Millennium Day
By The Duchess of Buffonia

Disclaimer: I don’t own anybody from BtVS. Joss Whedon and such do and I envy them greatly. I also don’t really own the concept of this story. The creators of Groundhog Day do.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Comedy

Spoilers: IWRY

Summary: This is like Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray movie, where one day keeps happening over and over until you get it right.

Author’s Notes: This is for Felicity’s contest, but I’m also going to allow it to be put up elsewhere. Just let me know what you think and where it will be going. Oh, and just so you know, the ‘ships are as follows: X/A, W/O, and B/R (only at first though, don’t kill me). Things written in <<< >>> are my comments to the characters and to you all. =)

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Chapter One

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

"Can you believe we’re actually going to New York for New Year’s?" an excited Willow exclaimed for the fiftieth time.

"Yes!" shouted her annoyed group of friends in unison. This group included Willow’s boyfriend, Oz, (or shall we say Daniel Osborne), her best friends, Xander, his new girlfriend Anya, Buffy, and Buffy’s new beau, Riley. They were all seated in a long row of seats inside a gigantic airplane that would be flying them to New York City for a whole week of pure fun. Unless of course Y2K hit.

That was actually the whole reason behind the vacation. Giles was totally obsessed with it all. While no one in the group believed all the hype, who were they to turn down an all expenses paid trip to the Big Apple? At first Buffy refused to go on a Watcher’s Council sponsored holiday, but she relented when she saw how excited her friends had been.

Buffy sat back in her comfortable seat and placed the airline headphones on her head. The loud music pounded away her unsettling thoughts about the trip, and Riley reached over and held onto her hand. Everything was just perfect.

So of course, something had to go wrong.

The plane suddenly jerked forward and sent the passengers hurling to the floor.

"Oh my God," was heard all around the plane’s cabin.

Buffy stood up and rubbed her head, which had bumped against her dinner tray. "What the heck?"

"Excuse me. Is this thing on? Hello? Can you hear me? This is Cindy, one of the stewardesses. The captain has just informed me that there is no cause for alarm. We just hit an, um, oh shoot, what was that thing called again, Biff?" the ditzy flight attendant said into an intercom near the front of the plane.

A tall, buff, blonde man took the microphone from her. "An air pocket, Cindy. An air pocket. And we’re just fine folks. Have no fear, Biff is here."

"I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel secure," Buffy quipped to her friends.

Everyone quickly settle back into their seats, forgetting about the minor incident. Soon, Willow resumed talking about all the things they needed to see in NYC.

"And we must see a Broadway show. What do you think? Annie, Get Your Gun, or Grease?" Willow asked the cranky group.

"Actually, I’d really like to go to the Museum of Orthodontistry," Riley said sheepishly.

Buffy glanced at her boyfriend. He might be cute and sweet and perfect, but he was most definitely a NERD! "We could do that," Buffy responded slowly. "Or, you could do that while I visit Bloomingdales!"

"We know what Buffy has on her mind. Getting good use of the pre-end of the world sales, huh?" Xander said, eyes sparkling.

"You know it! I saw these to die for shoes in this catalog before we left and New York is the only place to get them. Ooh, color me excited!" Buffy squealed as the plane began its descent.

"One things for sure. This will be one trip we’ll never forget."

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

~Three Days Later~New Year’s Eve~

"Five.....four....three...two....one.....Happy New Year!!" the crowd in Times Square shouted. A moment later the group was hushed, as if waiting total destruction. But when nothing happened, the noise level went back up to a roar.

"This is a madhouse!" Willow shouted in Buffy’s ear.

"I know! Isn’t it great?" Buffy yelled back. She couldn’t hear her best friend’s answer, but she could tell Will was awed by everything.

Hours later, after all the post Y2K parties had ended, Buffy and the gang trudged back to their hotel to sleep for the whole rest of the day.

"Ugh, remind me never to party for 10 hours straight again," Xander said, clutching his head and flopping onto his bed in the room he shared with Riley and Oz.

"Only if you remind me first," Riley moaned.

"I’m surprisingly awake," Oz commented, staring at the city from their elevated window. "I’m thinking I might head out again."

The two other guys looked up at him with sheer amazement before collapsing for the night.

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

"It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone....... it’s not unusual to have fun with anyone......" Tony Bennet’s voice interrupted Buffy’s peaceful sleep when the alarm clock that she’d set for 10:00 AM went off. Buffy groaned, mumbling, "Five more minutes." But the song would soon force her to get up just so she could turn it off the obnoxious music.

She rolled out of bed and stubbed her toe on the dresser next to her bed. "Son of a biscuit!" she shouted, awakening her sleeping roommates.

And thus began her day.

At breakfast, the hotel was all out of Buffy’s favorite food- bagels and cream cheese. "Grr, my day happens to be sucking so far, I hope you know," she grumbled to Riley as she grabbed a yucky banana nut muffin.

Riley kissed her forehead and replied, "I’m sorry babe, but I’ll make it better for you later on."

<<<Ahem, ok, Riley. I’ve been quiet long enough! You will not be doing anything to Buffy, not if I can help it. You’ll get your toenails pulled off by giant snapping turtles before this fic writer lets you "make Buffy’s day better".>>>

"Thanks, hon. Let’s finish eating and go sightseeing," Buffy said, cramming the muffin in her mouth and gulping down some V8 Splash.

As they stepped out of the hotel and attempted to hail a cab, a car in a hurry splashed a puddle all over Buffy’s brand new black leather pants.

"Ugh! This day is going to kill me, Riley, I swear!" Buffy grumbled. "Now I have to go change my pants because these ones are totally ruined!"

Riley jut smiled. "Do you know how cute you look when you’re mad?"

<<<Riley......I’m warning you. Keep your nasty comments to yourself. Some people reading this are complete B/A shippers and will want to spork me if I continue to let you talk this way.>>>

"I’ll be cuter when I’m wearing dry pants. Be right back," Buffy responded as she ran up the hotel steps to change.

A couple hours later, Buffy and Riley strolled hand in hand through Central Park.

"Ahh. Now this is better. Two full hours without incident. The new millennium is getting better," Buffy said, as they entered the petting zoo. "Oh, look at the sheep! She’s beautiful."

"She can’t compare to you, Buffy," Riley said sincerely.

<<< ::glares at Riley:: Do I have to chain you and torture you or are you going to shut up!!>>>

"That’s really swee.....ick! Oh no!!" Buffy cried. One of the ugly llamas had trotted over and pooped all over Buffy’s Adidas sneakers. "Shoot! Another piece of ruined clothing to add to my growing list!"

"Hey, it’s alright. That can be cleaned," Riley assured her.

"Oh please, like I’m going to wear shoes that were contaminated with animal crap? This just sounds like an emergency situation to spend my father’s money. I need new tennis shoes, pronto. Come on, Riley. We’re going shopping."

"Whatever you say," Riley answered like the little whipped boy he was.

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

"What do you think of these? Nah, too white. They’ll get dirty faster. Oh, wait, maybe these. Yup, these are perfect. Let me try them on," Buffy said of a pair of white tennis shoes with silver glitter outlining the sole and shoelaces. "Fits like a dream. Ok, Riley I’m done, you can stop clenching your teeth. I just have to pay for them and then you can escape from this jail called Saks 5th Avenue."

"I didn’t mind shopping at all, Buffy. Whatever you want to do, I want to do," Riley said mechanically.

<<<Author’s Note: Riley’s a big nerd! Riley’s a big nerd! Riley’s a big nerd! Now back to your regularly scheduled program....>>>

After the shoes and the new dark blue leather pants Buffy saw were paid for, the couple headed out for a couple hours of walking around, seeing the sights.

"Oh, look at the huge Christmas tree! I’ve always wanted to see that!" Buffy squealed. Just then, without Buffy’s knowledge, a big, porcelain angel ornament fell off the tree and started falling straight for Buffy’s head.

A man nearby saw what was happening and rushed at Buffy knocking her out of the way. They both fell to the ground, and the ornament smashed on the sidewalk into a million pieces.

Buffy was breathing heavily, and glanced back at the mess a few feet away. She looked at the stranger and noticed something vaguely familiar about him. She frowned at the man as he said, "Are you alright?"

Buffy shook away her odd feeling. "Yeah. I’m alive....thanks to you. I really appreciate you stepping in and helping."

"No problem," the stranger said amiably. "Be careful for the rest of your stay." He swaggered away with his long legs and manly stride.

"How did he know I was only visiting?" Buffy wondered, pulling herself off the ground and into Riley’s awaiting arms.

"Oh, God, Buffy. You could have been killed. I should have seen the ornament sooner and saved you myself," Riley said, a little shaky.

<<<Of course you should have, Riley, but you’re a big loser and don’t care enough about Buffy!>>>

"Hey, don’t worry about it. Everything’s alright," Buffy assured him. "Though this day is not shaping up to be the best of my life. You think this is a side effect of Y2K?" Buffy asked jokingly.

Riley chuckled with her and they started walking back towards the hotel where they were to meet the other two couples. Buffy stopped suddenly, though, and turned around to go back to the tree.

"Where are my shopping bags, Riley?" she asked, worried when the two silver bags were missing. She looked up and saw a teenage girl running into an alley with the two bags in hand. Buffy started to run after her, but Riley stopped her.

"Buffy, that girl looks like she’s never received a nice pair of shoes in her life. Maybe you should just let it go," Riley suggested.

"But.....ok, maybe you’re right. Might as well let the poor girl have a nice, late Christmas present. But now I have to go shopping again," Buffy groaned.

"Well, we have to go meet the rest of the gang. There’s always tomorrow, or even later today," Riley said, linking arms with Buffy.

"You’re right. I’ll bully Will into going with me later," Buffy said, a smile returning to her face. In the back of her mind, though, she was still wondering why that the stranger who saved her looked so familiar. He’d been wearing sunglasses and a trenchcoat, but something about him made Buffy think she knew him from somewhere. ‘I guess it will remain a mystery, though. I’m sure I’ll never see him again, anyway,’ Buffy thought.

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

"This lobster is incredible," Buffy raved as she and her friends inhaled their dinner at Alioto’s, a famous seafood restaurant.

"Uhmmm," was Xander’s reply as he bit into a piece of his third lobster.

"Xander, honey, take it easy. You don’t want to be so full that you can’t do anything else tonight," Anya said suggestively, running her hand up his thigh.

Xander gulped and pushed his plate away, saying, "Anyone else done? I’m ready to get back to the hotel."

Buffy smiled at Xander’s new-founded exuberance, but Willow screeched, "Hey what about seeing Grease tonight, guys?"

"Oh yeah," Riley said. "I’ve been wanting to see that. I think we should all go."

<<<Hey, Riley. If Xander and Anya want to go get jiggy with it, let them. Just because I wont let YOU touch Buffy doesn’t mean you have to spoil everyone else’s fun!>>>

"Yeah, I could go for some mindless entertainment," Buffy added. "Especially after my hard day."

Xander and Anya looked at each other and Anya answered for them. "Gee, we’d love to. But we’re awfully tired. You all go ahead and we’ll hear all about it in the morning."

"Whatever," Buffy said as they paid for their meal and headed their separate ways.

Buffy, Riley, Willow and Oz all crammed into a small taxi cab that would take them back to the hotel to change and make arrangements to get the tickets.

A little while later, when Buffy and Willow were picking out their evening attire, Buffy explained all the bad things that had happened to her that day.

"So the whole angel ornament thing was the worst, but it all turned out ok. And my night seems to be going better. And pretty soon this whole day will be over and I can start fresh tomorrow morning. Maybe they’ll even have bagels in the dining room," Buffy said pulling a beautiful, ankle-length, black satin gown off a hanger.

"That dress is great, Buffy. Riley’s eyes will pop out of his head when he sees that," Willow commented.

<<<Let’s hope so, Willow. Maybe it will make him more attractive. Oh wait, nothing would make him more attractive.>>>

Buffy giggled. "Yeah, he’ll be dazzled. Exactly what I want." Buffy examined her dress to make sure it was still has perfect as when she bought it. A loud groan escaped from her lips when she saw a big white stain on the back of the dress. "How could I not have seen this, Will? Now what am I going to do? I have nothing else to wear!"

Willow looked at the stain and frowned. "Hey, didn’t you bring that one navy blue dress your mom got you for Christmas?"

"Yeah. I just brought it to be nice, though. You know how hideous the dress is. I’d die before I wore it in public!" Buffy exclaimed.

"It’s not so bad," Willow said, pulling the dress out of the back of the closet. "Here, just try it on. We’ll try to spice it up a little with accessories."

Moments later, Buffy was outfitted in the horrid dress. The gown was calf-length, with no lines at all. It went straight down Buffy’s side, not revealing any of her curves. The sleeves were poofy, way more poofy than Buffy could handle. Not to mention the big blue bow

"I look like I’m wearing a nightgown!" Buffy moaned. "No, worse. I look like someone’s mother!"

"No, it looks fine, Buffy, I promise. Now come one, let’s experiment with makeup and get going. The show starts at 7:30," Willow said, getting out Buffy’s makeup case.

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

"That was the best," Willow cried as the four friends exited the Broadway theater. "I love Grease."

"We know, Will. You’ve said that about 80 times. But I admit, it was pretty fabulous," Buffy said, trying to cover her dress so that the crowd of people couldn’t see her ugliness and alert the fashion police. Last thing she needed was to be arrested.

Riley noticed and pulled Buffy’s arms away from her body. "Why do you keep trying to cover the dress up, babe? It looks fantastic on you. I love it, and I’m sure everyone else thinks the same thing."

<<<Liar, liar, pants on fire!! Oh don’t we wish his pants *were* on fire?? Lovely mental image.>>>

"You’re sweet, a terrible liar, but sweet," Buffy said. She paused when she realized she’d said those same exact words before. To Angel, as she recalled. ‘Angel? Why am I thinking about him? I’ve been thinking about him all day, actually. Ever since I was nearly killed, he’s been popping up in my head at the weirdest times,’ Buffy thought. Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar figure. It was the strange man who rescued her. Wearing the same clothes......and watching her intentfully. Buffy involuntarily shivered at the thought, causing Riley to wrap his arms around her. The man noticed and looked away, an unreadable expression on his face. ‘Why is that guy watching me? Maybe he’s following me,’ Buffy thought. ‘Let’s find out.’

"Come on, guys, lets go back to the hotel. I’m bushed," Buffy said, grabbing Riley’s arm and heading to the street to hail a taxi. One stopped by almost immediately and the group bundled in. Buffy noticed the figure looking at the taxi leave and signaling for another one that he could ride in.

"He is following me," Buffy said silently. "Who is he?" Before she could ask herself any more questions, she noticed a cab in front of them slam to a stop, causing their own taxi to swerve. They car hit a patch of ice and swirled around at rapid speed before slamming into a wall. The last thing Buffy could hear was glass shattering and Willow’s screams.

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

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"This isn’t real," Buffy murmured. "It’s just not happening." She was watching Riley, lying in a hospital bed, on the verge of death. He was the only one who had been seriously injured in the crash. Willow had suffered a broken leg and a few broken ribs. Oz had a concussion and a broken wrist. Buffy was pretty much unbroken. Just a few bruises and cuts. Only because she was the Slayer though. And Riley. Poor Riley was bleeding internally and at suffered major head trauma. The doctor’s were not very optimistic.

Willow was wheeled into Riley’s room then, her broken leg, propped up. "Oh, God. Buffy is he going to be ok?" she asked fearfully.

Buffy started to cry again. "I don’t think so, Will. He’s barely holding on. I’m afraid these may be his last moments."

"I’m sorry, Buffy," Oz said from the doorway. His head was bandaged and a sling held up his broken arm. He walked in and gave her a sideways hug.

Buffy received it gratefully. The two friends broke apart just as Xander and Anya rushed in. Their clothes were rumpled and they looked like they’d just been pulled from bed.

"We came as soon as we heard," Anya said in a sorrow voice.

"No we didn’t," Xander muttered behind her. Anya socked him in the arm.

"Is there anything we can do?" she asked.

"No," a tired Buffy answered. "Just pray that he’ll make it by some miracle."

A few tense moments later, Riley’s monitor began beeping rapidly. A couple nurses rushed in and started screaming, "Code Blue! Code Blue!" A hysterical Buffy was rushed out of the room.

Her friends tried to comfort her and tell her it would be all right, but Buffy knew the worst was happening. When a stone-faced doctor came out a few minutes later, her fears were confirmed.

"I’m sorry," was all the doctor could say. "I’m so sorry."

<<<I’m not. =) Yay....Riley’s dead. ::Does happy dance:: Ding-dong the dork is dead, the ugly dork, the dork is dead. Ding-dong the ugly dork is dead!! Excuse me for being cold and heartless>>>

Buffy shuddered from head to toe. "No," she screamed over and over. She refused to believe it was true. She absolutely refused.

"Come on, Buffy," Willow urged. "Let’s go back to the hotel and let you sleep. We’ve all been through something traumatic and we need rest. There’s nothing else we can do here." Willow was fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over onto her face.

Buffy nodded and let her friends lead her out of the hospital, not noticing the dark haired man, wearing a trenchcoat and sunglasses, that stood in the corner.

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

"It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone....... it’s not unusual to have fun with anyone......" Tony Bennet’s voice interrupted Buffy’s peaceful sleep when the alarm clock that she’d set for 10:00 AM went off. Buffy groaned, mumbling, "Five more minutes." But the song would soon force her to get up just so she could turn it off the obnoxious music.

She rolled out of bed and stubbed her toe on the dresser next to her bed. "Son of a biscuit!" she shouted. ‘Wait,’ she thought, rubbing her toe, ‘didn’t I wake up to this song yesterday? How cruel can the radio get?’

It was then that she remembered all that had happened the day before. "Riley’s dead," she said softly. "I just can’t believe it." She looked at her sleeping roommates and noticed that there were no scratches on Willow’s face as there had been last night. A quick glance around told Buffy that Will’s wheelchair was nowhere to be found, either. "What’s going on?" she asked aloud.

Willow stirred in her bed and awoke a moment later. She looked up at Buffy and smiled. "Happy New Year," she exclaimed.

Buffy was shocked. "What’s happy about it, Will? Did you forget about what happened yesterday? Speaking of which, where’s your wheelchair?"

"My wheelchair? Why would I need one of those? And what’s your problem? Wake up on the wrong side of the new year, or what?" Willow quipped pulling herself out of bed.

"Your leg!" Buffy exclaimed.

"What about it?" Willow asked, looking down at it.

"It’s not broken."

"Yeah. And?" Willow inquired, obviously confused at her friend’s odd behavior.

"But it was....I mean last night it was....."Buffy sputtered, a knocking at the door stopping her babbling. She got up to open it and nearly fainted when she saw Riley standing on the other side of it.

<<<Boo!! He’s back! How fair is that??>>>

"Riley?!" Buffy asked in amazement. "How? When? What? Ok, color me a dark shade of confused. You died!"

"Huh?" Riley inquired as he stepped into the girl’s room.

"Don’t ask me," Willow said. "She thought I was supposed to be in a wheelchair."

"But," Buffy insisted, stamping her foot. "But, yesterday, the car accident......am I going crazy?"

Riley and Willow nodded. "There was no car accident. Look, Buffy, I think you’re pretty hung over right now. I’m sure whatever you think happened was just a dream," Willow assured her friend.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh you’re right. Thank goodness. The dream was terrible. I dreamt about the whole day and it was the worst day of my life. You can’t even imagine how glad I am that the day was just a dream."

"Well, forget about it, because we’re living for real right now and there is nothing to worry about. Come one let’s get some breakfast," Riley said.

Buffy agreed, eager to devour some bagels and cream cheese. A few minutes later, her and Riley were in the buffet line, waiting to get their food and Buffy was telling him about how in her dream there had been no bagels. "Boy am I glad they have some today," she said. But when she reached the spot where they should be, there was a sign that read "All Out. Sorry. Try again later". "Shoot," Buffy grumbled. "And I thought it was all a dream."

"Just a coincidence, honey. Don’t worry about it," Riley said.

<<<Watch your use of the word ‘honey’, Riley. I mean it. Don’t make me get out the hot wax and give you a good leg waxing. *g* >>>

"I guess," Buffy replied. "You know, I’m no longer hungry. Let’s go somewhere."

"Good idea. I’ve been dying to go to Central park," Riley said, cramming some eggs into his mouth.

Mentally, Buffy groaned. The day was shaping up just like her dream. Even the things people were saying was similar to the dream. "I guess that would be fun. Just not the petting zoo, please," Buffy answered.

They left the hotel and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Before Buffy realized what was happening, the same car in her dream roared past them, splattering Buffy’s pants with dirty water. "No way," she cried, wiping furiously at her new pants. "This is exactly what happened in my dream. This is too unbelievable."

"Wow, that is crazy. But I wouldn’t worry about it. Let’s just have a nice, relaxing holiday now that we know the world isn’t going to end," Riley said, leading Buffy back into the hotel to change.

Buffy intended to d just what Riley said, but after she somehow got her shoes ruined like in her dream and finding the exact same pair that was in her dream at Bloomingdale’s, she started to get suspicious. She didn’t say anything to Riley, but in the back of her mind she thought that maybe this was the same day as yesterday and she was re-living it or something. It couldn’t be an impossible situation. She decided to just let the day happen and try and notice more similarities.

Eventually, they made it to Rockefeller Center and saw the huge Christmas tree. Buffy kept looking above her to make sure nothing was falling. After 10 minutes, nothing had, and Buffy started to feel secure again. But a moment later, she was knocked to the ground by the same guy as before. She noticed the same angel ornament crashing to the ground. Needless to say she was shocked. Riley could not say this was a coincidence. He’d think she was crazy. Buffy decided to keep her mouth shut and try and figure out what was going on by herself. Then she realized that maybe she could ask the strange man some questions about why he’d been following her around yesterday....er.....tonight.

"Thanks for saving me again," Buffy began without thinking.

In a muffled voice the man, asked, "Again? Have I saved you before without knowing it?"

Buffy felt like kicking herself. Of course he wouldn’t know that he was going to follow her and that he’d already saved her. "Oh, no. I guess I’m just a little shaky and I’m talking crazy. Thanks for your help, sir." She still couldn’t place her finger on it, but she was certain she knew this man from somewhere. "Excuse me. But do I know you? I’m sure that I’ve met you before. You look awfully familiar."

The man became uncomfortable and stood up. "Um, no, you don’t know me. I’m sorry, but I must go," he answered hastily. A second later he had vanished.

Buffy frowned and pulled herself up off the ground. This is too weird, she thought. I’m re-living this day over and over.....and why? Some sort of Y2K effect? Or am I just destined to live this day forever and never move on? Would that really be so bad? Think of all you could do. No more slaying because everyone that died would keep coming back and not even know it. I’d live in NYC for the rest of my life in a luxurious hotel with a great guy and all my friends. And it’s not like the day would be bad forever. I could do things that could change the outcome of the day. Like order tons of bagels for the hotel. Hmm. This could actually be the coolest thing ever. A life without consequences? I love it!

Riley pulled Buffy out of her dreams for the future. "Are you ok, Buffy? You have this goofy expression on your face."

"Riley, I am so ok it scares me. Look, I want to go back to the hotel for awhile before we meet everybody for dinner. You don’t have to come with me, you can go to that Orthodontist Museum thing if you want," Buffy said, practically beaming.

"Hmm. A near death experience and you’re more chipper than you’ve been the whole vacation? You’re so odd, Buffy Summers," Riley replied affectionately.

"I know. So I’ll meet you at Alioto’s for dinner?" Buffy asked, not bothering to look for her bags with the new stuff in it. She knew that by now some poor teenager was enjoying them.

"Alright. I hate to leave you alone but I’ll make up for it later. Hint hint, wink, wink," Riley said, kissing her on the lips.

<<<That’s it, now I’m going to get violent!! ::Throws a 20 ton truck on Riley’s head:: That should teach you to not mess with this B/A shipper fic writer!>>>

"Or maybe I’ll take a rain check on tonight. I’ve got an enormous headache all of the sudden," Riley said, rubbing his temples.

<<<That’s a good boy, Riley!>>>

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

Back in her room at the hotel, Buffy was mapping out everything she could do to make her life as comfy as possible. If she was stuck in this day she better make it one hell of a day.

"Let’s see. I want to try skydiving tomorrow. If I fall and go boom, it’s still all good," Buffy said, chuckling. "And I need to order those gourmet chocolates. Money is no issue. Not to mention go on a wild spree through Nordstroms. There’s so much to do and only one day to it in!" There was nothing that Buffy couldn’t do now. Except, she realized with a pang, be with the man she *really* loved, Angel. Unexpected tears rolled down her face. Why was she thinking about him now? She should be thinking about her life with Riley.

<<<No, you shouldn’t Buffy! Stay with the Angel thoughts! People are rooting your train of thought on!>>>

"But I’ll never stop thinking about Angel. Even if I marry Riley and we have a gazillion kids......"

<<<Oh please, God, NO!!!>>>

".....Angel will always be my great love. I wish it could’ve been different for us. If only the curse didn’t exist. Then we could love each other freely and wholly. But alas......wait, it *can* be so! If I keep repeating this day, then the curse can’t ever go into effect. So, I need to find him, tell him about this gift I’ve been given and hope he’ll still want to be with me. And of course he’ll still want to be with me, because, well, it’s me! This day keeps getting better and better!" Buffy cried, practically jumping on her bed. "Ok, so down to business. Where is my address book. I have to look up Angel’s phone number and tell him to get to New York pronto, before this day is over." She flipped through the book, located the number, and dialed it on the hotel phone.

The phone rang and rand on the other line, then finally Cordelia’s voice was heard.

"Hello? Angel investigations. We help people who need help. Do you need help? And if so, can you pay for our services?"

Buffy stifled a laugh. "Hey Cordy, it’s Buffy. I need to talk with Angel. Right away."

"Buffy. Hi. Um, Angel isn’t in today. He went on vacation to New York a couple days ago," Cordy answered.

"New York? Are you sure?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. It was kind of a vacation/business thing he said. I’m not sure when he’ll be back."

"Oh. Ok, well I’ll try to call him later then. Bye." Buffy hung up the phone and wondered why Angel was in The Big Apple. Did he know she was here too? "I’ve got to try and find him."

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

"It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone....... it’s not unusual to have fun with anyone......" Tony Bennet’s voice interrupted Buffy’s peaceful sleep when the alarm clock that she’d set for 10:00 AM went off. Buffy groaned, mumbling, "Five more minutes." But the song would soon force her to get up just so she could turn it off the obnoxious music.

She rolled out of bed and stubbed her toe on the dresser next to her bed. "Son of a biscuit!" she shouted. "You’d think I’d eventually learn to quit stubbing my toe on that thing!"

Her roommates were still sleeping. It had been a rough night. Not that they knew that Riley had died again. Buffy giggled as she thought about the scene in the hospital. Her friends must have thought she was a mega bitch. The doctor had come out of Riley’s room announcing his death and Buffy had nonchalantly replied, "Oh? That’s too bad," knowing that he’d be alright the next day.

<<<Go with that feeling Buffy. Cuz if Riley keeps annoying me like he has been.....he’s gonna die for real!>>>

She went down to breakfast early, knowing that she’d have time to get to the bagels this way. Sure enough, piles of them were heaped onto a buffet table with tubs of cream cheese alongside them.

"Now this is the life," Buffy said happily. So what if she hadn’t found Angel in the last couple of days? "I’ve done lots of other cool stuff. Like jumping off the Statue of Liberty. Now that was a thrill. And joining that street gang? That had to be one of the funnest moments. So all in all, she’d relived the day eight times, each day doing something more cooler than the day before. She’d seen the mysterious guy a million times since then, but still had no clue who he was or why she knew him.

Later in the day, after shoving Riley in front of her before the llama could crap on her, and having him bitch and moan about his dirty loafers, she stood by the Christmas tree and awaited being saved by her mystery guy. Like clockwork it all happened again. Guy shoves Buffy. Angel ornament crashes to the ground. Buffy thanks mystery guy and asks where she knows him from. But that’s where the scenario changed. This time, instead of darting off into the crowd, he stood there and gazed at her.

Finally he replied, "Buffy, please, there’s not much time left. Please remember. You have to remember. When you do, you’ll know where to find me." *Then* he darted off into the crowd.

Buffy frowned and tried to make sense of the man’s words. Obviously he knew who she was. And he wanted her to remember something. But what? Buffy concentrated and thought hard, but was interrupted by Riley.

<<<Jeez, Riley! Let her think! It’s important that she remember! I should know since I’m writing this! Just shut up and let her think, dammit!>>>

"What is it Riley?" Buffy asked impatiently.

"Um, never mind. I suddenly forgot what I was going to say. You were thinking?" Riley said, moving away and giving her space.

<<<Thank you, Riley. Maybe I won’t have to kill you now. Or maybe I will just for sport......>>>

Riley had backed away too much and was hit by and oncoming taxi cab. His bruised and bloodied body was dragged for blocks and blocks, but Buffy didn’t even notice. She was too busy thinking about what she needed to remember.

<<<Sorry, Riley.....hehe......NOT!!>>>

Buffy finally got off the ground and turned to Riley. Only he wasn’t there. "Riley?" she called out. "Come one Riley, where did you go?" She shrugged and figured, "Hey, that boy was getting on my last nerve anyway."

<<<YAY!! Buffy, you’re finally being smart again! You never liked Fish Boy. Repeat after me: I will stay away from Fish Boy. I will stay away from Fish Boy!>>>

"I’ll stay away from that Fish Boy," Buffy concluded. "Now to think." She strolled along New York’s streets, gazing in the store windows, but not really noticing what she was looking at. Until she got to a jewelry store. Her eyes seemed to open up for the first time all day.

There, right in the center of the display, sparkling a beautiful silver, was a Claddagh ring. Buffy pushed her nose into the glass separating her and the lovely ring. All of the sudden, tons of images came pouring back to her.

"I remember," was all she said as she left the storefront, breathlessly.

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

Buffy stopped in front of the Dakota. She didn’t know what brought her here, but ever since she remembered, she was drawn to this building.

She stepped inside the elegant building, and walked over to the front desk. A middle aged man was working there, and he seemed to recognize her right away.

"I was expecting you," he announced cheerfully. He led Buffy into an elevator. He punched a few buttons and in moments they were at the top floor. He brought her in front of the door that led into the classy penthouse apartment.

"I think you know what you need to do, miss. And once you do it, this day will finally end, and all will be well. Good luck." And with that, the odd man left, leaving Buffy alone in a charmingly decorated hall.

He was right. She did know what to do. But she was almost too numb with apprehension to do it.

Tentatively, she took the ornate door knocker in her hand and let it fall. Once, twice, three times it rapped. A few seconds later, the door was opened, revealing a handsome man.

"I knew you’d remember. I knew you’d come, Buffy." He wrapped his arms around her and led her into the his apartment.

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

"Angel," Buffy began. "This is all sort of confusing. I remember what you wanted me to. Our day together, months ago. I remember every detail. But I’m not supposed to remember, so why did I? And why must I keep living this day over and over? I mean, it hasn’t been a drag, but I’ll be honest. I’d get pretty annoyed if I had to wake up to Tony Bennet every day. And now I’m rambling. And all I really want is some answers to my questions."

Angel laughed at the vision in front of him. "Calm down, Buffy. I’ll explain it all. Let’s sit down."

Buffy was the first to plop onto the black leather couch in the middle of the living room. Angel sat down next to her and grabbed her hands in his.

"I’m glad you remember our day together, Buffy. It will make everything easier to tell you. After you left, I was devastated. I realized the moment after you’d gone that I’d made a terrible mistake. Why would I ever give up a human life with you? I must have been momentarily insane. I know it wouldn’t have been easy to adjust, but with you me, I feel like it would’ve been just fine.

"So I made a decision. I went back to the Oracles a week after you went back to Sunnydale and I told them that I regretted my decision and wanted another chance with you.

"They made me a deal. They said that they couldn’t let us be together unless they were sure that we were in love and that it was eternal. I assured them it was, but they still wanted proof. So they said I had 10 days to make you remember what had happened and how much you loved me. Which you did."

Buffy paused, taking all the information in. "Well, why did it have to be the same day again and again? And why the turn of the millennium?"

"That was another stipulation. This was a hard procedure, and one that could only be done at the turn of the millennium. It called for the day to be repeated until you got it right. Once you passed the Oracles’ test, the time will be restored to normal. You only had a day left, which is why I had to give you the hint."

"It was you who saved my life? I knew I knew you from somewhere. This is all so crazy. I can’t believe the Oracles would go through so much trouble just to see us together," Buffy said.

"Me neither. But they recognized an honest mistake when they saw one. And I made one. I never should have let you go when I had you so close. Do you know how long a month and a half can be when you’re waiting to be returned to your love?" Angel asked, pulling Buffy closer.

"I can imagine," Buffy replied. "So what happens now? I passes their test, do I get a gold star?"

"Close. You get me," Angel answered.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked getting excited.

"The Oracles are going to restore my humanity, but allow me to maintain my strength. They believe that we can do a lot more to help the world together, rather than apart," Angel responded.

"We can. We will make a huge difference. And we’ll be together. I couldn’t ask for
anything else," Buffy said, hugging Angel fiercely.

"So, I have a proposition for you," Angel said mysteriously, pulling away from Buffy."

"What’s that?" Buffy asked, grinning.

"Can we finish what we started a month and a half ago?" Angel said, silently pleading with his eyes.

Buffy giggled, and nodded her head. "I’d like nothing better."

With that Angel scooped up his beloved and carried her to the bedroom.

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

~Epilogue~

"That’s one heck of a trip!" Giles exclaimed as Buffy and Angel related the story of all that had happened. They’d just gotten back from seemed to Buffy to be a year long vacation.

"Sure was. I still feel bad about Riley, though. I didn’t plan for him to really die," Buffy said remorsefully.

<<<Remorsefully? Why remorsefully? Everyone else is cheering at this point, girl. ::Takes a bow:: I told you I’d get rid of Riley. He was too much of a loser for the likes of you, Buffy. Angel is much more your speed. And his body! Yum......ok I better stop myself before I write myself into the story and steal him away and make mad, passionate love to him all night long!>>>

"Don’t feel too bad, Buffy. Nobody really liked him all that much anyway," Giles responded.

"Yeah, I guess I never really did either," Buffy said, less than sorrowfully. "Well, if you’ll excuse us, Giles, Angel and I have some, um, "business" to take care of, if you know what I mean."

"Oh yes, of course," Giles said, showing them to the door. "I’ll talk to you both later, then."

Later, in the privacy of Angel’s mansion, Buffy and Angel lay entwined on his king sized bed. "Uhmm," Buffy said, in pure heaven. "Do you think anybody had as good of a Y2K celebration as we did?"

"Not a chance. We’re going to have a better New Year than anyone else in the world. And a better new year after that, and the one after that....and forever and ever, my love," Angel answered, kissing Buffy’s forehead.

"I can’t get over how people really thought the world would change this year," Buffy commented.

"Oh, but it has, Buffy. The Y2K affected us greatly. Because of it, we’re together. And I must say that’s better than any apocalypse the world could throw at us," Angel replied.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Buffy said, smiling and playing with Angel’s spiky hair. "Yay Y2K!"