Finality

by Rachel Scavo

Buffy and Angel relate the story of how Buffy died, how she became a vampire, and how they became joined by more than just destiny.

Author's Notes: This is an old story. Very old - it predates FanFictionNet by quite a bit, actually. I wrote it while Buffy was still in about the second season or so - You'll note that Kendra is a character, but Faith isn't. And that Jenny is a character as well. When I started this, both were alive on the show. On the other hand, there are a couple of later revelations that I integrated as well, so I can't claim that it was ever fully following cannon.

I haven't done more than reformat it - if I were to actually work on it now, I would probably do a major rewrite. It feels clunky and off in lots of places, and isn't a very good example of my writing today. But it a decent example of my writing at the time.

I of course claim no copyrights over the characters or story - but I do claim the design of a certain ring, which I've always been proud of.

Oh, and there's a section that should be in Latin, that I've never managed to get translated.

---

The Slayer planted her feet, and threw her best punch. The vampire rolled with it, taking only part of the blow that was supposed to stun him. Kirsten felt a stab of fear, this vampire was good. She had never fought better.

The punch had left him slightly off balance, and she followed with a kick. Unable to avoid her, he fell, rolled, and was back on his feet in a moment. Now he gave a round house kick, and she went flying into a door. She jumped back to her feet.

And cursed herself for her stupidity. She still wasn't used to fighting under light gravity. Now she would be defenseless for a moment until she had regained her footing.

The vampire backed off, starting to bound down the hallway back to 'Moon Central,' the main square. Kirsten still had a second before she hit the ground again. It crossed her mind that he should be trying to kill her. No time for that now, she had to slay this vampire. She pulled her feet up, away from the floor, starting a head-over- heels tumble, and pushed off the door behind her.

She hit him in a flying tackle, and managed to stay on top as they hit the floor. She reached into the pouch where she kept her stake, and raised it for the killing blow.

A hand caught her wrist. She looked up into a blue-eyed face inches from her own. A female vampire.

"You really don't want to do that." The female vampire said, not letting go.

"Thanks Buffy." Said the first vampire to his savior. "We won't hurt you, Slayer." He added.

"That is Angel. I'm Buffy." Said the vampire who still held her. Angel had grabbed Kirsten's other arm as he freed himself. "I was, am, a Slayer. We don't kill people." The vampires had reverted to their human faces. The one called Angel had dark eyes, and dark brown hair. A handsome face, but somehow it gave the impression of meekness. Buffy was shorter, with light, almost blond, brown hair. Stern brown eyes in high cheekbones gave her the stronger face. She was pretty too. Kirsten stopped studying features to listen. "Angel was given back his soul, I never lost mine. If we let you go, will you listen to our story? Or will you try to slay us?"

"Why should I believe that you don't want to kill me?"

"You're not dead."

Kirsten thought about that for a moment. Then she nodded. "I'll listen. For now," She qualified.

Buffy looked at Angel, and there was a moment of silence, as if they were debating.

Then they let go simultaneously, and stepped back.

"Have you heard of us?" Buffy asked. Kirsten got the implication that Buffy didn't think she had, but that she should have. She shook her head no.

Angel sighed. "That Watcher education just ain't what it used to be."

Buffy ignored him. "You were supposed to have been told. I know Giles put it in his Diary."

Kirsten started to remember something. "This was in the late 1990's right?"

"Yes, that was when I was human." Said Buffy.

Kirsten nodded. "I remember reading about your romance. But we lost the end of Giles' chronicles. They go through you meeting Kendra, and that's it. We don't even have Kendra's Watcher's Diaries." She looked at Buffy. "I always wondered about how you two ended out." She looked from Buffy to Angel. "For a while I had a bit of a crush on you. I dreamed of us meeting." She looked back to Buffy. "How did you become a vampire?"

"It's a long story." Buffy began, then she looked at Kirsten. "We should go somewhere comfortable. Would you mind our place?"

"Not at all."

"Good, follow us." They headed towards Moon Central. "By the way, what is your name? 'Slayer' has certain connotations…" Buffy said.

"I am Kirsten. I just arrived on the Moon yesterday." Angel looked at her.

"I'm impressed then," He said. "Most would be totally lost in a fight after only a day in Moon gravity."

"Thanks," Kirsten replied, trying to hold back a resentment of the implication she couldn't have beaten him.

"Beating Angel while at that disadvantage was quite a feat." Buffy said, true praise in her voice. Kirsten's anger slipped away. "We've been on the Moon for several years now."

"Ever since we decided that a few missing blood shipments would not be a problem." Angel added. "It is much easier here to pretend to be human."

"And we watch for vampires in the ships that come and go." Buffy said, as she and Angel stopped at a doorway.

"What do you do when you find one?" Kirsten asked.

"We slay it." Buffy said, simply, as Angel typed in the access code to the door. The door slid open and they entered. Kirsten took in the look of the room. It was richly decorated, for a Moon colony apartment. Pictures, plants, sculptures were all tastefully placed. Still, something seemed wrong in the room. She took a seat near the kitchen unit.

"Would you like something to drink?" Asked Angel.

"A 7-Up would be fine." Kirsten said. Angel nodded, and got her drink, as well as a drink for himself and Buffy, which came out of a fridge under the counter. Kirsten decided she didn't want to ask if the red liquid was what she thought it was.

Angel took a long pull on his drink, then said: "Make yourself comfortable." Then he started in on their story.

---

Buffy, Kendra, Giles, Jenny, Xander, Willow, Oz, and Cordilia were meeting in the library for a Slayer session.

"Buffy, Kendra, I think you should save your strength and, hunt opposite nights."

This was Giles speaking, Buffy's watcher. The two Slayers (there was only one a generation, with a new Slayer chosen upon the death of the old, but Buffy had died for a few minutes…) agreed. Next week was the Feast of Esgaroth, and the vampires would be at full power, and as that also happened to coincide with Iantiâ, when the bridge to the Hellmouth was at it weakest for a century, both of them would need all the strength that they could get.

"Fine. I'll take tonight, give Kendra a chance to rest after her journey." Buffy said, flipping her blond hair out of her face.

"I don't need to rest after my journey." Kendra still needed to learn to relax about being a Slayer, at least in Buffy's opinion.

"Kendra, my mom will expect you to be tired." Also, Buffy was planning to see Angel tonight, so she would be out anyway.

"Oh." Kendra thought about that for a moment, her South American features blank, and added. "Then I will rest." The library was at the school where, up until recently, Buffy had been a student, and where Giles was the librarian. Buffy had just graduated, much to her relief. She was looking forward to the summer. After next week she could relax, and since Kendra was here Buffy might even be able to hand over the Slayer duties for a while.

She looked around at the rest of the people in the room, the rest of her 'Slayer club' as they occasionally thought of themselves. Willow was behind her computer as usual. She had a full scholarship for MIT in the fall, and would be leaving in the middle of August. Xander had managed to get into a state school, and even Cordilia had somehow gotten accepted at Cal State (On a cheerleader scholarship! Buffy was still coming to terms that there was such a thing). She and Kendra were the only two who would not have an 'outside' occupation come fall. (The two adults, Jenny and Giles, already had jobs here at the school.) Kendra had never expected to, but Buffy… She pulled herself back into the meeting as Giles started talking again.

"Still, we must try to figure out what the vampires will be doing on Iantiâ." "Simple: trying to take over the world." Xander stated.

"Really, do they try to do anything else? Besides, what is the problem anyway?

We've got two Slayers, we'll stop them." Cordilia, oversimplifying as usual. Her interest in Xander had finally gotten her to think about what happened around her, but her level of thought still left something to be desired.

"Yes, but where do we stop them? Also, we can assume that they will be setting a trap." Giles, being practical, answered. "Buffy, if you could keep an eye open while hunting tonight…"

"Giles, chill. If they tell me where they are going to be on Iantiâ, I will tell you."

"Um, ok, fine. Well, I think that will be all for now, unless someone can think of any other business."

"All in favor of removing themselves from school property?" Xander, raising his hand.

"Aye," Buffy said.

"What are we hanging around here for anyway?" Cordilia asked.

"That's what I've been wondering," That was to Cordilia, personally, from Xander.

They headed off together. Willow rolled her eyes. "You think they will ever get over each other?" She asked.

"Never." Buffy replied.

"So, I'm not in college, my friends are leaving, and I have no future whatsoever, except as Slayer. What am I supposed to do, stay with my mom the rest of my life?" Buffy was on patrol with Angel, technically anyway. It was more of a date than patrol, but they were in the right area to catch vampires. That is, the graveyard.

"Well, I do know one other place you could stay."

"Angel, I know, but the problem is that sooner or later I have to face the fact that I am the Slayer, and that is a full time job. And I have to figure out how to tell my mom that. If she'll believe me. Maybe Kendra can be nothing else, but I need a life." Buffy looked up at Angel.

"Sorry." She apologized for the implications that he wasn't enough. "Look, you are the most important thing in my life, and the next is Slaying. That leaves at least five hours every day when I have to be normal, and I don't know how to do that." Angel looked glum. Neither could quite figure out how to handle a love affair between a human and a vampire. "I want to try," Buffy continued, "but I just don't know…" The rest of her sentence was cut off by an attacker coming from the shadows behind a bush. Buffy threw the vampire off as he hit her, and settled into her fighting stance. She looked the attacker over.

He was taller than her, but not much. Brown hair, lean, not a vampire she had seen before, but there were a lot coming into town this week. There was a hilt of what looked like a dagger at his belt. She pulled out her stake, and he drew his weapon. It wasn't a dagger, but a dirk. A cross between a dagger and a stake, it had one blade, at right angles to itself, so that it cut the diagonals of a square. The blade was six inches long.

"I always prefer hand to hand myself." Buffy said.

"And leave my good luck charm out of this? I don't think so." The demon replied. He, it, knew enough to watch Angel as well as Buffy. "Let's just keep this between me and your girlfriend, buddy."

Angel looked at the situation, and decided that Buffy would not need his help. "I just thought I could make it a little more painless," He replied.

"Can we fight now, or do you two boys need to chat some more?"

"Fine with me." The vampire said, an jumped at her, in mid-sentence. Buffy turned aside his first attack with ease, and landed a kick to the wrist. He had switched the dirk in mid-jump, and her hit did nothing. He laughed, attacking again.

This attack Buffy fought back, but slower, with a bit of difficulty. Instead of trying to disarm him, her counterattack went to the vampire's head, which snapped sideways, rolling with the blow that he did not even attempt to block.

"Come on Slayer, you will have to do better than that. How on earth did you survive this long?"

"Stubbornness." Buffy said, taking the offense. She landed a blow to the head, and another to the gut before the vampire got a chance to raise his guard. Still, she had not been able to stake him.

"Eventually you need skill," The vampire said, attacking high, the dirk raised in his left hand. Buffy struck out at it, hard, trying to send the blade flying, but at the last second it dropped to the vampire's right hand.

And sank into Buffy's stomach. She screamed as pain lanced through her, as the vampire twisted the four edges deeper in. He stood above her in victory.

And she struck a final blow with her stake, deep into the vampire's heart. Instantly he turned to dust. Buffy collapsed, the blade still gouging its horrible wound.

She saw Angel run to her side, the visage of the vampire across his face. At her side, he knelt down. He was staring at the bloody wound in disbelief, and then he bent down over her. Buffy felt a moment of fear of her vampire boyfriend as his arms slipped under her, and then a wave of relief as she felt herself lifted in his arms, and saw his human face again. Then the loss of blood and pain combined into unconsciousness.

Angel carried the limp body of his love, trying to forget about the life draining out of her, of the smell of the blood running down his shirt… He ran, ran to the hospital. Ran with all the speed and strength his undead limbs could give him. He had left the weapon embedded in her flesh. It had already done its damage, now its presence would slow the flow of blood, sweet blood… He concentrated on the quickest path to Buffy's only chance of living.

He brought her into the emergency room, the fact that he did not need to breathe lending credence to his statement that she had been attacked close to the hospital, and he had thought it best to bring her straight there. He ignored their recriminations that he still should have called an ambulance, and asked where there was a phone he could use.

Without thinking he called Giles. "Buffy's hurt. Badly. The doctors have her in surgery." Were the words that he dropped into the phone.

"Angel?" Giles asked, and Angel murmured agreement. "I'll be right there. You tell the others." Giles hung up. Angel started calling the others: Willow, Oz, Cordilia, Xander. When he got to Kendra he paused a moment. What should he tell Buffy's mom? She would have to hear something; Buffy wasn't going home tonight. He said something slightly incoherent about being attacked in the dark, and how the attacker had run off when Angel had approached. By the time he was done, Giles and Jenny had got there.

"What happened? How badly is Buffy hurt?" Were Giles first questions.

"The vampire pulled a border switch with a dirk, stabbed her in the gut." Angel looked up, "It was bad, I don't think she will make it," was Angel's somber assessment. "The vampire?" Giles' worry was valid, for if it had gotten away, Kendra might not be able to stop it either, not to mention that it might try to finish the job.

"Dust. Buffy doesn't stop when you kill her." Angel immediately wished he had rephrased that.

"Good. Well, not good, but at least it was stopped. We'll just have to wait." He started pacing.

Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordilia all came and were told the facts in turn. By the time Kendra and Joyce, Buffy's mom, had arrived they were all waiting impatiently.

Xander was comforting Cordilia, Willow trying not to go into hysterics, Oz sitting by her, calm but quiet. Jenny and Giles were deep in conversation on the other side of the room. Angel was pacing, unused to feeling so helpless. He had imagined losing Buffy a thousand ways, and a million ways for her to die, but he was not ready, not yet.

Joyce looked around at the assembled crowd and asked, "Am I the last to get here? What happened?" Angel looked sheepish, he would have remembered to call her first if he was human.

"We were all in the library, a farewell." Xander's brainstorm came out, and Willow elaborated, "Yes, a final get together of our old study group. Buffy and Angel were coming when Buffy was attacked."

"She was waiting for me." Angel supplied.

Buffy's mom looked around the room as the story came out, and used to such treatment, believed them. Kendra went over to talk to Giles.

Time passed slowly for the group. Joyce's presence prevented the others from talking about what really happened, and trying to figure out what to do next. Angel was worried, for two reasons. First of all, this could easily last until day, and he could not stick around that long. Also, if one vampire could beat Buffy, what would Kendra do on Feast night? He could feel the power building, and Kendra, while an excellent fighter, wasn't the Slayer that Buffy was.

Finally, a nurse came out, and walked up to Angel. "She's out of surgery. She'll be awake in a few minutes. Room 103." He walked off. The group looked at each other, wondering why he had not given a prognosis, and went to the room.

Buffy awoke slowly, to Angel and her mom looking down at her. "Did I get him?" She asked, still groggy. Angel affirmed that she had.

"How are you feeling honey?" Her mom asked.

"Ok, considering, I think." Buffy replied. "How are you supposed to feel when you have had a knife in your stomach?" Her mom laughed with tears in her eyes.

The doctor came in. Looking at Buffy, she said: "Good, you're awake. I have good news and bad news."

"Do doctors always say that?" Xander remarked to no-one in particular. Cordilia slushed him.

The doctor continued as if Xander had never spoken. "The good news is, you should feel fine. We stopped all the bleeding, and sewed everything back up. You'll be able to be pretty active, as long as you keep from pulling your stitches, and don't eat."

"That's the bad news. That knife did quite a number on your intestines and stomach. When we had cut away all that was damaged and cleaned everything up well, there just wasn't much left. You'll need to be on an IV for the rest of your life, which won't be long. You cannot eat, or digest anything. Not even water. We can keep you alive for a few days, maybe a week, but not longer. Besides that, you are in great health. You have great muscle tone," Most of the group tried to hide a smile, "and can be fairly active." She looked around, and tried to give a light tone to her words, "At least you can say your goodbyes right." She saw that she had failed the light tone. "You can have as many visitors as you want, whenever you want, as long as you don't disturb the rest of the hospital. We are sorry we can't do more." She looked around one more time to the group that was giving her rapt attention. "I'd better go now."

She left the room, and there was silence. No one moved, no one said anything, no one even breathed. Finally Buffy said, "Well, are we just going to stand around? I don't have that much time here." The group tried to laugh, and there was a moment of confusion before Buffy saw Giles motion that Joyce needed to be gotten rid of.

"Mom, can I have a moment with my friends?"

"Sure honey, I'll just be right outside." She said, and reluctantly left.

Everyone was silent a moment as the door shut.

"Giles, I am sorry I underestimated the vampire. So, how big a mess did I make?"

"Well, at least you did kill it, so that is tied up. It is even possible that the other vampires don't know about your condition, which should make them more cautious."

"More dangerous." Kendra injected.

"Yes, well." He looked at Jenny. She nodded. "Actually, there is a chance that Buffy can, um, survive this."

"Since when do we do healing?" Cordilia asked.

"Um, I didn't say that we could heal her. I said that she might be able to survive this." Buffy looked at Angel, back at Giles, and slowly asked, "Giles, what are you getting at?"

"Well, this is not without risk you understand." Giles qualified.

"Giles, I have a week or less to live."

"Yes, well, but if this goes wrong you could get quite a bit worse."

"Giles, tell me."

Giles took a deep breath, cleaned his glasses, put them back on carefully, and looked straight at the Buffy/Angel pair. Another deep breath, and he started.

"Well, I have researched Angel's condition very thoroughly, looking to make it more permanent you understand, or to get it to apply to more vampires, and in the writings of Saint Irenæus I ran across a ceremony that would create a vampire with a soul." He then quickly added, "It has never been tried however, and I am not sure that it would work, even if I had the complete transcript. I think I have enough to reconstruct, but it would have side effects, in the powers of the new vampire and its sire, that I do not know."

"Whoa, back up. We're talking about turning Buffy into a vampire here, right?" Xander asked.

"Well, yes, in a way."

"I thought this was your nightmare? I mean, wouldn't she be a horrendous menace?"

Angel replied for Giles, "Not if she kept her soul. If she did, then she would still be almost the same Buffy you know."

"Yes, just with fangs and even more strength."

"Giles, I assume that there is a reason you didn't mention this ceremony when you found it. Why has it never been tried before?" This was Buffy again.

"Well, the reason that it has never been tried before is that there are a lot of restrictions on who the sire can be. Chief among those is that they have to have a soul, but there are other requirements. They have to be baptized and they, um, have to be the spouse of the person who they are making a vampire." Giles blushed, Buffy and Angel looked at each other. Angel had gone visibly paler at the thought of getting baptized.

"And just what are the chances of this 'ceremony' not working?" Kendra asked.

"Well, um, that depends on a lot of factors, including whether we can get all the necessary artifacts and personnel, whether the logic that Irenæus used to create it is valid, the purity of the intent of the participants, and whether there is anything important missing from the writings that I have."

"Give us a best guess." Xander interjected.

"Well, I'd say that it has about a one third chance of succeeding, and one in five chance of killing Buffy completely."

"So, we'd have less than a fifty percent chance of being worse off, right?" Buffy, trying to understand.

"Yes, that's about right." Giles brightened up.

Angel broke in with: "Can this discussion wait one more day? I don't think I can slip out of the hospital in the daylight." It was almost sunrise already.

"Yes, yes, of course. You had better get home."

"You and Buffy should probably think about this. You would be together quite a while." Jenny said.

Angel bent down, kissed Buffy's cheek, and left, going out the door.

Kendra opened her mouth to speak, but Giles cut her off. "Well, we really can't continue this discussion until tomorrow night, so why don't we all rest a bit. Buffy's the only one who's had some sleep."

"Well, that's a change." Buffy's side comment. Then she addressed the group; "You'd better send my mom in."

"Of course." Giles said, and they filed out, leaving Buffy to think of how to deal with her mom.

The discussion did not end when they left, however. Oz and Willow were all for trying the ceremony, Kendra adamantly against. She couldn't see why it had even been considered.

"A Slayer as a vampire! She would wreck such vengeance as to be unthinkable! You must not allow this to happen." She told Giles.

"Ordinarily I would agree," He started.

"It matters not! A Slayer cannot be allowed to become a vampire!"

"But she won't be a normal vampire." Jenny said, "She will keep herself, the humanness of her. She will stay a Slayer, and help."

Kendra aimed a poisonous gaze at Jenny. "This is Slayer business. Vampires are evil." That was obviously the end of Jenny's interference, as far as Kendra was concerned.

Kendra turned back to Giles, who started before Kendra could ready her next attack. "You are going to need her help, and this will keep her from becoming fully evil. It is worth the risk."

"Why will I need her help? I am the Slayer. There has always been only one, and now there will be only one."

"Um, did your Watcher tell you what happened during the last Feast of Esgaroth?"

"I do not neglect my studies…" She stopped, and thought. "No, he did not." Her pride did not leave her.

Giles glanced at Jenny. "Um, well, it took four Slayers to stop the vampires."

Kendra did not believe him. "There can be only one Slayer." She paused a moment, "Until now."

"Sequentially." Jenny clarified. There was a pause.

"You mean like, one after the other, right?" Cordilia clarified.

"That is what 'sequentially' normally means." Xander told her, factually. "Ouch."

Kendra had been thinking this through. You could see in her face that she wasn't used the idea of a Slayer losing a fight, much less her. Giles added: "That was why I asked for you to come help Buffy."

"What happens if you fail?" She asked, starting to give in.

"Whoa, wait a moment here. We know what happens if this fails: Buffy the Vampire goes around killing all of us in the most horrendous ways she can think of. That is a question we don't need to ask." Xander said. "That is a bit of a high risk don't you think?" He asked Giles.

Giles defended himself before Kendra could get back into working against this. "Those deaths could just as easily come from a different vampire, during the Feast. Without the team of Buffy and Kendra, well…"

"The vampires just might succeed in ruling the world." Jenny finished for him.

"And you are willing to risk Buffy's soul so that she can fight on that night?" Kendra asked, deliberately.

Giles gulped. "Well, um, I am willing to give her that option. It has, um, other points that Buffy might find commendable."

Kendra nodded, agreeing to leave the decision in Giles and Buffy's hands. She did, after all, accept the romance between Buffy and Angel. Giles looked at Xander.

"You think I am going to just sit by and let you turn Buffy into a vampire?" He asked, raising his voice.

"No, that would completely dash any hopes you have of winning her, wouldn't it?" Cordilia stated. Xander put his head down, sheepish.

"That is not the only reason I am against this." He said, in a pitiful defense. "No?" Cordilia asked.

"No, it is dangerous." He stated, coming back.

"No more dangerous than not doing it!" She shot back.

Xander thought a moment, then replied, "You're right, but I am not withdrawing my objection."

"Objection noted, now I suggest that we wait until we can hold this discussion with Angel and Buffy present." Giles said, and the group broke up.

Buffy tried to figure out what lie to tell her mom. Joyce had never been told about her daughter's life as a Slayer, or about vampires. How could Buffy now tell her that she was thinking of becoming one? Or that she was in love with one? (Which would include telling her that Angel is one, and they had hid it from her.)

"How are they taking it, honey?" Buffy's mom, referring to the retreating backs.

Buffy thought about that, and fell back on a half-truth. "About as well as can be expected. They're worried about me." She couldn't keep her eyes on her mom's face as she uttered the last sentence. She played with the corner of the bed sheet.

"They're your friends honey, of course they are worried." Joyce emphasized.

"What is there to worry about? I'm dead." Buffy said, trying to lighten the mood. It backfired, and Buffy saw her mom hold back tears.

"Mom, you look beat. Go home, get some sleep. I'm not going to die before you come back. I need time to think about this." Very true, Buffy thought, very true. "You need time to think about this. Call dad, tell him what happened. Come back when you feel ready." Her mom's tension eased with the sensible suggestions.

"Do you want me to bring anything?" She asked, acquiescing.

Buffy thought a moment. "If you could bring my diary it would be great, mom." "No problem." Joyce forced a smile. "I'll bring your diary." She squeezed Buffy's hand. "I'll be back this afternoon."

"Fine, mom." Buffy said.

"See you then." Joyce was backing out the door.

"See you." And Buffy's mom left, pulling back tears. Buffy sighed and lay back on her pillows. She had a long day ahead of her.

Angel arrived soon after Buffy's mom left, at dusk. Buffy had just set down her diary, and was staring at the window when he walked in.

"Buffy?" She started, then turned and looked at him.

"Angel." She replied, and turned back to the window. She was quiet a moment, and Angel moved closer to the bed.

"Angel, how long is a century?" Buffy quietly asked. He looked at her, not understanding the question.

She turned back to face him. "How much does the world change? How much does a person change?" Buffy paused a moment, "How much time does it take to stop liking someone?" She finished, shyly. Then she looked at Angel's brown eyes, and waited.

He thought a moment before answering. "A century is a long time." He said. "Nations come and go, technology invents marvels that were unimaginable, and then they are forgotten as they are surpassed. The scent of the air changes, and the shape of the land." Angel stopped, and looked away.

"People change the most of all." He continued. "They learn new ideas, new pains, new pleasures." He looked back at his love. "Friends turn into enemies, and enemies turn into friends. People you once knew become unrecognizable, strangers. Strangers become close friends." He stopped again.

Then Angel started again with an intensity: "To stop liking someone? That doesn't take long. It only takes minutes to turn best friends into bitter enemies. I've done it, as a vampire. But Buffy, even as a vampire I could never really separate two who were in love. To stop loving someone takes more than time, a lot more." He was down on his knees, at her bedside.

"Buffy, I'm not going to leave you, no matter how long we are together. That is a promise." He pledged.

Buffy looked across at him, human to vampire. "I believe you," She said, "but will you still say that in a hundred years? A thousand? How long is does a vampire live?"

"I don't know how long a vampire lives." Angel said. "But I am willing to find out with you." They looked at each other, trying to see souls through the eyes they watched.

"Ahem." Giles coughed. The pair jolted out of their reverie, and separated. Giles and Jenny were standing in the doorway.

"Well, um, we had best come to a decision on whether or not to risk this ceremony." Giles said.

"I've made my decision." Buffy said. "I'll try it." She looked at Angel.

"I'll try it too." He said.

"Are we sure we have thought about all the consequences here?" Xander said, arriving in the doorway. Cordilia was right behind him.

Giles looked at Angel and Buffy, then answered Xander. "Yes, I'm sure we have."

Xander opened his mouth to say something, then looked at Giles' face. Giles was still looking at Buffy and Angel. Xander shut his mouth.

Cordilia looked from Xander to Giles, and asked "So, we are going to turn Buffy into a vampire, right?"

"Right," said Jenny. "Except we are going to keep her bound to her soul as we do it."

"Oh. So what are we standing around for?" Cordilia asked, still not quite understanding.

"Well, there are a still few practical problems that we have to deal with," Giles started, creating an answer. "There are a couple of artifacts that we need, as well as the problem of how to, um, get Buffy and Angel married. Buffy, have you been baptized?"

Buffy's thoughts had gone off on a tangent. She shook her head and focused on Giles. "Uh, I don't know. My parent's might have baptized me when I was born, but I'm not sure."

Giles nodded. "Well, we'll just have you baptized to make sure. We'll have to have some holy water…" He looked at the contraptions that were attached to Buffy. "Buffy, do they care about whether those gadgets are attached to you?" He asked.

"Well, they'll disconnect them if I want to go somewhere, except for the I.V. of course, but they do notice if I try to take them off myself." She gave a small laugh, flinging her hair back. "They said that they are quite interested in how well I function without a stomach. Why?"

"I, um, have a feeling that the 'change' will show up as an anomaly on the monitors." He looked at his wife.

"With Oz and Willow's help I'm sure I can do something." Jenny said.

"What type of artifacts are we talking about here?" Xander asked, as a veteran of previous Slayer scavenger hunts.

"Wedding rings." Giles answered. "Pure gold, and they will have to be blessed. But nothing a jeweler cannot supply." Xander looked relieved. He probably wouldn't be doing any break-ins this time.

Just then Oz and Willow arrived. "What's going on?" Willow asked.

"We're just going over what we need to get to turn Buffy into a vampire." Xander replied.

"Does this mean that we are are actually going to, um, turn Buffy into a vampire?" Willow asked. Assent was indicated.

"How do we help?" Oz asked.

"We are going to need to reroute the monitors around the sensors so that they won't show any anomalies when Buffy dies." Jenny replied. Willow and Oz surveyed the monitors, then replied. "No problem."

Buffy was looking around the room, checking faces. "Where's Kendra?" She asked. Come to think of it, she should have come with Joyce.

"She's on patrol." Angel quickly replied. Then he answered Buffy's unspoken question with, "I ran into her on the way here. She thought that if the other vampires had heard about your condition they might try to come by and finish you off, so she was staying close."

"How is she taking this?" Buffy asked, quietly. Angel started to speak, but Giles cut him off.

"We, um, had a long talk, and finally she decided that she would let you decide."

"So she is not freaking out about trying to turn me into a vampire." Buffy asked, realizing that even she didn't like the way that sounded.

"Only minorly." Xander put in.

Buffy wasn't sure if she wanted to say 'Good.' So she said nothing.

"Well, now that we all have agreed, there is still the problem of what the vampires will be doing on Iantiâ. We will try the ceremony tomorrow night, until then I think that we had better do some research…" Giles said.

"As if we haven't read all of your books through twice over," Xander said, under his breath. Giles glared at him, and continued. "So we had better get back to the library. Angel, you could be a big help to us." He added, turning to Angel.

"I'll met you there." Angel replied. Giles and Jenny herded the others out, and Angel turned back to Buffy.

"Angel, promise me one thing." She said.

"Anything."

"If this doesn't work, if I become a vampire and lose my soul…" Angel cut her off, saying, "Don't." She overrode him. "If I become a vampire, a normal vampire," She paused, "help Kendra Slay me."

She looked away a moment, said: "I could beat either of you in a fight, but not both." She looked back, "And I want to be sure I don't cause any harm. Be there when I rise, with Kendra. If I am not the Buffy you expect, Slay me." Angel was having trouble listening, and with meeting Buffy's gaze. "Promise me." She said. He nodded.

"Promise me."

"I promise. I won't harm you, but if it is not you who rises, then I will Slay the creature." Buffy looked down from Angel's eyes, down at the floor.

"Thank you." She said.

"I should go help them." Angel said. "After all, I do remember the last Feast, and the last Iantiâ. Maybe I can offer some insight." He was reluctant to leave.

"Go," Buffy commanded. "I'll see you again. I will sleep tonight, so I can enjoy the daylight tomorrow." Angel still waited. "Go!" She said, giving him a playful push on the back. He smiled, and left. Buffy lay back on her pillows, and wondered if she would get any sleep. Moments later she was drifting off.

At dawn the orderly awakened her. "Angel said you wanted to watch the sunrise. I'll just wheel you across the hall to where you can see it. Oh, he came back and left this for you," he said, and handed her a small gift-wrapped box. Buffy waited until the orderly had left before unwrapping it. Inside she found a jewelry box, and a note. The note read: 'For my wife-to-be.' Buffy opened the box, and found a ring of gold, with rubies set all around in the band, and one large, clear diamond set on top. Buffy smiled, slipped on her engagement ring, and sat back to watch the sun rise.

Giles had a busy day. A long night of research had given way to a day of errands. First he stopped by the jewelry store, to buy gold rings in the sizes that Angel had told him. (The owner remarked on a strange burglary where the thief had left payment for the ring and locks. Giles admitted it was unusual.) Then he started going round to the Catholic churches in the area, looking for a priest who would help them. Jenny and Willow accompanied him. They backed off the first two priests after a few quick questions, revealing nothing of what they (the Slayerettes) wanted. The third, a man named Jessup, seemed more promising.

"I believe that nothing need be entirely evil. Even the Devil can teach us about the scriptures, if you carefully sort through his speech." He said, answering one of their questions. The three searchers looked at each other, then Jenny spoke.

"Do you believe in folk tales of werewolves," Willow tried to keep her reactions minimal to the reference, "vampires, witches, and their like?" She asked.

"I believe that the powers that rule this world could create such creatures, if they wished." The priest said, carefully.

"Would they have to be evil?" Willow asked, begging him to say no inside herself.

"I already said that nothing need be evil, God can show good in anything." He replied. "You ask these questions as if you have a purpose, what are you testing me for?"

Giles sighed, and started in with explanations. "We are in need of a priest to help preform a ceremony designed by St. Irenæus that involves vampires. We wish to turn a human into a vampire, while allowing her to keep her soul."

Jessup's eye's widened, but he kept his voice level as he said: "There are hints of such explorations in some of the Saint's works, but if they were written down they were lost long ago."

Giles answered, "Yes, well, the Watchers 'appropriated' them."

"The Watchers?" The priest asked.

"Yes. We help the Slayer in her duty to fight the vampires." Giles responded.

"They are not a group I have heard of. Who is this 'Slayer?'"

"We keep our, and the Slayer's, existence secret for protection. The Slayer is a girl who has been given the power, strength, skill, speed, and duty to kill vampires. When one dies, another is chosen. You understand that this cannot be told to outsiders unless it cannot be hidden." Giles ended, to stress secrecy to Jessup.

"Of course. And you can prove this?" Jessup the skeptic asked.

"Not until sundown." Jenny answered. Jessup nodded his head.

"Fine, let's say that you are who you say you are. What do you need me for?" He asked.

Giles answered, as he was the one who knew best. "The ceremony has several functions that must be preformed by a Catholic priest. The sire and the vampire-to-be need to be baptized, and they must be married at the time of the change. Those are the most important. Also, it would be…"

"So you want me to baptize a vampire, and marry them to a human?" The priest asked.

Willow and Jenny nodded while Giles made sounds of affirmation. "You trust this vampire." He asked.

"Oh, he's helped us out a lot. He's a good guy now." Willow said. "His soul was restored to him as a curse." Jenny clarified.

"So he became a good guy because he was cursed, and now you want to create another like him."

"Yes." Said Jenny.

Jessup shook his head in confusion. "Why?"

The three looked at each other. How could they explain that they had to save Buffy?

"Well, in three days vampires will try to take over the world, and I really feel that we are going to need two Slayers to stop them. And Buffy is dying, so we are not risking her life to this." Giles said, finally.

"It is this 'Slayer' who you are going to try this ceremony on? How many 'Slayers' are there?"

"Um, Buffy died once before for a moment, so we have two Slayers." Giles answered. "Normally there is only one."

The priest nodded, slowly. "So you want to change her into a vampire to stop the vampires from taking over the world."

"Yes," Giles said, on firmer ground.

But the priest had noticed something. "That is the only reason?"

"Well, Angel and Buffy will like it too." Willow said.

"So they are in love, this 'Slayer' and the vampire who will be the 'sire' as you termed it," Jessup pounced.

"Yes," Willow answered, sheepishly.

The priest nodded. "Marriage should be entered no other way. I'll do it."

"You will?" Willow exclaimed, jumping with surprise and joy.

"Yes. People should be baptized, and two in love should marry. Very little matters compared to this. What do you need me to do?"

Giles answered, still getting over his relief, "If you will come to hospital soon after sundown, with holy water, I can tell you what to do then."

"Agreed." Said Jessup, and he walked off, smiling to himself. Giles looked at Willow and his wife, sighed, and said; "Well, let us rest for tonight. I have a feeling that we will be up a long time."

Buffy was trying to decide whether to tell her mom that she was going to die tonight. Joyce would try to insist on being there for her, but how could she not tell her mom when she knew? She was still debating it when her mom walked in.

"How are you feeling honey?"

"Fine Mom, as well as I've felt since…" Buffy looked down at her stomach.

"Your dad will be here tomorrow, he couldn't quite get here today." Her mom informed her.

Buffy forced herself to not laugh. "Fine Mom. We'll see him tomorrow."

"Oh, Buffy!" Her mom started to cry. Buffy held her, comforting her.

"Its all right Mom, I'll be fine. We'll be fine." She soothed.

"Why did this happen? I just wanted to keep you safe."

"It wasn't your fault Mom. He just attacked me out of nowhere. I've walked that route a thousand times." Looking for vampires, she added mentally.

Joyce wiped a tear out of her eye. "The police say that there weren't any fingerprints on the knife."

It took Buffy a moment to figure out why the police were in this. Of course, this was a murder, wasn't it?

"Don't worry about it Mom." Then, feeling that she needed to say something more than that, "I'm sure the police will do everything they can." They won't catch him, I've already killed him, she added mentally.

Joyce was obviously trying to lose herself in the practical things. "What should I do with your stuff?" She asked.

Buffy thought about that for a moment. She would probably want some of that stuff, where could she get it back from? "Let my friends decide what to do with it." She said. Then, as an afterthought; "Give them a few days before they have to divide it up." Good, it would probably stay in her room. Joyce nodded, and turned to leave, not knowing what else to do here.

"Mom," Buffy had thought of something else. It wouldn't do for her to disappear out of her coffin… "Anyone who wants to see me can. They don't need to stare at me after I am dead. If you could bury me the day I die…" Buffy found that hard to say. He mom almost cried again.

"Sure honey." She said, giving Buffy one last hug.

"Mom," Buffy said, as Joyce was just about out the door. "I love you."

Buffy's mom came back in the room, and held Buffy tight. "I love you, honey."

They held each other for a moment, Buffy saying her silent goodbyes and apologizing for not saying it out loud. Then Joyce got up, straightened her blouse, and left.

Oz and Willow were the first to arrive, and started setting up their own monitors, hooking Buffy up into their computers after getting the machines to read from those computers. Oz explained that they were going to record the medical effects of Buffy's change, but Buffy wasn't really listening. She just tried to stay out of their way as she watched the sunset.

Angel and Kendra arrived soon after the sun had gone down, with Jenny and Giles (and books), arriving soon after. The preacher came in with Giles. Giles was just starting to explain what was going to happen when Cordilia arrived with Xander.

"Well, good, everyone is here. Xander, shut the door please. Thank you. Right, um first Buffy and Angel need to be baptized." Giles said, reading from his book.

The priest (he had introduced himself) started with Buffy. She lay in bed with her head back while he preformed the baptism. Angel came reluctantly when it was his turn. As the priest lifted the water and started the chant, he winced. Jessup took no notice, and started to pour the water.

He jumped as it boiled off Angel's head, and Angel reverted to vampire form. Everyone heard him muttering a prayer as he crossed himself.

"I don't believe it. You are a vampire."

"Yes. Please," Angel looked at Buffy, "continue."

"Ye-Yes."

"And if you could, light on the water." The vampire smiled.

"Sure." Jessup smiled, over his initial fright, and continued with the baptism. Interestingly, the boiling of the water eased off, and at the end Angel was even slightly wet. Jessup looked at Giles when he was done.

"Now we need to dedicate the rings." Giles said, and handed the rings to Buffy and Angel. "Hold them in your left hand, with your hands open." They obeyed, Angel now with his human face again. Jessup had watched the transformation, fascinated.

"Um, it would be best if you read this." Giles said, giving the book to the priest. He pointed to a line.

"In Latin or should I translate?"

"Latin, please." Giles answered.

Jessup nodded, and started reading.

"Bless these circles of gold
Imbue them with holy power"

Angel winced, the ring starting to burn his hand.

"May they hold against whatever would tear them apart,
Whether time, heat, cold, or pressure.
Dedicate them, to the ones who hold them"

The pain showing on Angel's face eased,

"May no one else touch them.
Their unending band is the bond that binds these two together."
Empower them, to hold in their bottomless cup
The souls of their masters, as their masters die and wake."

"Empower them against the demons
That would consume those souls
Join the souls together in an immortal bond."

Both Buffy and Angel felt a last stab of heat in the rings, then nothing.

"What did that do?" Buffy asked.

"The rings will now hold your souls to you," Giles explained, "and they are protected from others and the elements." He noticed the other ring on Buffy's hand. "That ring too, I believe." He smiled. "That was good," He told Angel, then he got back the question at hand. "No-one else can hold them or take them from you. Just once you put them on, don't take them off. Ever." He warned.

"Why not?" She asked.

"I'm not quite sure of the effects," said Giles, stalling. Jessup cut in. "It says here that your souls will stay with the rings." He looked up. "If you take them off, you would put aside your soul. You could put them back on again…"

"But that's not likely for a vampire." Angel finished. Buffy looked at her wedding ring, as if it had sprouted wings. Angel set his down on the bedside table, and after a moment Buffy did the same.

"Now, the change can take place anytime after the wedding. Buffy will have to drink this after she drinks Angel's blood," He said, pouring a cup of Holy Water out, and setting it on the bed table next to the rings. "The wedding has to be a proper Catholic wedding." He looked at Jessup.

"Ok, who's the best man?" He started, looking around the room.

Angel hadn't thought about a best man. "Xander, will you be my best man?" He asked. Xander looked genuinely surprised.

"I know you haven't always liked me, but I would be honored if you accepted." Angel nudged.

Xander had recovered. "Well, it is not the part I wanted in Buffy's wedding, but sure."

Buffy had gotten out of bed, and now said, "Willow, will you be maid of honor? It should be my two oldest friends in my wedding."

Willow looked at all the wires and equipment she was watching over, then around at the expectant group. "Sure." She said. The four lined themselves up before Jessup, who started the ceremony.

Later, Buffy was to remark that the only thing she remembered of the wedding was Xander trying to pick up the rings. Finally Angel had to do it, as the blessing wouldn't let Xander touch them, but all that Buffy really noticed was herself and Angel saying 'I do,' and then priest stumbling over 'Man and Wife' as she kissed her husband.

The kiss held, Buffy drinking in her last moment of humanness, then Buffy whispered; "Now." She kept her eyes closed, and Angel moved his mouth down to her neck.

There was pain as the vampire bit into her neck, and the blood started to flow. Then Angel started to drink, and she was in ecstasy. She held his head to her, and he slowly drank, savoring every drop of her life. She wished that he would never stop, and that he would drink faster. After a long moment it was over too soon. Then her mouth was at a wound in Angel's neck, her tongue lapping at the blood that flowed from him.

She had thought while Angel drank that the pleasure was more than she could bear. Now she found she had been wrong. This was better, much better. The pleasure was stronger than any she had felt or imagined, and she drank hungerly, without thinking about what she was doing. She could feel the strength entering her, penetrating her, uplifting her. She felt herself healing with each drop, until she was as whole as she had ever been, and stronger. She fought when hands tried to push her away, until they succeeded, and she saw Angel holding her, paler then she had ever seen him. He laid her down on her bed, and put the cup of water to her lips. The water stung going down, and burned in her throat, until she could barely stand it. Angel removed the cup, and she died.

Jessup had been badly shaken by the reality of baptizing a vampire, but he went through with what he had said he would do. It was obvious that this being was in love with the girl in the hospital bed, and he did not want to go back on what he had said in the church. He prayed silently for guidance while he went through the wedding ceremony, waiting for a reason, any, why he should stop. He looked at the couple, kissing, at the end of the wedding and tried to figure out what he had just done.

Then he saw Buffy's lips move in a whisper to her new husband, and he moved his head to her neck, that startling change from human to vampire overtaking his face. (A part of his mind wondered if the demon face was the same. This one was — less evil? — different somehow than the demon face he had seen revealed by the baptism.) Jessup watched in horrified fascination as the vampire drank, the girl willing every drop of life into it's mouth.

Then the vampire pulled back, and punctured his own neck with his fingernails. He guided the girl's mouth to the wound, and she drank, more eager now to drink its blood than she was to have her own drunk, if that was possible. Jessup felt like a voyeur to some obscene scene, but watched, fascinated, as the vampire tried to push the girl away, and finally succeeded. It laid her back on her bed with infinite care, then made her drink the Holy Water that had been set aside. This act pained her, and Jessup wondered anew what he had done. Finally the water was taken away, and the girl whispered something about tomorrow. As she died the wounds at her neck faded into nothingness. Jessup turned to the man who had talked to him in the church that day.

"Do I want to know if this worked?" The priest asked.

"I think it did, though there is one more step in the ceremony." Giles said. Then he looked at Jessup. "No. You don't want to know."

"If I am alive in a week can I come talk to you about this?"

"As long as you tell no-one of what you have seen." Jessup nodded, and left. The rest stood in silence as Oz and Willow tinkered with their machines, and reconnected the wires from Buffy to the monitors.

As they finished, Oz looked up and said, "We have five minutes until the monitors know that Buffy is dead, and start getting readings from her."

"Um, right. We will meet again in the library tomorrow. Angel, you'll bring Buffy?" Giles asked.

"Actually, Buffy will wake up hungry. I suggest we meet at my place." Angel said. "Kendra and I will bring Buffy." Kendra looked surprised. "Buffy asked that both of us stop her if this failed," he explained.

"Very wise of her." Kendra said.

"Yes, that is probably best." Giles said. "We will meet at Angel's place, about this time tomorrow. Now we had best leave before the monitors say that Buffy is dead."

They filed out, except for Angel. He stayed a moment, tucking his wife into bed. Just before he left, he planted a kiss on her lips, saying; "Until tomorrow night." Then he left, turning out the lights and telling the nurses that she was sleeping.

---

The vampire awoke in darkness. She lay there, listening to the sounds of the animals around her, trying to understand where she was, and remember. Then she felt something above her, calling her, something that felt like a part of her. She sat up, and pushed herself out of her grave.

Out of the ground, she felt confused. Now there were two beings who she felt. The woman, the human, looked so good, the blood almost visible to the vampire through her skin. The vampire could hear the blood pound, calling to it's hunger. The woman was tense, ready for a fight.

The other being was a vampire. The new vampire could see that, sense it in the smell of his blood, of his skin. She looked at him, standing relaxed, and realized that this was the one who had called her. And she remembered.

"I'm fine." Said Buffy.

---

Angel arrived in the cemetery soon after sundown. Kendra had come with the rest to his place as he was getting up, and they went together. He listened to a description of Buffy's funeral on the way. He wished he had been able to be there, and not just to keep up appearances with Buffy's mom.

They stood at the foot of Buffy's grave, back far enough that she would have some space to orient herself when she rose. Angel was aware that a vampire could remember very little when they first awoke.

"She's awake," He said.

"How do you know?" Kendra asked, skeptically. Angel was aware that he did not know how he knew, he was just sure of it. He was saved from trying to think of an answer when the sounds of Buffy rising became obvious.

Then her vampire stood before him. Angel waited for Buffy to give some sign that she was still somewhat human, now sure that it would come. Kendra was tense, ready to jump at the slightest excuse, but waiting. Buffy looked for a long time at Kendra, and Angel felt the pangs of remembered hunger. Then she looked at Angel, and her face changed to that of a human.

"I'm fine," said Buffy.

Angel started forward, but the Slayer stopped him, still wary.

"Are you?" She asked.

"I'm Buffy, Kendra. Don't worry. If I was going to attack, I would have."

"She's fine, Kendra." Angel said.

"How would you know?" Kendra shot back at him. Angel was again at a loss for how he knew, and filled in with: "She would have attacked or run if she wasn't." Which was probably true.

"Trust me, Kendra." Buffy asked. Kendra assented.

"We're having a meeting back at my place." Angel told his wife. "I'll get you something to drink when we get there."

"Thanks." Buffy said. "Is the hunger always this bad?" She glanced at Kendra, restrained herself.

"When you first awake is usually the worst," He replied as they started back to his place. Buffy looked relieved, and she slipped into step beside him. Kendra stayed behind, obviously trusting neither of them.

"So now what happens?" Buffy asked him, quietly.

"Forever." Angel answered, slipping his arm around her waist. They walked home in silence.

Buffy soaked in every sensation on her walk to Angel's place. The night was bright to her new eyes, as bright as day. She heard sounds she had never thought to listen for. The night was exhilarating, she could barely contain herself. Then the scent of blood flowing in someone's veins would remind her of what she was. She could hear that too, the delicious sound of someone's heart pumping. It revolted her that she was so attracted to it. The gentle pressure of Angel's arm on her waist was sometimes all that kept her from it.

The hunger was almost irresistible. She heard hearts beating as Angel opened his door, and thought food. No, she corrected herself: friends. She walked in, Kendra following, and sat down on the far side of the room from the humans.

Giles looked at Kendra, who nodded. Reassured, he started.

"Buffy, how do you feel?" He asked.

"Well," She replied. She tested her limbs, feeling her changed body for the first time. "Very well."

Giles saw Angel starting to get out some of his supply of blood, and spoke to stop him.

"There is one more act Buffy must go through." He said, getting everyone's attention. "She, um, must take her first meal from a live source, and leave the source alive."

Buffy quietly asked "Why wasn't I told this before?" Nervousness about the desire she felt to dig into these humans and drink out their life washed over her.

"I, um, didn't want to mention it." Giles sheepishly answered. There was silence. No one wanted to ask what happened if the 'source' died.

"I volunteer," said Xander. "What?" Cordillia nearly shouted.

"Buffy has to drink from a human. I volunteer." The people in the room were now looking only at him. "I'd rather not be around if this fails." He said the last to cover his fear.

Buffy looked around. "It's too late to think about this now," She said, and she walked over to Xander. She looked at him, and released the blocks holding back her hunger. In a moment Xander went from human, friend, to prey. She took the last step too fast for anyone but Angel to follow, and held him as her teeth pierced his neck.

He had stiffened as she rushed, but as when his blood started to flow he relaxed. Buffy felt the pleasure, the fulfillment of that blood. She lost herself in it, in the ecstasy. It was as strong as drinking from Angel had been, but more delicious, a different taste, a different feeling. She wanted it never to stop.

A dull heat started to grow around the third finger of her left hand, and she felt hands on her, pulling her away. She fought to stay. She wanted to drink! Then a voice got through to her. Angel. He was telling her to stop. Buffy. He was telling Buffy to stop.

Buffy let herself be pulled away, remembering who she was. Kendra held her as Xander fell to the floor. Buffy watched, wondering whether she was hoping for him to die or not. The heat on her finger died as she decided she wanted him to live.

The hold on her shifted, and Buffy got a feeling of danger. She twisted and dropped. Above her, in Kendra's hand, flashed a stake, through the air where Buffy had just been.

From the floor, Buffy swept Kendra's feet out from under her, and hand-flipped across the room. The people in the room now had two foci of attention: Xander and the fight. Only Cordillia was watching Xander.

Kendra came up and attacked. Buffy remembered the last time she had fought Kendra, in this very room. It had been an even match. This time it was no contest. She would have said the adrenaline pumping in her veins accelerated her past what Kendra had ever seen, if anything pumped in her veins.

Buffy watched the attack as if it were in slow motion, easily stepping aside and deflecting it. She waited for the next. It came quickly, and this time Kendra left an opening. Not much of one, but enough for Buffy to strike. Kendra slammed into the wall behind her, and slid into a sitting position, stunned. Buffy willed her face back into its human form, and said "Thank you for stopping me," as she offered her had to help Kendra up.

"You are welcome." Kendra replied, and got up on her own. Buffy turned back to where Xander was sitting.

Xander seen some of the fight. He remembered feeling a pang of terror as the vampire Buffy had rushed him, then the pure pleasure of her bite. He had wanted her to drink, to drink deep, every last drop, to pull the very life from his body for that pull was all he could wish for. Then he had faded into the pleasure.

The next thing he could remember was walking up, and seeing Buffy deflect an assault of Kendra's. By the time Cordillia had helped him up, the fight was over. He was alive, Buffy was fine.

"Will… Will he be all right?" Buffy asked.

In answer Xander stood up, Cordillia helping him. "That was… an experience." He said, slowly. He raised his hand to his neck, felt the wounds that had sealed, but not healed. "I don't think I am going to forget that."

"Neither am I," said Buffy. Xander leaned on Cordilia as she lowered him into a chair. She wasn't so sure she liked the way Xander was looking at the being that had almost killed him, but he was grateful for her help.

"Anything else you forgot to tell us?" Kendra asked Giles. Angel went back to his kitchen.

"No." He answered.

"You ok?" Buffy asked Kendra.

"I'm fine." Kendra replied. Buffy nodded, remembering how quickly a Slayer healed.

"Kendra, thanks. Both for pulling me off and for the fight." She flexed her wrist. "I am still getting used to this body. I needed to gauge my reaction speed." She lowered her voice for the rest. "And thank you for being ready to kill me." She looked to her husband.

"I knew." He said, barely above a whisper.

Giles was reviewing the fight as a Watcher, thinking that the fight looked like one of the practice fights he used to have with Buffy. The ones where he looked like a blind man trying to fight a black belt. Then he remembered something else. "Actually Buffy, at the start of the fight you avoided a blow you couldn't see. Do you know how you did that?"

"I have an idea." Angel said. Everyone turned to him. "I saw it. I felt every time a blow got through to Buffy, even slightly. I knew when she had been hit, and maybe she could use my eyes to see behind her."

"I didn't see behind me." Buffy replied. "But felt the danger, felt that the blow was coming." She switched her gaze from her husband to Giles, "I wasn't sure if that was normal."

"Interesting." Giles said. Cordilia looked around at them. "So what, they can read each other's minds or something?" She asked Giles.

Buffy answered her. "No. It is more like I know where he is, what he is feeling. I felt the danger, and got a place that the danger was. Like when he called me out of the grave." She instantly regretted the last statement.

"He called you out of the grave?" Jenny asked.

"I felt a presence urging me to get up, that I later identified as Angel." She said, reluctant to add the feeling that the presence had felt like a part of her.

"I knew when she was awake, before I heard her." Angel said.

"This is all fascinating," Xander said, "but what about the Feast of Esgaroth? That is still tomorrow, right?"

Giles cleared his head. "Yes, right. Yes, it would be fascinating to explore this further, but we still need to find out what the vampires are doing tomorrow. Kendra, do you have anything?" Kendra shook her head. People started to look glum.

"Why don't I just ask them?" Buffy asked.

"What?" Giles responded.

"Well, would they have any reason not to trust me? I could go up and ask to be let in on the fun. I tell Kendra, and we set up a plan for stopping them." She explained.

"Simple, direct, bold: I like it." Xander said. Cordilia rolled his eyes at him.

"Yes, that might work." Giles agreed. "We really don't have anything else to try."

"When will you meet me?" Kendra asked.

Buffy frowned. "I don't know. That depends on the other vampires. Come here tomorrow before sundown if you haven't heard anything."

"As a plan, that has advantages," Giles said. "Now I suggest that the rest of us try to get some sleep. Buffy, you had better go soon if you are to find the vampires."

"Aye aye, sir." Buffy replied, and watched them file out. She turned to her husband. "I'll be back before morning," She said, hugging him. He kept hold of her shoulders, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Be careful." He said.

"Of course!" She replied, with a mischievous smile. Then she was gone, out the door.

Buffy walked up to the warehouse that was the vampires' lair. They just seemed to pass it down, one leader to the next. She kept her demon-face, looking for sentries. Finally one spotted her.

"Slayer! What do you want?" It called out, seeing her vampire face. "I want to see Koto, be let in on tomorrow's fun." She called back.

"Why should I let you see him?" He said, coming out. She moved forward, faster than an eye blink, and grabbed him from behind.

"Because otherwise you are going to tell me how it feels to be torn apart, ever so slowly." She replied, giving him no chance to doubt her.

"O-Ok. I'll take you to him." He responded.

"Thank you."

Koto ruled in oriental splendor, from what amounted to a throne room in the center of the warehouse. Buffy sauntered in.

"Nice place you have here." She said.

"Who let you in?" Koto demanded.

"He did." Buffy pointed her thumb at the sentry who was lurking in the doorway.

"He seemed a little adverse to being torn apart. I can't imagine why." She was having fun, and a little part of her was starting to feel very at home here.

Koto was starting to get past his initial shock. "So, Slayer, you are a vampire now. What happened?"

Buffy shrugged. "A few days ago I got hurt in a fight. I wasn't going to make it. Angel decided he didn't want to lose me." Close enough. "Now I want in on the fun." Oouw, she could just take over right now, and start… Start what? Start terrorizing humans? She had too much feeling left for that, but the idea was tempting. Slayer, stick to the plan.

"And what makes you think we'll tell you?" He asked.

"There's still another Slayer in the area." She replied. "I feel pretty sure I could take her out." She flexed her arm, experimenting.

Koto laughed. "You've been here less than one night and you think you can take on a Slayer?"

"Why not? I was one."

"And what makes us think that you won't go telling your precious Angel?" Koto asked, a sneer in the last word. Buffy had to hold herself back as she said: "That big softie? Huh, even if I did, what would he do?"

Koto thought this over for a moment. "Maybe so, but when I'm around vampires have to prove their loyalty to the coven. Meet us in the school gym, at ten, tomorrow."

"I'll be there." Buffy said, and left, turning her back to him.

Buffy wandered for a while after leaving the vampire's lair. Her feelings surprised her. It would have been so easy to just take over, become the new head vampire. Use her power to kill, to torture. The idea called to her, as if she were made for it. Yet she knew she couldn't. That would be the end of her, she knew it.

She found herself at her old house, at the base of the tree she had so often used as a ladder to her room. She climbed up it, and tried to go in her old window, but was stopped at the threshold. She hadn't been invited. She sat there a while, just trying to get her hand through that invisible plane.

"I'm sure Kendra would invite you in." Angel said, behind her. She hadn't heard him come, but she had known he was there.

"No, I'd rather not." She looked down. "I don't have any news for her. All I wanted was my diary."

"I could get it for you," He said, starting across the windowsill. He could enter her room, but she couldn't.

"No, let's go home. I'll get it another time." She said, stopping him. She jumped down, not caring about the distance. She landed easily, as if from a two foot hop. Angel landed heavier.

"You can't be what you were." He said.

"I know." She walked a ways. "But what am I? I wanted to take over the vampires' coven, you know that? I could, but then what would I be?"

"A master vampire." He responded, answering her last question. "You have all the strength and speed of a Slayer as well as that of a vampire, and that power is tempting to your vampire side. But you are still a Slayer. A Vampire Slayer."

"Its just, I've never wanted power like that before. I've wanted to show off, but not to have that kind of power, to inflict that kind of hurt."

"That's the curse of being a vampire. Having your soul only makes it so you notice." Angel said.

"And if I didn't have my soul?"

"You would take the power." They were walking hand in hand down the street. "Come on, I'll show you what this town really looks like at night." And he lead her off into the streets.

It was a good night.

Buffy left the next night, leaving Kendra and Angel to follow her. The plan was to for them to gather the others, and then to wait outside, far enough away for the vampires not to notice them, but close enough for them to be there when Buffy needed them.

Buffy was waiting in the gym when Koto arrived.

"You're, alone I see." She said.

"Not exactly." He replied. "I brought a few friends. We've decided to start here, and expand into the town." Buffy stood facing Koto as a circle of his followers formed around her. "I even brought a present for you." He motioned for something to be brought forth. The circle parted, and a struggling human was brought forth.

Buffy fought the urge to cry out and run to her mom's side, as she frantically tried to figure out what to do.

"A meal for our slayer of Slayers!" Koto called, and Joyce was thrown at Buffy's feet. Buffy's mom looked up, and saw her daughter, but her cry of relief was cut short as she saw Buffy's face, the face of a vampire.

Buffy darted forward reflexively and caught Joyce as she shrank back from the monster in front of her. Calling out mentally to her husband, Buffy held her mom with supernatural strength, holding her horizontally, with her neck exposed for Buffy's teeth.

Buffy bent over her mom, lengthening the moment, savoring it for the crowd around her. First she bent to Joyce's ear, and whispered: "Trust me." The crowd laughed, expecting some last cruelty had just been uttered. Then she moved to the neck.

Slowly, slowly she bent over, waiting for the right moment, gauging the reactions of the vampires around her.

Then she dropped Joyce and stood back up. The vampires stared at her. Joyce just lay still, incoherent in terror.

"This is not the ending I have planned for her," Buffy threw all the arrogance that she could into that tone.

"It is the ending I wish to see." Koto replied, angering.

"She was my mother, I will deal with her."

Koto studied her for a moment, then made an almost imperceptible movement.

The vampires attacked.

The battle was short and entirely one-sided. A kick here, a punch, a throw, and the attackers were lying on the floor, whimpering. They got up, and warily watched her. One held his face, in more lasting pain. Koto looked at him, inquiring. The vampire showed it's face, and the burn mark there.

Buffy thought a moment, trying to figure out how she had done that. She focused her vision, and saw that it wasn't just one burn mark, but two, very close together. One was indented in the center. They weren't very big, no wider across than a finger.

Or a ring…

She looked at her wedding ring, just for a moment.

"A holy ring? Interesting." Koto was watching her now too, but he was enjoying himself. "What type of ring is it?"

"It's my wedding ring." Buffy answered. Koto looked even more interested.

Then he laughed. "Of course! Angel would be that sort of fool, wouldn't he?" Then his oriental eyes narrowed again. "But why does it burn her," He motioned to the vampire with the burnt face, "And not you?" He thought about that a moment, as Buffy fought to keep from (literally) bitting her lip with nervousness.

She said nothing, and looked to her mom, to see how much Joyce was following. She didn't seem to be paying any attention whatsoever. She was a fetal ball of terror. Buffy checked her involuntary step towards her.

"You still care for the mortal, don't you?" Koto asked, intrigued. Then his eyes widened as he put the pieces together.

"Of course." Koto was in awe, approaching unconsciously to see the miracle in front of him. "Angel wouldn't have given you this Kiss without assurance that you would be the half-vampire that he is. You still have your soul." He shook his head, considering a concept for the first time, that this was possible. "How?" He was almost within her reach.

"The ring, the marriage. They bound my soul to Angel's, and to our wedding rings." She answered. Come on, one more step…

No such luck. Koto stepped back, suddenly desperate to get distance between himself and Buffy. "Destroy her. She is no vampire." He bellowed.

This time they did not attack immediately, but watched Buffy warily. She moved to protect her mother, then stood, daring them to attack her.

Koto nodded. "They are right to be wary of you. You could destroy all the beings in this room in a moment. But how many can you handle at once?" He snapped his fingers in the air, for effect.

Not that the signal was wasted. In a moment the doors to the gym had opened, and Koto's vampire army approached.

Buffy dropped back into a fighting stance, watching which direction the attack would come from first.

"Ah! Now you are worried! Even this you might escape, but what of the mortal? You cannot defeat this many alone." Buffy saw his slight signal to attack, and turned… almost making a fatal error. As she was turning to face the closest of Koto's soldiers Koto himself attacked.

Supernatural speed and years of training saved her. She stepped aside, redirecting his momentum into her next nearest attacker, and the fight was on. Buffy knew she could only last for a few minutes in this before she was separated from her mother, who was still cowering at Buffy's feet.

Keeping an eye out for the next rush, Buffy sent out a call to Angel, and felt his presence nearing…

The gym doors burst open, and Buffy lifted her mom, then threw her over the crowd into Angel's arms. Then she turned around and faced the horde.

Joyce was terrified as the monster that looked like her daughter bent its head to her neck. It's hands were cold as they held her motionless. The words confused her, but she could imagine no trust.

Then she was dropped. She heard her daughter's voice, some sort of argument. Joyce heard the words, but they didn't register. Terrified, she tried to hide inside her own arms. She tried to understand what was happening, how her daughter's voice and body still walked, and how that face… Where had these monsters come from?

Then she felt her body flying through the air, and landed in Angel's arms, but Angel also looked like a monster. He set her down gently, then rushed into the crowd. Joyce turned, uncertain of what she was hoping to see. Behind her stood Kendra.

"Run." Kendra commanded, then she too rushed into the fight.

Joyce was to terror stricken to obey. She stood in the shadows, watching the fight, uncertain.

She became aware of someone standing beside her, and turned with a start. It was Giles. "You had best go home, you are a danger here." He said, motioning to the fight.

"What…" Joyce couldn't decide what to ask first. "Later, maybe." The librarian said.

This time Joyce left, starting into a run.

After sending Joyce away, Giles watched the fight in awe. He was used to Buffy facing odds that were unimaginable, but this should have been suicide, even for her. Yet it seemed that they might be winning.

Angel had thrown a stake as Buffy had sent her mom through the air. Buffy had never even looked at it, and was fighting on three fronts as she caught it, plunging it into one vampire as if it were part of the catch.

Part of Giles' duty was to watch Buffy fight and point out her mistakes, her weaknesses. He found himself watching the artistry and pure skill that Buffy now fought with. There were no mistakes.

Then Angel arrived at her side.

Wife and Husband, they fought back to back. Buffy had been trained in fighting with allies, but this went beyond that training. She and Angel did not act as partners, but as one being. The actions of Angel were amplified with Buffy, and hers with Angel. They fought silently, without looking at each other, but each seemed to know what the other would do before they them self did. There was a trail of dust along their path to the door.

Buffy felt invincible in the fight. Her strength, her speed, was greater than she had guessed from the one fight with Kendra. Angel arrived, and together they were unbeatable. She saw vampires trying the doors they had so recently come in through, and failing to open them. She knew then that the Slayer team had locked them.

They fought their way to the one open door, the door that Kendra was guarding. Arriving there, Buffy could smell the scent of gasoline. She held off the vampires as Kendra and Angel closed the door. The last face she saw as the door closed was that of Koto, a burn mark from her holy ring on his cheek, glaring at her. She looked at the Slayerettes gathered around her, and nodded. Along the wall Willow, Oz, Xander, Giles, Jenny, and Cordilia lowered their torches, setting the gym ablaze. Buffy backed away from the fire, an unreasoning fear rising inside of her, and watched as the vampires died.

The fire sirens started blaring, and the group scattered.

Back at her new home, Buffy rested. Angel had felt her call as a need to be where Buffy was, to help her. Buffy was just glad that the call had worked.

"Your fighting was amazing." Kendra told her and Angel. "You fought as one." Buffy was confused, as she had not noticed any change in her fighting, besides the new speed and strength.

"Um, yes. You and Angel's" Giles was addressing Buffy, "connection was obvious. You each fought complimenting the other, aiding each other's strengths." He cleared his throat. "Um, your mom watched much of the fight."

"They gave her to me as a gift." Buffy said, remembering both the horror and honor she had felt.

"Then she saw you." Giles said.

"Yes, she saw me." Joyce's face in her arms was not something Buffy would forget. "I had better talk to her." She looked at Angel. "Now what do we do?" She asked her husband.

"We will probably have to leave town." He said. Buffy nodded. She was too well known, and Kendra could stay to watch the Hellmouth.

"We'll leave tomorrow night." She looked at her friends. Xander, Willow, her earliest comrades in Slaying, Oz and Cordilia, the later additions, Jenny, who had told her so much about Angel's curse, and had married Buffy's Watcher, Kendra, the some-times companion in Slaying. She felt tears rising in her eyes, and saw red.

"You're bleeding," Willow said.

"No, she's crying." Angel corrected.

"Don't forget me," Buffy pleaded, starting her series of hugs with Willow.

"How could I?" She asked.

"Yes, if it wasn't for you, we would have been normal high schoolers." Xander said. He tried to be light about it. He failed.

Kendra stood before her, straight and tall, proud. "I will insist that your story be a part of Slayer training, so that you are left safe from the Slayers."

"Tell them that if they ever need help, they can call on me," Buffy replied, shaking Kendra's hand.

"I have already put the story of your change in the Watcher diaries," Giles said. "Thank you."

"If you need help, or just to talk, e-mail me," Jenny said.

Buffy smiled. "Right." She looked at them all, standing there before her. The wounds on Xander's neck hadn't even healed yet. "I'll miss you." She said, and turned away, to hide her blood tears.

When she turned back her friends were gone. She turned to her husband. "Ready to face the in-laws?" She asked.

"Just a mother-in-law." He replied, laughing.

They arrived at the Summers' house not long after Kendra did. Buffy decided to wait until Kendra was out of the downstairs before she walked up and knocked on the door.

Joyce answered. "Mom?" Buffy said.

"What are you?" Joyce asked, retreating in fear.

"Mom, I won't hurt you. Please, listen to me."

"I am listening." Joyce answered, slowly. "But what are you? You died, I saw you dead. Then, in the gym…" She gestured her lack of words. Buffy sighed. "Mom, could you invite me in? It is a long story, and I cannot enter unless you invite me."

"You were dead." Joyce restated.

"I am dead." Buffy replied. "Please? I promise I won't hurt you."

"Ok," Joyce said, tentatively giving in. "I invite you in."

"Thank you." Buffy said, and stepped in. "Let's go into the living room to talk."

Angel followed her in.

"What does he have to do with this?" Joyce asked.

"Sit down Mom." Buffy said. Joyce complied. "Angel is a vampire." Joyce paled.

"He won't hurt you any more than I will. He was given his soul back, and with that comes the knowledge of the pain that a vampire can cause, an empathy for the would-be victims."

"I was the Slayer, the one whose duty it was to kill vampires. It was a vampire that stabbed me." Joyce was starting to interrupt. "Mom, listen. Angel helped me, and wasn't causing damage, so I let him live. Besides, I love him." She fingered her wedding ring, careful to keep it on. Joyce was starting to put together some of the pieces she had heard.

"Giles was my Watcher, the person who trains and teaches the Slayer. He found a ceremony that would allow me to keep my soul as I was turned into a vampire. When it was pronounced that I would die anyway, he decided that the time had come to try it." She looked at Angel. "So I was turned into a vampire when I died."

"Tonight was a night of power for vampires, and Me, Angel, and Kendra, the next Slayer, had to stop them from starting a reign of terror what would sweep the world. But since we did not know their plans, I went undercover to find out what they were going to do. You were to be a test of loyalty to their cause."

Joyce looked at them, open-mouthed. "Vampires trying to take over the world? I am supposed to believe this?"

"It is true." Kendra said, from the stairway. "You saw the fight, you saw Buffy and Angel as vampires."

Joyce thought about that. "Ok, so say I believe you, why are you telling me? I was left out of it when you were alive, what do you want me to do now?"

"Nothing. We don't need you to do anything, but you saw, and deserve to understand." Buffy said. She held out her left hand, palm down, for her mom to see. "I am leaving, with Angel. We don't know where we are going."

Joyce looked at the rings on her daughter's finger, then up at Buffy. "Are those what I think they are?" She asked.

"My engagement and wedding rings." Buffy responded.

"When?" Joyce asked.

"The night I died." Buffy responded. "It was part of the ceremony. We were not disagreeable."

Joyce looked up, and bit her lip. "I don't know whether to be happy for you or not." She said. "Are you happy with this?"

Buffy thought about that. "It will take quite a bit of getting used to," She responded. Then she looked at Angel, and a smile spread across her face. "But yes, I am happy."

Joyce stood up. "Then I am happy for you. I don't know if I understand, but I am happy." She said, and hugged her daughter. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked.

"I would like a few of my things," said Buffy. "Not much, just my diary and some clothes."

"Take them." She paused. "Will I see you again?"

"Perhaps. I cannot even guarantee we'll write." Buffy thought a moment. "Maybe it would be best if you just thought of me as dead." Joyce nodded.

"Oh, one more thing." Buffy said, heading for the door. "Kendra will be staying in the area for a while. If you could give her a place to stay…"

"I think I can manage."

"She may keep odd hours."

"Worse than you?"

Buffy smiled. "No."

"Goodbye honey."

"Goodbye Mom." And Buffy walked out the door, into the night.

---

"So that's what happened," Buffy said, taking a drink from her glass.

"An amazing story." Kirsten replied. "I will have to tell my Watcher." She looked at them. "He may want to talk to you."

"Anytime." Angel replied.

"I'd better get back on patrol."

"Actually," Buffy said, "Angel and I have been watching the incoming flights for vampires. We thought that since this is a major staging point for travel, they might try to come through here. We decided to close this door."

"That's what I was sent here for," the Slayer replied.

Buffy smiled. "Sorry."

"This will take a lot of thought." Kirsten stood up, and looked around again. "I had better get back to my room."

"Come tell us when you decide." Angel said.

"Of course." She walked out the door.

Buffy and Angel walked to the door, to watch her go. As soon as she was out of sight, they went back in.

"The red wine was a good touch." Buffy said.

"Thanks. I thought it would add some credibility."

"Do you think they'll believe that story?" Buffy asked.

"It will be fun if they don't," said Angel, and he bared his fangs, laughing. Buffy joined him, imagining the thrill of the hunt.