Reckoning
By Buffyfire

Author's note: I feel the strong need to write a slight warning to my readers, however few I have out
there, about the forth-coming story. It contains some elements, not normally seen in one of my stories. It is nothing too graphic, except some foul language in one scene, but it does place two main characters under some extreme circumstances. Unfortunately, everything I've put in this story is necessary for the plot of my series, which is about to take a dark turn. I'm not saying that you should expect more stories like this, don't, but I am saying that things are about to
dramatically change, some for good, some for bad. My second warning is that this story is very long, sorry about that. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own these character except for Kayla and Dent. Everyone else belongs to Joss...lucky him.

Part 1

"It's called the 'The Day of Reckoning,'" said Buffy, "every twenty years of a vampire's existence, it's given a day of rest. Any crime that they've committed against another vampire is forgotten and they're accepted with open arms back into the fold. On that night, no other vampire can go near them."

"When does this happen?" asked Willow, sipping her cappuccino.

"On the vampire's birthday, so you can see what this means."

Willow nodded thoughtfully.

"So," said Xander, "what are you gonna get him?"

Buffy slumped back in her seat, "That's my problem. What do you get a vampire for his birthday?"

"If this were you're regular run-of-the-mill vampire, I'd say something big and pointy right through the heart, but if we're talking about Angel…" Xander trailed off.

"Why don't you ask him?" suggested Willow.

"Because, he doesn't know that I know. Giles told me about it this morning and I've been racking my brain ever since."

"Hey," said Xander," isn't your birthday coming up too?"

"Yeah," Buffy answered, "but mine isn't until next week and Angel's is in four days."

"Well, then, Missy, you better get shopping," Xander said, scanning the room. His eyes stopped when they fell upon Cordelia who was looking around for them.

"I shall return," said Xander, "my fair maiden awaits me on the dance floor."

He left his seat and walked coolly to where his picturesque girlfriend stood, searching the crowds for her friends. He took her in his arms and swayed with her to the slow music playing in the background. As soon as it sped up, Cordelia's pleasant mood quickly changed to an irritated rage.

Xander was making a complete fool of himself. His arms were flailing in every which direction and he was jumping around like a monkey. Buffy and Willow watched from the table, the latter of the two was laughing uncontrollably. Cordelia, who didn't find it so funny, waved him away with both arms and stomped from the dance floor.

"Uh oh," said Willow, returning her cup to it's tray.

Xander returned to the table and said, "I guess I should stick with slow dancing, huh?"

Willow, looking past him, waved to someone in the back of the room. Xander and Buffy looked back to where she had waved and saw Angel weaving in and out of the dancing crowd.

"So," said Xander, turning back, "you and Angel have gotten close."

"And?" she said, urging him to continue.

"And I wanna know, should I be jealous?"

Willow raised an eyebrow at him, "Don't worry, Xander. You're still my best guy friend in the whole wide world, you're just gonna have to share me, now."

"But I'm already sharing you with Oz," he answered, pouting.

She put a comforting arm around him and said, "Well, then, it's a good thing there's enough of me to go around."

"Yeah," said Buffy, "Willow for everyone."

Angel appeared at their table and, after kissing Buffy briefly on the cheek, sat down. Willow offered him the rest of her cappuccino.

"What's wrong with Cordelia?" he asked.

"She's just a bit over-Xandered right now," said Buffy, "Um…what are you doing on Friday night?"

He looked at her suspiciously then shook his head and said "No."

"What?" Buffy asked, trying, and failing, to sound innocent.

"No, I don't want to do something for my birthday. I don't know how you found out, but I don't want you to bother." He took a long drink and finished the cappuccino off in one gulp.

"Oh, come on!" wailed Buffy, "We have to do SOMETHING. Besides, it's your Day of Reckoning."

"Oh great, you know about that too. Okay, what do you wanna do?"

"I don't know, it's your birthday."

"You're the one who wants to do something." He put the cappuccino cup back on the saucer and thanked Willow for it, saying that it had hit the spot.

"You know," said Xander, "we could go out to the carnival. It's about twenty minutes from here. It's supposed to be a sort of temporary Coney Island. Could be fun?"

"I don't do carnivals," said Angel, "One used to come to my town every year- bad experience one year, never went back."

"Carnivals have changed since then," said Buffy, "I'm sure that what happened to you is a lot less likely to happen now."

"Actually, it's more likely. Also, it wasn't necessarily my experience."

"What happened?"

"Just come up with something else," he told them.

"Why don't we go ice skating?" said Willow, "haven't done that in awhile."

Angel shook his head after determinedly "You've never seen me ice skate and trust me, you don't want to."

"The only things left in this town are bowling and mini-golf," said Buffy, "take your pick."

Angel considered this, then said, "Bowling."

"Sounds fun, but you guys forget," said Xander, "after 5:00, Friday becomes league night."

"That's right," said Buffy.

"I'm NOT going mini-golfing," said Angel. His crankiness on the subject was beginning to get on everyone's nerves.

"Well, we can always come here," Xander reminded them.

"Exactly," said Buffy, "we ALWAYS come here. We need to do something special for him."

"I just love it when you talk about me like I'm not here," said Angel, annoyed.

Buffy glanced down at her watch and was shocked to find that it was already 8:30.

"I need to go, guys, I promised Giles I'd patrol before I went home," she said, getting up from her
chair. She kissed Angel quickly and said, "Don't worry, we'll come up with something."

He slapped his forehead as she walked away, saying to himself, in a sarcastic tone, "Great."

"What do you have against birthdays?" asked Willow, "It's not like you need to worry about gray hairs or anything."

"The fact is, I've never had a good time on my birthday."

"Didn't you ever get a party or anything?"

"No, my family was poor. The closest I ever got to a party was the carnival I told you about and you can only enjoy a carnival before you grow out of it."

"Not true," said Xander, "I don't know about Will here, but I could have gone to the North County Sun Fair, every year, if it weren't for the accident they had on the Gyro-coaster."

"What happened?"

"Some kid fell out of his coaster car while going through a loop," Willow explained, "his restraints
broke and he went flying. They haven't been back to Sunnydale since."

"That'll ruin your day," said Angel, cringing at the mental picture creeping into his mind.

"Anything like that happen to you?"

"Uh…not exactly," Angel said hesitantly.

"Why did you stop enjoying it?"

"Yeah, what gives?" said Xander, "You seem like a peppy fun-loving kinda guy."

"Yeah," said Angel half-heartedly, "big fun. The last time I went to this carnival was when I turned 18 and-"

They were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Kayla at the table.

"Hello," she said, to which everyone gave quick "hi."

"What are we talking about?" she asked.

"My 18th birthday," said Angel looking across the table at her.

"O-oh" said Kayla, suddenly looking extremely uncomfortable, "That was…quite a night. What exactly have you told them?"

"Just that it was the reason I stopped going to those carnivals every year."

"Aye, it was a terrible night, wasn't it?"

"So, what happened?" asked Xander, eager to be let in on this big secret.

Angel and Kayla looked at each other, and spoke with their eyes, neither quite sure, how much of their optical conversation, they should voice.

Kayla stood up from the table and said, "I have to go. Angel, you may tell them about that night if you want to, but I'd rather not be around to hear it. The last thing I want to do is to relive it, especially through your voice."

"Is it really that bad?" asked Willow, as Kayla walked quickly out of the Bronze.

"Worse" said Angel, sad as he watched her go, "well, like she said, it was quite a night."


The phone rang at the Harris home at 4:30. Had the phone in Xander's room not been right next to his bed, he wouldn't have even heard it, but since it was, he drowsily picked up the receiver and used it to find his ear.

"Hello?" he groaned into his phone, which was in the shape of Marvin the Martian. It had been a very suitable Christmas present from Willow.

"Xander? Hi, it's me," Buffy said on the other line, "look, Willow and I have been talking all night and we were thinking-"

"All night?" he repeated in shock, "Did it occur to either of you that you have school in three hours?"

"Look," she continued, ignoring his contribution of common sense, "we need you to pick us up."

It soon became apparent to Xander that Buffy had indeed been up all night and was currently running on adrenaline.

"You want me to come now?" he turned on his lamp and said, "Argh!" as the piercing light stung his
squinting eyes.

"Can you?" she asked pleadingly.

He sighed heavily, "Yeah, give me ten minutes, and this better be important."

"It is," she said, then silence immediately filled the line.

Xander stumbled from his bed and got dressed in a pair of torn jeans and the shirt that he'd worn the day before. He left a note, saying that he'd gone to breakfast with his friends, just in case his parents happened to wake up in his absence, then he was out the door. He picked up Willow first since she lived closest to him, then moved on to pick up Buffy who was waiting for them outside.

"Where are we going?" he asked, taking note of the small bag slung over Willow's shoulder.

"Passion Point," Buffy answered.

"And what exactly are we doing up there?" he asked, giving her a surprised look.

"You'll see," she answered him with a sly smile, then adjusted the radio as they drove off.

They arrived at Passion Point within ten minutes. Passion Point was the #1 make out point in Sunnydale and for most teenagers, the best place to be on a Saturday night. It was a cliff at the edge of the woods that overlooked the entire town, providing quite a view for anyone who came up for air long enough to appreciate it.

"Wow," said Buffy, getting out of the car, "it's beautiful."

"I can't believe you and Angel have been going out for nearly a year and you haven't come up here yet," said Willow.

"No, they're too busy desecrating mausoleums," said Xander, to which he and Willow laughed.

Buffy, however didn't appreciate the joke. She walked towards the clearing and said, crankily, "Let's just set up."

"So, I ask again, what are we doing up here?" asked Xander, finally starting to wake up.

"Taking a picture," said Willow, removing a camera equipment from her bag.

"Of Sunnydale? Why would you need a picture of that?" he asked, taking a gander at the expensive looking equipment that Willow was setting up.

"Not of Sunnydale," said Buffy, "of the sunrise. Like I told you, Willow and I have been talking all night and she came up with the perfect idea for what I should get for Angel."

"You're giving him a picture of the sunrise?"

"We're gonna get it made into a poster," Willow explained to him, making sure that the film was
properly placed in the camera and that the lens was clean and focused.

"You had to come all the way up here at five in the morning, in MY car no less, for that?"

"This is the best view in town, Xander, you know that," said Willow, "the shot will be perfect."

"Where'd you get the camera?" he asked Willow.

"It's my dad's" she explained, "so we need to get it back before he waked up and finds it gone."

"So, take the picture and let's go, I have another good forty winks I can get in before school and I plan to get in every one of them."

"Hello? The sun isn't up yet," Buffy reminded him, pointing to the clearing, "we need to wait for a
little while."

She hopped up onto the hood of the car, then climbed onto the roof, where she sat cross-legged, watching Willow adjust the height and focus on the camera. Xander sat on the hood and leaned against the windshield, gazing up at the stars. He yawned, wondering how in the world he'd let himself get talked into getting up that early. When she finished, Willow joined him on the hood and lay down, attempting to get a few minutes of sleep.

"So, what sorts of scary girl things have you two been talking about all night?" Xander asked.

Buffy and Willow smiled and exchanged knowing glances.

"Just girl talk," said Buffy.

"We figured out what we're doing Friday," added Willow.

"What's the plan?" he inquired, looking out onto the sleeping town.

"We're taking him bowling on Thursday," Willow explained, "then on Friday we're gonna set up a dinner party thing at his place."

"Good idea," said Xander, "we haven't done that in awhile."

"That's because you guys didn't cook your own food," said Buffy, resisting her urge to slap him upside the head. She'd been hanging around Kayla for too long.

"Is the sun up yet?" he asked in a complaining tone.

"You're just cranky because we got you up so early. Think of it this way, now you can tell everyone that you were alone at Passion Point with two women and a car," Buffy reminded him.

He yawned, closed his eyes and said, "I just love it when you're right."

He felt her delicate fingers gently stroke his face, then play in his dark locks. He kept his eyes closed as her lips brushed tenderly against his forehead. He felt her move close to his ear and, smiled he when she whispered, "And you know, I'm always right."

A hand that came from his left, which he assumed belonged to Willow, turned his face, then a pair of lips kissed his, softly at first, then rougher, as Buffy continued to kiss his forehead and play in his hair. Willow released his lips, then moved hers down his neck. He opened his eyes and looked at Buffy, who, with the moon behind her, had a certain effulgence to her. She leaned down to kiss his lips and he brought his hand behind her neck and graciously kissed back.


Xander awoke from his dream, due to the sound of a squirrel scampering loudly from one tree to another. Buffy was still on the top of the car, looking out onto the town and Willow was asleep next to him. He sat up and stretched his neck, which now had a giant crick in it.

"You Okay?" asked Buffy.

"Fine, why?" he said, slightly embarrassed by his dream.

"You're all flushed," she stretched out a hand to his face and said, "you're also kinda warm."

"Uh…it must be the jacket," he lied, quickly removing his jacket. He decided that it was better to not let her in on the real reason he was sweating.

He was saved from further excuses when Buffy noticed that the sun had begun to rise. Buffy hopped off the roof of the car and said, "Willow, wake up."

Willow opened her eyes halfway, then shut them again and turned over. Buffy grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her to an upright position, saying, "C'mon, the sun's coming up."

Willow slid off the hood of the car and went to the camera. Xander and Buffy stood at the edge of the point, looking out onto the beautiful sunrise.

Willow drowsily looked through the lens, then snapped the picture. It was perfect; the sun had just started over the horizon, blanketing Sunnydale in a smoky orange light. She snapped a couple more, just in case, then packed up the equipment.

"You think he'll like it?" asked Willow, watching the beauty unfold in front of her.

"I think he'll love it. You're a genius, Will," Buffy answered.

"How'd you come up with this?" asked Xander, getting comfortable on the ground.

"When he and I used to meet," Willow told him, joining him in the grass, "he used to tell me about his life. He said that the thing he missed the most about humanity was the sunrise. He and Kayla used to sit up on a hill and watch it almost every morning. In the past few years, he's painted it and dreamed about it. He'd do anything to see it, especially like this."

"It's the perfect gift," said Buffy, who like her friends had not once taken her eyes from the sight before her. Soon, the spectacle was over and they realized it was time to go.

After hitting an early morning drive-thru, they headed for the 24-Hour Kinko's in the middle of town. Buffy explained what she wanted and paid for it, receiving back a receipt and the knowledge that she could pick it up that afternoon. On the way out, she stopped suddenly.

"You guys go ahead," she told her friends, when they reached the door, "I need to find a bathroom."

"Alright," said Willow, "meet us outside."

Buffy nodded, then rushed to the public restrooms in the back of the store.

She came out of the stall feeling terrible. Her empty stomach hurt, her head ached and she realized that the $3 that she'd spent on breakfast had been a waste of money.

The other person in the bathroom, a brown-haired girl of 19, looked at Buffy curiously, as she stumbled from the stall. She'd been washing her hands when Buffy had rushed into the bathroom and thrown up in the nearest stall.

Buffy scanned the room for a mirror, to make sure that her sickness didn't show, but was irritated to find that there weren't any. She asked the girl, "Do you have a mirror?"

"No," answered the girl in a low voice.

"Any aspirin?"

"No, again."

Buffy didn't like the feeling that she got from this girl. She couldn't explain why, but she simply didn't like her.

The girl made a reach for a paper towel, just as Buffy was reaching for the faucet. Their hands collided, sending a spark of realization through them both. Buffy reached for a stake, which she'd concealed in her jacket.

The girl laughed, "You're gonna fight me in here, in a public bathroom?"

Glaring, Buffy returned her stake to the fold in her jacket.

"I didn't think so," the girl said with a mocking smile and left the bathroom, saying, "By the way,
congratulations."

Buffy's glare turned in a look of complete shock and horror. She spent the entire ride home staring off into space. Willow noted her friend's distraction and asked, "You okay?"

Buffy didn't even hear her. Willow waved a hand in front of Buffy's facing snapping her out of it.

"Are you okay?" she asked again, seeing that her friend was much tenser than she realized.

"Uh, yeah, it's just…there was a vampire in the bathroom and I couldn't take it out."

"Why not?"

"Couldn't risk, someone walking in."

"Mad, cause you missed the kill, huh?" said Xander.

"Yeah," she lied, she knew that she would have to tell them the real reason eventually, but not yet.


"Buuuuuuffyyyyyy, oh, Buuuuuuffyyyyyy, waaake uuup."

Buffy's eyes opened halfway and looked at Xander who sat next to her singing her to rouse her from her deep slumber.

"The bell rang," he told her.

She sat up and looked round her History class, noticing that the rest of the students had already
left. Willow, who sat in front of her, seemed to be having trouble staying awake.

"How long have I been out?" she asked.

"You're head hit the desk as soon as the tardy bell rang," he told her.

She groaned, "Oh, never let me stay up all night ever again, okay?"

"C'mon," he said pulling her up from the desk. Once she was standing, he got Willow up and continued, "it's lunchtime, so you two night crawlers can sleep in the library."

And sleep they did, all through lunch and into their free period, using jackets as blankets and backpacks as pillows.

Buffy woke up to the feeling of a hand on her back. She looked to her right and was met with a man's torso, clothed by a black shirt. Her eyes journeyed above the torso and rested on the face of Angel.

"Hey," she said, lifting her head from the backpack she'd been using.

"What happened to you?" he asked, "You look exhausted." She stretched her arms high above her head and yawned loudly. She put her head back down and closed her eyes.

"Nothing," she answered, "What time is it?"

"About 8:30."

She sat back up, "Really?" She started to stand but lost her balance. Angel grabbed her arm to keep her from falling and helped to steady her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Where's Willow?" she asked, ignoring his question.

Giles came out of his office saying, "She went home when school let out."

Buffy moaned and rubbed her eyes, then gathered her stuff together.

"Where are you going?" Angel asked again.

"I have patrol," she answered.

"Go home, Buffy," said Giles, "you need the rest."

"I'll be okay," she insisted, stepping away from the table, "I just had a long nap and-" she stopped to let out another yawn, "I'm just a little drowsy."

Giles turned to Angel and said, "Make sure that she goes home."

"Will do," said Angel, putting his arm around Buffy and leading her from the library.


"I barely touched her and I could feel it," the vampire said.

Drusilla closed her eyes, then gasped, "I can see it; it looks small and sick with worry for her."
She gave a bemused smile.

"I couldn't tell by looking at her, but she tossed her cookies in the bathroom and came out asking for
aspirin. When our hands touched, she realized that I was a vampire, but it was a public place, so she
couldn't do anything about it."

"Good."

"Good?? I could have taken her."

Drusilla shook her head, "No, if you'd fought, you would have lost. The young always think that they're invincible."

The vampire folded her arms and looked away staring into the mirrors on every wall.

The empty hotel that they found looked like it had been inhabited recently. When they'd first arrived,
they found one room in particular that had caught their attention. The bed looked as though someone had died in it. Blood stained the sheets and the carpet, creating a delectable scent for any vampire. who happened to enter. This was the room that Drusilla resided in. She'd refused to change anything except for the mirrors, which she had installed soon after their arrival. She laughed whenever a vampire entered the room. In the mirror, it looked as though the door was opening by itself and she would shout, "The ghost are here again!"

Drusilla walked toward the young vampire and kissed her forehead, "Thank you for not fighting, my dear. Save it for Friday, when we strike."

"Friday, but that's-"

"Now, now, dearie, trust me, it's all perfect."


The next morning, Buffy woke up refreshed. It took her a long time to remember how she'd gotten home and even then, it was fuzzy. She remembered Giles telling her to go home and as she thought about it, she realized it was best that she'd listened. Sleep-slaying sounded difficult. Her mom had mentioned something about Angel looking well, when he'd brought her home. Angel?

"By the way," said Joyce, "someone from Kinko's kept calling for you, something about a poster."

Buffy slapped her forehead. She'd completely forgotten about the poster.

"If they call again, tell them that I'll pick it up this afternoon."

She grabbed a banana for the road and hurried out the door to school.


That night, the whole gang met at Buffy's house, then carpooled to the local bowling alley.

"So, how should we do this?" asked Cordelia, tying on her blue and red bowling shoes, "I mean, should we do teams?"

"We could do teams," said Buffy, "What do you think, Angel?"

"Teams it is," he answered.

"Let's do girls against boys," suggested Cordelia.

"No," said Xander, "c'mon, Cordy, you want to be on a winning team, don't you?"

"Are you suggesting that we couldn't win?" asked Buffy.

"No, of course not…well, yeah, I guess I am. Everyoneknows that girls only beat guys at sports when it's on TV."

"Xander," said Oz, "you may wanna-"

"No, I'm serious," Xander insisted.

"We're playing boys against girls," said Buffy, firmly, then turning to Angel, said, "Sorry, honey, but I gotta make him eat his words."

"Okay," said Xander, "but I warned you."

Each team had a quick huddle before they started playing.

"Xander, have you ever seen Willow bowl?" asked Oz.

"Sure, we were on a junior league in the 8th grade."

"I meant recently."

"It's been awhile, but last time we bowled, she was still using bumpers"

"I hope you know what you've gotten us into."

"Don't worry, Cordy's no bowler, so that's two down. How bout it, Angel, got anything on Buffy?"

"No, we've never been bowling, but I wouldn't worry about her," Angel told them, "There's no way that she can pull their weight on her own. Besides, you were on a team, and I've been doing this for a long time so, I'd say we have an edge."

As for the girls:

"This game is ours," said Willow, "Xander's all talk, trust me."

"You sure?" asked Buffy.

"He couldn't bowl to save his life. We were on a team in the 8th grade and the only thing that saved him were the inflatable bumpers. What he doesn't know is that I spent weeks here that summer, getting good. I haven't played to my full potential, since."

"So, if we start to lose-" began Cordelia

"We won't lose," Willow interrupted.

The girls slapped hands and waited for the guys to finish.

A coin was flipped and the guys won and after some debate, they decided to send Oz up first. He sat down after getting a spare. Willow went up next and blew them away with a strike.

Despite their good start, within twenty minutes, the girls were down by forty-eight points. It seemed that Xander had also gotten some practice in the off season. At the end of the game, the score was 180 to 155. Cordelia stood with folded arms.

"I want a rematch," she demanded.

"C'mon, Cordy, we're here to have fun," Buffy reminded her.

"Fun?! This is bowling, it has nothing to do with fun!"

She grabbed Buffy and Willow and pulled them into another huddle.

"Why didn't you tell me your boyfriend was some kind of expert?" she asked Buffy.

"I didn't know, I've never seen him bowl before," said Buffy in defense.

"We HAVE to beat them this time," she said, then walked away to reset the scoreboard.

"This is ridiculous," said Willow, "What's she so mad about?"

"I don't know, but they've been at each other's throats since the other night at The Bronze. I
think-" she stopped suddenly, a look of pain crossing her face. She grabbed onto Willow's shoulder for support as the pain passed.

"You alright?" asked Willow.

"Yeah…yeah, I just felt sick for a second, I'll be fine."

"Well, come on, you're up first."

Buffy picked up her ball stepped up to the wooden strip where the lanes were. She looked to the end of her lane and took a few steps to gain momentum. As she brought her arm back, the pain hit again, so bad this time, that when she swung the ball forward, she sent it flying into the gutter. With a slight flush of embarrassment, she picked up a new ball and when the pins reset, stepped up to try again. This time, as soon as she released the ball, her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. From the floor, she watched the ball roll down the alley and hit the three pins on the left end. Xander, being the closest to her, ran out to help her up. After assuring him that she was fine, she returned to her seat and he stepped up to the lane for his turn.

"I thought you said you were alright," said Willow.

Buffy put her hands to her temples, "I am, I'll be okay."

She leaned her head on the back of the chair and shut her eyes, but not before catching a glimpse of Angel giving her a concerned stare. She soon felt him sitting next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She leaned her head on his shoulder and said, "Nothing, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

She rested her chin on his shoulder and looked him in the face, "Trust me, I'll be okay."

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of petty bickering. They looked towards the lane where Xander still stood. Cordelia had joined him there and the two of them were, once again, fighting. Both were talking at the same time, so no one else could catch a word of it. Finally, Cordelia became fed up and walked away quickly. Xander watched her storm off for a second, then followed her.

She hoped to lose him in the girls' bathroom and was appalled when he walked in after her.

"Get out!" she yelled.

"Not until you talk to me," he answered.

She entered the last stall and locked it behind her. He knocked on the door, "What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with YOU?"

"Nothing, I'm not the one who made a scene in front of our friends, then ran to hide in a bathroom."

"Go away!"

Xander dropped to the floor and crawled underneath the stall. Cordelia was sitting on the back of the toilet, with her feet on the seat, giving him plenty of room to get in and stand up.

"Talk to me, Cordy, what's going on?"

Cordelia looked down at her hands, which were folded and extending in front of her from her elbows, which rested on her knees. She brushed some hair from her face and looked up at him, "Where are we going?"

Xander was confused, "What?"

"I mean us. Where is this relationship going? We've been together for nearly a year and I've gotten no sign of commitment: no class ring, no ID bracelet, nothing. You've never said 'I love you,' we're still second base, for crying out loud! Is anything ever gonna change?"

He folded his arms across his broad chest and asked "What do you want from me, Cordy? Are you saying you want me to buy you presents and become your sex toy?"

"Maybe, I do," she said, then looked down again. She stepped down from the toilet and stood in front of him, "I want to know that this relationship isn't for nothing. I want-" before she could finish, Xander grabbed her by the back of the head and pulled her face to his. This kiss lasted several seconds and when Xander released her, it left her breathless. She looked up at him and, after ignoring the urge to say something, grabbed him and did the same. She shoved him against the door and leaned against him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his hands, which rested on her waist, began to massage her back.

In the midst of this moment of steamy passion, the bathroom door creaked, announcing the presence of another in the room. Cordelia and Xander pulled away quickly and listened as the person ran into the second stall and proceeded to throw up.

Cordelia signaled to Xander that they should attempt an escape. He agreed and unlocked the stall door. They were about to tiptoe out when the door creaked again. Xander re-locked the door and looked at Cordelia in panic. He was about to whisper something to her when the person who had just entered the bathroom called, "Buffy?"

Realizing that it was Willow who'd spoken, Cordelia made a move to leave. Xander stopped her and shook his head as if to say, "I want to hear this."

Willow found Buffy on the floor of the second stall. She was clutching her knees and tears stained her face. Willow crouched down beside her friend and asked, "What's going on?"

Buffy looked around the tiny stall, trying to find something to look at besides Willow. Finally, she
gave up and looked her dead in the face, "I think, I'm pregnant."

Part 2

Upon hearing this starling confession from his friend, Xander tried to leave the stall. Cordelia held him back and whispered, "Trust me, you don't want to go out there."

"Oh, my God," said Willow, "Are you sure? Have you taken a test?"

Buffy shook her head, "I haven't taken a test, but I'm pretty sure."

"Oh, my God," she said again, sitting down next to Buffy, "who else knows?"

"Just you," Buffy answered, wiping a tear from her face.

"Wow," Willow breathed in astonishment. She'd known that something was wrong with Buffy, but she'd never imagined it was anything like this. Something suddenly occurred to her and she asked, "Who's the father?"

Buffy looked at her in complete disbelief, but soon realized that she'd never told Willow about the full extent of what Jenny's spell had done. She was about to explain when there was a knock on the door. Oz's voice came through the door, "Willow, you guys in there?"

"Be right out," Willow called from the stall. She stood up and helped Buffy to her feet, saying "C'mon, let's get you out of here."

A few seconds later, Xander and Cordelia were again alone in the bathroom. After their shock wore off, they left the stall.

"God," said Cordelia, as it was all she could think of to say.

"Let's go," said Xander, "if they find us in here, we're dead."

They left the bathroom, using extreme caution to make sure that they wouldn't be seen and returned to their lane.

"What's the story with you two?" asked Buffy.

"We're…we're okay," said Xander, "How about you? You feeling better?"

"Actually, I'm gonna go. I'm not feeling too great and I'd rather not blow chunks all over the lane."

"You need a ride?" asked Cordelia.

"If you could, that'd be great," she turned to the guys, "Are you gonna keep playing?"

"Nah," said Xander, "I think we've had enough…ahem…friendly competition for one night."

Cordelia took home Xander and Buffy, and Oz took Willow. Angel was offered a ride, but he graciously declined, saying that he had some errands to run. The entire ride home, Oz could sense Willow's distraction. Before he could ask what was wrong, she asked him to pull into a nearby parking lot. He looked to where she pointed and saw a drug store.

"I'll be right back," she said, hopping out of the van.

She returned a few minutes later with a small bag.

"I need you to drop me off at Buffy's," she said.

"No problem," he agreed, pulling out of the parking lot, "mind if I ask what's in the bag?"

Willow hesitated, "Uh…well," she finally gave up her search for an excuse and said, "It's a home pregnancy test."

Oz nearly went off the road, "What?!"

"It's not for me," she told him, "it's for Buffy."

"No way," he said.

"Way, you saw what happened tonight. This isn't the first time she's been thrown off balance by a simple task or gone running to the bathroom because she suddenly got sick. Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but she's gained a little weight. It's so obvious, I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"My God, does Angel know?"

"No, and she has good reason not to tell him."

"I didn't think vampires could have kids."

"They can't," she answered him sadly.

"But then how-…oh. It really doesn't make sense, though. I can't imagine her cheating on him."

"Neither can I. I asked her who the father was and she just looked at me like I was crazy. That's one of the reasons I'm going over there."

"Why the test?"

"She said she hasn't taken one yet. Before we get all worked up, I think we better make sure. God, I can't believe she would do this to him."

They soon arrived at Buffy's house. Willow leaned over and gave Oz a quick kiss.

"Call me if you need a ride," he told her.

"I will," she said.

"Go easy on her," he said before she shut the door.

"I'll try to restrain myself," she smiled, then closed the door and ran up the walkway.

Joyce answered the door, "Hi, Willow, Buffy's in her room with Angel, go on up."

Willow ran up the stairs to Buffy's room. The door was wide open so she walked right in. Buffy sat cross-legged on the bed, facing Angel, who was sitting in her desk chair. Both turned when Willow entered the room.

"Hi," she said to them.

Angel put his hand on Buffy's, kissed her quickly and said, "I'll let you ladies talk, I need to get going, anywise."

"Alright, see you tomorrow," said Buffy.

"G'night Willow," he said, walking past her and out the door.

"Night," she said, shutting it behind him. She sat down on the bed across from Buffy and asked, "What were you two talking about."

"He just wanted to make sure that I was okay…I'm gonna tell him tomorrow."

"Here," said Willow, giving Buffy the bag, "first make sure that there's something to tell."

Buffy reached into the bag and pulled out the small rectangular box. She gave a nervous smile as she read the label.


"How long do we have to wait?" asked Buffy, as she paced outside the bathroom door.

Willow looked on the empty box and read the instructions, "Two minutes."

Buffy stared at her watched as the second hand slowly made its way around the face. There was a great silence between them and with it came tension. Buffy didn't know exactly what Willow was thinking, but she had a pretty good idea. She took her eyes from her watch and said, "I'm not cheating on him, Will."

"Vampires, can't have kids."

Buffy sighed, "Remember last year, when Ms. Calendar cast the spell that made his soul permanent? You know, it also gave him human qualities? Well, this was one of them."

"Did you know?"

Buffy nodded.

"Does Angel know?"

"Yeah, I made sure to tell him," Buffy said. She glanced down at her watch, then looked up and said, "Time's up."

Buffy entered the bathroom and, with a trembling hand, picked up the tester. Willow looked over her shoulder and when she caught a glimpse of the tiny pink cross, she put a comforting arm around her. Buffy sniffed a couple of times, then put the tester back on the counter and walked from the bathroom.

When they reached Buffy's room, Willow took the tester and it's box and put them in her bag.

"I'll throw these away at home," she said "you don't want your mom seeing them just yet."

Buffy nodded, "Good idea, I need to tell her myself."

"Will you tell her tonight?"

"No, I want to talk to Angel, first, see what he wants."

"And you'll do that tomorrow?"

"Yeah, why don't you guys let me handle things tomorrow? I'll take him out somewhere. We'll more than likely, go back to the mansion and that's when I'll do it."

Willow sat down on the bed, "What are you gonna do?"

Buffy shook her head, "I don't know. I think I just…I need to talk to Angel and my mom and Giles, and find out what they want me to do."

"What do you want?"

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," said Buffy, after wiping her eyes.

Joyce poked her head into the room and said, "Hon, Angel's at the door. He wants to know if he left a key here. He says he can't find it and he can't get into his house without it."

Buffy looked around the room, then rested her eyes on a spot on the floor where sat a small metal key. She got up from the bed and picked it up.

"It must've fallen out of his pocket. I'll take it to him," she said, leaving the room with Willow following behind her.

"Back already," said Buffy, when she saw Angel standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"You know, I can't stay away from you for too long," he replied with a sarcastically dashing smile.

"Yeah, yeah, you also can't get into your house," she kissed him quickly, then handed him the key.

"Thanks," he said, then turned to Willow, "How are you getting home?"

"I was gonna call Oz."

"Well, I gotta talk to you, why don't I walk you?"

"Yeah, sure, just let me grab my stuff," said Willow, running up the stairs.

"So," Buffy began.

Angel interrupted her, "Have you been crying? Your eyes are all red."

"No- no," she said, "my eyes just kinda itch and, you know, I've been rubbing them."

She stepped out of the way as Willow came back down.

"You got everything?" he asked, opening the door.

"Yup," said Willow, as she stepped out into the cool night air.

"By the way, Will," said Buffy, "about what we talked about-"

Willow pulled the imaginary zipper across her mouth as if to say, "My lips are sealed," then turned and walked down to the sidewalk where Angel was waiting for her.

She waited for the door to close, to ask, "So, what are we talking about?"

They began to walk and he asked, "Did Buffy say anything about what's wrong with her?"

"Uh…no, not really. I think she's just tired. It may be some sort of flu or something."

"So, you think she's had this flu for two months? I'm not buying it, Will. I wish she would talk to me."

"You think it's something more serious?"

"I know it is. If she won't even talk to you about it, then it's gotta be serious."

Willow was about to ask what he thought when she tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and went tumbling to the ground. When her bag hit the sidewalk, it opened, spilling its contents all over the place. She made a mad grab for everything she'd dropped. She picked up a lipstick, a few coins and a small comb, then looked around for the rest. In particular, she was looking for the pregnancy test that she'd offered to take home and was alarmed when Angel found it first. He looked at it for a few seconds, then up at her. She slung her bag over her shoulder, snatched the box from his hand and ran down the street.

Angel ran after her, "Wait, Will! Willow, come back!" But she kept running. He soon caught up to her, grabbed onto her shoulder, and stood in front of her to block her path. She stopped on the sidewalk and folded her arms, looking away from him, in fact, doing everything possible to avoid eye contact.

"Talk to me, Will," he said.

Continuing to look away, she shook her head. He put a hand to her face and turned it towards his, forcing her to look at him.

"I know, it's not yours."

Her eyes widen slightly as he continued, "I know about the pregnancy. I've known from the beginning, longer than she has, even."

"How?"

"Aside from the obvious? The terrible balance, the throwing up, the weight she's gained? Aside from that, I could feel it in her. Vampires can hear a human's heartbeat, just by touching them. It's like a ringing in the ears. It's the kind of thing that you get so used to that after a while, you learn to ignore it. Well, a little while ago, I began to hear a second heartbeat. It didn't take me long to realize what it was."

"Why haven't you talked to her?"

"I wasn't sure if she even knew. Also, I don't want to confront her if she's not ready to talk about it."

"She will be tomorrow, after your date or whatever you're doing."

"I wasn't aware that we were doing anything."

"Then, I guess that's another surprise that's been ruined, huh?"

Angel put a friendly arm around Willow and continued to walk, "That's okay, I was never one for surprises anyway."

"So, what are you gonna say to her?"

"I don't know," said Angel, thoughtfully, "I'll stand by her no matter what she decides, I just wish I knew what she was gonna do."

"She doesn't know. She wants to know what you want."

"Well, that's gonna put us at a bit of a stalemate, then won't it? Both of us are waiting for the other's
reaction. I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"What do you want?"

"Does it matter what I want? No matter what I say to her, she has the power in this. It's her body, I
can't tell her what to with it."

Willow soon realized that they had reached her house. She hugged him and said, I'll see you later."

"Bye," he said and started to walk away.

She had walked halfway to the door when she stopped,turned back, and called after him, "Angel, wait!"

He turned around, "Yeah?"

"Whatever you two decide to do…I'm with you, I mean, I'll support you"

Angel gave her a half smile and said, "Thanks, Will." She watched him walk away, then headed up to her door.


Buffy yawned as she walked through the noisy halls of Sunnydale High. She was exhausted from the night before, when a combination of worrying and throwing up had kept her awake. She soon found herself in step with Willow, who had arrived at school, just in time to see her walk in and had run to catch up to her.

"How you feeling?" asked Willow.

"I've been better," Buffy answered.

"So, tonight's the night, huh?"

"Yeah, you know, I think I'll feel better once I've talked to him. I really don't like to keep secrets
like this. What I'm really worried about is everyone else. How am I gonna explain this to Giles? Even Xander will flip out on me."

They reached the library and were about to enter when Cordelia ran up to Buffy, grabbed her arm and said, "Don't go in there, now."

Buffy pulled away from her, "Why not?"

"Trust me, you just don't want to be in there now…or ever again for that matter."

"Why, what's going on in there?"

"Uh…um…" Cordelia soon gave upon trying to find an excuse and confessed, "Last night, when you were in the bathroom, Xander and I were in one of the stalls."

"WHAT!" exclaimed Buffy, looking as though she was about to hyperventilate.

"We heard everything."

"Where's Xander?" asked Willow.

"He's in there, telling Giles what we heard."

Buffy turned and headed for the library ignoring Cordelia who was yelling, "Buffy, don't go in there."

She pushed the double doors aside and looked at the two who occupied the library. Xander stood with folded arms, looking at Giles, who paced back and forth, looking as though he was about to have a heart attack. They both looked at Buffy when she entered, glaring bitterly at Xander, as she stepped inside. Giles stepped in between them, realizing that if he didn't, Buffy would attack Xander.

"Buffy," he said, "my office, now."

"I can't believe you would do this to me," she snarled at Xander.

"Now!" said Giles sternly.

She walked into the office, leaving Xander with the image of her enraged face burning in his mind. Buffy sat down and waited for him to shut the door to drop her folded arms and nervously twist the ring on her thumb.

Giles took note of the sudden change in her and realized that as hard as this situation was on him, it
was even worse for her. He sat down across from her, opened his mouth to speak, then changed his mind and shut it quickly. He did this a couple of times, then finally got back up and paced the office. Buffy's eyes remained fixed in front of her. Giles would never know how glad she was that he'd decided to get up again; talking about this face to face would be too much for her.

"Who is he?" Giles asked.

"Who's who?" asked Buffy, clearing her throat, and now playing with the ring on her index finger.

"The father," he answered, looking out the window and into library. Willow and Cordelia had entered the library and were giving Xander a stern talking to.

"Angel," said Buffy, moving onto the Claddagh ring on her right ring finger.

"Don't lie to me, Buffy," he said, removing his glasses and rubbing his tired, stressed eyes, "you
know that's impossible."

"Obviously, it's not."

"The only way we can get through this is if you're honest with me."

"I AM being honest. The spell that Jenny cast last year made it this way."

Giles sat down at his desk, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know….maybe, I didn't think it was any of your business."

"So, you knew this could this whole time. Weren't you careful?"

"Of course we were. Giles, I go to a public school, I've heard the safe sex speech a thousand times."

"But did you listen to a word of it?"

"Yes, I listened to every word. We were careful, we were protected, but, Giles, sometimes, these things happen anyway."

"I'm sorry that it had to happen to you."

"I don't want your pity," she said. She watched as with a trembling hand, he returned his glasses to his face. He was obviously more afraid of this than he wanted her to know.

"What's wrong, Giles? I've seen you freak out before, but this is the worst so far."

Giles folded his hands in front of him on the desk. After some hesitation, he said, "Slayers aren't meant to be mothers. It's a cruel joke that fate plays, because they're twice as likely to get pregnant as other women. It's just a simple truth. Most are lucky if they survive the pregnancy and those that do usually die in childbirth or the child is stillborn. Those that are born healthy usually fall under SIDS after a few months…so whether you survive, or the baby does, fate won't let you enjoy motherhood. That's not part of your purpose here."

"God, Giles, as if I wasn't scared of this enough."

"I'm telling you what you need to know. This situation is so much worse that you can imagine.
Didn't Angel tell you any of this? He, of all people, would know."

Her lack of response made him say, "You haven't told him?"

"Not yet, I probably should before Xander does, huh?"

"He thought he was doing the right thing."

"He was wrong."

"Look, we've strayed from the point."

"And what exactly is your point, Giles?"

Giles picked up a pen from his desk and fiddled with it in his hand. He leaned back in his chair and
looking at the pen, said, "I don't want you to have it."

"Well, what-" the implication of his words suddenly sank in, "oh."

"Furthermore-"

"There's more?"

"Yes, and this I want you to do, regardless of whether you decide to have this child or not."

"What is it?"

"I want you to stop seeing Angel."

"I…what?"

"I think it would be best if you ended it."

Buffy simply shook her head, "No, I'm not gonna stop seeing him."

"Buffy, listen to me, this is what's best. You can't risk this happening again," part of the conversation he'd had with Xander, suddenly came back to Giles and he said, "Of course, though, you're not exactly sure that it's happening now, are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Xander said that you hadn't tested yet, meaning that there's always the possibility of this being a simple stomach flu…"

"Giles-"

"…and that may just be it. We may be wasting our time, worrying…"

"Giles-"

"…I think it's best that we test you before we get too worked up."

"And then what? Say, this is just a stomach flu."

Knowing what she was getting at, he said, "I'd still ask you to break it off with him."

She stood and said, "I can't believe this."

"I don't want this to happen to you," he told her.

"Then you have a problem, don't you? I tested last night and this IS happening to me."

"And you're going to let it?"

"Yes, and if fate doesn't want me have it, then it won't let me. Who am I to go messing with the natural order of things? The way I see it, fate wanted it this way. Also, I'm gonna keep seeing Angel, you can't make me give him up because you're afraid of what might happen. I'm sorry, Giles, but you're just gonna have to keep worrying, because right now, it's the only thing you can do."

With that, she left the office and entered the library, where Xander was arguing with Willow.

"Calm yourself, Will," said Buffy, "I'll take it from here."

She sat down next to him at the table where he sat and said, "I honestly don't know what's keeping me from killing you right now. It's probably because I'm giving you another chance to be my friend in this."

"How nice of you," he said sarcastically.

"Xander, you have done some mean things to me before, but this is by far the worst."

"I was doing what you wouldn't."

"Why do you think I wouldn't tell him? I can't hide this forever, I would have to tell eventually."

"Oh, c'mon, Buffy-"

"What? You want me to give you a break, cut you some slack? Why should I? Did it ever occur to you that, maybe, I wasn't ready to talk to him? Maybe I wanted to time this, to wait till he's in a good mood, or something. Maybe, I wanted to do this on my own. Who else have you told?"

"Just Giles."

"What made you stop there? Why didn't you tell Angel? Or why not my mom? That'll be a fun conversation."

Xander didn't answer. Buffy became frustrated with him and stood up. She paced back and forth quickly, looking as though she was about to scream. Instead, she took a more composed approach and asked, "So, what do you think I should do with it? C'mon, I wanna hear some all wise Xander-logic."

"Do what you want with it, Buff, I don't care," he said, in a flat tone.

"You know, I thought I could come to you, of all people, for support on this, but no, instead, I'm
being abandoned by my watcher AND my best friend."

"I'm not abandoning you, Buffy," said Xander, "you don't even know if you're pregnant or not, but if you are, I hope you're ready for it, because you're gonna be on your own, no matter who supports you now."

"But you won't even support you now. You won't even try."

"Look, Buff, IF you-"

"There are no 'ifs', Xander, I took a test last night, it came out positive."

"And?"

"I'm keeping it."

"If what Giles tells me is true, that may not be such a good idea."

"I have to risk it. I got myself into this and I refuse to take an easy way out."

Giles stepped out of his office and said, "I've just spoken with the council and they agree that it should be terminated as soon as possible. I told them what you thought of that and they said that I was to keep pushing you and if it seems that I'm encouraging you to do otherwise, then I'll be transferred immediately."

"And what did you say to that?" she asked him.

"I assured them that I didn't agree with you. Thanks to them, I couldn't support you if I wanted to."

"But you don't want to and that's what really gets me about this."

"What would you have me support? Your death? Your misery? The end of the life that you know? Buffy, no good can come from this. You're 17 years old. Do you really want to be a statistic? Normally, I would ask you to responsible for something you've done, but not this. Not something that threatens your life or your slayer duties, and this threatens both. "

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling that they had only a few minutes to get to class.

Buffy picked up her bag and said, "I need to get to class. We'll finish this later."

She shoved the double doors aside and was gone.


For the rest of the day, Buffy was distracted. She considered returning to the library at lunch to settle this dispute, but changed her mind and instead spent the period in the cafeteria. During her free period, she stayed in the courtyard with Willow, discussingtheir plans for the night. Cordelia soon joined them, dragging Xander behind her. She sat him next to Buffy and said, "Buffy, Xander has something he has to say to you."

He looked up at Cordelia pleadingly.

"Do it!" she said sternly.

He sighed, then looked at Buffy and said, "I'm sorry for getting you in trouble."

"And?" said Cordelia, pushing him for more.

"And for being a stupid, rude, selfish, loud-mouthed-"

"Inconsiderate…"

"Inconsiderate, jerk. I'm really sorry Buffy, the shock just blew me away and I guess I panicked."

"Well, I wish your panic hadn't sent you to Giles," said Buffy, "this is hard enough on me without him freaking out."

Xander nodded in agreement, "So, are we cool?"

"Yeah," said Buffy, "I guess we are."

"Just for the record, if you're gonna go through with this, then I'm with you all the way. I can't speak for Giles, but I'd like to take you up on that offer to be your friend again."

Buffy gave a half smile, "Is he still mad?"

"I don't think that mad quite covers it Buffy. No, you'll still be seeing his discouraging glares when
your kid's in college."

"God, you know, he's taking this like-" she stopped suddenly when what she was about to say hit her, "like my dad probably will."

"Your dad would be more supportive of you," said Cordelia, "I know that if this ever happened to me, my parents wouldn't have taken it this bad."

"Mine would," said Buffy, "in fact, if my dad were here, he'd probably make me give up the baby and then send me away to an all girls' school, so it can never happen again. As for my mom…I don't know how she'll take this. She'll probably want me to stop seeing Angel. I know that she and Giles would agree on that."

"You gonna tell her what you told Giles?" asked Xander.

"Probably, of course, I won't say it the same way that I did to him, but I'll be firm on it. I won't give him up for them. That reminds me, I'm gonna do everything, tonight. You guys, go hang out. Go to that carnival or something, I'm gonna take care of Angel."

"Sounds good," said Xander.

"What time are you- I mean, you're still coming over tonight, right?" asked Willow.

"Yeah," said Buffy, "I don't know what time I'll get there. He and I are gonna have a lot to talk about."

"You're telling him tonight?" asked Xander.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded, "I'll take him out and give him the poster, which by the way looks great, Will. I commend you on your talent in photography."

"Thanks," said Willow, "I do my best."

"So, what are you gonna do about Giles?" asked Cordelia.

Buffy was quiet for a few moments, then said, "I don't know what I can do. I can't make him understand what this is like for me. I just wish I had the security of knowing he'd be there. I wish he hadn't written me off like he did. I guess I'm on my own."

"You have us," said Xander.

"But you were right, Xander. When it all comes down to it, I'll be on my own. I haven't…I don't even know whether I'm gonna keep it or not."

"Then why'd you tell Giles that you were?" asked Xander.

"Because I didn't want him to decide for me. If he knew that I had any doubt, he would have shoved his opinion so far down my throat that I would have choked to death. He would have been able to get me to do whatever he wanted and I have to figure this out for myself. I'm not gonna decide until I've talked to Angel, because this decision will be between the two of us. Hopefully, Will, I'll be able to tell you tonight, when I get in."


Buffy left her house that night wearing a pretty, white dress. Her hair was swept up into a
half-ponytail, curled on the ends and adorned with small, silver butterfly clips.

She went to Willow's first to drop off a bag of essentials that she would need for the night. After
getting a compliment on her new dress, Buffy was on her way to Angel's feeling pretty good about herself. When Angel opened the door, his jaw dropped.

"Hi," he said, dumbly.

She entered the room, did a little turn and said, "You like?"

"I love," he said, pulling her close to him, "I take it we're going out tonight."

"Yup."

"Do I need to change?" he asked referring to his black pants and shirt.

"No, just come with me."

He locked his door, then put his arm around her. They walked, wrapped in each other's arms, to the school.

"Are we going to the library?" he asked.

"No," she said, leading him past the 300 building to the auditorium, "this is much more interesting, trust me."

Angel soon found that they weren't the only one's there. People were entering the auditorium at a fast rate. He looked to the box office where Buffy had walked to and saw a sign that said:
Sunnydale High School Presents
A Midsummer Night's Dream
January 13th, 14th, and 15th 1999
Tickets $5

Buffy bought two tickets, then returned to him, saying, "I know, this isn't great theatre or anything,
but it's the best I could do on such short notice."

"No, this is good," he assured her.

She took him by the hand and led him inside. They found two seats near the middle and snatched them up before anyone else could.

As they sat there, waiting for the curtain to rise, Angel asked, "Have you ever read this play?"

"I'm sorry to tell you that the extent of my Shakespeare is a movie version of Romeo and Juliet
that came out a couple years ago and I even had trouble with that."

"Well, it's been two years, let's see if you pick up anything. By the way, what are we doing for your birthday?"

She smiled, "Surprise me." Her smile faded as she realized her words, "Wait, I said that last year, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Ok, then, don't surprise me. I just remembered last year's surprise….not fun."

"Mental note: no arms in boxes, no losing my soul and trying to kill you. Got it."

"I hope you don't have to return anything."

"I'm sure I can find you something."

At that moment, the lights began to dim and the curtain went up.


Buffy left the auditorium smiling.

"So, what'd you think?" asked Angel who walked at her side.

"I actually almost understood some of it," she answered, slipping her hand casually into his, "and
I'll admit, I like what I got."

"So, what are we doing now?"

"I don't know, I'm kinda hungry. How bout you?"

"I ate before we left."

"Then eat some people food with me, please?"

"People food is good, where are we going?"

"There's a diner right up the road."

"Let's go."

They sat in the diner for the better part of an hour, chatting and laughing about the play they'd just seen, over a huge piece of strawberry pie. When they finished, they exited the diner, leaving on the table an all too generous tip for the waitress who'd flubbed up their order more than once.

"Now what?" asked Angel.

"Your choice," said Buffy.

They walked in silence for a few minutes as he pondered their next stop. Buffy hoped and prayed that he wouldn't suggest that they return to the mansion. It was only 9:30 and she wanted to enjoy the town for a little while longer. She knew that when they got to the mansion, chances of them leaving together were scarce.

"I know where we can go," he said.

"Hmm?"

"Follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere I should've taken you a long time ago."

She followed him through the streets and past The Bronze to his old apartment- or what little was left of it. The building was, for the most part gone. Because it had been abandoned for so long, no one had bothered to rebuild or even finish tearing it down. Angel held Buffy's hand as he guided her through the rubble.

"What can you possibly want to show me here?" asked Buffy looking around the broken building.

"We're almost there," he assured her, walking down a pre-made path to the back wall.

It was obvious to Buffy that Angel had been here many times in the past months for he seemed to know his way though the destruction.

When he reached the wall, he knelt down and lifted a large piece of an oriental rug. Buffy looked at it sadly as she remembered how much she liked that rug. For some reason one memory stood out in particular. A few days before school had let out for the summer, the year before, Buffy had gone to Angel's directly after school, only to find him fast asleep in his bed. She lay down on the rug, which was right next to his bed, surprised at how comfortable it was and soon found herself asleep as well. She woke up a few hours later to a heavy pain in her back.

"Ow!" she had yelled, from surprise more than pain.

Angel reacted with an "Ah!" He'd wondered what he'd stepped on.

Buffy shook the memory away and watched as Angel put the rug aside to reveal a trap door. He lifted the door, then jumped down the hole. Buffy looked down into the darkness in which her boyfriend had disappeared. A light suddenly went on, revealing aladder.

"Come down," she heard him say.

She climbed down the ladder and found herself in a huge sub-basement of the building. The room was lined with paintings giving it the look of a museum or an art gallery.

"Wow," she said, walking along the walls, "Where did you get all-" she stopped suddenly when she came upon a picture of a girl in a blue shirt, sitting against what looked like the wall of a cave. The girl looked weak and pale and there were scars on her face and arms. Buffy recognized the girl as herself.

"I remember this," she said, "you painted all these?"

"Every one," he told her, "I paint what I see."

On the floor, more paintings were stacked in rows against the wall. She looked through them and found one of her old friend Teresa, the first person she knew to be killed by Angel. There were two of her crying, one of Xander staring as though he were terrified of something, and the last on in the stack was of Jenny. Buffy could tell, from what Jenny was wearing, that this scene was from the night that Angel had attacked Ms. Howard.

"When did you make these?" she asked.

"I've been doing this since I was nine," he said, "Actually, Kayla got me into it. She bought me a sketch set from the annual carnival. The set was a birthday present. I looked at it asked, 'What do youwant me to do with it?' She said, 'Draw something, you damn idiot!' So, I drew something. You know, I got into paints and that tended to be where I was best."

"These are really good. I've been seeing you for how long? And I didn't know about this?"

"When I first got my soul back, I went days without sleep. I used to come down here all the time. It
seemed that until I got some of these scenes down on paper, I couldn't get them out of my mind."

As he said this, Buffy moved on to the next stack. She saw herself in a huge pink Renaissance dress from Halloween, Giles and Jenny, stumbling out a door with their arms around each other, after the defeat of Eyghon and finally, Drusilla, lying on her back on a table and Spike next her in his wheelchair, looking rather perplexed. The last painting that she came upon made her gasp. Of all the memories brought before her, this was not one she had expected or cared to remember. The painting showed their last look at Kendra. She was lying on a table in the library, dead with blood everywhere.

"How long did it take you to do this?" she asked.

"That one was done before the night was over," he told her, "I came back here, shocked to find that this hadn't been destroyed along with the rest of the place."

He took her hand and said, "C'mon, there's more."

He led her through a door at the back wall, "my more recent work is in here."

The next room was the actual studio. An easel was set up and the picture on it was half finished. Again there were pictures on the walls and underneath were stacks. On the front of the first stack was a picture of Buffy, smiling, on the second, was Willow, crying, and on the third was Kayla, giving her usual irritated look. The first stack was, by far, the longest. She looked through it and found that they were all of her. Looking around the room, she was met with her face again and again, pictures of her were everywhere.

"How many pictures of me have you done?" she asked, "There must be fifty in here alone."

"Fifty-seven," he told her, folding hid arms and walking around. He explained, "Of everyone in this
town, there's no one I'd rather paint. You're the best subject I think I've ever had and there's no one's face that I know so well."

Buffy smiled at his answer. Looking past him, she saw a door.

"What's in there?" she asked.

"That's most of my old stuff."

"Can I see?" she asked.

He walked to the door and opened it. It was a small room, no bigger than the janitor's closet at the
school, but it easily held over a hundred paintings. To her right, she saw only landscapes and sunsets. This reminded Buffy that she'd forgotten the poster. She hid her feeling of stupidity and returned her attention to what was before her. There was an entire section of the room dedicated to sunrises and sunsets. Some were over water, some were in fields, and some over hills, all magnificent in color and style.

When Buffy came to the left side of the room, she saw a picture that gave her quite a start. It was a picture of Kayla, sitting in a doorway. She was leaned on one side of the doorway with her foot up on the other side. Her arms were folded, she looked like she'd been crying and she was at least seven months pregnant. Buffy looked at Kayla's long dress, bare feet and tear-stained face and wondered, "Will that be me?"

She looked at the rest of the wall and saw that the number of Kayla's picture's far out-matched her own. Most of the ones on the wall were of Kayla either pregnant or holding her baby in her arms. Buffy felt a chill as she looked at these. A feeling of guilt overtook her and she came close to bursting out in tears. She held them in and asked, "What was your daughter's name again? I know you told me once."

"Catherine," he said, "I remember we had a heck of a time trying to figure out what to call her."

"Who won?"

"She did. I wanted to name her Carissa, it's a famliy name, but as emotional as Kayla was at the time, I realized that fighting with her would only get me into trouble."

"Didn't want to sleep on the couch huh?"

"Didn't want to sleep out in the snow."

Buffy smiled. She pointed to the first picture and asked, "Why's she crying?"

Angel hesitated, "As much as she loved Catherine, Kayla just wasn't ready to be a mother and she didn't realize it until it was to late."

Buffy dropped her head and put a hand to her mouth. Realizing how this must have made Buffy feel, Angel stopped himself from saying more.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Angel, there's…I…" she lowered her head again and took a deep breath. She looked at him again and said, "We need to talk."

Angel gulped, well aware of what was coming.

"You know, nothing good ever came from those words," he joked, trying to lighten to mood. Sadly, it only made things worse, as Buffy started to sob. Angel encircled her in his arms. He put a hand to her face and kissed the top of her head. He lifted her face up to get her to look at him and said, "Whatever it is, just say it. You know you can tell me anything."

Buffy calmed herself and said, "Not here, I don't want to talk about this here."

"Then where?"

"The mansion, let's go there."

"Okay," he said, putting a hand on her back and leading her from the room.

On the way out, Buffy caught one last look at the picture of Kayla.

"She had a lot of impact on you, didn't she?" asked Buffy.

"Kayla? Yeah, she was my best friend for twelve years. We were like Xander and Willow, we did
everything together and never got sick of each other."

"You painted her a lot."

"She insisted on it," he answered with a laugh, as Buffy climbed up the ladder, "she loved the attention. Not that I minded, though, she was beautiful and it was good experience."

He went up the ladder after her and was about to continue his nervous babbling at the top, but stopped when he saw who was there. A dozen vampires occupied the remains of his old apartment and one of them had a crossbow aimed at Buffy.

"I hope you know that you're violating a sacred code," said Angel, "this is my night off, so to speak."

"Maybe," said the vampire who held the crossbow, as she pushed aside a lock of her dark hair, "but it's not hers."

Using the crossbow, she gestured to Buffy, who stared at her with folded arms. After a second, she shot the crossbow at her. Angel shoved Buffy out of the way, taking the arrow in the right side of his chest. He hit the floor with a moan of pain.

Still on the floor, Buffy crawled over to him and cradled his head in her arms. She looked around at the vampires surrounding her and realized that she was trapped.

One of the vampires grabbed Buffy by the arm and pulled her to her feet. Two others picked up Angel and carried him out. Soon, Buffy was walking through the streets, though where she was headed, she had no idea.

On to Part 3