Slayer Chronicles~~Jackson

By the Duchess of Buffonia

Disclaimers: I don't own anyone except for Jackson and any other character who isn't familiar. All credit goes to the one and only creative genius, JOSS WHEDON.

Spoilers: well, there's really not any

Feedback: ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY!!!! I CRAVE it

Description: A new slayer after Faith dies, but this slayer is a little different than expected.

Rating: Watch the show and you can read this...pretty tame.

Author's Notes: This is my first story that hasn't been erased by my evil vampire parents. It's been lots of fun writing this except when I "accidentally" deleted the whole thing. Thanks to Zak and everyone else who sent it back to me. Special thanks my posse, the people who actually read it, <cough> Melissa! Erin, luv ya babe! Your oh so helpful! Celeste, thanks for yelling at me when I broke up Buffy and Angel. It was very distracting, but oh well. Thanks to Nikki, who kind of got me started on writing Buffy fic. Oh and extreme thanks to Lady Silvana, who came up with this great challenge for me and many others. I would be very happy to listen to other challenges you have for me. Anyway, I'm dedicating this to the memory of Buffy and Angel's relationship. It's destruction has depressed me beyond repair. Buffy and Angel forever!! Literally!! Luv ya' all. Thanks for reading. Bye Erin! :)

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Buffy Summers sat silently at a table in the Sunnydale High School Library surrounded by her best friends, Willow, Xander, and Oz, and her ex-Watcher Giles. She was quivering, a very un-Buffy thing to do. But then again what she had just done was also a very un-Buffy thing to do.

"Buffy, look, don't even think what you did was wrong-it wasn't and you know it. Faith needed to be destroyed, before she destroyed everyone around her. She was evil....you did the right thing." Willow was Buffy's best friend and she always tried to see her friends through their hard times.

"Yea Buff, it's not like you killed someone who will be missed all that much, " Xander said in his own matter-of-fact way. "The world would be grateful if they knew."

Buffy looked up at them. "Thanks for trying to help, but you don't understand. You can't just kill a human being and then just move on in four seconds....no matter how big a bitch they were. But don't worry, I know I did the right thing. Faith can't hurt anyone ever again." Buffy was referring sadly to the loss of her short-lived Watcher, Wesley Wyndham-Price. He'd only been Buffy's watcher for a few months before he was brutally tortured and killed by the evil slayer. That was the final straw for the Scooby Gang- even though they hadn't accepted him all that much yet, it was a crushing blow. " I'm gonna go home for awhile...see you all later," with that Buffy picked up her bag of goodies and left four forlorn Slayerettes in her wake.

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~ 2 weeks later~~Sunnydale High~

"So are we Bronzin it again tonight, or did something else fun get built in Sunnydale last night?" quipped Xander at lunch in the quad.

"Ooh, yea, Oz's band is playing again tonight...I tell ya they are gonna be big," beamed Willow.

"You can always tell who the girlfriends of the band are, "Buffy said smiling at her radiant friend. "And answering your question Xander, maybe. I have to patrol tonight and look for the new slayer who should be coming to town soon."

"Really? So soon? I can't wait to see who she is. I hope she's not as extreme as Kendra but not as, well, physco as Faith. Somewhere right between the two would be good. Like you Buffy...your like perfect well-rounded slayer girl," Willow said flustering a little bit.

"I'm pretty sure that was a compliment......and your right, we need normalcy for a change," Buffy said thoughtfully. " But in Sunnydale, nothing is of the norm, and probably never will be."

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~The Bronze~

Buffy walked in upset about her seemingly endless patrol. This slayer will never show up! she thought frustrated. She glanced around but saw that she got there too late, all her friends were already gone. 'Oh well, might as well get a drink'. Buffy walked to the bar and spied a cute, VERY CUTE, new guy sitting a few feet away. He saw her and a flicker a familiarity ran through his eyes. Buffy stared a little harder at him and then looked away scolding herself. 'Your still with Angel, you know' Buffy reminded herself. But she couldn't resist looking once more. He was still staring at her with this intense look that kind of scared Buffy. She got her drink quickly and walked outside, still thinking about Cute Guy. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a scream. She dropped her drink and ran towards the sound. In the alley outside the Bronze a vampire had a teenage victim in its claws. Without hesitation, Buffy flung herself at the vamp and grabbed the girl. After she was pushed aside, the frightened girl scampered off yelling. Buffy looked at the vamp and grinned. Slaying was just too easy now. She drew out a stake from her sleeve and began to fight. With hardly an effort, the vamp was dust.

Buffy wiped her hands and stopped when she heard clapping. She spun around surprised to see Cute Guy applauding her.

"Bravo, you really are an expert aren't you? I'm very glad I followed you out here. I've been looking everywhere for you. Your Buffy, right?" he asked smiling.

Buffy was confused but nodded. "And who are you?" There was that cute half-smile again.

"Come on, you mean you haven't been looking for me?"

"That was the dumbest pick up line I've ever heard! What do you want?" His smile turned to frown. "I guess you don't realize who I am...I suppose that would be expected. I'm Jackson.... the newest vampire slayer."

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~The alley outside the Bronze~

Buffy stared at Jackson in absolute disbelief. "You do realize you're a guy right? So unless you had a sex change, raise your hand if ewww, you are not a slayer."

Jackson had to chuckle at that one. "No, no sex change. And I assure you, I am the slayer...as much as you are."

Buffy sits down on a crate and contemplates this for a moment. A male slayer....not possible according to Giles....then again Giles had been known to be wrong......once. Jackson interrupted Buffy's thoughts.

"Um....vamp."

Buffy looked behind her and saw another vicious vamp closing in on them. She was up in a flash but saw Jackson had beaten her to the punch and was savagely beating the vamp. Buffy watched in amazement as Jackson dusted the vamp in one quick fluid like motion. He turned around breathing hard.

" Is that enough proof for you?" he asked grinning cockily. Buffy just let her mouth drop in silence.

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~ The school library~ Later that night~

Giles descended the stairs from the stacks with a book in hand. "Well, Buffy, this certainly is very curious. I've always been led to believe females were the only ones able to stop the vampires."

"Led to believe? As in the council could have kept it from you?" Buffy asked getting up from her seat at the table where Jackson sat listening intently.

"Well, I-I very much doubt they would keep this from me, but...ahh," Giles trailed off as he found something in his book.

"What? Giles? Yo book boy! Sharing is caring you know," Buffy prodded her mentor.

Jackson laughed at the amusing Buffy. " Let the man read."

Buffy paced impatiently waiting for him to finish. Giles set the book down, took off his glasses and began to wipe them as he always did when he had news. When he was done, he picked up the book and started to talk. "Well, as it turns out, there has been a male slayer before. It seems that the third slayer in history was a man as was the 103rd and203rd and so on. Every 100 years it is a man. Jackson, I'm not quite sure what number you are, but it seems now is the time."

"Color me still confused. Why even bother with men, no offense Jackson, but we women do just fine, " Buffy said proudly.

"I'm not exactly sure...maybe the Council's way of being non-sexist," Giles laughed at his lame joke.

"Yeah, Giles, maybe, " Buffy groaned. " Or maybe something else is going on. Keep working on it. Meanwhile, I'll show Jackson the ropes."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I've seen the ropes just fine already, or did you not see me kick that vamp's ass back there?" Jackson said grinning.

"I didn't mean slaying ropes, I meant school ropes, " Buffy explained.

"There are school ropes? Where was I when that happened...."Jackson and Buffy, engaged in their own petty discussion left the library leaving a sleepy Giles banned to more research.

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~Sunnydale High~ The next morning~

Buffy spied Jackson coming out Principal Pimpel's office. Principal Snyder was killed by a " gang on PCP" a few weeks earlier and his replacement was no better. Not that he wasn't nice, exactly the opposite. He was way into the touchy feely stuff which wasn't very big with Buffy. She always felt like she was talking to Big Bird from sesame Street.

"So, are you all settled in with your classes? For the whole six weeks left of school?" Buffy asked lamely.

"Yea, I wish I could have just skipped it all but my rents are weird about that," he answered.

"Do they..I mean do your parents know about..you?" Buffy asked, finding herself stuttering.

"Of course. Don't yours?" he asked seriously.

"Well, my mom does, but she didn't until recently. I never wanted her to know."

"Yea I can understand that. I guess I'm lucky, my father has always believed in supernatural stuff." As soon as Jackson said that he shut his mouth like he wasn't supposed to have said that. Buffy hardly took notice. She was too busy studying his luscious auburn hair and deep intense blue eyes. He was gorgeous, like Angel, but completely different. Angel was doom and gloom and Jackson, well Jackson seemed like sunshine and flowers. Ok maybe that was a little extreme but its how Buffy felt. And as soon as she did, she felt something else-guilt. Angel was her true love, she shouldn't be thinking these thoughts about-

"Buffy? Hey where'd you go?" Jackson was looking at her with concern. " Oh! I'm sorry. I do that sometimes...what were you saying?" Buffy tried to recover herself.

"Just that I thought we should go to the library and see if Giles has found anything else about me. I'm a little surprised about what he said last night." Jackson led Buffy down the corridor to the library.

"Yea, I know, it did seem a little flimsy. But I guess it doesn't really matter as long as you're here." As soon as Buffy said that, they both stopped walking and looked at each other deeply. His eyes seemed to be following hers with a little smile in them. He leaned in closer to her, eyes closed. Their lips had just barely touched when Buffy heard familiar voices coming their way. She quickly jerked away and turned to see Xander and Willow walking down the stairs. They seemed to be deep in discussion about the Prom. Xander took notice of Buffy but brushed right past Jackson.

"Hey Buff, any luck last night?" he asked stupidly. Buffy cleared her throat and looked at Jackson. Xander seemed to finally notice he was there.

"Oh, oh, um my bad, " Xander said sheepishly.

"Its ok. Come on, I'll fill you all in, " Buffy said leading her friends to the library. Inside they found Giles buried under a mound of dusty, yellow books.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you didn't get all your beauty rest last night," Buffy joked as she surveyed the scene.

Giles didn't seem to pay any attention. He was too busy getting excited about something in his book. A few seconds later, though, he returned his expression to that of sourness.

"Hey what's with all the research....that no one bothered to tell Willow about?"Willow was hurt by the notion that they were researching without her.

Buffy quickly began talking about Jackson and all they knew so far. She could tell that Xander and
Willow were a little unsure about all this, but assured them it was real and true.

"Well," began Xander, " at least there's another guy on the force. Before the only other guy was Angel, if you could even classify him as a guy..." Buffy gave him a sharp look.

"Angel? Who's that?" Jackson asked Buffy.

"Angel is Buffy's boyfriend," Willow replied before Buffy could stop her. Buffy looked at Jackson and immediately took note of the hurt expression on his face.

"Oh, your boyfriend. Funny you never mentioned him before. If you'll excuse me I have another meeting with a counselor," with that said he turned and walked out, head down. Buffy sighed heavily. What had she gotten herself into?

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The Graveyard~Later that night~

Buffy trudged through her patrol with sourness. She'd been in a bad mood ever since Jackson had left the library sulking. Why did Willow have to go and open up her big mouth? she thought. Instantly she regretted blaming Willow for her problems but it was better than blaming herself. What was she thinking when she kissed him? It must have been a temporary moment of insanity-she wasn't the cheating kind. And she had to explain that to Jackson right away so he knew where they stood. Buffy found the gravestone she was looking for, the one that said 'Eugene Diddly- bank clerk extra ordinaire', and settled herself in for the wait. She knew she had to find Jackson right away, but a part of her didn't want to. Finding him meant looking at him, and looking at him would involve looking at his sweet eyes, cute nose, and the way he lets only one side of his mouth smile at a time......Stop it Buffy! she chided herself silently. Ok right now, think of one flaw he has. Ok think. He's, uh, well, he's got that, ok maybe he, oh I got it! One earlobe is slightly smaller than the other! Oh boy...I'm in more trouble than I thought.....

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~Angel's Mansion~Same night~

Angel had been waiting for Buffy to come like she always does so they could go on patrol together. Tonight, though, the routine has been altered.

" Buffy should definitely be here by now. She wouldn't go on patrol without me. Something's wrong, I can feel it," Angel hurried out of his mansion in search of Buffy. " If something should ever happen to her...." Angel let the sentence trail off, he didn't want to think about that. He loved Buffy with all his heart and, er, soul. He wished more than anything that he could be to her what she needed...Stable Guy. But Angel was different and nothing could change that. In the meantime, he and Buffy had never had a stronger relationship. He wanted to be with her all the time. Which was why he so worried now. It wasn't like her to just not show up....she must be in real danger.

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~Back at the graveyard~

Buffy glanced at the immobile piece of earth below her. " Yo Eugene, would you mind slowing down just a bit? Because I really don't have a trillion other things to do tonight!"

Just then she heard voices, male voices behind some bushes. She hopped off her perch on the tombstone and crept silently to the shrubbery. Out popped Jackson with a surprised look on his face.

"Buffy, jeez, didn't anyone ever tell you not to be creeping around in bushes?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, I heard some voices. Notice the plurality....where's your friend?" Buffy asked peering around his shoulder.

Jackson grabbed her shoulder and led her out to the tombstone again. " I wasn't talking to anybody....just myself. Me, myself and I." he laughed nervously.

"Ok.....look I'm, I'm glad I ran into you. About earlier....." Jackson cut Buffy off.

"Buffy, you don't have to explain. I don't even know why I made such a issue out of it. It's none of my business whether you have a boyfriend or not. I guess I just thought that something might be starting between us but I must have misunderstood." He looked down at his feet as if embarrassed.

"I kissed you, Jackson. You can't misunderstand a kiss. I-I wanted it. And I know I shouldn't have...but I really liked it," Buffy said sheepishly. A huge grin broke out on Jackson's face.

"Really? Cuz I liked it a lot too. It's hard not liking someone like you," back to staring at shoes.

"But Angel...he's, its, well, its complicated like I told you. I love him," as soon as she said that she regretted it. " I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. But my foot pretty much lives in my mouth so..." Jackson put his hand over her mouth.

"Shhh. It's ok," he said putting his hand now under her chin. He tilted it up and slowly, gently put his mouth over hers. Buffy was immediately overcome with passion and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders.

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Angel neared the graveyard. " If she was attacked, this is where she'd be," he said aloud. When he arrived he quickly scanned his surroundings but saw no sign of his lover. Angel walked by the gravestone of Eugene Diddly and saw a black bag on the ground beside it. He recognized it as Buffy's. She must be around here somewhere, he thought. Then he heard some moaning sounds from behind the bushes. He charged through the bushes but the sight he saw made him draw back in surprise. There, less than 5 feet away, his girlfriend, his one and only, the girl he would die for.....was in another man's arms, kissing him deeply. " Buffy?" It wasn't really so much a question than a mutter of disbelief. Buffy instantly pulled away from Jackson, an expression of horror in her eyes. It grew even worse when she saw the look on Angel's face. One that was confused, hurt, angry, shocked, and disbelieving all at the same time. Time seemed to stop for her for those heartbreaking moments where Angel just stared at Buffy with a 'why me' sort of look and quickly walked away.....as if he was walking out of her life.........maybe for good.

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Just Outside the
Graveyard~

Buffy could feel the faint mist of tears ready to seep through her eyes. She turned to look at Jackson, blinking back the tears, determined to not let him see her cry.

"I have to go after him," she said numbly.

"Yea, sure, of course, whatev...see you tomor...." Buffy ran off before he could even finish the sentence. " Nice one Jackson...very suave...."

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Buffy slowed her run to a fast walk as she neared Angel's mansion. She hurriedly went inside the doors she so often passed through. But this time was different...she was almost frightened at what lay beyond. She saw Angel crouched over his fire, poking at one of the logs.

"Angel...." Buffy's voice was almost a whisper. Angel made no acknowledgment that she was there. "Angel, please, look at me. We have to talk."

He turned around so he was facing her head on. "No Buffy, we don't." He drew a deep breath. "I've been selfish Buffy. I've known all along that someday you would find someone who could give you everything I can't. I guess I just didn't realize it would happen so soon."

"I think this is where I should explain some things. The guy you saw me with is Jackson. The new vampire slayer. Ok, I know, not possible, but trust me..its true. Anyway, I can't explain how this all happened. I mean, I've only known him like 2 days. I know you must be thinking, jeez Buffy, you've known me two years and your scrapping me for someone you've known for two days. But its not like that at all....." Angel put a hand up to silence her.

"I don't care about how it happened Buffy. I understand. I knew I was going to have to give you up sooner or later so......go. Be with Jackson. Be with the man who can be in the light with you. The man who can grow old with you." Buffy could see the pain in Angel's eyes as he said these words.

"Thank you Angel. For being so understanding. I think this is all for the best, I really do. I know this is going to sound really cliche, but, can we still be, you know, friends?"

Angel looked uncertain. Finally he nodded. "Yes, that would be, uh, great Buffy. Just great. Look you should go now. I'll see you around?"

"You bet," Buffy said letting a tear escape from her left eye. She turned to walk away, then stopped and looked back. It doesn't feel like its over does it? I guess it never will. I'm sorry it had to end this way....I'll always love you....."

Angel turned away, not wanting to hear it. For a few moments there was silence until he heard Buffy say, in her tiniest voice, "Goodbye, Angel".

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Sunnydale High School Library~

"Wow, so its like totally over between you and Angel?" Willow asked incredulously. Buffy nodded solemnly. She noticed the distress on her best friends face.

"Jeez Will, your taking this harder than I am."

"You mean you don't even care that everything you went through to be with Angel now has no meaning?"

"No of course not, Will. I'll always love Angel.....in a special way. But I just need this normal relationship with Jackson," Buffy said full of fervor. "And this is when you're supposed to tell me I did the best thing for everyone, like a good best friend."

"I can't tell you that Buffy because I'm not you. I don't know what's best for you concerning matters of the heart. If you made the wrong decision you'll have to deal with that when the time comes." Willow picked up her bookbag and stood up. "I have a class to teach. I'll see you later."

When Willow was gone, Buffy decided maybe she should go to history class for a change. Maybe it would help get her mind off of things. Before she had a chance to make up her mind, though, in bounded Jackson, with a huge grin on his face.

"Buffy, just the girl I wanted to kiss." He leaned over and gently kissed his new girlfriend. Buffy reciprocated warmly, thoughts of history class dissolving.

"Mmmm. Hello to you too," Buffy said wrapping her arms around Jackson.

"So are we all squared away with the Angel situation?" he asked with minimal concern.

"Yea. Um, I guess. We talked for like 5 seconds and it was over. Strangest breakup of our times. But, I'm all yours now."

He looked at her directly in the eye. " I'm glad Buffy, I really am. I'll never meet anyone as incredible as you."

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~The Bronze~2 weeks later~
" So, do you prefer blood or soda?" Xander asked Jackson.

"Umm, soda."

"Beach or dark alley?"

"Beach, of course."

"Come bearing good news or bad?"

"Good.....Xander what's the deal with this tell-all survey?"

"Hey, I'm just being cautious. Buffy's former boyfriend would answer the opposite of you for all those questions. I'm just making sure you guys aren't one in the same."

"Well, you don't have to worry. I'm alive and perfect for your precious friend Buffy," Jackson was getting a little bit annoyed at Xander and wanted to get rid of him. Luckily Buffy walked up at that moment and put her arm around him. Quickly his look of annoyance turned to one of satisfaction. 'Tonight is gonna be the night', he thought confidently. His thoughts were interrupted however by Buffy's voice.

"So what were you two talking so in depth about?"

Xander looked a little hesitant before replying, "We were just discussing what was up with the DJ tonight. We always have live bands. It's like a tradition broken."

"Oh well, I kind of like it.....you know, change of pace.....very good," Buffy responded. She was ready to mention that the songs will be in more variety when out of the corner of her eye she saw that Angel had walked in and was now sitting at the bar. "Oh no," she muttered under her breath. Jackson's gaze followed hers and landed on Angel.

"Hey babe, don't worry about it. We're cool. I won't pull out my stake or anything. In fact, why don't you invite him to sit with us? He obviously came to talk to about something." Buffy looked at her beau with surprise.

"Are you sure? It could get awkward."

"I'm positive. Now go on." Jackson smiled. This was too perfect. Buffy left Jackson and walked over to her former lover. He seemed to light up as she neared him. He spoke first. "Hey, I'm surprised you didn't ignore me."

"I promised we'd still be friends. I intend to stay true to my word. Which is why I was wondering if you'd like to come sit with us? " Buffy asked tentatively.

"Wouldn't Jackson get upset?"

"No, actually it was his idea." Angel looked unsure.

"Come on. It could be fun. Just hang out like old times?" Buffy was on the verge of begging. She really wanted things to be okay with Angel.

"Well, yea, I guess it'd be okay.....just for awhile," he answered hurriedly. " Okay great. You go on ahead. I'll be there in two seconds ok?" Buffy rushed off to the ladies room leaving Angel to maneuver his way to the table where Jackson sat.

As he approached, he noticed that Xander had disappeared. "Where did Xander go?" Angel asked without looking at Jackson.

"Oh yea that. Well he kind of has this thing where he can't stand you so, you know, he thought it best to skedaddle before you made him go nuts," Jackson answered simply.

"Oh. Ok then thanks."

They sat in an awkward silence for few moments while Jackson decided how to ask his question. He finally just decided to say it.

"So you and Buffy have had sex right?" Angel looked up sharply.

"W-what?" he stammered. " That's, that's none of your business at all!" Jackson smiled. "I'll take that as a yes. But hey, its kool, I don't mind. In fact, I'm glad. I prefer my women experienced."

Angel growled and grabbed him by the shirt. "Don't you dare take advantage of Buffy. Don't you even dare."

Jackson plucked himself away from Angel's grasp. "Easy man, relax. I won't have to pressure. She'll easily give it up. We're in love."

Angel laughed bitterly. " Tell yourself that all you want. The truth is Buffy loved me more than she'll ever love you. And you know that don't you? And you'll have to deal with that every day."

"How could anyone possibly love a vampire? She was just pitying you. Face reality, bud. You lost her. And as of tonight, I'll have her for good." Angel was about to defend himself once again when a familiar melody started to play in his ears. He calmly sat down and listened. The DJ had at that moment picked 'Angel of Mine' by Monica to play.

Jackson picked up on Angel's sadness and realized that this must be his and Buffy's song. The name fit anyhow.

~ When I first saw you I already knew

There was something inside of you

Something I thought that I would never find

Angel of Mine

Buffy emerged and heard the song she had loved to hear for months but now couldn't stand.

I looked at you looking at me

Now I know why they say the best things are free

I'm gonna love you boy you are so fine

Angel of mine

Jackson spotted Buffy and stood up to greet her. " Hey, babe, we haven't danced yet. Whaddya say?"

How you changed my world you'll never know

I'm different now you helped me grow

Buffy was hesitant and glanced at Angel's face, which was twisted in agony.

" No thanks, maybe next song ok?"

You came into my life sent from above

When I lost all hope you showed me love

I'm checkin' for you boy your right on time

Angel of Mine

"Ahhh, come on. Come on!" He dragged Buffy onto the dance floor and opened his arms for her to slip into. Buffy was in complete torture zone. How could she enjoy dancing to a song that was totally a her and Angel's?

Nothing means more to me than what we shared

No one in this whole world can ever compare

Last night the way you moved is still on my mind

Angel of Mine

What you mean to me you'll never know

Deep inside I need to show

You came into my life sent from above

When I lost all hope you showed me love

I'm checkin' for you boy your right on time

Angel of Mine

Buffy stole another glimpse of Angel. He looked her straight in the eyes and gave her this look that said, "Why are you doing this to me?" Buffy quickly looked away for fear of crying.

I never thought I could feel each moment

As if they were new

Every breath that I take

The love that we make

I only share it with you

You came into my life sent from above

When I lost all hope you showed me love

I'm checkin' for you boy your right on time

Angel of Mine

How you changed my world you'll never know

I'm different now you helped me grow

When I first saw you I already knew

There was something inside of you

Something I thought that I would never find

Angel of Mine.............~

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. Now I can just go about the rest of the night with no problem, she thought. She led Jackson back to their table by his hand, but found that Angel had disappeared. For a second she was disappointed but then realized it was probably for the better. She didn't want to hurt him anymore.

"So hon, you ready to leave? I know I am," Jackson asked with his twisted smile.

"What? Already? I just got here."

"Yea I know, but I don't feel like being in a crowd," Jackson responded.

"Well, what else could we do?" Buffy asked.

Jackson grinned again and said, "I'm sure I can think of something."

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~Graveyard~Night after~

"Boring, boring, why is slaying so boring? Boring, boring, why is this night so boring?" Buffy sang as she dangled from a grave marker. Jackson said that he had 'important' business with his father and would join her later but until then, she was stuck waiting for Janice Snarf to wake up all by herself. Her mind started wandering a little bit and she began thinking about her date last night. Except for one small snafu, everything went wonderfully. And it felt so good to have a boyfriend in her Algebra class! She never thought she would admit it, but math was actually fun to go to now!

She turned her attention to the grave she was sitting on when she noticed the ground moving below her.

"Alright! Finally some action," she exclaimed hopping off the stone and hovering over the wet earth. A hand popped up, then an arm, then a few seconds later the whole body of Janice Snarf appeared before Buffy. Janice pounced on Buffy before she had time to react.

"Well, you're a frisky one aren't you?" Buffy joked, struggling to get out of the vampire's grasp. Buffy soon realized this vamp was stronger than most other 'newborns'. She tried and tried to get out of the headlock she was placed in, but to no avail. The vamp threw Buffy over her back and she landed with a thump to the ground. She was stunned for a moment, but before she could recover, the monster had her pinned, her hungry mouth closing in on Buffy's neck. Buffy looked around her in hopes Jackson might show up to help but the area was empty. The vamp's teeth had just barely cut through Buffy's flesh when she turned into dust.

Dazed and incoherent, Buffy looked up and saw a male standing above her. "Jackson?" she asked weakly.

The figure stiffened. "No, its not Jackson," said the person bitterly. "It's Angel."

Buffy was feeling more alive now and sat up slowly. "Angel. Thank God you showed up," she said feeling the soreness around her neck. There she felt blood.

"Oh no, Buffy, you're bleeding," Angel exclaimed. He ripped off a piece of his shirt and gently pressed it to her wound.

Buffy winced at the pressure, but slowly the pain subsided. "Thanks," she said quietly. "You saved me."

"I just wish I'd gotten here sooner." He glanced around and asked, "Where's Jackson? I mean, he's the slayer....shouldn't he be slaying?"

"He'll be here soon. He had to meet with his father," Buffy hesitated then asked, " Why are you here? I mean not that I'm un-grateful but I thought your slaying days were over."

"They are. But, I had to come and talk to you. I'm glad Jackson isn't here yet," he responded cautiously.

"Well, um, ok, shoot." Buffy looked at Angel curiously, unsure of what to expect.

"It's like this. I'm worried about you Buffy," Angel said sincerely.

"Worried? Why? Just because of this incident earlier? I'm fine, really."

"No its doesn't have to do with slaying. It's about Jackson."

Buffy groaned. "Angel, do we really need to talk about this? I don't really think it's the right time."

"Just hear me out, Buffy, please."

Buffy sighed and reluctantly nodded her head.

"Ok, look. Last night at the Bronze when you were gone, I had a little chat with Jackson. Now I'm gonna ask you a question and you have to promise to answer and answer honestly, ok?" Buffy nodded doubtfully. "Did you sleep with Jackson last night?" Angel asked in a jumbled sentence.

Buffy looked up at Angel sharply. "Excuse me? Did I just hear that question correctly? Do you really think I'm going to talk about my sex life with you of all people? That's totally and completely NONE of your business!" Buffy was in an outrage at this point.

"Buffy, calm down. I didn't ask because I'm prying. I asked because last night he pretty much just said that's the only reason he's dating you....because he thinks you're an easy score."

"Ok look, thanks for coming tonight and basically saving my life but I do NOT want to listen to you completely trash my boyfriend! He's not that way at all. He loves me and I love him, and I'm sorry if you can't get past that but its reality so deal with it and leave me alone!" Buffy hurriedly stood up to leave but the pain in her neck became too great and she collapsed back in the grass. Angel bent down and helped her get back up on the gravestone.

Buffy pulled away from his grasp quickly. She looked him seriously in the eyes and said, "I really think you better go."

Angel was dumbfounded. "You did it, didn't you? I can't believe it."

Buffy didn't answer. There was silence for a few moments, then they heard Jackson's voice coming their way. He was suddenly seen coming through some bushes in front of them.

Jackson had a jaunty grin on when he arrived which grew wider upon seeing Angel. "Angel, hey, where'd you disappear off to last night? We missed ya'."

"Really?" Angel asked sarcastically.

"Well, not really, but I was just trying to be nice," Jackson responded.

"Try harder," Angel muttered before turning his back and leaving.

Jackson looked at Buffy for the first time and noticed her pressing a piece of a shirt against her neck. "Babe, what happened? Your bleeding!"

"Oh, um, don't worry about me, just a slight flesh wound. I was attacked by a spunky vamp. Angel showed up and helped me. I'll be fine." Buffy answered quietly.

"Well, at least he's good for something. Come on, no more slaying for you. Let me walk you home." Jackson put his arm around her and led her out of the graveyard.

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

Angel sat in the bushes and watched them go, looking so happy and content with each other. Angel suddenly noticed that salty, bitter tears were streaming down his face. There was no denying it now. Buffy had sealed the deal last night....she was out of his life for good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Outside Buffy's house~

"Now, you go inside and rest up. I want to you to be in tip top shape for our 1 month anniversary tomorrow," Jackson said as he and Buffy stood on her front porch.

"It's not our anniversary tomorrow!"Buffy protested.

"Not our anniversary as a couple, our anniversary of knowing each other," Jackson replied smugly. "Tomorrow, it will have a been exactly a month since I showed up."

"So you made plans for us?" Buffy asked, excitedly.

"Oh yea, big plans."

"Will I like it?"

"You'll die."

Buffy giggled. "Wow, its sounds amazing. I can't wait!"

"Well, then you better get into bed so tomorrow will come faster," Jackson said opening the door for her. "Feel better, k?" He kissed her on the forehead. "I love you."

Buffy sighed with happiness. "I love you too. See you tomorrow." She slowly let go of his hand and walked inside, barely thinking about her neck.

Outside her house, Angel spied Jackson from the street. He didn't know what possessed him to follow Jackson all the way here, but something was tugging at him to see where Jackson was headed.

Jackson strolled down Buffy's front walk, hands in pocket and head down. He strode down Rebello Dr. as Angel discreetly stalked him from behind. After about 15 minutes, he arrived at City Hall. Angel watched, confused, as to why he was here, of all places. Jackson pulled out a card and swiped it through the security device. His access was granted and he sauntered in as if he owned the place. Angel quickly snuck in behind him and followed him down the hall to the elevator. After he'd gotten on and was heading up, Angel saw that he was headed to the 3rd story, where the Mayor's office was located. He found the stairwell and climbed the three flights of stairs as fast as he could. Peeking out of the door to the stairway he saw Jackson knocking on the Mayor's open door. The Mayor said something Angel couldn't quite make out and Jackson walked in. Luck was with Angel-he left the door open. Furtively, he crept closer to the open door to where he could hear their conversation......

"So, we're all set for tomorrow night?" the Mayor asked cheerfully.

"Of course. She's eating out of the palm of my hand," Jackson responded.

"I hope not literally, very unsanitary. You know, I'm surprised at you. I half expected your plan to be impossible. I mean breaking up Angel and Buffy the Super Couple is no easy task, believe you me."

"Have I ever let you down? I know what I'm doing. Trust me, after tomorrow night Buffy Summers will be history. And I will be basking in the glory of every demon in this town," Jackson chuckled. "It's foolproof!"

"One other thing, make sure her death is painful, and long. Torture her for as long as possible. Make sure she suffers like I suffered after Faith's murder. Oh and always, always, clean up after yourself. Murders can be so terribly messy!"

"You bet. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't let me down, son."

"Don't worry. I won't let you down, dad."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Streets of Sunnydale~

Angel wandered the streets for many hours when he left the mayor's office, trying to digest the horrible plot he'd overheard. He'd known Jackson was no good but he never would have thought he was trying to kill Buffy. Now the hardest part would begin....trying to get Buffy to believe his story. If she didn't accept what he'd told her earlier, there was no way she would believe him now. 'She won't even look at me,' he thought miserably. He had to find someone who would believe him and get Buffy to also. And he knew .just where to go.

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

~Next day~Sunnydale High School Library~

"Wow, Buffy you look amazing! Jackson will freak when he sees you," Willow exclaimed in awe of Buffy's outfit.

"Thanks, Will. I just hope I don't have to slay anything. Try doing that in stilettos," Buffy laughed. She was so excited about her night on the town. She could never do this kind of stuff with Angel.

"So where's he taking you?" Willow asked.

"Actually, I'm not sure. He just said today to meet him at his house around 8ish. Wherever we go or whatever we do it's sure to be fun," Buffy replied fixing the hem of her dress. "So, anyway, it's a quarter till, so I guess that's my cue to exit. Bye!" Buffy said gleefully.

"Have fun!" Willow called after her friend as she walked out. She sat back and sighed. It was really good to see Buffy in such a good mood. She was never like this around Angel. Maybe Jackson was right for Buffy after all.

Angel burst into the library with a grim face. "Willow, we've got a problem. Jackson is all wrong for Buffy! She hasn't left for her date yet has she?"

"Well, um, yea, you just missed her. What's wrong?" she asked with concern.

"Last night I followed Jackson and he went to see the mayor. I heard their conversation and your not going to believe this but Jackson is the mayors son!"

"What?"

"Yea and to make matters worse, they're in collusion together.....against Buffy. He's planning to kill her tonight on their date!"

"Wait, back the accusation train up. Your sure you heard all of this?" Willow asked uncertainly.

"Of course I am." Angel paused. "You won't believe me either, will you?"

"Well, it all just seems a little fishy, that's all."

"And it didn't seem fishy that a male slayer shows up all of the sudden?"

"Well, the thing that Giles said, about the every 100th one or something....." Angel cut her off.

"Whose to say that he really is the 1003rd or whatever? Huh? Whose to say he's even a slayer at all?" Angel challenged.

"Well, I mean, he's a good fighter, according to Buffy."

"Yea? Well, so am I but I'm not a slayer."

"But you're a vampire.....and they tend to be strong."

"So? He could be some demon too. In fact, he has to be, how else could he be the Mayor's son? Come on, Willow. Help me please. We don't have much time. All I need from you now is to access his files and find out where he lives, any peculiarities about him, etc. If he hurts Buffy, I'll kill him myself," Angel fumed.

Willow stared at her infuriated friend. "Your really serious aren't you? Your not making this up."

"Of course not, Willow. I just have to help Buffy. Even after the way she treated me- I still love her."

Willow sighed. "Well, then lets get cracking. We don't have a minute to lose. Um, do me a favor and get Xander and Oz over here. We could use them because a fight pretty much seems inevitable."

"Sure thing. And, Willow, thank you so much!" Angel rushed off to find the guys.

Willow sat down at her computer and sighed. 'Why does this always happen to Buffy?'

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

~Jackson's house~

"You know what? This is the first time I've been to your house. Why is that?" Buffy asked as her and Jackson toasted their anniversary.

"I'm not sure. It probably just didn't work out. But you're here now and that's all that matters," he answered, kissing her neck.

"So where are we going to go?" Buffy asked anxiously.

"Go? Well, nowhere. I thought we'd just have a nice evening at home. Is that ok?" he asked.

Buffy was only slightly disappointed. "Yea, sure. I guess it really doesn't matter. I love just being with you."

'Well, honey, your going to be with me a lot in the next few weeks. But it won't be fun and games..for you anyway,' he thought. Aloud he asked, "You want some more sparkling cider?'

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

~Sunnydale High Library~

Angel rushed in with Xander and Oz at his heels. They were both panting and out of breath.

"Jeez man, where's the fire?" Xander asked sitting down at one of the tables, trying to regain normal breathing status.

"Willow, have you found anything yet?" Angel asked apprehensively.

Willow looked grim. "Um, yes and no. See, Jackson doesn't have a personal file anywhere. Believe me I looked. Obviously he lied about his name and maybe even when he was born. He's a smart one."

Angel groaned. "Great. How are we supposed to find him?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. For those of us in the studio audience, who are me......what are we looking for?" Xander asked.

"Jackson and Buffy. You see, he's planning to kill her tonight. According to Angel," Willow responded.

"I knew it!" Xander exclaimed.

"Knew what?" Oz asked.

"I knew something wasn't right about that guy. I just didn't want to say anything for fear of being beaten by two slayers," Xander answered.

"Wow, I always thought he was pretty nice. It's so hard to believe that he could be killing Buffy right now." Willow paused. "Hey he could be killing her right now! What are we lollygagging around for? Let's move it!"

"We're sort of missing the detail of where he lives," Angel stated.

"Oh, I can help with that. I passed Buffy on the streets a little while ago. She said she was headed for Manchester," Xander provided.

"Manchester. Hey, isn't that where the Mayor lives? Of course, color us mentally challenged! Obviously he lives in the same house as the Mayor, he's his son!" Willow cried.

"Come on, we don't have anytime to waste," Angel prodded.

"I'll drive," Oz declared.

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

~Jackson's house~

Jackson and Buffy slowly danced together, off in their own world. When the song was over, they sat down once again on the couch in Jackson's luxurious basement.

"This place is great. We'll have to spend a lot more time here," Buffy spoke of the spacious room.

"You bet," Jackson said distantly.

"Tonight has been great so far..." Buffy yawned. "Sorry, I," she yawned again. "I don't know why, but I'm suddenly really tir....." she yawned a final time and fell unconscious.

Jackson stared at the limp body in front of him and smiled devilishly. "Let the games begin."

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

"Ok, we're at Manchester. But did anyone actually realize that Manchester is like 4 blocks long!?" Xander proclaimed.

"Well, we'll just split up and knock on doors," Willow suggested.

"Yea, that's safe!" Xander said sarcastically. "We need something better than that!"

While they bickered on their solution, Angel stepped away from the group and looked up and down the street. He could feel Buffy's presence nearby. He had to get to her before it was too late....and if he didn't...... He decided he was just going to go for it. He took off and knocked on the closest door. Xander, Willow, and Oz quickly followed suit. The search for Buffy had begun.

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

~Jackson's house~

Buffy began to drift in and out of consciousness. She felt like she was trapped, but in her subconscious, she felt that everything was under control. Her head was throbbing and she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. She then heard a soothing voice calling her name. "Buffy. Buuffyy. It's time to wake up...."

She stirred and with great effort opened her eyes. She squinted and tried to make out image surrounding her. She could barely make out a male figure standing over her. When her vision cleared up, she realized it was Jackson hovering above her. In a squeaky voice she said, "Jackson? What's going on? I-I can hardly see and..." she noticed she couldn't move her body. "And I can't move at all. What's wrong with me? Jackson?" She pleaded with him to answer, but all she heard was his faint chuckling. Buffy felt this deep burning feeling coming from her stomach, warning her that she was in big trouble.

Jackson turned away from her and moved to a metal desk in the corner. Buffy strained to see what he was doing, but it seemed as if she was paralyzed. Finally, Jackson spoke to her.

"Well, Buffy, I'm SO glad your up. Um just to let you know, its normal that you can't feel anything. That's what some drugs will do to you."

Buffy blinked in disbelief. "Drugs? Jackson, what the hell is going on?"

"Hmm. Your really not as smart as your SAT scores say you are, are you?" he asked with his now famous half smile.

"Look, Jackson, I don't what the deal is but your scaring me. Please, help me get out of here," Buffy begged.

He laughed aloud. "Oh yea, that'll happen REAL soon. Keep those hopes alive. Don't you get it Buff? Your not leaving this room....ever!"

Buffy gasped in shock. "What's happened to you? Why are you doing...." reality suddenly flooded Buffy. "Your not really a slayer are you?"

"Ding ding ding. Give the girl a prize. She's not a dumb blonde after all," he said applauding lightly. "Of course I'm not the slayer. Or did you forget that I always had a convenient excuse to get out of it?"

Buffy felt tears slowly slipping down her face. Jackson took notice and grinned. "Oh God, this is even better than I imagined! A slayer crying. How....perfect."

Buffy blinked her tears back in an effort to remain calm. She decided to act as cocky as possible, just to piss him off. Inside though, she was dying. She felt the same as when she had discovered Angel was an evil vampire again. But she couldn't let that show anymore. She needed information.

"So, you concocted this whole scheme, huh? Pretty good. You had me fooled. You had everyone fooled. I admit it, I'm intrigued. How'd ya do it? Please share," Buffy said with as much confidence as she could muster.

Jackson frowned for the first time. "Ahh. No more crying? Damn. However, I'm pleased in your interest. I'd love to share. Hopefully you've figured out that I'm not really Jackson. My name is Richard. Richard Wilkins IV."

"Richard Wilkins.....you're the Mayor's son?" she asked in surprise.

"Ooh, another correct guess. Your batting a thousand, babe."

Buffy glared at him. "So, um where's the real slayer? I mean, I did kill the last one, there should be one."

"Ahh. That was the brilliance of my plan. The real slayer is Rashida. All I had to do was figure out a way to get her to Guam. She believed that's where the real Hellmouth is. Right now she's probably being tortured by some of my very good friends. By the time you die, she will have too."

"Very impressive. And I'm sure your father gave you extra brownie points for breaking me and Angel up, right?" Buffy asked.

"He was very surprised. In fact, so was I. You made my job so much easier. So, hey, thanks," Jackson said brightly.

"Your completely welcome." Buffy paused before asking, "So what's next on your agenda? Chainsaws, knives, a few blood hungry rats? Knowing you, I'm sure you'll make it so very interesting."

"Ah, ah, ah. I can't give away all my secrets. Besides, it won't be as much fun if you knew. A girl loves surprises, doesn't she?" he said mockingly.

"You know, I don't think your as smart as you seem to be. You might have forgotten the detail that Sunnydale is small. My friends will find me." Buffy meant to sound threatening, but Jackson just laughed harder.

"That's where your wrong, Buff. Look around you. This is a soundproof room hidden in my house. No one will ever find you. Face it, babe."

Buffy suddenly felt very deflated. She couldn't keep up her indifferent attitude for much longer. She was feeling weak and vulnerable, especially because she couldn't move anything from the neck down.

"Well, babe, I hate to leave you hanging when you look so damn cute, but I have matters to attend to. If you need anything, just scream. It won't help, but it doesn't hurt to let it all out. Ta-ta," he waved good-bye and pressed a blue button by a bookshelf. The bookcase opened and he walked out of sight, whistling jauntily.

As soon as Buffy was sure he was gone, she just let herself go and cried. Cried because she was trapped, cried because Jackson wasn't the man she thought he was, and cried for Angel, whom she still loved but had hurt so badly. She had never regretted any decision as much as this one. And now she was suffering the consequences. Her sobbing slowly became erratic and soon it was lessened to a slight whimpering. This was no time to feel sorry for herself. She had to get out of this somehow. The only problem was, she didn't have a clue as to how to do it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Manchester~

"Hi, um does the mayor live here by any chance?" Xander asked an old lady stupidly.

The lady looked at him and then reached behind her door and pulled out a gun. "You just better leave young man before I use this thing for the first time."

Xander backed up slowly. "I didn't mean any harm, ma'am. Uh, sorry." He rushed backwards down her front porch and when he reached the street he bumped into a forlorn looking Willow and Oz.

"I take it your search didn't go any better?" Willow asked.

"No, I'm thinking it went worse. A crazy drunk man wanted me to come in and play Spin the Bottle with him at his daughter's sleepover and a scary old lady almost blew my brains out. So, beat that!"

Just then, a glum Angel walked up to the trio. "We must've checked every house on the block 4 times," Angel moaned in defeat.

They began to walk, thinking about what their options were. They stopped in front of a lone mailbox at the end of the road. Willow looked at it and shrieked. "You guys! This is it!"

The other three looked at her with blank stares. "We missed this mailbox before because we couldn't see the house that goes with it. But look," she pointed behind some tall trees, "there's a huge house up there. This has to be it!"

A grin broke out on Angel's face. "Willow, I love it when your smart! Now comes the harder part...." he stopped talking when he heard footsteps nearing. "Everybody hide," he hissed quietly. Everyone scrambled to get behind a tree or a bush of some sort. Xander drew a deep breath when he saw who it was walking down the front walk- Jackson. A mighty happy Jackson. When they were sure he was gone, the four raced up to the steps of the grand house.

"Ok, here's the plan. Oz, Willow, I need you to wait here and stand watch. Xander, you and I will both go in and look for Buffy. We'll have to split up because it's a big house. She could be anywhere in there. Look for anything strange that could open like, a secret passage or something." Angel shouted out these plans and looked at the others for approval.

"What if someone comes? What should we do?" Oz asked, worried.

"HIDE! We can handle our self in there, if need be," Angel answered, with a note of anxiety in his voice.

"But then what's the point of having us stand guard?" Willow asked, confused. But Angel didn't hear her. He had already disappeared behind the house. Xander looked deeply at Oz and Willow, then glanced at the huge manor behind him.

"Well, I guess this is it. Be careful out here," Xander said, obviously stalling for time.

"Yeah, we'll be fine, but Buffy's not, so hurry! We'll be right here," Willow urged him along. Xander swallowed hard and headed around the opposite side of the house to look for a way in.

Willow and Oz looked at each other in distress, settled down in the bushes.......and waited.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Outside the Mansion~~Following Xander~

Xander "skillfully" shimmied his way up the drain pipe. He had seen an open window on the third floor and realized that might be his only means of getting inside. When he was within 6 inches of the window, he made a grab for the windowsill, but because of his "Butterfingers" his grip loosened and he plummeted down to the thorn bushes below. He landed with a thump, breaking his pride, his self-esteem and his ego, but surprisingly no bones. The only word he could muster was, "OW!"

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

~Inside the Secret Room~

Buffy's mind was racing a mile a minute. Any plans she had come up with had turned out to be completely fruitless. Her only hope was for her paralysis to wear off. But it seemed pretty strong as of now, so there was little chance that by the time Jackson got back, she could escape. It was at this point that Buffy should have just given up on the whole thing, but for some unknown reason she felt like everything was going to be ok. It was a soothing feeling, and one that relaxed Buffy's mind and body. She decided she was just going to sit back and let things happen, no matter what.

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

~Somewhere inside the mansion~

Angel had gone through the all three floors of the elaborate house and saw no sign of his beloved. He turned to go back outside to the waiting Oz and Willow when he caught sight of some stairs heading down, probably to the basement. "That's the most plausible place for Jackson to take her. Should've thought of it sooner," Angel thought aloud. He quickly descended the small flight of stairs and ended up in the most extravagant basement he'd ever seen. It was newly furnished, with a pool table, foosball table, entertainment center, even a boiling Jacuzzi in the corner. Angel spied some champagne glasses and an empty bottle of sparkling cider sitting on one of the expensive coffee tables. Angel figured Jackson had Buffy tied up somewhere in this room, so he better start looking for a secret opening or passageway-anything that could help him. He was sure there wasn't much time left before Jackson would be back, so he had to act fast. He searched the room with his keen vampire eyes and noticed that the bookshelf on the other side of the room looked a little conspicuous. There was only a few books sitting on the top shelf. When Angel further inspected it, a small blue button was seen on the inside of the middle shelf. "This is it," he mumbled to himself.

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

~Outside in the bushes~

Oz and Willow sat side by side, holding each other. It was getting chilly, and there had been no word from either Angel or Xander.

"What if someone else is in there and Angel and Xander are being held prisoner too?," Willow pondered. "This is really dangerous without Buffy being able to fight and all. Don't you think they would've found something by now?"

"Hey, Will, let's not be so optimistic here," Oz said in his sarcastic voice, which sounds a lot like his regular voice. "Angel can handle himself, and Xander, well, Xander probably hasn't even find a way inside yet, so don't worry."

Willow nodded, reluctantly. "I guess your right. I'll try to become Ms. Mellow now."

"That's my girl."

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

~Secret Room~

Buffy was thrown out of her tranquil state when she heard the sound of the bookshelf opening again, signaling the return of her captor. She turned to him with an icy glare. However, it wasn't the face of Jackson she saw, but of Angel. She was convinced she was hallucinating until he rushed over and cried, "Buffy! Thank God I found you! I'm so glad your okay."

Buffy was astonished. "Angel?" she managed to stutter. "How did you...?"

He cut her off by saying, "Come on, I'll explain later. But Jackson will be back any minute."

"Wrong," came a voice from the bookshelf. "Any second."

Angel whipped around to see Jackson strutting in, not fazed at all by the unwelcome guests.

"Jackson," Buffy breathed softly.

Jackson's face distorted. "God! I hate that name! I'm sick of being a Jackson. If it's not too much trouble could you call me Richard? It's just so much more.....I don't know....me."

"I'm thinking I'd rather call you something along the line of 'DEAD'"Angel said angrily.

Jackson just chuckled his famous chuckle. "Go ahead and try. I'd love to see that happen."

Angel lunged at him and grabbed him around the neck. He whipped out the knife that had been concealed in his sleeve and pressed it to Jackson's abdomen. Buffy watched in horror as Jackson struggled free, took Angel's arm and twisted it back. Angel yelped in pain and staggered backwards into the wall. Jackson stood over him and whacked him the face countless times.

Buffy could do nothing but watch in terror as Angel got beat upon. He made several efforts to stand up and fight back but Jackson had the obvious advantage. After a minute, Jackson stopped and looked at Angel with deep satisfaction. Using this small window of time, Angel used all his strength to pull himself up and attack Jackson, catching him off guard. Angel brandished his knife again but Jackson recovered quickly and pushed Angel back down.

Just then, Xander stumbled in, picking thorns out of his ass. He tripped over a chair that had toppled over during the fight, knocking into Jackson. Jackson's eyes flew wide open as he saw himself falling right on top of Angel- and his knife. The room was silent; you could hear the blade cut right through Jackson's flesh. He groaned in pain as the dagger ripped through his vital organs. His blood had spilled all over Angel who quickly pushed Jackson off of him and rose to his feet. He was breathing heavily, but when he saw that Jackson was dead, he began to breathe normally again. It was over. And Buffy was ok. Remembering Buffy he turned to see her lying on the bed, stunned. Tears were streaming down her face, but she wasn't making a sound.

Xander finally untangled himself from the chair and stood surveying the scene. He looked at Jackson's bloody body lying inert on the floor and grinned. "Hey," he exclaimed, "I did that! Alright!" He looked at Buffy and Angel with a proud look but saw they were a little preoccupied with each other. He decided rather than intruding, he'd go give the thumbs-up to Oz and Willow outside.

Angel knelt by Buffy and watched her cry. He laid a tender hand on her head and stroked her hair. "Buffy," he said softly. "Are you okay?"

Buffy didn't answer. She didn't move.

Angel sighed. "Come on, Buffy, talk to me."

After what seemed like years, Buffy's voice came out, barely audible. "I want to go home."

"Sure, Buffy, whatever you want. Whatever you want." He bent over and scooped her in his arms.

That's when Buffy realized she could feel her legs again. She wriggled away from Angel's grasp and stood shakily on the ground. Angel went to steady her, but Buffy pushed him away.

"Just....leave me alone." She looked at him, teary-eyed, and walked out of the hidden room.

Angel just stood there brooding. He had done what he came for-he saved Buffy. But everything still ached inside of him......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Epilogue~

~The Bronze~1 week later~

Buffy stopped outside the oh-so-familiar hangout. She hadn't been here since the "incident". She hadn't been out of the house actually. She really hadn't felt up to anything until tonight. She kind of stood in the entryway, a little afraid of going inside. Something inside of her nudged her in the door, though. She scanned the crowded room and her eyes landed on the reason she came- Angel. She waited for him to notice her before making a move. But his reaction was not one that pleased Buffy. There was a sour look on his face and he quickly turned away. But rather than discouraging Buffy, it made her feel that much stronger about talking to him.

She mosied her way to the couch he was lounging on at the far corner of the room. She hovered over him and asked, "Is this couch taken?"

When Angel saw that Buffy was trying to be sincere, his attitude changed. He eagerly replied, "No. Please sit down."

The song "Wild Wild West started playing just then and Buffy groaned. "Haven't they found a band yet? This DJ thing is starting to bug."

Angel smiled at the back-to-herself-Buffy.

Buffy focused her attention on Angel then, not wanting anything to interrupt what she had to say.

"Anyway, ok....here's the deal. I really want to say thank you. Even after I was a total shrew to you these last few weeks you still did everything you could to help me. You could have just let me die as a way to say "I told you so", but you didn't. And that really means a lot to me. Xander and Willow told me everything that happened while I was with Jackson. You never gave up. And I'm so ashamed for acting the way I did after you saved me. I-I don't know what else to say," Buffy looked down at her folded hands in her lap.

"Why did you act like that, Buffy?" Angel asked. "It didn't make any sense to me then and it still doesn't."

Buffy sighed. "I loved Jackson. I really did. I never even dreamed that he could be part of anything evil. I was so gullible. I loved the way he made me feel....normal, you know? And when I realized he was dead, I was so lost and confused. And even though I hated him for what he'd done I really missed him."

"You two must have been really close," Angel said with a hint of jealousy.

Buffy looked up at Angel and said quietly, "I didn't sleep with him. You know, just to clarify."

Angel looked at her in surprise. "You didn't?" Buffy shook her head. "But you said...."

"I know I made it sound like I had, but I was just being childish. I was actually trying to make you jealous. And I was upset at your interference in my relationship with him. I'm sorry."

Angel breathed a sigh of relief. "I should've realized that you hadn't."

Buffy's face softened as she said these words. "Angel, I could never do that with somebody so soon after getting together. He wanted to but backed off when I said I wasn't ready. And you know why I wasn't ready?"

Angel shook his head.

"Because I wasn't over you. I tried to fool myself into thinking I was, but when it came right down to it, I knew it would be a long time before I could forget about you. And that's why I pushed away from you all those times. I was scared that I'd want to go back to you."

"Would that have been so bad?" Angel asked.

"Well, then I had this great relationship going with a normal guy so I didn't want to go back."

"And now?" Angel asked, getting a little excited.

"And now I realize that I was wrong. Jackson or Richard or whoever seemed like the perfect guy......but I had the perfect guy all along.....you. I was just too blind to see it until now."

Angel let her words sink in before asking, "Are you saying what I hope your saying?"

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am. I want you back, Angel. I think I've wanted it all along, but I was too scared."

"There's nothing to be scared of now." Angel scooped Buffy into his arms and kissed her like it was their first kiss ever.

And how appropriate that at that moment, Will Smith's voice faded away and Monica's began to sing......

~ When I first saw you I already knew

There was something inside of you

Something I thought that I would never find

Angel of Mine

Angel smiled as he asked, "May I have this dance?"

Buffy grinned back as she replied, "There's no one I'd rather dance to this song with than you. And I mean that."

I looked at you looking at me

Now I know why they say the best things are free

I'm gonna love you boy you are so fine

Angel of mine

Angel led his girlfriend to the dance floor, wrapped his arms around her and sighed. His wish had come true. He had his one and only back. He loved her even more now, if that was possible.

How you changed my world you'll never know

I'm different now you helped me grow

You came into my life sent from above

When I lost all hope you showed me love

I'm checkin' for you boy your right on time

Angel of Mine

Nothing means more to me than what we shared

No one in this whole world can ever compare

Last night the way you moved is still on my mind

Angel of Mine

What you mean to me you'll never know

Deep inside I need to show

You came into my life sent from above

When I lost all hope you showed me love

I'm checkin' for you boy your right on time

Angel of Mine

Buffy was so happy she could cry. She was determined to never let anything stand between her and the man she loved ever again....

I never thought I could feel each moment

As if they were new

Every breath that I take

The love that we make

I only share it with you

You came into my life sent from above

When I lost all hope you showed me love

I'm checkin' for you boy your right on time

Angel of Mine

How you changed my world you'll never know

I'm different now you helped me grow

When I first saw you I already knew

There was something inside of you

Something I thought that I would never find

Angel of Mine.............~

The End

El Fin

That's All She Wrote!