One True Valentine
By Samantha Gold

Spoilers: Up to "A New Man" and "Expecting" …in case you didn’t guess it’s so that icky sex didn’t happen
Feedback: My e-mail address is up there if that’s a hint…

Author’s Note: Doyle’s not dead because I love him. So there, Joss! For the sake of the fic, let’s just say that when Doyle got ready to jump and disconnect the Scourge’s device that it suddenly shut off, some kind of malfunction or whatever and that everyone lived as happily ever after as you can on TV land. So that also means that Cordelia is still virginal because she’d never sleep with some guy when she has Doyle!
Second Author’s Note: I’m actually writing a special occasion fic! Amazing, huh? Here it is, the magic that is valentine’s day.
Third Author’s Note: Getting sick of them yet? Okay, this starts slightly sad and angsty, but it gets better! And actually has quite a few fluffy parts.

Dedication: I’ll make it sentimental. This is for all those lovers out there who are sharing this special day. All together now, awww…

-Buffy-

Tomorrow’s Valentine’s day, so I should be happy. But I’m not. I just can’t bring myself to look forward to it. Sure, this year I’ve actually got a boyfriend for the big event, knowing Riley he’ll probably buy me something nice and maybe even take me out, but there’s a different man out there whom I’m more concerned about. Angel.

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about love…I don’t love Riley. Maybe with time I’ll grow to, but I just don’t see it happening. Besides, I don’t think you should have to convince yourself to fall in love with someone.

The other thing is, I don’t know what I want. I love Angel so much and I still can’t help but wonder if he loves me too. What if he sends a gift? …What if he doesn’t?

-Angel-

Another day, another innocent to help. Yeah, that’s me, the dark avenger. Baddies of the world beware or I’m going to get you. I roll my eyes at my own mental joking. I’ve been sounding a lot like Buffy lately. Of her too.

Buffy. Her name fills my heart with pain because I know that I don’t deserve her no matter how much I care. I love her. I can’t help but wonder if she still thinks of me. Part of me wants nothing more than for her to forget about me, so that she can stop hurting. The other part, I’m sorry to say, wants her to be sad without me, wants her to miss me, to love me still…but that’s unfair. I didn’t leave her so that she could be miserable.

I can’t help but think that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day…The patron day of lovers. She probably has a new boyfriend whom she’s planning on spending it with and I genuinely hope that she enjoys it. Even though my heart screams at the injustice. It should be our day.

I shake my head. Thinking about her and pitying myself won’t help me move on at all. Maybe I should just sleep through the rest of today and tomorrow…

-Willow-

I open the door to the room Buffy and I share only to find her curled up on her bed. She’s crying. Again. I only wish I could understand why, but she just keeps on building these walls around herself and she won’t let anyone in. It doesn’t matter how much I just want to help her.

I drop the bag I was carrying onto the floor, then make my way over to my bed. I pick up the book on my night table and start reading. I don’t bother asking Buffy what’s the matter or even acknowledging that she’s so sad. Why bother? She won’t tell me and she just tries to cover it up and pretend that everything’s fine when it’s so obvious that it’s not.

As I begin settling into the third chapter of We the Living, I notice Buffy drying her eyes and straightening her clothing out of the corner of my eye. She mutters something about having taken a long nap, her cover story, I guess, and picks her bag off the floor and takes out her homework. Oops, I forgot about that.

With a sigh, I put down the book and get out my own homework. I start the second draft of my essay by dating it. Today is… February… thirteenth. With a start, I realize that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I completely forgot!

And I’m going to spend it alone. Wonderful. I miss Oz… I shake my head, putting on my resolve face. No moping for this young witch, no way! It’s just a stupid old holiday that makes people feel lonely…at least, that’s how it’s making me feel.

-Buffy-

Will came back from wherever she was off to, didn’t even notice me. Big surprise there. Oh well, its not like I actually wanted to explain why the hell I was crying in the first place. She probably wouldn’t understand how I feel anyway.

I look down at the textbook in my hands and the words on the page all blur together. I wonder what the technical psyche definition for loneliness is? I wonder if my picture’s next to it…

Or maybe Angel’s is. He’s always been the person to talk to about that. "Loneliness is the scariest thing in the world," he told me once. I don’t think I ever understood that as well as I do now. The killer is that it’s his fault we’re lonely! And why can’t I stop thinking about him?

I was supposed to have moved on. And Riley really is sweet, if not a slight bit of a dork at times. But he’s good for me and he's stable…or at least, I thought he was. Demon hunting isn’t exactly the stuff dreams are made of, certainly not romantic ones.

Why does everything seem to come back full circle to the supernatural? I think being the Slayer’s a bigger part of me then I would have wanted to admit back in high school, but it’s true. I just seem to keep on attracting the darkness to myself. And is that really such a bad thing?

-Anya-

I’m bored. Xander’s gone out, so that means that we can’t have intercourse. That’s so unfair! I like sex. He’s been acting very strange lately. He keeps on sneaking out and he won’t tell me where he’s going. Why not?

It makes me angry when he keeps secrets. I told him that too, but he just smiled that adorable Xander-smile of his and answered that I should trust him and that it would be worth it. Whatever that means. That little grin of his almost made me melt and forget that I was upset with him. Almost.

But I’m bored. I stand up and look around. Now where does he keep his Twinkies?

-Cordelia-

Doyle is so sweet! He keeps on growing on me like a Chia Pet. Except he’s not green, more of a blueberry colour when he’s in his grr face, actually. He just told me that he made reservations for us at Chez Francoise, a really trendy, swanky French restaurant, for tomorrow night.

It’s not like the places he usually frequents and it’s not exactly in his price range. But that’s what makes it so special. He’s going out of his way to give me a fantastic Valentine’s Day, which is really sweet of him. Of course, there’s no way on this earth that I will let him pay for it all. That’s something that the old me would have done and it wouldn’t be fair for him. After all, Valentine’s Day is for guys too, right?

And, looking through my closet, I just realized that I have absolutely nothing to wear for the special day! I know, I’ll go see Angel. He has more money than he’s letting on, maybe he could give me a special Valentine’s Day bonus? I’ll have to go beg him.

I grab my jacket and head out the door…

-Oz-

Being alone sort of sucks. Also, the three nights of the month I’m a werewolf? Not good. Banged up the van twice when I chained myself to it. I think I might go back to Sunnydale. I miss Willow. I love Willow.

I’m not exactly one for words, but I know that she’s the most precious thing in the world to me and I am amazingly sorry that I hurt her. I want to go back to her. Does she miss me like I miss her?

Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day. Let’s see if I can get back in time to find out.

-Giles-

Dear God, another one of these blasted things. Damn these books! All they ever seem to do in predict apocalypse, after catastrophe, after prophecy. And I’m bloody tired of it.

Poor Buffy, it’s not fair that she should have to spend Valentine’s Day worrying about impending doom and an age-old prediction instead of spending it with that new boyfriend of hers. Granted, I don’t like him much, and I don’t trust the Initiative, nor do I want Buffy to become involved with it. Professor Walsh is some kind of fishwife! I don’t like her a bit.

I’ll have to call Buffy, whether I want to or not. It’s her birthright to not have any sacred days that are safe from evil. She is the Slayer and she needs to stop it.

I pick up the phone…

-Angel-

Valentine’s Day… It used to be called Lupercalia; a Roman holiday dedicated to the Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses, Juno. Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.

Then Claudius the Cruel imprisoned the Saint Valentine long before I was even born. Valentine, a Christian priest in the Roman Empire, was marrying couples in love, despite Claudius’ order that all engagements and marriages be cancelled so that he could gather more men to the army for his war. Horrible, when you think about it. Apparently, Valentine died on the fourteenth of February in the year two hundred seventy AD.

Later on, when Christianity spread throughout Europe, including my homeland of Ireland, the Church abolished all pagan holidays. So the holiday was renamed for the Saint who was lovers’ best friend.

Perhaps he is whom I should be praying to… Too bad I don’t pray. But did he not teach us that love is something to be fought for? That it is something that occasionally goes against and breaks the rules? It has never been said that traveling the road of love is a smooth journey…

The Roman god Cupid is also seen as one of the patrons of Valentine’s Day. He’s also known as Amor or Eros in Greek Mythology. The ancient Greeks believed Eros to be the force of love; Amor actually means love. So if there were any day that would be perfect for me to let Buffy know just how much she means to me, tomorrow would be it.

But would it really be fair to her, to do that? Why didn’t I do anything for her last year? I can’t believe that I left her; can’t believe that she’s gone from my life. The pain…it’s incredible...

-Cordelia-

I walk into Angel Investigations and spot him immediately. He’s sitting in that chair of his, the lights are off and he’s got Buffy-face. He’s brooding, again.

Stifling a sigh, I perkily sing out, "Hey Angel! You know, they say brooding can cause wrinkles, and since you’re going to be stuck with that face for a literal forever, you really shouldn’t."

He groans, upset at being interrupted and probably at my teasing too. "What do you want, Cordelia?" He asks.

I smile, this is pretty much our routine and I love it. Lately Angel’s been pretty much like an older brother to me and I love that. Despite what I want others to believe, it was pretty lonely being an only child.

"Do I have to want something every time I see you?" I ask innocently, knowing full well what he will say.

"Yes," he smiles.

I laugh and elicit a chuckle from him. "Okay… As you know, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow," I start, setting him up. I don’t really need to, but it’s half the fun. "And since it’s such an important day, I thought that a person, such as myself, should be well-dressed for a day with their honey, don’t you?" I don’t stop to let him answer, but assume that he would agree for the sake of argument. "Well, I don’t have any clothing and I really need a new outfit…"

He sighs, but reaches into his wallet and pulls out his credit card, throwing it at me. "Don’t knock yourself out too hard," he tells me.

I smile. "You know me."

"I know, that’s why I said it."

I would stick around, but stores are waiting and I’ve only got so much time! So, thanking him, I head for Tiffany’s…they’ve got to have some great stuff!

-Xander-

Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day and I’m determined that, for once, I will not mess it up. Okay, so Anya doesn’t exactly get valentines and all that but it matters to me and I want it to be special. Special, meaning that I surprise her with gifts, we go out, and then we go back to my place and probably have lots of sex.

Only problem is, well, cash. Or should I say the lack thereof? Ugh, I swear, Giles is rubbing off on me. I’ve really got to stop spending so much time over there.

But back to the current problem, what to get Anya. Okay, the store’s got chocolates, which are good because Anya seems to like food as much as I do, but there are so many different kinds to chose from! How will I ever decide? There are milk chocolates, dark chocolates, white chocolates and all these other kinds of imported, but more importantly, expensive chocolates. And they come in red boxes, white boxes, pink boxes, blue boxes, black boxes, round boxes, heart-shaped boxes…let’s just say there are lots of different boxes. And don’t get me started on sizes.

Okay, maybe not chocolates, maybe I should go for flowers. I walk over to the flower section. Is this supposed to be an improvement? There are carnations, violets, daisies, roses, tulips, and a bunch of other flowers that I can’t even name! I eye one. Is that a flower or a new Barbie Doll accessory? Maybe I should go for the classic rose… Or not. There are red ones, white ones, pink ones, long-stemmed ones…I’m not liking this.

All right, can the flowers, let’s check out the jewellery…

-Buffy-

Giles just called. There’s a new prophecy for tomorrow, big surprise. You’d think that for once, just once, I could have a special day without anything going wrong, wouldn’t you? But fate and I just don’t seem to be seeing eye to eye these days.

"In the new false millennium, on the lovers’ day, erroneous passions need be recognized and olden ardor’s built anew. If those of omnipotence carry on the counterfeit, the earth shall be overrun with chaos," Giles told me the prophecy said.

He’s trying to figure out what it means and he wants me to go over to help him. I don’t even know what half the words mean! How am I supposed to figure out what the whole thing is saying? I’m so not research girl. We should get Willow or someone for this.

I sigh. Duty calls and wrecks yet another special day for me. Sometimes destiny really sucks. Actually, lately it’s been that destiny sucks all the time.

Okay, if I have to, I have to. Maybe if I go over right away, we may figure it out sooner. The sooner you start, the sooner you’re done, right? I roll my eyes. Yeah, right is more like it.

"I’m heading over to Giles’," I tell Willow.

-Willow-

Giles just phoned about a new prophecy.

"Do you want me to come with?" I ask Buffy.

She shrugs. "Sure," she concedes. "Maybe you’ll be able to make more sense of it than me."

I nod and stand up, murmuring, "Okay." As we head out the door I grab my laptop so that I’ll be able to do some searching on the net if need be.

-Doyle-

I find myself humming "Date with an Angel". Now that was a great song. The best part, of course, is that I really do have a date with an angel. Or at least with a princess. I feel quite blessed to be with her, my Delia.

We’ve been dating for about a month and it’s been wonderful. She still teases me mercilessly but I don’t mind as it’s part of what I love about her. Especially now because I know that she does care for me, and it is no longer a rejection.

So tomorrow is February fourteenth and we’re going to one of those fancy restaurants she loves. I’m still not sure exactly how I’m going to afford it, but it doesn’t matter. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, right? So I’ll just have to find that way. She’s worth it.

Now all I’ve got to do is get her a gift and we’ll be all set. I think I’ll just go with the classic candy and flowers.

-Cordelia-

Oh my god! I have to buy this dress! It’s perfect! It’s long, violet and slinky. It just barely grazes the floor with heels on and it’s strapless. There’s a slit up the back, which reaches to about four inches above the back of my knee, making it sexy and easy to walk in. I just love it! And the best part? It’s on sale! Luck is with me today! It’s only fifty dollars; regular price is two hundred!

I head back into the change room after marveling at myself in the mirror for another few minutes, than change back into my clothing. I drape the dress over my arm. Now I just have to find a pair of matching shoes and jewelry to go with it.

I head to the shoe department and a pair of tiny black sandals with little amethysts embedded in the straps. I make a beeline for them, but when I look closer, I can tell that they’re fakes. That’s okay, though, because no one else will be able to tell and they’ll be cheaper. I look around until I find them in a size five and, after a fifteen minutes of looking, I find them.

I try them on and they fit perfectly. They’re pretty and they go with the dress really well, which is the most important thing. Lastly, I need jewelry, but I’m not going to look for it here. I have an amethyst necklace at home that the IRS didn’t take, so I can wear that. I got it for my thirteenth birthday and it has matching earrings and everything. I can’t believe how perfectly everything is going!

As I’m heading for the cash register to pay for everything, something in the men’s section catches my eye. It’s a light purple dress shirt and the colour doesn’t even look chintzy! I’ll bet it’s in Doyle’s size too and it would be really cute if we matched. I mean, if you match all the time, it’s nauseating and pathetic, but just this once… it is a special occasion, after all.

That’s it, the decision is made and I grab the shirt too. Then I go to the register and pay with Angel’s visa. I really owe him for all of this, there’s got to be something I can do. I’ll ask Doyle, he usually has good ideas.

-Xander-

I can’t believe I actually thought it would be easier to shop for jewelry. There’s so many different kinds! Necklaces, bracelets, anklets, rings, earrings, toe rings…and the list goes on. If you choose what type, then you’ve got to decide on the metal! There’s silver, gold, white gold, coloured silver, fakes and a bunch of other stuff. If you decide to go for the real stuff, there’s all these different karat amounts. What’s a karat?! And I don’t even want to think about all those different kinds of jewels and crystals.

Maybe jewelry isn’t the answer. I glance around the department store. What about lingerie? But, the idea of talking to some woman about what kind of underwear I want to see my girlfriend in and trying to decide what size she needs and all that isn’t really something that appeals to me. So scratch that.

Well, let’s see. I’ve debated on chocolates, flowers, jewelry, and lingerie, and there are just too many options for all of them! I really wish I were better at this. What did I get for Cordelia when we were dating? Oh yeah, that heart-shaped necklace. How did I ever decide on that? Oh, remember that too. I had help, owed the Buffster big time for that one.

Maybe that’s what I need. I ought to get Buffy or Willow to help me out with this. They’d know what a girl wants a lot better than I would. Payphones are by the doors, I’ll call their dorm room and see if they can give me any advice.

I walk over, dial the number and let it ring. And it does. Rings a few times until I get their answering machine. I’m not really in the mood to leave a message, I always sound so stupid when I do that. Well, I sound stupid even when I don’t, but… Hanging up I turn around and see the Slayer’s boyfriend himself, Mr. I-am-a-GI Joe-demon-hunter Riley. If I can’t get Anya a gift right away, maybe I should have some fun. My best ideas do come to me when I’m joking around, after all.

-Oz-

I never knew there were so many shortcuts in the US. It’s cool. I’m making good time. I might even be in Sunnydale by tomorrow morning. Willow would like that. Or would she? Is she mad at me? I did leave her, even though she begged me not to.

I didn’t want to, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to find myself. And now I have. I know who I am. I’m Oz. I love Willow. That’s all that matters. Yeah, so I’m a werewolf three nights a month. So what? Willow’s always assured me that it doesn’t matter to her and I believe her.

Did Angel feel like I did when he left Buffy? Nah, those two are soul mates, it must’ve been ten times worse. Wow. That’s a lot of pain. That’s got to suck.

-Doyle-

Damn! I’m just about to pay for the heart-shaped box of those little chocolates and a bouquet of mixed flowers when of those damned visions hits me like a ton of bricks! Feel sorry for the poor woman behind the counter, she must have thought I was having some kind of spastic attack.

As soon as it finished, I painfully paid for my purchases, trying to play down the whole thing, then found the nearest phone. I should call Angel, it must be important and seeing as I’m his contact to the Powers That Be… Yeah, I must’ve gotten the vision for a reason.

I pick up the telephone and dial the Angel Investigations number. He picks up on the second ring.

-Angel-

I wonder how much damage Cordelia’s doing to my credit card. Not too much, I hope. Of course, it is a special occasion, so I feel compelled to let her do whatever she wants. One of us should be happy at least. And in this case, two of us will.

I’m glad that she’s given Doyle a chance, he worships her and I think that’s something she needs right now. He treats her well, he’s a good person. Of course, it took her almost forever to forgive him for not telling her that he was half-demon. And it took even longer than that for her to forgive him for trying to sacrifice himself to save everyone when the Scourge tried to wipe us out. But overall things have run pretty smoothly for them and I’m glad.

I only wish I could say the same for my life. I thought that with time the pain would lessen and I wouldn’t hurt as much, but I was wrong. The pain only gets stronger every day, I just get better at hiding it. It’s been even worse since Thanksgiving, when Buffy visited and I was human. Of course, she doesn’t remember and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. What would the point of her remembering be? So that she could hurt over it like I do? So that she could long for something that we both know we can never have?

My train of though is interrupted by the telephone ringing. With a sigh, I dash over and pick it up. "Um, Angel Investigations, we help the helpless," I manage.

Doyle’s familiar Irish accent greets me. "Angel man, I just had a vision," he tells me.

I swallow. That’s not usually a good thing. "And?" I prod him. "What did you see?"

I can almost see him shaking his head as he answers me. "’Twas real blurry, but I kep’ ‘ton seein’ all these people…couples. They kep’ ‘ton bein’ broken apart by this – this force. And I saw others bein’ thrust together. ‘Twas maddening, I tell ya," he explains. His voice softens. "I saw your Slayer, man."

"Buffy? You saw Buffy?" I whisper.

"Yeah."

"What – what was happening to her?" I ask. "Was she okay?"

"Well there was this light shinin’ outta her. She was in th’ middle of it all. An’ it seemed to be all up ta her. Ya should call ‘er, man," he answers.

I shake my head. I can’t call her, it would be too hard, open too many old wounds, hurt too much. "I can’t," I tell him.

"Angel, ya have ta," he replies firmly.

"But – " I start.

"Angel," he cuts me off. "This is bout the world, if ya want your redemption, your going to have to put the world first. Ya need to call ‘er."

I sigh. He’s right. "Okay," I concede. I’ll call her."

"Good," he crows. "I got a date, too."

"When?"

"Valentine’s Day, tomorrow." And he hangs up.

Slowly, I put the phone back in its cradle. Then I stare at it.

-Giles-

Buffy and Willow arrived a few minutes ago, prepared to help combat this prophecy we face. God bless them, they work so hard for this world. Buffy, especially. She always seems to be sacrificing her special moments to her calling, always appears to be putting her life on the line. Hopefully that line won’t snap for a long while, I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to lose her.

I pick up the volume I found the prediction in. It is opened to the proper page and I show it to the girls, who both read it over carefully a few times. After a few minutes, Willow reads it aloud, perhaps to help herself better comprehend it.

"In the new false millennium, on the lovers’ day, erroneous passions need be recognized and olden ardor’s built anew. If those of omnipotence carry on the counterfeit, the earth shall be overrun with chaos," she reads.

I nod, acknowledging that that is indeed the correct prophecy.

Buffy asks, "So what does it mean?"

"New false millennium is this year, right?" Willow questions. "Because everyone’s calling it the new millennium but the new millennium doesn’t actually start until next year."

"Yes, that’s true," I respond. "And the lovers’ day would be tomorrow, St. Valentine’s Day."

"Okay, so far I understand…What are ‘erroneous passions’?" Buffy murmurs.

"Erroneous means false, mistaken, or untrue," Willow supplies. "And passions are emotions. So it must be talking about false emotions."

"Very good, Willow. Yes – " I would have gone on, only that blasted telephone started its annoying ringing so I had to go off and answer it.

-Willow-

Giles’ phone rang and he picked it up, barking "What?!" at whoever happened to have the bad luck of being the person to call him.

Buffy and I are being quiet, so that we can hear. His voice sounds grim and we can’t figure out who’s on the other end, though Giles has calmed down a great deal.

"Hold on a second," he instructs the person on the other end. He covers the mouthpiece and looks at us. We exchange looks, than stare back at him expectantly.

"Angel’s on the other end," he starts off and I look at Buffy. Her mouth makes a little "o" shape, but she manages to mask any other emotions she might be feeling. I’d imagine that there are a lot of them.

"His friend, Doyle, has had a vision, which he feels would be quite important to us," Giles goes on.

"What was the vision?" Buffy asks quietly.

Giles looks pensive. "He wasn’t able to tell me much because it wasn’t his vision, so he was only able to tell me what he was told, but he – he says it was chaos. Utter and complete chaos," he tells us. He swallows. "Err, you were there, Buffy."

Buffy stands up. "Let me talk to him," she says and Giles hands her the phone. "Hi, Angel?" She questions immediately. "Yeah, long time no see and all that… So I was in this vision your little friend had… A light? …Okay, so we’re talking about people getting thrown apart and together and I’m just standing there looking all pretty? What am I doing? …So he didn’t say… Okay, any idea when this might be?"

Why is her voice so harsh? Is she mad at him? Why? Well, I know why and I guess it’s understandable, kind of. Why is she pushing everyone away? I just don’t understand her anymore.

Her forehead crinkles up in concern. She whispers, "Tomorrow? As in Valentine’s Day?" I can’t hear his answer, but I’m guessing that it was "yes" because she looks at me and says, "Wills, get the Tenitian prophecy for me."

So I do. I rush off, get the book, and give it to her. She opens it to the marked page.

"Okay, I got it," she comments. Then she reads it to him. A few minutes pass in silence while he contemplates it. "Okay," she then says before hanging up. She looks at us. "Angel’s coming here," she informs us softly.

-Cordelia-

I walk into Angel Investigations with my bags. I had decided to stop here on my way home and didn’t expect to see Doyle already there, but there he was, talking with Angel – who has a duffel bag over his shoulder – quietly.

I look back and forth between the two of them. They’ve got worried expressions on their faces. What’s wrong?

"Doyle had a vision," Angel tells me, answering my silent question.

"And?" I prompt. I hate how he always makes me ask for every piece of information. Why doesn’t he ever just tell me everything at once?

"’Twasn’t pretty, princess," Doyle fills me in. I love his nickname for me…but now is really not the time to think about that. "’Twas tomorrow an’ there were people bein’ thrown about like mad."

"Chaos," Angel states.

"That’s right," Doyle continues. "An’ Angel’s Slayer was there."

"Buffy?" I murmur. They nod solemnly. "So? She’s the Slayer. Danger’s nothing new for her, she’s always in the middle of these kinds of things." I look at Angel pointedly. "I’m sure she’ll be fine." I know how he worries about her. Sometimes I think she’s the only thing he ever thinks about. I want to comfort him.

"I’m going to Sunnydale," Angel tells me softly. "They found a related prophecy."

I nod slowly, digesting all of this. Angel’s going back to Sunnydale? As in where Buffy is? Where all those hard memories were made? Oh, this is going to be good.

-Buffy-

I walk back to Giles’ living room, away from their accusing glares. They follow me.

"Angel? Coming back here?" Giles inquires nervously. Why do they care? I fight back the urge to roll my eyes.

"Yeah, he’s coming back here to help with the prophecy," I state.

Willow looks worried. "How do you feel about this, Buffy?" She asks in a soft, concerned voice. I feel like she is pitying me and I really don’t care for that.

I shrug. "Why would I have a problem? It’s just business, nothing else." Yeah, right. Just keep telling yourself that.

They seem to be debating on whether or not to say something, but I guess they decide against it. Good.

"It sounds like this will be quite draining for you, Buffy," he says in a tired voice. "I suggest you go into the spare bedroom and lie down."

Slowly, I nod. Sleep is good. Besides, it’ll give them a chance to talk about me behind my back. "Okay, I’ll do that," I mutter and I leave.

I lay down on the bed. Hmm… I exhale sleepily. Bed soft… I didn’t realize I was so tired!

-Doyle-

"Do you want us to come too?" I hear my princess ask. What? No! I mean, I understand that this is going to be bad for the world and all, but I really, really like Cordelia. And those reservations were damned impossible to get! I owe a near half dozen guys favors.

All of a sudden I realize that they’re both looking at me expectantly, waiting to hear my input.

"Go?" I choke out. "As in leave for Valentine’s Day? Ta Sunnydale?" I know that there’s a note of panic in my voice, but it can’t be helped.

Delia bites her bottom lip, but doesn’t say anything. Angel looks at me sympathetically.

Princess finally finds her voice and murmurs, "Looks that way." She sounds sad, even a little resigned. She lived on a Hellmouth though, I guess she’s used to this. "Angel?"

"You guys stay here, I don’t want your first Valentine’s Day together to be ruined," he says.

"Angel, you don’t need to feel guilty," Delia breaks in. "If you need us, we’ll come."

"Yeah," I agree. Princess is right. "If ya want us ta come with ya, we’ll do that, man."

He shakes his head firmly. "You guys should stay here. It’s okay."

Cordy and I relent and he leaves, with us wishing him luck – he’ll need it – and murmuring that we’ll call him if I get another one of my visions.

-Xander-

I walk over to Riley and smile at him. "Hey Fish Boy!" I greet him with a grin. Fish boy is my nickname for him because his last name is Finn. Finn…Fish…he hates it. That’s why it’s perfect.

He looks up. "Oh hi, Xander." He doesn’t even bother correcting me anymore. I love it.

"So what brings you here the day before Valentine’s Day?" I joke. He takes me seriously.

"I’m going to get Buffy a Valentine’s Day present," he tells me.

He holds up a card bearing a picture of a cartoon cow – I swear the guy’s obsessed with the things – and he opens it up. It reads, "You moo-ve me, Valentine!" Gag me now.

"So what do you think?" He asks. He’s got to be kidding.

I crack up. I can’t help it! He’s in College and he’s giving his girlfriend the same kind of valentines that we gave out to every kid in the class back in grade school. Tell me again what Buffy’s doing dating him?

"Yeah, isn’t it funny?" He chuckles.

Okay, I know I used to complain about Dead boy, but right about now, I really miss him. He was never this bad. Ever. Not even when he was running in one of his brooding marathons! My god, I don’t think I even hated him as much as I hate Riley when he bit Buffy. Besides, Dead boy made Buffy happy. And he loves her.

"Um, Riley, don’t you think that you might want to give Buffy something that, I don’t know, isn’t at a pre-school level?" I ask.

He frowns. "What do you mean?"

Okay, how can I put this? Do I really need to spell it out? I think it’s spelled L-O-S-E-R…but I’ve never been the best speller, so who knows.

-Giles-

"Willow, do you know what the problem with Buffy is?" I ask quietly.

She shakes her head sadly. "She’s been like this for a while now. I used to ask her what the matter was, but she always brushed it off and told me that nothing was wrong even though I know something is," she answers. "I’ve given up asking her, but I haven’t stopped noticing… When I came into our room this morning she was crying."

"I thought she was adjusting well," I murmur.

"To what? To college?" Willow inquires.

I shake my head. "To life without Angel," I state. I thought it was pretty obvious. He’s the only part of her life that has ever had the ability to throw her like this. At least of everything I’ve seen and that’s been quite a bit.

"Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day," Willow whispers. "I guess I can see how that would be hard for her…but she’s got Riley now! She likes Riley a lot, doesn’t she?"

Shrugging, I say, "I don’t know, I’m not around them enough to have a sense of that. But he’s not her soul mate, Willow. I’m sorry to say that she’s already found and lost that."

Willow frowns. "Why didn’t I think of that? We should do something," she comments.

"Yes, we should," I agree. "But right now I feel that it is vital that we look into this prophecy."

"Okay." And we do.

-Angel-

I’ve got the top of the convertible up and I’m grateful that the windows are blackened. This way I should be able to get to Sunnydale by dark. I’ll be no help if I arrive just in time to watch chaos arrive.

Driving does not require too much thought, so when I drive my thoughts tend to wander. Usually to Her. That’s what they’re doing now.

I can’t believe I’m going back to Sunnydale again. This is going to be incredibly hard, but I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t come and something happened to her.

She’s everything to me. Even when I’m not around her, I’m still doing everything for her. She’s the inspiration that leads me to my redemption. She’s the one whose forgiveness means the most to me. I love her with all of my heart and all of my soul. But I don’t deserve her.

I try to block out the memories because they hurt so much, but I can’t and I really don’t want to. Though they’re painful, they’re also all that sustain me.

I remember how her skin feels, always so soft and smooth. I remember the taste of her, how I could go insane and how I loved every minute of it. I remember the glorious pressure of her body pressed to mine and the equally wonderful feel of her lips against my own. I’d kill to feel them again.

I also remember that I hurt her. More than once. I remember having to struggle for control at times, barely holding my head above the water, so to speak. If I hurt her again, I think I may have to stake myself.

-Oz-

I’ll be in Sunnydale by noon tomorrow. I might have been sooner except for that detour and the couple of pit stops I had to take. But I’ll be there by tomorrow. I’m glad.

I hope I don’t have to make any more stops.

I turn on the radio. I like this song. Cool. I drum my hand casually on the steering wheel with the beat. Yeah, this is very cool.

-Willow-

"In the new false millennium, on the lovers’ day, erroneous passions need be recognized and olden ardor’s built anew. If those of omnipotence carry on the counterfeit, the earth shall be overrun with chaos," I read the prophecy for what feels like the millionth time.

"All right, we’ve already established that the prophecy is talking of the Valentine’s Day tomorrow," Giles states. I nod. "And the second sentence is saying that we need to recognize false emotions, correct?"

I nod again. "‘Olden ardor’s built anew’…I’m having trouble making sense of that one," I murmur.

"As am I, perhaps we should skip ahead to the next part?"

"We could do that."

"If those of omnipotence carry on the counterfeit," I read. "Well, omnipotence means all-powerful, almighty, and god-like…"

"So it must be talking about those who are powerful," Giles concludes.

"But who are they?" I question.

"Perhaps it refers to the Slayer? Angel did say that she was in the center of the vision and it wouldn’t be the first time that the prophecy has focused on her," he suggests.

"That could be it," I allow. "So the Slayer ‘carries on the counterfeit’… Buffy’s manufacturing fake money?" This is really confusing.

-Doyle-

"Well, since we’re both already here, I guess I should show this to you now," Delia suggests.

I look at her, suddenly very curious. "Show what ta me?"

She reaches in her bag and pulls out a purple shirt. A men’s purple shirt. Uh-oh. "Purple?" I ask.

"It matches my dress," she tells me. She looks at me with pleading eyes and I know she’s going to get her way. "I thought it would be really nice if… I mean, it is Valentine’s Day tomorrow and all."

With a sigh, I nod, sealing my fate. On the positive side, I don’t have to worry about wearing something that would offend her and now I know what kind of flowers to buy her.

-Riley-

"Buffy’s not an eight-year old, she’s going to want something that’s actually got feeling behind it," Xander states.

There’s lots of feeling behind this! It was really hard to choose this card! And cows are very special things. I couldn’t have chosen a more special animal to have on the card. I know she’ll love it!

Oh well, Xander doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Besides, he doesn’t even go to College, so what does he know? Yeah, Buffy will love it. Now I need to find a card for Professor Walsh, should I get her flowers too? I think the professor would like flowers. I’m already getting Buffy one of those hearts that are full of skittles…

"Hello? Earth to Riley…" Xander’s waving his hand in my face. I blink. I hadn’t even realized that I’d zoned out there!

"Sorry," I murmur.

He sighs. "I’ve got to get Anya her present, you just do whatever you want." He walks off and I shrug. Now, what kind of flowers to get Walsh?

-Angel-

Finally, I get there. Just as I thought, it’s just after dark, so I can step out of my car without fitting into a dust buster. That’s always good to know. I walk up Giles’ steps and knock on the front door.

Giles answers it. "Angel, you’re here quite soon," he comments.

"I left as soon as I could," I reply. "What have you got so far?"

He moves out of the way and I go in. I see Willow in the family room, but looking around, don’t see anyone else. Where’s Buffy?

"She’s lying down to conserve her strength," Giles tells me. Am I that transparent?

"Okay," I pick up the book of Tenitian Prophecies, I’m pretty sure that’s the one Buffy said it was in. I open it up and, sure enough, the prophecy all but jumps out at me. I read it in my head, then put it down.

"What do you make of it?" Giles asks.

"Does it make any sense to you?" Willow inquires. "We figured out that it’s tomorrow, that we need to recognize false emotions, and that it probably revolves around Buffy."

"Okay, so tomorrow false emotions need to be seen for what they are and old passions or loves need to be re-established and renewed. Then, if Buffy and other people who are powerful continue to pretend things that they don’t really feel, we’re going to see chaos similar to what Doyle saw in his vision," I attempt a surmise.

"That could quite possibly be true," Giles agreed.

"What could?" I turn around. My love is awake.

-Buffy-

The second he arrived, I felt him and I was wide-awake. Even after all that time apart, I can still feel him inside when he’s near. Is that good or bad? I’m not sure.

I get up, smooth my hair and clothing, then head to the living room, where I know they are. I arrive just in time to hear Giles agreeing with something that Angel said. I’m not sure what though, so I ask.

Angel’s really knowledgeable, I wonder if he cracked the prophecy already? Well, even if he found out what it means, we’d still have a lot of work to do.

"Angel may have discovered the meaning of the prophecy," Giles informed me.

I force a smile. "Great," I murmur. I spare a glance at Angel. He doesn’t seem to be very comfortable. Is it the situation or is it me? Probably a combination of both, I realize.

"As far as I can tell, the prophecy is saying that unless those with powers realize that they are faking certain emotions, are honest, and renew old loves, we’re in for chaos," Angel surmises what I guess they covered earlier.

"Okay, so who are those with powers?" I ask.

"We think that it’s you, Buffy," Willow tells me.

"But it says ‘those of omnipotence,’" I point out. "It’s not talking about just me, there’ve got to be others. Guys?"

"Maybe by omnipotent they mean warriors," Angel suggests.

"Warriors?" I echo, frowning and making a face.

Angel appears to falter for a second before covering it up. "It just means the people who fight for good and the Powers That Be," he answers.

"So people like you and Buffy, then," Willow states.

"Yeah," Angel murmurs.

-Giles-

"How do you know if someone’s a warrior?" Buffy questions.

Angel shrugs. "It’s up to the Powers That Be, I’m not too sure," he replies.

"Well, let’s say that this omnipotence is referring to your ‘Warriors’, what does this mean? And how do we prevent the overrunning of chaos in our world?" I inquire.

"I think that’s what we need to figure out," Buffy says softly.

I nod. "All right then," I reply. That’s when the phone rings. With a sigh, I get up to answer it. That contraption is getting right annoying.

"Hello?" I question gruffly as I pick up the phone.

Cordelia’s voice greets me. "Hi, Giles," she responds, ignoring my tone. "Look, Doyle just had another vision."

"He had another vision? What did he see?" I ask.

"He says that there’s some kind of box. It’s called the…the Valour of Virtue and it responds only to the truth. You need to get the PTB’s two strongest warriors to correct all false emotions or something to the box and then it’ll emit some kind of light that will save us. Go figure," she informs me.

"And who are the two strongest warriors?"

"I’m pretty sure it’s Buffy and Angel…together anyway," she answers. I hear a hiss of pain in the background and I can almost feel Cordelia withdraw. "I’ve got to go, that one really banged Doyle up. You guys can call if you need anything else."

I tell her, "I understand." She hangs up and then, so do I.

I walk back into the living room. "Your friend, Doyle, just had another vision," I tell them. "Come on now, we’ve got to research the Valour of Virtue."

-Willow-

Valour of Virtue…that sounds so familiar. I know I’ve heard of it before, I think it’s some kind of truth box, isn’t it? But where would we find it? I pick up my laptop, hook it up and turn it on. I wait the few seconds it takes for it to boot, and then I log onto the net. I begin searching and soon I’ve found a match.

The Sunnydale Museum, how convenient. But how will we get this? I guess we could send some kind of team to get it or something. It wouldn’t be the first time Buffy’s broken the law to save the world.

"Guys," I murmur. "I found it. It’s at the Sunnydale Museum."

Buffy nods. "Okay, Angel and I will go for it then, you and Giles should keep on researching."

"Okay," I reply. "It’s a golden colour box and it’s in the west wing, all right?"

"Got it," she smiles. "Angel?"

"Ready," he states, standing up.

"Be careful," Giles murmurs. And they’re gone.

-Angel-

We get to the museum in good time. I swear the security in Sunnydale has got to be some kind of joke. LA’s a lot harder to sneak around in. Of course, we both work well, especially in the dark. It’s our calling.

I think I’m going crazy. I must be imagining. It’s not possible that we’re really moving in sync as much as we appear to be to me. There’s just no way. I glance over at Buffy, trying to read her eyes, but I can’t. They’re too guarded. She seems to have changed a bit, or maybe that’s just her defenses.

We slip around from hall to hall, trying to find the box. Finally, we find it on display. The caption reads "Valour of Virtue" and it’s a golden colour just like Willow said. It’s got to be the right one.

"Do you sense any hidden security measures or anything?" Buffy whispers.

"No," I whisper back. "I don’t think there are any."

"Let’s hope not." And she grabs the box. We freeze for a second. Nothing. Breathing small sighs of relief, we take off together.

Somehow, I guess the same way we managed to get in; we manage to get out. We arrive at Giles’ doorway and not even thirty minutes have passed since we left.

I spare a glance at Buffy. Every time I see her she’s more beautiful than she was the last time I saw her. She’s got the box under her arm and her cheeks are slightly flushed from running. It makes her look incredibly sexy.

She feels my stare on her and meets my eyes. I try to avert my gaze, but I can’t bring myself to turn myself from her. Her eyes are captivating and they bind me where I am.

She blinks and I find myself counting her eyelashes, the strands of hair that surround her face, the specks in her eyes. Everything. I could lose myself in her. This is crazy; I’ve got to stop.

-Xander-

Get back to my house at about eleven. Anya looks ready to kill me. I’m just glad that I hid the packages in the car. She won’t find them this way. I can’t believe I actually found something for her. And I think I chose well! I’m so proud of myself.

"Where were you?" She asks, hands on hips.

"I – I had things I needed to do," I stutter.

"Things? What things? Why couldn’t I come?" She demands.

"Don’t worry about it," I tell her.

"No! I will worry. Because that’s what women do," she informs me. "Are you cheating on me?"

I choke back a laugh. "Not at all," I assure her. "Look, you’ll find out tomorrow, okay?"

She sighs. "Okay," she relents. She smiles at me, then. "I missed you."

I smile back. "Me too," I murmur. Then we kiss. I really like Anya. A lot.

-Buffy-

Wow. I can feel my breathing quickening and I will it to calm, but it doesn’t seem to be listening to me. Angel has the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen. Staring into them, I can feel myself slipping back in time… No, stop that, I order myself. He left me. He doesn’t want to be with me. Last time he was down here he didn’t even let me know he was here and when I went to LA he barely said two words to me.

But I can’t seem to stop myself. I love him so much, but I can’t let anyone know. Besides, I’m with Riley now. It would be wrong to hurt him. Hell, how would I hurt him? This is Angel. We’re talking about Mr. Noble himself. He’d never let us go anywhere with it anyway.

"We – we should go inside now," I murmur. He blinks and he looks like he was just snapped out of some kind of trance. Did I do that to him? No, probably not. I only wish I could.

"Um, yeah," he slowly agrees. He reaches for the door handle and opens the door. Then he holds it for me. He always was the gentleman. I walk in, shifting the box’s weight to my other arm as he closes the door. He notices and takes it from me, giving my arms a bit of a rest.

"Thanks," I murmur. He gives me one of his half-smiles by way of a response. I manage one in return and we enter the living room, baring the Valour of Virtue…or is it Virtue of Valour? I can’t remember and I don’t care. We’ll just use the stupid box and be done with it.

"We got the box," I announce.

"Thank heavens," Giles whispers. I frown.

Willow explains, "It needs to be done before midnight. Oh and Giles was telling me about the vision that Doyle had, the second one. Apparently you and Buffy are the two strongest warriors for the Powers That Be right now, so it’ll need your confessions."

Hold on a minute. Confessions? As in, I need to confess everything that’s in my heart to some box? And probably all the people in the room too? Why am I not loving this?

And Angel’s too? What if he ends up confessing that he doesn’t love me? That he found someone else in LA? Please tell me he didn’t find someone else in LA. I don’t know if I could stand it.

-Angel-

It needs us to tell our secrets. To tell the truth. It sounds almost like confession in Church, only instead of confessing to a priest, we’ll be confessing to a box. And not in an empty room.

What if Buffy tells that she’s moved on? And it’s the truth? I know that I left, but it would break my heart to hear it. Not so soon… No, if the world needs it, then I have to. Doyle told me that I might need to make some big sacrifices while trying to earn my redemption and this is nothing compared to sacrificing my humanity. I can do this.

"All right," I whisper, my throat suddenly dry. I glance at the clock on Giles’ table. It is eleven thirty. We haven’t got much time. "What do we still need?"

"Just the spell to activate it which…I’ve got right here," Willow answers, pointing to her computer screen. I see her plug in her printer and soon the noisiness of a poor quality, portable printer fills the room.

"Okay," Buffy agrees apprehensively.

"Printed," Willow announces. She holds it up as though to prove it. "Do you want me to do the spell now?"

Giles nods. "Please."

Willow begins chanting in a language I’m not too familiar with. I can’t understand the spell exactly, but I figure that it must have worked because the box, which I had placed on the table earlier, begins to glow and floats a few inches in the air.

Unconsciously, we all seem to gather around it, mesmerized.

"I’d suggest that you do this now," Giles whispers, glancing at the clock. It’s ten to. Time seems to be just flying by.

"Buffy, you go first," Willow tells my Slayer.

Slowly, Buffy nods and looks at the box. She swallows, then begins to speak.

-Riley-

Working night shifts can get pretty boring, but I don’t mind too much because I get to talk with Professor Walsh.

"Riley," she’s saying. "That demon you killed tonight makes eighteen! I’m so proud of you!"

I beam. "I love you," I blurt out. Hold on, where did that come from? Suddenly, I feel different, like I can’t lie. I think for a few seconds and then I realize that it’s true. I love Professor Walsh.

Who is looking at me strangely right now. Uh-oh. "I thought you were in love with Buffy," she whispers.

I shake my head. "It’s been you all along," I murmur. "It’s always been you."

Then Maggie does something that you don’t see too often. She breaks into a wide grin. "Well," she says slowly. "I love you too."

I smile and give her my hand, which she accepts. We walk out of the Initiative hand-in-hand. We’ll be back, of course, but right now, I think we need some quality alone time.

-Willow-

"Um, I love Riley," Buffy tries. Why is she still pretending? Of course, she quickly sees that it’s not going to work because the box’s aura turns red. She sighs. "Okay, I don’t love Riley." The aura returns to its original colour. She looks up and her eyes meet Angel’s. "Angel, I love you," she whispers. The box gets brighter. "I always have, I always will. Angel, I’m never going to get over you." Her eyes are shimmering. Tears, I realize. "And I don’t want to pretend anymore." She glares at the box. "There are you happy now?" Her voice is full of contempt.

"Um, okay, you go now, Angel," I try to ease the tension in the room.

He looks at the box, then without any hesitation, he declares, "I love you, Buffy Summers, with all my heart and with all my soul. I will never love another as long as I should live."

Buffy looks up at him. By now there are tears in both their eyes. They’ve both been lying, I realize. To themselves, each other, everybody. I think I’m going to cry; this is so beautiful.

I glance over at the box. It appears to be humming almost, the light is vibrating so strongly, and then the light explodes in an éclair of golden light. I can feel it flowing through me and it’s extremely calming. I love Oz.

-Giles-

It’s Valentine’s Day morning. Buffy and Angel have gotten back together and I’m happy for them. Buffy finally seems to be happy again, the girl she used to be. There’s no better Valentine’s day gift for me.

Willow is back at her dorm and my heart goes out to her. It’s a shame that one so young should have to spend a day of love alone.

-Anya-

I like Xander. He bought me presents. I didn’t even remember that it was Valentine’s Day. As a vengeance demon it wasn’t exactly one of the holidays I celebrated.

I’m out at a little restaurant with my Xander. And he finally lets me open them. He got me a heart full of red skittles, a box of chocolates, and a silver pinky ring with my name engraved into it. It was very sweet of him. I feel bad that I don’t have a gift for him.

I guess we’ll just have to have lots of sex to make up for it.

-Oz-

I pull up at UC Sunnydale at one o’clock. I get out of the van and head straight for my Willow. I love her and I can smell her. She’s here and she’s sad. I hope I can make her feel better.

I reach the dorm room and I knock on the door.

"Who’s there?" I hear her voice call out.

"It’s me," I answer.

Suddenly I hear her dash up and throw the door open. "Oz?" She questions disbelieving me.

I nod. "It’s me," I reply.

She throws her arms around me and I hug her tight. "I love you," I whisper. "I’m sorry I left, I can’t live without you."

She smiles back at me. "I love you too and I’m glad you came back."

She lets me into her room and then she closes the door behind us. I love Valentine’s Day.

-Cordelia-

This has been the best Valentine’s Day ever. The worlds not in complete chaos and me and Doyle are eating in Chez Francoise together. He gave me orchids. I love them! They go with my dress perfectly. We match nicely.

I smile across the table at him. Then he does something I hadn’t expected. He pulls out a jewelry box. He can’t possibly have been able to afford all of this! Slowly, gingerly, he opens it. Inside is a small anklet with the words "Doyle’s Princess" on the inside. He looks at me tentatively.

My smile grows even wider. "I love it," I whisper, taking it from him. "Okay, that’s it, you’re going to let me pay for dinner."

He opens his mouth to protest. "Delia – "

"Forget it, Doyle. I know you’re not made of money and I don’t expect you to be. I love you just the way you are," I tell him. Hold it. Love, I just said the L-word. Do I love him? My heart tells me I do.

He seems just as surprised as I am. "That’s right, Doyle. I love you," I whisper.

He smiles. "I’ve loved you since I met you, Delia."

I melt.

-Angel-

She loves me. Even after everything I’ve done, she still loves me. I’d better be careful. I’m so happy I could lose my soul.

We’re in that spare room of Giles’. He’s at Jenny’s grave. He’ll probably be there all night. We’re not at her dorm because Oz got back and she wants to give Willow sometime alone with him, which I can understand.

I hug her close to me and she relaxes in my arms. It’s like she was made to fit into my arms. Or perhaps my arms were made to embrace her. It doesn’t matter, all that matters is we’re a perfect fit. I press a kiss to her forehead.

"Spend the night, Angel," she whispers.

"Okay," I whisper.

We lay down on the bed together. The curse is still there, there’s nothing we can do about that. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t love her. And never underestimate cuddling.

I hold her in my arms and I feel truly loved. As we fall asleep, I reflect back on the day. This has certainly been the best Valentine’s Day ever.

THE END