Other than walking down the aisle with a bouquet of daisies and exchanging a brief, loving look with Angel at the altar, Buffy Summers' mind was anywhere but on the ceremony at hand for the first five minutes.

She hardly noticed when the organ music ceased and the preacher began the wedding nuptials. She was too busy recalling the last time she had been in a church: the day of her mother's funeral.

It had been a little over two months ago, Buffy remembered sadly, but the pain was as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.One night, her mom had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and an unknown vampire had killed her.

Since then, Buffy had sworn she wouldn't rest until she found this vampire and destroyed him. But certain circumstances had forced her to back off from slaying for a while, mainly the fact that she was carrying Angel's child.

Once more, Buffy glanced sideways at Angel, who returned her look immediately. Despite her sadness, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him right now. He had always seemed to have that effect on her.

She took a moment to admire his handsome face: the dark shadowy eyes, the silky black hair, the soft pink lips made perfect for kissing. It conveyed his every mood perfectly, so she had no trouble at all telling what he was feeling. For the moment, he flashed her a loving smile, then looked forward, attentive once more.

Buffy followed his example a second later. It often surprised her that she could love someone, let alone a vampire, this much. But of all the changes wrought over her in the four years since her move to Sunnydale, Angel was the only constant, the one thing that remained the same.

At this, Buffy thought back to the first time they had met: she had knocked him to the ground in a dark alley after he had followed her a few blocks. After informing her he wasn't a threat ("Don't worry. I don't bite."), Angel had promptly given her a few veiled warnings and a cross necklace for protection.

From there on, Angel made several random appearances to inform her of vampire activity, their relationship growing stronger with each meeting. Then came the somewhat awful night she learned the truth about him; Angel was a 240-year-old vampire.

Nevertheless, Buffy still fell in love with him, for despitehis "heritage", he proved his good intentions time and again and had saved her life on more than one occasion. Plus, he despised his kind almost as much as she did.

Although they had fought their feelings for each other, knowing their romance could never work, Angel and Buffy couldn't deny in the end that they'd never get over each other.

Ironically, it was her mother's death that brought them together for good. Once hearing what had happened, Angel came to pay his respects. And what had started as a courtesy call turned into a night of exquisite passion, the night their baby was conceived.

Upon learning she was pregnant, Buffy had had a few concerns: how it would affect her nightly vampire slaying, whether the child would be born good or evil, what her friends would think.

To problem number one, Angel had agreed to take over her "job" for a few months. For the second, he assured her that no child of a slayer could be born evil, no matter who the father was. With those aside, the third seemed to solve itself. Or it would, as soon as she got around to actually telling her friends.

Just then, Buffy was pulled from her trance by the minister's final words. "I now pronounce you husband and wife," he said. "You may kiss the bride."

Smiling, Buffy turned her head slightly, watching as her twofavorite teachers, Giles and Miss Calender, did just that, lockedtogether for who knew how long. She just had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when Angel looked at his pocketwatch to time them.

The assembled guests began to leave shortly after this, heading to the Bronze (Sunnydale's only night club) for the reception. Only Buffy and Angel stayed behind the longest while she congratulated Giles.

Like Angel, Buffy had met Giles on her second day in Sunnydale. She had entered the library to get a history textbookand wound up with what she thought at the time was an annoying British librarian.

Giles wasn't just any librarian though; he was also Buffy's personal Watcher, the one who would advise and train her about any monster who hit town. Over the years, Sunnydale had attracted more than it's share of non-vampire creatures, such as zombies and some werewolves to name a few.

Despite a rough start, Buffy and Giles got along great now. He had even become a sort of father figure for her, which was good since she rarely saw her real dad nowadays.

As to Miss Calender, she was a computer teacher who, in her spare time, studied the occult over the Internet. To sum it up, she was a technopagan, as she so often referred to herself. Buffy personally thought it was cool.

Miss Calender was a good person to turn to for help sometimes. She had first proved her worth by assisting Buffy andGiles in casting a demon from the Internet. And, most recently, by joining in on the zombie fight.

Buffy had been surprised anyway when her two older friends had announced their engagement. For although Miss Calender had tried endlessly to convince Giles that computers were more informative than his dusty old library of books, he continued to shun technology. Other than that big difference, Buffy supposed they were compatible.

"Congratulations, Giles," Buffy said, giving her Watcher a big hug. "I never thought I would see the day when you got married, but... I guess miracles do happen."

He smiled down at her, adjusting the glasses on his face, then said, "Thank you... Now why don't you head for the reception? I'll meet you there later."

Buffy turned to leave, then stopped and looked back. "Are you sure we won't have any trouble tonight?" she asked for about the hundredth time, knowing she was being a pest but not caring. Despite the fact that none of Giles' books pointed to danger tonight, she still needed reassuring.

Giles gave her a venomous look, one that asked if she was going to spend the night worrying or simply have fun for a change. Buffy chose the latter. "Never mind," she said before turning to leave.

Angel and Buffy had previously opted to walk, deciding a stroll would be more romantic. And it gave them more time to talk in private.

The two of them made a striking sight as they walked down the street, one a vampire, the other a vampire slayer. Buffy often thought their relationship to be contradictory in itself, but it worked well anyway.

Angel took a few moments to tell her how beautiful she looked, with her cute-as-a-button face, soft fluffy blond hair incurls and green eyes sparkling, and wearing a simple lavender cotton dress, Then, they got down to slightly more serious stuff.

"You know, it was really nice of Giles to hold the ceremony after sundown so I could attend," Angel said. "You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?"

Buffy shrugged. "Giles is notorious for doing me favors. Although, in this case, it was like pulling teeth to get what I wanted." She turned to look at him. "It's hard being the only girl on the block with a nocturnal boyfriend," she joked.

Angel gave a brief laugh, reaching out to put his arm aroundher. "You're amazing," he commented in that deep, sexy voice of his. "I have never met another slayer as brave or persistent or witty as you, Buffy."

She paused, giving this some thought. "You ever kill any?" she asked. "I mean, prior to when the gypsies restored your soul." Regaining his soul had been the one thing that had turnedAngel into a good vampire; before that, he had been equally as evil and deadly as the rest.

Angel shook his head. "Not once," he replied truthfully. "I came close to being slayed though. Three times, including you."

"I'm glad I hadn't," she replied. "Because I can't imagine my life without you... I love you, Angel."

He responded by kissing her gently on the cheek. "I love you too," he said with a warm smile. "Always will, until the end of time."

Buffy nodded half distractedly, then stopped and looked at him. "By the way, did you find that vamp that did my mom in yet?"

Angel shook his head, a trace of regret in his eyes. "I haven't given up looking though. And you shouldn't either. We'll find him, Buffy." He paused, then put one hand against herface. "And when we do, I promise you can be the one to take careof him. I won't interfere in any way... In the meantime, why don't we continue our discussion of names for the baby?"

Buffy smirked, following him down the dark deserted street. "I still prefer the name Angel, Jr. for a boy," she said adamantly.

"And I still say you're begging for this kid to be picked on his entire life," Angel replied. The two of them playfully argued over it for the remainder of the walk to the Bronze, then she called an end to it.

Upon entering, Buffy was greeted by her best friend, the incredibly shy Willow I-can-usually-make-a-few-vowel-sounds-and-then-I-have-to-go-away Rosenberg. Of all the time Buffy had known her, Willow had spent the majority encased in her thick shell and pining away for Xander Harris, their mutual other friend.

Needless to say, Willow was too cowardly to tell the boy sheloved how she felt, even after four years. And the fact that Xander had carried a torch for Buffy and not her for the same amount of time wasn't helping matters.

Excusing herself from Angel, Buffy escorted Willow to the bar for some sodas, and Buffy couldn't help noticing that Xander was eying her from across the room.

Willow caught on to this quickly. "Sometimes I wish he'd look at me the way he does you," she said softly.

Buffy looked at her. "He will if you just tell him. I'm sure," she said. "Be impulsive for once, Willow. Just walk right up and ask him to dance."

Willow shook her head, eyes wide with terror. "Impulsive works for you, not me," she said, as if Buffy had just handed hera stake and pointed out a vampire in the crowd.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "What are you so afraid of?" She paused, then added, "Best case scenario, you and Xander could be the next ones walking down the aisle."

This idea appealed to Willow, but not enough to make her drop her inhibitions. She and Buffy got their preferred sodas quickly, and went to sit at a nearby table. Angel soon came to join them, then Xander.

The friction between the two men who loved her was so thick Buffy could clearly feel it. It had always been that way; Xanderwas immensely distrustful of this vampire, or rather any guy Buffy had chosen over him. But for her sake only, he tended to keep it to himself.

The four of them remained silent for a while, just staring at each other and waiting for someone to speak. During this, Buffy couldn't help thinking how different Willow and Xander looked from their usual day-to-day appearances.

Willow's generally straight auburn hair had also been curledand she had put on a deep red shade of lipstick and lightly-sequined crimson dress for the occasion. Xander, on the other hand, had smoothed his unruly brown hair back into a more suave look and had gotten all dressed up in a tuxedo. Both had looked so unlike themselves that Buffy hadn't recognized either one at first.

Buffy snapped alert when she saw Xander was about to break the silence, only to be rewarded with one of his frequent paranoid remarks.

"Stop staring at my neck!" Xander said to Angel. "Didn't you bring something to eat with you?"

Angel had made a habit of stealing bags of blood to live on from the hospital, choosing them over taking the lives of humans,so Xander's concerns were totally unnecessary. Nevertheless, Angel leaned forward and said, "You worry too much."

Willow attempted to change the subject then by saying, "I still can't believe Giles really got married, and to Miss Calender, no less. Does anyone know if they'll be here soon?"

Buffy smiled slightly, grateful for the distraction. "I imagine that Giles is sick of having his picture taken by now, sothey should arrive in the next twenty minutes... In the meantime, do you want to dance, Angel?"

He nodded, standing and escorting her to the dance floor, where a romantic slow song was playing. Xander looked after Buffy a moment with a lost puppy dog gaze, then turned to Willow."I still don't understand what she sees in that guy," he complained.

Willow nodded sympathetically. "You're just mad because he's not you," she told him. "Xander, I think it's time you got over her. You shouldn't keep torturing yourself like this."

"I can't do it," Xander stated after a moment. "I can't accept it... Who knows, maybe she'll still come around."

"You're hopeless," Willow replied, leaning her head on one hand and not sure if she was addressing him or herself. Rather than decide which, she focused on Buffy and Angel, watching them dance.

Fortunately, there were no further problems for the next hour and a half. Buffy's only concern was to keep Angel from being photographed; he wouldn't show up on film. Willow caught the bride's bouquet, and Xander steered clear of Angel the entiretime.

It was just two minutes before Giles and his new wife were to cut the cake when a bad feeling came over Buffy. Feeling dizzy, she half collapsed into Angel's arms, catching his attention. No one else had noticed or they surely would have hurried over.

Angel looked at her in concern. "Hey, are you alright?"

Buffy paused, then shook her head. "Something's wrong... Something doesn't feel right." She met his eyes, fear showing in hers. "Giles was wrong. There's a vampire headed this way!"

Angel gave this a moment's thought, then reached out with all his senses to see if she was right. Finding that she was, hediscreetly removed a stake from underneath his sleeve and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll only be a minute," he said, heading for the exit.

Buffy tried to remain calm while he was gone, but found she couldn't. She was too afraid that something might happen to him.Finally, she started towards Willow and Xander when the main doorto the Bronze crashed open like a loud thunderclap.

Willow and several other female guests screamed at the sudden noise, while Buffy turned towards it, her defenses going up. But all she saw was a distressed teenage girl limping towards her, one hand outstretched. "Help me," the strange girl rasped. She took another step, but then she collapsed, out cold before she hit the floor.

Angel reentered only seconds after the girl, in time to see her plea for help and faint. He locked eyes with Buffy briefly, then stepped forward and gently eased the girl onto her back.

What he saw hit him like an electric shock, and he could only stare at her in silence. Before Angel knew it, Buffy had walked over and was looking down at him.

Reluctant to speak in front of the crowd (most didn't know her role as the slayer), Buffy sent a thought-message to him. *Who is she, Angel?* Buffy asked mentally. *A vampire?*

He looked up at her in surprise and fear, then answered her question in the same fashion. *She's a slayer*...

Knowing what he suggested was impossible, Buffy had a dozen other questions to ask Angel, but knew they would have to wait a few minutes. She turned to the crowd behind her, speaking loud enough so they could all hear her.

"Everything's okay. This girl's a friend of mine," Buffy announced. "I'm going to take her home, so just go back to what you were doing." To Angel, she added, *Help me get her up.*

Angel eased the girl into a sitting position, drawing one of her arms around his shoulders. Buffy brought the other around hers, then she and Angel began to walk towards the exit.

They hadn't made it far when Buffy heard Willow and Xander calling after her, obviously knowing something was up. Sighing, she passed the girl entirely to Angel and moved to face her friends.

Buffy put an end to Xander's questions almost before they started. "It's nothing to be concerned about, guys," she informed them. "But I'll fill you in later. Right now is research time."

"But we can help. Whatever you're looking up, having us along could help find it faster," Willow cut in, sounding almost eager. Buffy supposed they had gotten so settled into this routine that Willow automatically assumed it was something they would always do as a team.

Tonight, however, was an exception. "I appreciate the 'Three Mustketeers' deal, but this I can do solo. It's not fair for all three of us to run out on Giles on his big night. You two just have fun, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Disappointed at not being included, Willow and Xander went back in, leaving Buffy and Angel to walk the few blocks to his apartment, located in the basement of an old building.

They laid the still unconcious girl on the sofa, and Buffy waited while Angel grabbed a quick "snack". Then, her questions began to spill out.

"Okay, so when did the 'one slayer per generation' rule stopapplying? How can there be two of us now?" Buffy asked for starters.

Angel took a moment to lay a wet washcloth on their guest's forehead, then turned to face his girlfriend. "Rules are meant to be broken sometimes, I suppose," he answered absently, deep inthought.

Buffy groaned. "Don't you dare go cryptic on me again, Angel. Can you please give me a straight answer?"

Angel sighed, sitting down and facing her. "Okay. Straightoff the record, this girl's name is Stefanie Marks, and she was a slayer from the 1960s... I thought she had died years ago, but I was wrong." Angel picked up a piece of cloth, wrapping it aroundhis hand, "Give me your necklace."

Buffy instinctively looked at the cross laying against her chest, then moved to unhook the chain. She watched in slight fear as Angel held it a few inches from Stefanie's face for a minute, not wanting to believe what he implied.

Suddenly, Stefanie awoke with a growl, slapping the cross from his hand. Then, she reached up and grabbed Angel around the throat, her face reverting to its demon-like visage.

Buffy took a step back in shock, too frightened to do anything. It had always been her worst nightmare to become a vampire, and it scared her even to see it had happened to anotherslayer. But her fear passed quickly when she saw what Stefanie was doing and she said, "Let go of him."

In the process of breaking the wooden leg from a chair, Stefanie looked up in surprise; she had been unaware anyone else was in the room. "You," she said. "You're the girl from the dance club." Stefanie paused, then began to gently probe Buffy'smind. After a moment, she glanced up at Angel. "You're in love with this vampire?!? Even knowing what he is, who you are?!?"

Judging by the rage in Stefanie's voice, Buffy knew she would have to tread carefully. "Well, interracial relationships have become common in this decade," she cracked, hoping to ease the tension. "Besides which, he's not your enemy, and neither amI."

Buffy took two steps forward, taking Stefanie's hand and calmly drawing it away, leaving Angel to massage his sore neck. "Trust us, Stefanie," she said. "We mean you no harm."

Again, Stefanie glared at Angel. "He practically shoved a crucifix in my face! Do you know how much that burns?"

Angel spoke up in his own defense. "I'm sorry," he answered. "It was a bad call on my part... Smelling salts would have been kinder. Provided I actually had them."

Stefanie eyed him in confusion, having never encountered a vampire who had the courtesy to apologize. Or a slayer like Buffy who obviously cared for one. She had witnessed many thingsin her long life, but never quite like this. "Who are you people?" she blurted out.

Buffy pulled up a chair to sit in, taking a moment to clear her throat and introduce herself. "And this here is Angel," she began, reaching for his hand. "He's um... he's approaching his 244th birthday, and... Well, basically, he's not your average vampire."

*Mind if I cut in?* Angel told Buffy silently. *You're only confusing her more.* Without waiting for an answer, he said aloud, "I was average, at least for the first hundred years or so. Then I fed on a young gypsy girl, and her family put a curseon me." He paused, leaning forward. "You're looking at one of the few members of our kind with an actual conscience."

Stefanie was impressed, to say the least. But then, she looked to Buffy, anxious to hear of her background.

It took a second for Buffy to catch on that she was again the center of attention. Once she had, she added, "I've been a slayer for a few years. Started in L.A. Then, I burned down the school gymnasium due to vampire infestation, got kicked out of school, my parents got divorced, and my mother and I moved here of all places. I've barely had a moment's rest since."

With that, Buffy leaned back, feeling slightly nervous. "Now if you don't mind, could you drop the vampire look?"

Unfazed, Stefanie did as asked, knowing how unsettling she must have appeared. But despite what she had learned, she still felt she couldn't trust Angel just yet. Buffy was another matter. "You're lucky you've lived so long," Stefanie said. "I didn't even last a year as a slayer before my life was stolen."

"I nearly came close to dying myself," Buffy replied. "Dozens of times. But I don't consider myself lucky. Being drowned, stabbed, and bitten repeatedly will do that to you... But enough about me. Tell me about you. Who did this to you, Stefanie?"

Stefanie bit her lip, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "There are times I wish I could go back and live my life differently. I didn't want to get caught up in this whole slayerdeal to begin with, but soon found I had no choice... I had a brother who meant the world to me. One night, one female vampire, and that was it. He became one of them."

Buffy's lips parted slightly in shock, but she simply waited for Stefanie to go on, clutching Angel's hand a little tighter.

"My love for him became my weakness," Stefanie said sadly, laying her head down on the pillow. "Linda... My Watcher kept telling me that he was gone, that I merely had to destroy him to end it. But how can anyone kill their own flesh and blood? I drove myself crazy over that one for years afterward."

"Your brother betrayed you in the end, didn't he?" Angel asked. "He made you what you are."

Stefanie nodded. "He drained me to the point of death, but for some reason, he didn't let me die... When I woke up from that ordeal, I was so scared. But I was grateful for my fear, which proved I wasn't entirely like them."

She turned her head to look at Buffy, noticing that the other girl had tears streaming down her face. "I learned later that slayers can't be touched, that the demons which inhabit other vampires can't take them. Ours is a race that simply has far too much benevolence, Buffy."

"Why didn't they just do away with you then?" Buffy asked. "Knowing what a threat you would be to them."

"My brother hid me away from the others, claimed that I was dead. Maybe it was because of the bond we shared in life. A part of that must have stayed with him when he changed, and that's why he couldn't hurt me.

"Anyway, I spent the next few months getting my strength back, regrettably through... well, you know," Stefanie said, her shame apparent. "And eventually, I escaped him... Then, I began to search for Linda, hoping she could help me. And that's how I learned she was dead and another slayer had been called upon to replace me. I've been running from who I was ever since, slayingthe occasional vampire along the way. Nobody knew I existed anymore."

"Until you wound up here," Buffy finished. "Which leads me to my next question. You came to the Bronze looking for help. Why?"

"I slayed a vampire in this area," Stefanie replied. "I didn't know there were so few in Sunnydale. It alerted others to my presence. One attacked me about a mile from the dance club. Roughed me up quite a bit before I staked him. Then, I went to find a place to hide out... When Angel approached me outside the Bronze, I panicked. You know the rest."

Buffy took a deep breath, sympathizing for this girl. "Well, in that case, I'd be willing to help you, Stefanie... I live not too far from here, and my house is completely vampire-proof. Except for Angel, of course."

Stefanie cast a worried glance at Angel, then dismissed any concerns she had about him. If she could be a pleasant vampire, she supposed the same could be true for someone else. "How did you two get so close? I mean, without killing each other?"

Buffy shrugged. "We started off slowly and simply grew to trust each other, the way normal people do," she said. "Plus, Angel's a great guy once you get to know him." With that, Buffy went to retrieve her necklace from the floor, grabbed two bags from the refrigerator, kissed Angel goodnight, and left to walk home with Stefanie.

All in all, the night had been anything but typical for her.But it wasn't over yet...

Well, what do you think? E-mail me with comments, suggestions, etc. I look forward to hearing from you.

More please

I wanna go home!