Angel had been staring at the wall for hours.  He knew the others thought of phantom Dennis as company, but Angel couldn’t get over the fact that there was no conversation.  He was stuck in the apartment all day, as Cordelia’s building had no sewer access.  No sewer access meant watching TV all day, and she didn’t even get cable! 

We have to get an office soon, he thought to himself.

Suddenly his body exploded in pain; as he doubled over one thought crossed his mind, Buffy.

*************************************

As Buffy opened her eyes on a new day, she remembered the events of last night.  He bit her last night, and she seemed to have no control to stop him.  She remembered how erotic it was, and how the Dracula movies she’d seen paled in comparison to the actual event.  Only one man had ever made her feel like that before.

As she looked at the bite in the mirror, she immediately felt guilt and remorse for what she had done.  How can I tell anyone? she thought as tears began to slide down her face.  Last time, it was to save his life.  They understood that.  This time, I don’t know why, she mused as she tied the scarf around her neck.  They can’t find out.

*************************************

Buffy tried to listen to the conversation going on around her, but every time she moved her head, the bite on her neck sent a chilling reminder of pain down her spine.  A constant reminder of the mess she had gotten them into this time.  She was sinking further into the abyss of guilt, and a nagging feeling deep in her gut kept reminding her of Angel.  She was proud to bear his scar.  It would always remind her of him.  But what will Dracula’s scar remind me of?

She was broken out of her silent self-torture as Giles said again, “Buffy? Are you listening?”

Buffy quickly replayed the conversation that had been going on around her.  “Yeah. We'll check all the swanky places first. What else did you guys get?”

Willow beamed, proud of the information she had dug up on Dracula, although it wasn’t too hard to research the most famous vampire.  “OK. Dracula's modus operandi is different from other vampires. He will kill just to feed, but he'd rather have a connection with his victims. And he has all of these mental powers to draw them in…” she trailed off as the sound of squealing tires outside caught their attention.

*************************************

Angel screeched the car to a halt outside Giles’ apartment.  He barely had time to turn off the ignition before he was out of the car and sprinting towards the door, and Buffy.

Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn watched dumbfounded as their boss ran through the sunshine, trailing a thick cloud of smoke.  “He usually act like this around her?” Gunn asked, still confused as to why exactly they were here.

“Yep,” Cordelia answered flippantly as she reached for the car door.  “Everything’s a little different here in Sunnydale.” Stretching her legs and taking a deep breath she added, “Ahh, Home sweet Hellmouth.”

“Well, if Mr. Giles called us down here, I’d say his concern for Buffy is warranted,” Wesley added stretching his lanky frame as he pried himself from the backseat of Angel’s car.

*************************************

All heads turned towards Giles’ door as it flew open and a steaming vampire bolted in.  Slamming the door, he stared at Buffy as Riley stepped forward to possessively pull her towards him.  “Where is he?” Angel growled, his eyes burning golden holes in her.

“Where is who, Angel?” Giles asked shocked at the vampire’s sudden appearance.

“You called us, Giles.  You tell us who,” Cordelia snapped as she entered the door.  Angel hadn’t filled them in on many details and she felt it was time she got some.

“I most certainly did not call you,” Giles said defensively, wondering how the situation had gotten so out of control so fast.  Although he had to admit, he felt a certain comfort knowing Angel was here to help them.

“I lied,” Angel said ignoring the angry glances of those around him.  “Where is he?” he repeated, his eyes never leaving Buffy’s.

“Angel, calm down,” Buffy said pleadingly. “What’s going on?  Who are you looking for?”

“Who bit you?” Angel snapped, wondering if she was trying to hide it from everyone.

Her face flushed red.  How does he know? “No one bit me Angel,” Buffy lied unconvincingly.

“Giles, if you didn’t call us then why did Angel drag us here?” Wesley asked no one in particular but hoping someone would answer.

“He touched what’s mine,” Angel said, his gaze still trapped on Buffy.

Riley stepped forward, pulling Buffy behind him in an attempt to cut off the eye contact she was having with Angel.  “Look, Angel…” he started to explain thinking Angel was talking about him.  He was cut off by the animalistic growl issuing from Angel’s mouth.

“Is anyone else here thinking evil?” Xander asked raising his hand to show his vote on the matter.

“Wait a minute.  If you didn’t call us…” Cordelia trailed off.  As understanding dawned on her she whipped her head around to face Angel, “We’re here for your love life?  Angel, you knew she was seeing him.”

“Not Finn…” Angel said letting the unspoken portion of the phrase hang like a death sentence in front of Buffy.  Trying another tactic, he asked, “Why the scarf, love?”

Riley turned to face Buffy, taking note of Angel’s word choice.  He realized he had never seen her in a scarf before.  “Take off the scarf, Buffy,” he said, Angel’s words starting to make sense to him.

“No…I…” she stammered as her hands defensively shot up to hold the scarf.

Riley caught her arm, “You’re under the thrall of the Dark Prince.”

“Dracula,” Angel spat out his name, his eyes blazing a brighter yellow.  “I should have known.”

Buffy glared at Riley, then Angel, then back to Riley.  “I’m not under his thrall.  This is ridiculous.”  She tried to leave again, and again Riley grabbed her arm.

As he ripped off the scarf, everyone stared at the bite marks on her neck.  Angel was the first to find his voice.  ”He didn’t just bite you.  The asshole marked you,” he said in a voice more suited to an animal than a man.  He will die for this.

“Angel, I’m sorry.  I don’t know what happened.  It’s like I couldn’t say no,” she said quickly as the tears she held in all morning, began to fall down her face.

Riley felt as if he’d been punched.  From the moment Angel walked into the room, she had completely ignored him.  Now she’s apologizing to him for betraying me.

“It’s not your fault,” Angel said, his voice softening, and his human features returning, as he tried to calm her.  “He uses mind tricks.”

“Mind tricks?” Giles asked grasping on anything that would explain why Buffy had allowed herself to be bitten.  “You mean like the ones Drusilla uses?” Giles eyes narrowed as his mind brought up visual images of Drusilla’s mind tricks on him.

“Yes,” Angel acknowledged softly, his gaze leaving Buffy’s for the first time since their arrival.  His eyes met Giles’ and Giles saw the pain of the shared memory, reflected in Angel eyes.

Riley broke the awkward silence.  “Well she can’t go looking for him if she’s under his ‘thrall’,” he said sarcastically.

“Quite right.  Buffy, you’ll need to stay here.  The rest of us will split up and look for him,” Giles said anxious to dive into the task at hand and leave the painful memories behind him.

“There’s still a few hours of sunlight left, and I don’t have access to the sewers from here,” Angel said, for once happy that the demon inside him wouldn’t let him into the sunlight; that he’d be forced to stay here with Buffy.

“Very well,” Giles said cutting off the argument before it even left Riley’s mouth.  “Riley, you and Anya see if Spike knows anything.  The rest of you search around town for any evidence of Dracula’s whereabouts.”

“But I don’t want to go with him.  I want to go with Xander,” Anya pouted, sounding less like a 1000-year-old demon and more like a spoiled child.  “If I go with Xander, I can have sex.  I like sex.”

“Over share, much?” Cordelia snapped rolling her eyes.  Leave it to Xander to find his match in the loser department.

“Anya, you will be in less danger visiting Spike than anywhere else.  And I know how much you like danger,”  Giles said exasperated, feeling more like a babysitter than a Watcher.

“Less danger with Spike?” Angel questioned.

Buffy touched his arm in a silencing gesture.  “I can’t just sit here while you guys are out looking for him,” she protested.

“You can, and you bloody well will,” Giles snapped, irritated that they were acting so childish about the situation.  Taking a deep breath to calm himself he continued, “I’m sorry, Buffy, but if Dracula marked you, as Angel says, you’re in much more danger than we thought.”

*************************************

After a short conversation with Giles, Angel closed the door leaving him and Buffy alone at last.

“What do you mean he marked me?” she asked timidly as he made his way to the couch.

Angel sighed.  How can I explain it this and not incriminate myself? he wondered.  As he took a seat on the couch next to her, he said, ”He didn’t just bite you Buffy; he staked his claim on you…as a mate.”

“But it looks just like your scar?”  Buffy said.  Angel dropped his eyes in response. “Oh.”  Buffy blushed.  His mate? But he left? Attempting to dodge that conversation she quickly changed the subject, “How did you know?”

“Well, it’s the way he bit you.  It’s different…”

Buffy interrupted him, “Not that.  I meant how did you know he bit me?  I didn’t tell anyone…” she trailed off, shame reflecting in her eyes.

“When someone challenges your claim on a mate, you know,” he answered cryptically.

Buffy sighed, realizing the conversation kept coming back to this subject, she said, “Angel, I haven’t been your ‘mate’ in a long time.  You left…” she trailed off drawing a deep breath to stem the threatening flow of tears.

Tenderly lifting her chin, he met her eyes.  “You’ll always be my mate, Buffy.  No matter how hard it is, no matter how far apart we are, you’ll always be my girl.”

*************************************

Riley stomped through the graveyard.  Why is it when her ex enters the room, I cease to exist? he wondered idly, kicking a discarded cigarette pack across the ground.  I’ve been with her for almost a year now, but it feels like she still loves him. He suddenly stopped walking as the realization hit him.  She still loved him.  He realized he would just have to show her how it was better to have a live boyfriend than an undead one.

Anya, thinking Riley had stopped to finally let her catch up, said angrily, “It’s about time.  You walk much too fast.  You must slow down if I’m to keep up.”

Riley just glared at her, how he ended up with her trailing along was beyond him.  “We’re almost there,” he snapped, setting out at the previous ‘much too fast pace’.

When he stopped again it was in front of Spike’s door.  He reached to open it, when Anya grabbed his arm. “It is customary to knock,” she scolded.

“I will not knock on a door to a crypt,” Riley said, his anger fueled by Angel’s earlier appearance.

“Fine, but if he eats you I’m not to blame,” Anya said casually, releasing her hold on his arm.

He opened the door spilling sunlight into the crypt.  Spike, caught unaware, narrowly missed being burned.  “Bloody hell.  You could at least knock,” he spit angrily.

“I told him to,” Anya said, defending her actions in all of this.

Riley and Spike both glared at Anya.  Riley spoke, “I'm looking for some information. Might pay a little.”

Knowing he was almost out of money, Spike shrugged, “I'll play.”

“What can you tell me about Dracula?” Riley asked his eyes narrowing, waiting for Spike to lie to them.  It would be the perfect workout for his anger.

“Dracula?” Spike scoffed. “Poncy bugger owes me eleven pounds, for one thing.”

“You know him?” Riley asked shocked.

“Know him? We're old rivals,” Spike said as he lit a cigarette.  “But then he got famous, forgot all about his foes.”

“But he's not just a regular vampire. I mean, he has special powers, right?” Riley insisted, still trying to grasp the reality that he had bit Buffy.

“Nothing but showy gypsy stuff,” Spike said shaking his head.  “What's it to you, anyway?”

“He’s in town, and he's gunning for Buffy,” Riley started explaining.

“He marked her,” Anya piped up, interrupting Riley’s careful plan to avoid mentioning that.

“Marked her, huh?  And who made that keen observation, Captain Cardboard over here?” Spike said, motioning to Riley.

“No, Angel did,” Anya said, still laughing from Spike’s new nickname for Riley.

“Angel?  What’s he here for?” Spike said, concerned for his wellbeing if his sire was in town.

“We don’t know really.  He just kinda’ showed up,” Riley admitted shrugging his shoulders.

“Let me get this straight, Drac bit Buffy and Angel showed without anyone calling him?” Spike asked, starting to think this would not just be another boring day in Sunnydale.

“Yep,” Anya answered simply.

“Then he marked her all right.”  Watching Riley’s reaction, he decided to needle him a bit. “He musta’ felt Drac challenge his claim.”

“Claim?” Riley asked, his eyes widening as he began to wonder if there was anything he’d be able to do to get Buffy back.

“She’s his mate, soldier boy,” Spike supplied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, delighting in the pained look in Riley’s eyes.  “Taking a mate’s for life.”

*************************************

After he had spoken the truth, an uncomfortable silence had fallen between them.  It lingered until Buffy had finally nodded off on the couch.

Angel sat at the foot of the couch and watched his beloved sleep.  Her reaction to his proclamation of love surprised him.  He knew Buffy was still angry at him for leaving, he knew their last meeting didn’t go well as they had fought first in LA, and then in Sunnydale.  The problem was that only he remembered that one wonderful day; a day that was seared into his memory for all eternity.  She had shown him her love that day, told him repeatedly how much she loved him, she’d even screamed it in the throes of passion; now, she remembered nothing of it.  He realized that forgotten day shaped his emotions toward her.  It was no wonder she could go on with her life, not knowing what they could have had together.

His brooding was interrupted as she suddenly awoke.  Looking at Angel, her eyes unfocused, she said, “I’m sorry, Angel.  I have to go.”

“Go?  Go where?” he asked already knowing the answer.

Without speaking another word, she turned and walked out the door.  Angel sighed.  There was only another half-hour until sunset.  He couldn’t follow until then.  Picking up the phone, he dialed his own cell phone number.

“I see her,” Giles answered.

*************************************

Buffy entered the castle, pulled there by an unknown force.  She looked around, her eyes adjusting to the torchlight.  She gasped in fright as he suddenly appeared before her.

“You have come to me, Slayer,” Dracula said, his melodic voice dancing across Buffy’s skin.  “I knew you would.”

“I didn’t have a choice in the matter,” Buffy answered, her voice flat and emotionless.

“You always have a choice,” he cooed seductively, as he turned and walked down the hallway.  A part of Buffy, buried deep down, was furious that a vampire would be so cocky as to turn their back on the Slayer, but the part of her that was in control followed him down the hall without even a whimper in protest.

*************************************

Giles had been following Buffy since she left his house.  Angel had known Dracula would call to her and lead them straight to him; he had also known he would do it when Angel couldn’t follow.  As Giles had followed her, he had quietly called each of the group’s cell phones and met them en route.  By the time they reached the castle, the whole gang was there to help Buffy.

Looking up at the castle in wonderment, Riley said, “I've lived in Sunnydale a couple of years now. Know what I've never noticed before?”

“Uh, a castle?” Giles asked not believing his eyes.

“A big honking castle,” Riley muttered as they stepped up to the door.

As they entered the castle, leaving Willow and Wesley as look-outs outside, they looked at the myriad of hallways.  “Let’s split up,” Giles strategized.

“Again, with the splitting up.” Anya said throwing her hand up in frustration.

“Will you shut up already?” Cordelia snapped angrily.

As they paired off to search the castle for Buffy, Cordelia’s grumbling echoed down the hall, ”Why do I get the loud mouth?”

*************************************

Xander and Gunn discovered quickly that every turn in this place had multiple doors leading different directions.

“I’m thinking bread crumbs may be our only way out,” Xander quipped as he opened yet another door, and promptly fell into the pit below.

“Xander,” Gunn shouted from the doorway. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’m alone down here,” Xander said, only mildly disturbed that three very gorgeous vampires were crawling their way up his body.

“Hang on, I’ll get you out,” Gunn yelled looking for something to pull him out with.

“Take your time,” Xander mumbled, as the sisters began to writhe and nibble on his body in a most erotic fashion.

*************************************

Riley and Giles entered the main hall, to see Buffy and Dracula in a sensuous embrace.

“Excuse me,” Riley interrupted, “but I believe that’s my girlfriend you’re kissing.”

“She is not yours,” Dracula said, his attention still on Buffy.

“No, she’s mine,” Angel’s voice boomed through the hall, snapping Buffy out of her trance.

Everyone in the room was surprised at his sudden appearance and stared at Angel as he stormed forward in true vampire fashion.  He grabbed Buffy and gently pushed her towards Riley and Giles, knowing they would keep her safe.  “You challenge my choice of mate?” he asked menacingly through a mouthful of fangs.

“You left, she is no longer yours,” Dracula said shrugging his shoulders.

“Wrong.  She will always be mine,” he said, his voice sounding more like a growl than words as he leaned towards Dracula menacingly.

Suddenly both vampires ceased their aggressive movements and turned slowly towards Buffy.  From the looks on their faces, she knew they had smelled the pool of desire her body had formed as an involuntary response to Angel’s growls.

Angel slowly turned back to face Dracula, a knowing smirk on his face, “See.  She is mine.”

Riley looked confused as he studied Angel’s reactions, then Dracula’s, he noticed the scowl cross Dracula’s face.  “Then fight for her,” Dracula said slowly dissolving into thin air.

Angel watched the trail of smoke as it moved towards him.  With a burst of preternatural speed, he reached out and grabbed into the air above the mist.  “You think so little of me to use gypsy tricks?” Angel snarled.  “Did you really think I hadn’t studied Gypsy magic when that’s all that binds me to my humanity?”

Dracula’s form shimmered into view, Angel strong hands wrapped around his neck, “I underestimated your grasp on magic,” he squeaked.

“As you did the grasp on my mate,” Angel supplied.  “Get out,” Angel said, violently tossing Dracula towards the door.  “Come near her again and I will find a way to kill you.”

Dracula quickly scrambled his way out the front door, anxious to leave the angry vampire’s presence.

As he left Giles turned to Angel, “Why didn’t you kill him?”

“Let me guess, can’t be killed?  Just like in the movies?”  Buffy said shrugging out of Riley’s grasp, suddenly annoyed by his presence.

“Something like that,” Angel said with a lopsided grin.  As he stepped closer to Buffy, Riley pulled her back into his arms and began to lead them out of the castle.

“Find the others,” Riley shot over his shoulder as they walked towards the door.  His voice drifted down the hall as he leaned in to Buffy, quietly asking, “I’m confused.  What made them turn and look at you like that?”

“She doesn’t love him,” Giles said in response to the low growl issuing from Angel, as he alone heard Riley’s question.  “She still loves you.”

“I left Giles, I can’t fix that.”  He couldn’t believe Giles would actually help him on this.

“You can, and you should,” Giles insisted, surprising them both.  “You said she’s your mate.  Prove it.”  That said, Giles stalked out the door after Riley and Buffy.

Angel stood rooted to the spot.  Did Giles just tell him to be with Buffy? He doesn’t even know about my soul…his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Gunn and a very disheveled Xander.

“Did you find Buffy?” Gunn asked, scanning the room for danger.

“She just left with Riley,” Angel said dejectedly.  “What happened to you?” Angel asked Xander, taking in his ripped shirt and torn pants.

“I got attacked,” Xander said a blush creeping across his face, as Gunn starting laughing.

“Oh, yeah.  You shoulda’ seen the fighting moves he used,” Gunn said between fits of laughter. “Impressed the hell out of me.”

“Let me guess, the sisters?” Angel said a knowing smile creeping across his face, as he realized how Xander must have been fighting, or not fighting as the case may be.  “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Tell what?” Anya asked, coming into the room trailing a very irritated looking Cordelia.

“Tell that he’s one hell of a fighter,” Gunn said, meaning to spill the beans.

“Yes, he’s very good,” Anya agreed.  Confused by Gunn’s giggles, she continued, “He was a soldier for Halloween once.”

Now the confusion was Gunn’s, as Angel, Cordelia and Xander all erupted into laughter.  Feeling like the outsider, he changed the subject, “So we headed to LA now?”

“Not yet,” Angel said, the smile disappearing from his face.

“Wait, vamp’s gone right?  What are we waiting on?” Gunn insisted.

“I can’t leave yet,” Angel said looking longingly at the door.  “Not until I get her back,” he added softly.

“Why do we have to leave?” Cordelia asked flippantly.  “Why don’t we just move the business here?”

“It could be just like old times,” Xander piped up.

“Not exactly like old times,” Angel said softly.  No danger of losing control with her this time.

*************************************

Everyone sat around the Summers’ living room, catching up with each other now that the danger had passed.  Angel’s eyes never moved from Buffy as she moved about the room making ‘forgiveness’ cookies as she called them.

Riley, in turn, watched Angel’s every move.  He had the nagging feeling that he had lost Buffy, but wasn’t ready to admit defeat yet.  His eyes were drawn to the other side of the room, as Cordelia regaled them all with stories of battling evil lawyers in LA.  He hardly noticed when Buffy left the room to tend to her cookies.

Angel noticed however.  Quietly he slipped behind the group and snuck into the kitchen.  He watched Buffy making the cookies, completely unaware of his presence.  As she flitted about the kitchen, his thoughts became less polite as the idea of making her his again seemed like more of a possibility.  As she bent over to place the cookies in the oven, an involuntary groan escaped his lips.

Without turning around, she chided, “Just how long to you plan to stand there and drool over these cookies?”

Slowly moving towards her, he cooed, “I wasn’t drooling over the cookies.”

“Oh,” she said blushing.  Turning to face him, sadness in her eyes, she continued, “Angel, you know I’m with Riley now…” she trailed off.

“I don’t care,” Angel said, still slowly advancing on her.

“You don’t care?” she snapped angrily.  “You were the one that told me to get a normal life; you were the one that wanted me to move on.  Now you’re gonna’ come down here, chase him away, then leave again.  That’s not a very normal life.”

“I’m not leaving,” he said simply.

“You’re not?” she asked, backing up as he was close enough to her now he was starting to invade her personal space.  The thoughts of the invasion betrayed her anger and she felt her body warm to the response.  “What are you doing?” she asked her voice squeaking more than she would have liked.

“Well, I planned on reclaiming my mate,” his voice dripping with lust.  His senses were immediately assaulting with the scent of her arousal at that statement.

He bent his head down and captured her lips.  As he forced his tongue into her mouth, the fires of passion flared between them having been denied too long.  Breaking the kiss, Buffy turned away, “Angel I can’t do this.”

Reaching around her he began to caress her breast lightly, while placing kisses along her jawline.  “Then tell me to stop,” he purred into her ear.

“Angel…” she said trailing off, knowing she could never tell him to stop.

Pulling her roughly towards him, pressing his straining erection against her he repeated, “Then tell me to stop.”

No words were spoken, but permission was implied as she slowly began to wiggle against his erection, relaxing into his arms.  He slid his hand up her thigh and under her skirt, as he began to caress her through her soaking panties.

“Angel…we can’t…the curse…” she managed breathily.

“Not a problem,” he said roughly as he hooked a finger under the elastic and slipped it into her.  She gasped at the pleasantly rough invasion as her muscles gripped his finger.  Growling at the pressure on his finger, he wanted more.  He wanted to prove to her that she was his.

He quickly withdrew his finger, tearing the offensive material barrier in the process.  Using one hand to free his straining cock, he used the other hand to shove her roughly to the counter.  In one fell move, he swiftly entered her, sheathing himself fully in her heat.

“Mine,” the sound erupted from his chest as he pounded into her, her moans of pleasure driving him further past the line of decency, and releasing the demon inside him.  The smell of their sex mixed in the air with the smell of the burning cookies, but neither noticed, fully consumed in the passion.

The coupling approached a fevered pitch as Buffy began to quiver beneath him nearing her release.  Pulling her upright, he whispered in her ear, “You are mine.”

“Yes,” she whispered in agreement and pleasure.  He lowered his mouth to her neck and bit roughly into Dracula’s mark, erasing any trace of him on her body.  As her blood welled into his mouth, he barely noticed her keening as she slipped over the edge in ecstasy.

He withdrew his fangs and shoved her back onto the counter, plunging into her harder as he neared his edge.

*************************************

Anya grabbed the empty plate of cookies and headed into the kitchen for refills.  She watched the couple having sex on the counter completely oblivious to her presence, refilled the plate of cookies, and walked back into the living room as if nothing was happening.  However, Anya being herself she couldn’t keep the news to herself.  “Xander, you have a large penis right?” she asked.

Xander choked on the cookie he had just placed in his mouth.  Swallowing painfully, he answered, “Is this a trick question?”

“Well, I think you have a large penis,” she said answering her own question, “which makes that more disturbing.”

“My having a large penis disturbs you?” Xander questioned, embarrassed that his conversation was taking place in public.

“No, I like your penis,” Anya said matter-of-factly.  “But Angel’s is twice as large as yours.”

It was now Riley’s turn to choke, “What?”

“Well, I know that Xander’s penis can be uncomfortably large in certain positions, so I don’t understand how Buffy can be enjoying it at that angle,” she answered as if asked the time of day.

Riley stormed into the kitchen to see what was going on and stopped in the doorway, his jaw on the floor.

Angel opened his eyes at the commotion from the doorway.  His golden eyes locked on Riley’s. “MINE!” he roared never breaking his rhythmic pounding into Buffy.

“Always!” Riley heard Buffy moan, unaware he was standing in the doorway.

“I think you’d better leave now,” Giles said, as Riley stepped back from the door in shock.

“Giles, this can’t be right.  I mean, maybe it’s a leftover from Dracula.  I mean, Angel bit her,” Riley protested refusing to believe his girl would willingly have sex with a vampire.

“I imagine he would.  That’s what happens when a vampire claims a mate,” Giles answered calmly.

“Wait, what about his soul…didn’t Buffy say he loses his soul if he has sex?”  Riley said, not believing that everyone in the room seemed to be defending Angel.

“No, he loses his soul in perfect happiness.  That,” Xander said motioning to the kitchen, “is not perfect happiness.  That’s just sex.”

“Besides, his soul is permanent now.  No problems there,” Cordelia said.   Giles, Xander, Willow, and Anya slowly turned to face Cordelia, their mouths gaping.  “Why is it no one’s surprised that he’s fucking her into a counter, but everyone’s surprised that they can do it as often as they want?”

Riley hung his head in defeat.  He knew he had lost the love of his life, apparently never really having her at all.  As he left the room dejectedly, Wesley said to the remaining members of the group, “I think it’s safe to say we won’t be going back to LA.”

Gunn said, “As much as I really love this group, I need to go back.”

Angel tossed a set of keys his direction catching everyone by surprise as the couple’s entrance had gone unnoticed.  “You’ll always be welcome here,” he said as he followed Buffy upstairs to begin the next chapter of their lives.  Together.

*************************************

~THE END~



Challenge:

Just after Dracula in season five.(I changed it to during)  Premise:

Angel finds out that Dracula drank from Buffy and loses it. He comes back to 'reclaim' her and brings his whole team, including Gunn. Angel must NOT blame Buffy for the bite, but instead puts all the blame on Dracula. It'd be good if you work in that Dracula had to 'enthrall' her to allow him to drink. Should be either R or NC-17 

Must have:

1)       Angel's curse permanent. Happened over the summer, as part of his 'Shanshu'.

2)       Angel seeing the scar while Riley's holding Buffy and knowing it isn't his.

3)       Buffy being turned on by Angel growling and Riley bringing it up to her later.

4)       Xander and Giles being all chummy to Angel, and jealous on his behalf.

5)       Cordelia getting out of the car in Sunnydale and saying "Ahh! Home sweet Hellmouth!"

6)       B/A happy ending, of course!

Include at least five of the following:  (I only listed the ones I included)

3) Spike calling Riley 'Captain Cardboard' and Anya laughing.
5) Gunn saying "I'm really loving this group."
7) Angel screwing Buffy in a public place and being possessive about it.
She likes.
13) Xander impressing Gunn in a fight.
16) Anya seeing Buffy and Angel having sex and then describing it to Riley
in graphic detail.
21) Cordelia urging Angel to move the business back to Sunnydale.