel she and Angel were staying at. Buffy was still grinning from ear to ear.

Buffy’s father pulled the car up in front of the door as the sun set. He helped her get everything out of the car and to a hotel employee, then just stood there and smiled at Buffy for a moment. “I didn’t say it before,” he said finally, “but I’m happy for you. You’re going to be a beautiful bride.”

Buffy smiled. “Thanks Dad.”

Hank gave her a hug. “Be happy, alright?”

“I am.”

He moved away, about to get back in the car when someone knocked him over from behind. As her father fell, Buffy looked at his attacker in disgust. *Vampires. Of course.*

“Hey!” she called out, getting the vampire’s attention, “don’t you know it’s really stupid to attack my family? Don’t your Sunnydale cousins tell you anything?”

The vampire got off Buffy’s father, who smartly scrambled away from him. “They tell me enough,” the vampire replied.

“Really?” Buffy asked in mock surprise. “Did they say ‘the Slayer’s in town, go commit suicide?’”

“No, they said don’t go against the Slayer alone.” And then the other vampires appeared.

“Buffy, what’s-“ her father asked, a bit groggy from his fall.

“Not now, Dad,” Buffy said tensely. She had come to the frightening realization that she didn’t have a stake handy. She’d been trying on dresses all day, and so hadn’t kept her usual stake up her sleeve. Whirling around, Buffy was going to grab her bag which had her weapons in it, when she noticed that the man from the hotel had already taken her things up to the room. *Just my luck.* Buffy looked back at the advancing vampire. “I don’t suppose you’d like to call this off for another time?” she asked nervously. A low growl answered her. “Didn’t think so.”

Buffy really didn’t want to take the battle into the hotel. She wanted to be welcome here, and massive property damage kinda didn’t fit that purpose. Maybe if she just kept them here long enough someone would scare them away, like the police. Maybe if she pummeled them enough they’d get tired of this and go home.

Yeah, right.

The only upside Buffy could see to this was that the leader seemed to be only interested in fighting her at the moment. They traded punched and proceeded to otherwise throw each other around. All the while Buffy could only hope that her father was staying out of trouble. His car wasn’t so lucky - it had several dents from either Buffy or the vampire getting thrown into the side. Buffy was doing just fine, weapons or no weapons, and the vampire was soon laying on the ground, unconscious from the thorough pummeling he had received.

Which, of course, was the cue for the rest of the vampires to attack. There were about four of them, which without weapons was decidedly bad odds. Buffy managed to knock the first one out of the way, but the second one knocked her down in his rush to attack. She kicked him in the stomach, but a third one was there before she could get off the ground.

And then he wasn’t there anymore, and Angel was there instead helping her to her feet before trading punches with vampire #4.

“Great timing,” Buffy said as she kicked vampire #1 again, trying to rush at her.

Angel staked the vampire he was fighting. “You looked like you could use some help.”

“You got anymore stakes?”

Angel tossed her one without a word. She caught it easily and turned to stake stupid running vampire, who essentially impaled himself on it as he ran at her a third time.

Several minutes later Buffy and Angel joined her father, leaning against the car and catching their breath. The final count - Angel 2, Buffy 3, with the final one being the leader who did not regain consciousness throughout the prolonged fight. The battle finally over, they breathed a collective sigh of relief, then Buffy helped her father - numb from shock - into the hotel for the requisite explanations.

The last hour had been the worst. Mr. Summers had guessed he wasn’t being told the whole truth after having lunch with Buffy and Angel. After the encounter with the vampires he had been sure of it. So Buffy and Angel had found themselves having to explain things without any prepared story. At first, Buffy had tried the old “gangs on PCP” route, and then “Dad, you’re just seeing things,” neither of which had any success considering they still didn’t explain why Buffy had been fighting them.

So next came the abbreviated story of “yes, vampires are real, those were vampires, I killed them.” Works alright, and unlike last time Buffy had told that version she didn’t get kicked out of the house. Not that Mr. Summers was exactly happy at the news, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Especially not when he found out that Joyce knew and had come to a reluctant sort of approval.

Then Mr. Summers asked something that Angel hoped he wouldn’t think of; what did Angel have to do with all this? Does one say to his future father-in-law that he’s actually 220-something years older than his daughter, an ex-vampire of the most vicious variety, twice cursed with a human soul, now returned to humanity in a case of pure accident? Not hardly. Instead Angel said that his parents were killed by vampires and left it at that. It was a half truth, actually - the guilty vampire had been himself.

Many vague answers and half truths later, Buffy’s father left, partially satisfied. As the hotel door closed, Angel slowly took a seat on the bed and hung his head with a relieved sigh. Finally, the very long day was coming to a close. Very long day . . . very long hour.

Buffy’s arm around his shoulders startled Angel out of his thoughts. He looked at her in response. She was smiling slightly, fondly, but she looked concerned as well. “Are you alright?” she asked.

Angel nodded. “Just glad that’s over,” Angel explained.

“I’m glad you were there with me to explain this time,” Buffy replied. “Speaking of, how did you know I needed your help outside?”

Angel shrugged. “The bellman brought your stuff up. When you weren’t right behind it, I came down to see if I could meet you.”

“It’s lucky you did.” Buffy sat beside Angel, leaning against him. Angel smiled. “You take care of everything you need to?” Buffy asked.

Angel nodded. “You?”

Buffy’s face broke into a wide grin. “Oh yeah,” she replied. “It’s going to be perfect.”

Smiling, they simply sat there and held each other. Perfect. That was exactly how it was going to be.

“We got this far
not by luck
but by never turning back”
~The Hard Way
Mary Chapin Carpenter

The church as of yet had no flowers, no decorations, and the few people gathered were wearing everyday clothes, but in her mind’s eye Buffy could see exactly how it all would look on her wedding day. Absolutely beautiful. That was the bride-to-be Buffy. The Slayer saw at the same time places where demons could hide, best places for fighting, ambushes laid. Yet Buffy rebelled against those thoughts now. After all, except for vampires there’d been very little of threat in the last month. And so the dreamy vision of the wedding took precedence, and Buffy wasn’t aware of much else.

The wedding rehearsal had ended just a few minutes before. Buffy’s family and friends were making their way out of the church, but Buffy hung back a bit, lost in thought. A hand on her shoulder startled her.

It was Willow. “Hey,” she said, “you coming?”

Buffy smiled slightly. The wedding was going to be perfect - and perfectly normal. Willow and Cordelia were going to be her bridesmaids, Xander and Oz were the groomsmen. Both of Buffy’s parents were going to be there, and Giles was standing in for family of the groom. The reception after the wedding was going to be held in the mansion, being the only private residence they had access to without too much money that was large enough. Undead party crashers were not a usual wedding concern. Then, Buffy and Angel were spending a week in the Bahamas.

After the craziness of the last few months, they definitely needed a vacation. The wedding might be normal, but everything leading up to it certainly hadn’t been. They’d had to forgo some of the usual pre-wedding events. What with the constantly threatening monster attacks, there just wasn’t time. Even tonight was going to be dealing with demons instead of the impending wedding. That’s where everyone was going now - the Scooby gang was meeting at Giles’ house to face whatever might be thrown at them.

Buffy shook her head slightly. “I’ll be there,” she said to Willow. “I want to talk to Father Riley.”

Willow frowned. “Don’t be too long. It’s getting dark.”

Buffy laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

Willow smiled and walked towards Giles at the door. Buffy watched them go, then crossed the church to where Father Riley stood. He was talking to Angel and both smiled when Buffy came over to them.

“Buffy,” Father Riley acknowledged, while Angel put an arm around her shoulder. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

Buffy grinned from ear to ear. “Definitely.” After a moment she looked at the priest seriously. “Can I talk to you for a moment, Father?” She looked at Angel, reluctantly conveying that she wanted to speak to the priest alone.

The priest nodded. Angel gave Buffy a kiss on the forehead, saying, “I’ll wait for you outside,” and left Buffy and Father Riley alone.

When Buffy hesitated about saying anything, Father Riley regarded Buffy with a questioning expression. “What’s wrong, Buffy?” he asked.

“Wrong?” Buffy asked in surprise. “Nothing. I just wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me? Ms. Summers, that’s not necessary. Performing a wedding . . .”

“I’m not talking about that,” Buffy interrupted. “Well, not entirely.” The young priest looked confused. “You know that we’re not exactly . . . normal. I mean, how we met you and all . . . And you know that we had to be a bit, uh, creative, in order to make this legal. But you’ve never said anything about it.”

The priest nodded in understanding. “You want to know why.”

“Yeah.”

“Buffy,” the priest explained, “when we first met, when Angel was in the hospital, you asked why I helped him after I saw my cross burn him. I said that he needed help at the time, even if the circumstances were odd.” Buffy nodded. “I’ve since learned that there are a lot of odd circumstances around here.”

Buffy looked at Father Riley in surprise. Off her look, he continued. “People aren’t as oblivious around here as you think, Ms. Summers. Though, as a member of the church, perhaps I am a bit more open to the supernatural than most. Connecting legends with real life isn’t that hard. And it doesn’t take much for me to remember that you asked about banishment of demons when you saw your cross no longer burned Angel. So, I can guess a lot. But I also hear a lot. And those same people who’ve lived in Sunnydale for a while, who talk about all the strange things in town, talk about you sometimes.”

“Me?” Buffy asked in alarm.

The priest nodded. “You always seem to be at the center of action, they say, and many of them give you credit for saving their lives. I figure you know about a lot going on that I don’t want to know about.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “I’m a pretty good judge of character, Buffy, and you are a very good person. You care a lot about people. The man you are marrying tomorrow is a good person as well, I think, and he cares a lot about you. That’s all I need to know.”

Buffy smiled. “Thanks.” Then she thought about what he’d said for a moment. “You haven’t . . . spoken to anyone else about this, have you?”

“No. And I won’t.”

Buffy sighed in relief.

Father Riley smiled. “Go on, Buffy. It’s getting dark, and you don’t want to leave your friends waiting.”

Nodding, Buffy practically bounced towards the door. Part way there, she turned around to face the priest again. “You know,” she said, “if it wasn’t for you this wouldn’t be happening. We couldn’t get married . . . before.”

“You’re welcome.” Father Riley laughed slightly. “Now get going!”

Buffy grinned, spun around, and waltzed towards the doors. Father Riley’s answers had given her one less thing to worry about. She couldn’t feel anything but joy, no matter what else might be ahead.

She was surprised when there was no one outside the doors at first. Not worried, just surprised. “Angel!” Buffy called. There was no response. “Angel!” Looking around, Buffy did not see Angel anywhere. She continued to call out his name as she began to walk around the church.

On the side of the church where few ever walked, Buffy saw her first proof that something was wrong. Standing in the yard across from one of Sunnydale’s twelve cemeteries, Buffy was disgusted at the smell of things rotting. It filled her senses, though it had no discernable source. The grass and nearby bushes showed clear signs of a fight, broken and trampled. There was no one here any more, but even Buffy could see - and smell - where they had been.

“Angel?”

Now she was worried.

And tomorrow, he was going to be married. Married! To a woman who loved him unconditionally, whom he loved more than life itself. Coming from him, who a year ago didn’t have a “life” to speak of, that was really saying something. A year ago he never would have guessed that he’d ever be standing where he was today - watching the sunset outside a church while waiting for Buffy, his fiancée, a day before they would be wed. Destiny was a wonderful thing.

Of course, that was assuming they both made it tomorrow. Angel had looked over some of the records that Giles had found. He wasn’t sure if Buffy was aware of this, but the only other Slayer who had gotten engaged had survived to the day before her wedding. Both she and her fiancé had been killed in the night. Giles tried to be optimistic, saying that since the prophecies seemed to clearly indicate that the “Wedded Slayer” was Buffy, with Angel her husband, they had to survive through their wedding.

But Angel was used to being pessimistic. It didn’t help that Giles would not show him or Buffy the entirety of what he’d found. Giles insisted that the prophecies referred to the two of them because of something in the wording, light and darkness, Slayer and vampire . . . but Angel couldn’t be sure. Even if it was a certain thing, what was to stop . . . whoever . . . from attempting to thwart prophecy? After all, Buffy had already managed that once.

Not that Angel was letting such things predominate his thoughts. He was incredibly happy to be where he was, his gloom-and-doom habits quickly becoming a thing of the past. He was just ready for whatever might come, and, god forbid, preparing for the worst.

A strange noise rustled to Angel’s left, making him jump, then instantly wary. A normal human probably wouldn’t have heard the sound at all. Angel glanced at the doors behind him, but Buffy did not appear. The sound came again, and slipping a stake into his hand, Angel moved to investigate.

As Angel approached the corner of the church, he became aware of something else - a smell. He recognized it, and was instantly revolted. The smell of rotting corpses was not one he ever wanted to be familiar with. Still, the sound came again, and Angel found himself approaching the source of the smell.

The side of the church was lined with bushes, and it was here that the sound was coming from. It was part rustle of disturbed plants, part moan of . . . something. Angel approached cautiously, listening as well for the sound of Buffy leaving the church. Angel was standing in front of the bushes now.

Neither the source of the sound nor the smell was visible. Slowly, cautiously, Angel leaned over the bushes, pushing them apart so that he could see behind them. Nothing. The smell, that horrible corpse smell, was stronger now, overwhelmingly so. It was so strong that it no longer had a definite source at all.

A new sound stirred the quiet evening. Already tense, Angel listened to the very soft step of someone trying to sneak up behind him. He waited, unmoving, for the person to come closer. Then, stake at the ready, he spun to meet his enemy.

He met a zombie.

At least a dozen zombies, actually, their recently reanimated bodies the source of the now overwhelming stench. *Why did it have to be zombies?*

Fighting a dozen zombies was not a great option. The stake Angel held meant nothing to them. They could be torn limb from limb and still come after you. Still, it was either fight, or let them tear *him* limb from limb. Backed against the church, running was not an option.

So Angel fought.

Exhausted, depleted of weapons, and surrounded by zombies, Angel never saw the blow that knocked him out from behind.

Stopping in the middle of the floor, Giles looked sharply at Willow, again. “They said they were coming, right?”

Willow rubbed her forehead and looked up at Giles. “Buffy said she was coming, she wanted to speak to Father Riley.” Her tone was exasperated; she’d already said this. “I assume Angel is with her.”

Giles began pacing again; Willow went back to her magical preparations. A nervous routine.

“If you’re all so anxious,” Cordelia said, not looking up from her nails, “why doesn’t Willow cast this spell without the lovebirds?”

Everyone fell silent and stared at her.

Cordelia looked up at them in surprise. “What?” she said. “We cast the spell, find the demons, and then Buffy and Angel show up to kick some demon but.”

Xander laughed suddenly. “Does it strike anyone else as odd that Cordelia came up with a good plan?”

Before they could deteriorate into bickering, Willow sprang to her feet with her bowl of herbs and went to the already prepared ritual space. As the threat of demons had increased in recent weeks, Willow had gone back to her old routine of casting the demon locator spell every evening. There would be no demons sneaking up on them.

They had not heard from Kenneth since Giles had tried to contact him over a month ago. Still, Willow thought as she cast her spell, in some ways he was helping them every time she used the magic he’d taught her. There was little he’d taught her that she used as often or was as useful as the demon locator spell.

So often had she used this spell now, she had no doubt it would work. But as Willow completed the spell, it did not work as she expected. Instead of creating simple green smoke, it ended in a flash of green light instead.

Xander jumped. “What was that?”

Willow was flustered. “I don’t know.”

A knock came at the door. “I hope that’s Buffy,” Giles said, standing up.

“So where’s the demon?” Xander asked.

The door disintegrated. A flurry of writhing tentacles filled the doorway.

“I think it’s already here,” Willow replied.

“Don’t tell me
it’s not worth fighting for
Can’t help it
There’s nothing I want more.”
~Everything I Do I Do it For You
Bryan Adams

Buffy followed the obvious path of destruction, frantic to find Angel. Though she tried not to think about it, her mind was filled with images of him bleeding somewhere, dying, or worse, dead. Angel was still stronger than the average human, probably always would be, but he’s lost his vampiric strength in the months past. Buffy could kick his but now, and tonight there were things out her that could kick hers.

If the torn apart landscape wasn’t enough evidence of where those she was tracking had gone, the stench certainly was. It had faded some (thank goodness) but it still filled her senses like something horrible. As the sunlight faded completely from the sky, Buffy followed her nose, hoping that it would lead her to Angel.

It led her to a road. Suddenly the visual trail disappeared, and the smelly one had been masked by the scent of asphalt and car exhaust. Buffy yelled briefly in frustration. She tried calling out to Angel once again, but once again received no response. *Where do I go from here?*

She didn’t mean to say that out loud, but she got a response this time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the response she wanted.

“You, Slayer, are going nowhere.”

Buffy sighed. “You know, I’m really not in the mood for this,” she said softly before turning to face the vampire.

Vampires. Lots of vampires. They had come up behind her while she was staring at the road. Now they surrounded her and stopped both her escape and her continued search. A quick inventory showed Buffy would never have enough stakes to get them all.

“Well, we’re in the mood, so you’ll just have to deal,” the lead vampire said.

Another battle was engaged.

The zombies were arrayed all around the room. They were still, only their eyes in rotting watchfulness showing that he never left their attention. Some stood, some sat, some lay at odd angles that no living body could accomplish, but all watched him.

One thing Angel knew for sure was that he could not stay here. Tonight was the night where he needed most to be with Buffy and everyone else. None of them would be able to stand on their own tonight. Biting back a moan of pain, Angel climbed to his feet.

Immediately the zombies seemed to return to life. Those standing seemed more alert, those sitting or laying down clambered awkwardly to their feet. As Angel moved, they moved, subtly shifting so that their intentions were obvious. For now, whomever or whatever had raised them did not intend for them to kill him. Their only intention seemed to be keeping him here.

Staying here, however, was the last thing on Angel’s mind. He knew that what the zombies had in strength they lacked in speed and agility. If he could take them by surprise, find a weak part of their circle, he might make it out of the building.

Quickly Angel surveyed his options. He took note of where the most “lazy” zombies were. Far gone to decay, they had not yet risen to their feet. Without a second thought he dashed for the prone zombies, hoping to reach the freedom that beckoned from the doorway beyond them. He prepared to jump over the zombies still struggling to their feet . . .

. . . and met a wall of flesh instead. Moving far quicker than he would have thought possible, the most mobile of the zombies had closed the distance between them and him, forming an impenetrable barrier between him and the exit. As Angel tore into the zombies closest to him, none of them moved from their new positions.

The zombies never fought back, just stood and blocked Angel’s way. They took a lot of damage before they fell, but fall they did. For everyone that did, though, another took its place. There seemed to be an endless supply of them, and Angel was quickly tiring of what was sure to be a hopeless fight.

Suddenly, the zombies dropped where they stood. They were like puppets whose strings had been cut; crumpled, awkward forms. Whatever had animated the zombies was gone.

For a moment Angel breathed deeply in relief, but only for a moment. The zombies had most likely been dismissed by whoever had raised them in the first place. He never dropped out of a battle stance as he waited for whatever had stopped them to make an appearance.

Make an appearance he did, separating from the shadows near the entrance to reveal a young, brown-haired man.

Angel relaxed finally. “Kenneth,” he said calmly, “you couldn’t come any sooner?”

The demon hunter smiled slightly. “I think I came just in time,” he declared, looking at the dead bodies strewn about the factory. “Come on. Your friends need my help as well.”

The creature’s tentacles were quickly making their way into the cramped living room. Willow flailed wildly with the only weapon she had available to her - the remains of a chair - trying to beat one of them back. Xander was facing off another with a kitchen knife. Cordelia was standing back and throwing things at it, miraculously avoiding hitting any of the rest of them.

“Just hold it off a little longer!” Giles called back, quickly pulling books off shelves, flipping through them and discarding each one in turn.

“How do we kill it?” Xander called without tearing his attention away.

“I . . . I don’t . . .” Another book tossed aside.

“Giles!”

“Just hold it off!” he cried back. “Just until help arrives!”

The Scooby gang fought, and prayed for the arrival of Buffy.

Suddenly one of the vampires caught her by surprise, catching her blow and using its own momentum to throw her to the ground. She saw stars as her head struck a rock and rolled to prevent serious injury. The roll caused the vampire going after her to stumble as he overshot his mark. Buffy sprang to her feet again, ready to continue.

She wasn’t as ready as she thought. The sudden movement combined with the head blow caused her vision to swim, and the number of vampires seemed to triple. Buffy blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision as even now blood from the wound on her scalp dripped into her eye.

The vampire who’d thrown her growled. Buffy saw him running straight at her and rose one of her few remaining stakes to catch his impact. Her hand was empty, however, the stake having been dropped in her fall. The vampire and the Slayer struck the ground together.

Buffy fought against the vampire who pinned her to the ground to little effect. From this position her blows had little strength behind them. She didn’t give up, though. She never would.

The snarling face of the vampire suddenly exploded into ash and Buffy coughed as it fell around her. She rolled back to her feet, more cautiously this time, to lay eyes upon her rescuer.

The dark haired woman waved briefly with a grin of acknowledgment, then joined the man next to her in fighting another vampire. Seeing that the two of them could handle themselves, Buffy went after the nearest unoccupied vampire. The three of them made short work of the remaining vampires. Those that did not fall before the renewed onslaught finally ran for their lives.

The three humans stood together for a moment, catching their breath. Buffy wiped the blood from her face and the woman leaned against her husband with a slight limp.

“See?” she said with a laugh. “I told you Sunnydale wouldn’t be boring.”

In spite of the gravity of the situation, Buffy grinned.

“We’re hurting it!” Xander cried.

“Um, hello? If *we* were hurting it, why would it keep coming closer?” Cordelia replied.

The group fell silent at that, continuing to fight without pause. The creature was bleeding from wounds they’d given it, but had not slowed. It made the noise again, and trembled.

“I think the cavalry’s arrived.”

A young, red-haired woman in a long coat struck at the creature’s armored body with a sword. Its tentacles occupied inside the house, it could not strike back at her. Already it bled from multiple wounds, a thick black ichor dripping down its sides.

Angel ran to join the battle, but Kenneth held back for a moment. “Who..?”

“Fight now, introductions later!” the woman called. Glancing up only briefly from her battle.

The newcomers needed no further encouragement. Angel strode in next to her, no weapons handy, content to just pummel the creature to death. Kenneth stayed back, using his magic instead to weaken the creature.

The three of them fought outside alone only briefly before their numbers doubled. Buffy and her rescuers joined in without a word as they saw what was going on. Knives, stakes, fists, magic and a sword all struck against the monster. It shuddered beneath their blows. Trapped between two sets of attackers, it could not advance or retreat. Still, it fought long and hard against its inevitable death.

As its body writhed, trying to twist away from them, it briefly revealed its unarmored underbelly. That was all the opening the defenders needed. Several weapons entered that vulnerable target, and the creature let out a final scream before slumping to the ground, not to move again.

For a long moment silence filled both courtyard and house. Then Xander’s voice echoed through the doorway.

“Is it dead?”

Buffy laughed in relief, leaning against Angel and more than thankful that they were all alive. “I don’t think anything can survive what we all did to it,” she replied.

“Buffy!”

“Yup, that’s me. Angel’s here too, and Kenneth, and . . . umm . . . .”

“Robin Cunningham-Baker and her husband John, and Colleen Cunningham,” Angel finished, pointing to the vampire hunting couple and the swordswoman in turn.

“Are introductions made?” Giles asked a touch testily from inside. At everyone’s acknowledgment he continued. “Good. Then let’s get this . . . thing out of my house please?”

Everyone laughed. Relief, joy, fatigue - it was all there. They’d done it. They’d all see another sunrise.

“Looks like we made it
Look how far we’ve come my baby
We might have took the long way
We knew we’d get there someday”
~Shania Twain
“Still the One”

The wedding was a beautiful, if unusual affair. The church was decorated with flowers and ribbon, streaming with more sunlight than should have been possible. Counterpoint to the cheer were the four “friends” who stood just outside the doors as guests arrived, scanning them with a dangerous eye for something they apparently never found. A strange tension was in the air. It was a feel of impending great events, their potential danger making them all the greater.

The extended Summers family was greeted by this mystery and more when they arrived at the church. Some whispered about the strange scrutiny at the door. Some whispered about the groom’s apparent lack of family. Whatever they spoke about, they all whispered when the bride and groom made an appearance.

Though both stunning in their wedding attire, it was not hard to spot signs of the fighting from the night before. Still, whomever they fought, it was obviously not each other, for they exchanged impassioned vows with pure happiness on their faces.

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

Both bride and groom had written their own vows for the occasion. And though the gathered family listened with smiles, they knew they were missing something laden with double meanings and secret smiles that only those at the front of the church understood.

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

Still, for all the affair’s strangeness, even the youngest child had never seen anyone so happy as the newlyweds. The previously stern “friends” smiled and became friendly as the ceremony came to a close. The parents of the bride smiled, their animosity forgotten for the day.

The newlyweds smiled with eyes only for each other as everyone saw them off for their honeymoon.

Yes, the family would say afterwards, the wedding was a strange affair. Strange and beautiful.

Much like the bride and groom.

Perfect.

The man’s failure was complete.

“I’ll make it up to you,” the man whispered. “I will take revenge for this defeat. The child of prophecy shall serve only you.”

It was an empty promise to empty shadows.

Silence.

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