A/N: I was watching Grave, and when Willow was "feeling everyone" or whatever, I couldn't help but think that she was feeling Angel being chucked into the ocean, even if the time frames might be a little off. Anyways, I hated the Angel/Cordelia stuff in Tomorrow, so I figured I'd throw Buffy in the mix haha. Obviously just to be fair, I can't make Angel completely forget about Cordy, so I'll make sure that it's a gradual transition, only to stay true to the characters. Don't worry; I still love B/A best. Oh, and the whole 'burger' thing in this chapter is something that happened to my sister, so I just thought it was amusing. Also, I know most of the dialogue in the beginning is from the episodes Grave and Tomorrow, I just had to tie it all in. It'll get more original as you read on, promise. And wow, could I write a LONGER author's note? Okay— on with the story.

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Willow collapsed to the floor with an overload of magic pumping through her veins. She closed her eyes and felt the power surge through every fiber of her being. At first the rush felt blissful, and indescribable. "This is-- Wow... It's incredible. I'm so juiced... Giles... It's like... No mortal person has ever had this much power. Ever. It's like I'm connected to everything... I can feel..." Her mind slowly cleared itself of the pleasant fog as the euphoria faded. "Everyone. Oh. Oh my God. All the emotion. The pain. No, it's too much. Oh, it's just too much..." She grasped the countertop and stabled herself as she stood up off the ground. She could hear Giles attempting to slur some words together from where he laid on the floor.

"Willow... It doesn't... have to be like that. You... you can... stop it." His words were all accompanied by painful groans and normally unnecessary gasps for breath.

Willow's mind was still flooded with visions of people's faces, contorted in agony from the cruelties of the world. She heard Giles' plea for her to stop the pain as a familiar face stood out among the millions screaming for salvation. "Yeah. I can. I have to stop this. I'll make it go away. Poor Angel…" Willow's voice was barely above a whisper, her thoughts still plagued with the torment of the world.

Giles realized with horror what Willow intended to do. He heard something about an angel, but his train of thought was too focused on Willow's enormous amount of power and the destruction it could wield. "No…" He gasped out the one word weakly before letting his head drop back down, as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Willow raised her arms to her sides and built up her magical energy, causing the atmosphere around her to bend to her will. "Oh, you poor bastard... Your suffering has to end." She was going to end this wretched world and rid it of all the pain. But first she had a task in mind for a certain pesky slayer. The ions in the air around her body burned and expanded until she disappeared from The Magic Box completely.

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Buffy ran frantically down the street and towards the graveyard, trying her hardest to outrun the fireball that was rapidly nearing Xander and Dawn.

Dawn looked up into the sky and saw a glowing, orange orb quickly moving towards where she was standing. "What is that?"

"Get out of there! Move!" Buffy's yells drifted over the gap dividing her from the others, causing them all to turn and look at Buffy in shock. Before any of them could do anything, Buffy had already closed the distance between them and tackled Dawn to the ground. She flew her hands up to her face, expecting any moment to feel an earth-rattling crash behind where she had landed. Instead, the only sound that drifted to her ears was a strange electrical crackling noise that reminded her of the time Dawn had tried to microwave her burger while it was still in the aluminum wrapper. When she removed her hands from her eyes she saw an extremely menacing-looking Willow towering over her. "Willow…" Buffy grunted in exhaustion as she lifted herself up to stand in front of Willow. "Look Wil, you don't have to do this, I can help—"

Willow raised her hand and waved it in Buffy's direction. "Stop talking." She was almost tempted to smile at the shocked expression on the normally calm slayer as she realized she couldn't talk. But she remembered her purpose and shifted her focus back to why she was here. "You aren't going to be able to stop me. You know that. But there is someone in this world that needs your help at this very moment." Willow could see the confusion on Buffy's face and continued to explain. "It's Angel." Willow raised her hand again, undoing the spell and returning Buffy's speech.

Buffy's confusion faded as her mind was flooded with blind fear for Angel. She couldn't help but worry, even if this was only a ploy to keep her out of the way. "Willow, I'm not leaving you. Angel can take care of everything without my help." She hoped that her words sounded convincing, since she sure as hell didn't believe them herself. "You don't have to do this, you can stop now. Let me help you."

"This isn't about me. Angel needs your help now. You and I are done." She raised her arm and gestured in Buffy's direction.

"No, Willow, I'm not—" She stopped abruptly as she felt a jerk in her stomach. She crumbled to the ground, landing on soft sand. "What the…?" Buffy looked around, only to find she was no longer in the cemetery and Willow was no where to be seen. She gazed further down the beach and spotted two figures that appeared to be fighting. "Might as well do some good while I figure out where the heck Willow sent me." Within seconds Buffy could see the two men, and understood why she was here. Angel was getting the crap beat out of him by some scrawny, androgynous kid, and she had to stop it. As she got closer she could make out what they were saying.

"It's all about balance. You lose it…" The kid threw Angel into the sand. "You lose."

Buffy watched as Angel got up, only to be kicked in the face. She was about to interfere when she saw Angel grab the kid from behind.

"Easy. Talk to me. Talk to me, okay?" Angel kept his grip on the kid until he finally stopped struggling.

"Okay." The kid pulled himself free as Angel loosened his grip.

Buffy thought that everything was alright, and started to wonder why Willow even bothered to send her here. Then she saw the kid pull something out of his pocket. "ANGEL!"

Angel whipped his head around, only to be met by Connor's tazer blast. He flew backward and landed in the surf. He looked up to see Connor jumping on top of him. He prepared himself for the blow he knew was coming, but instead something caused Connor to fly backwards off of Angel.

Buffy grabbed the kid by the back of his shirt and threw him roughly onto the beach. "Now I don't know what your problem is, kid…" She blocked his oncoming punch and slammed him across the jaw with a right hook. "But you know... I'm taking precious time out of an apocalypse to come down here…" She caught his leg as he tried to kick her stomach. "So, I gotta say…" She used his leg to flip him backwards off his feet and connected her fist against his face one last time before his head sunk down to rest on the sand. "I don't really like you." She brushed the sand off of her shirt and walked over to where Angel still lay in the water. She reached down and pulled him upright. "How're you feeling?"

"Buffy? What… what are you doing here?" He was just as surprised as he was pleased to see her.

"Saving your ass, apparently." She smiled sweetly at him, momentarily forgetting about all her problems as she got lost in his eyes. "Come on; let's get you somewhere a bit dryer."

"My car's up there." He motioned towards the top of the bluff.

"Alright." Buffy started to climb the steep wall, but then turned around to see Angel's undeniable struggle to climb up. She walked back down to him and reached her arm around his body. "Here we go." She gingerly helped him climb back to where his car was parked.

Angel tried his best to hide his occasional winces in pain from his injuries. He couldn't believe Connor had done this to him. "Wait, Connor."

Buffy turned her head to face him. "What?"

"We're just going to leave him?" He was torn; he still wanted to think that Connor was a son who needed love and protection.

"No, I thought we'd bring the psycho who tried to kill you with us." She raised her eyebrows at him, her sarcastic tone very clear. "Of course I'm leaving him. He could wake up anytime now." She opened up the passenger side door of the car and lifted Angel inside. She scanned over his body and even in the dim light of the car she could tell he was a lot more injured then he would be willing to let on. "I think I better drive."

Angel didn't protest, but was curious about what she would do with her own car. "What about your car?" He looked around, but oddly enough, he didn't see any other cars up here.

"I don't have one." She sat down in the driver's seat and pulled on her seatbelt.

"How'd you get here then?" Angel strained out his words and coughed a bit in between. Connor really had done a number on him.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." She rolled her eyes at the thought of her weird situation. But the thought of being closer to Angel made everything worthwhile and she smiled a bit as she started up the car. "Where to?"

"Hyperion Hotel." Angel looked over at the beautiful woman driving his car. She had changed, but inside he could tell she was still the same sweet girl he had fallen in love with. He closed his eyes, thankful that for once he didn't have to be strong and put on a happy face. With Buffy, he could just be Angel… and that was enough.

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Buffy pulled up to the hotel and turned off the car. "Home, sweet home… I guess." She got out of the car and walked around to open up the door for Angel.

"You know, traditionally it's the man's job to open the door for the woman." He smirked a little and draped his arm over her shoulder for support as he got out of the car.

"I never was much for tradition." She carefully ascended the steps that led to the doorway and helped Angel inside. She led him over to the circular couch in the center of the lobby and let him sit down on it. She spun around and took in her surroundings. "Nice place."

"Thanks." Angel gritted his teeth as he shifted on the couch in a vain attempt to get comfortable.

Buffy glanced over and noticed a small cut on Angel's cheek. She walked over and sat down next to him. Slowly and carefully she raised her hand up and extended her fingers to touch his face. She lightly brushed her fingers along his cheekbone, underlining the cut. "Does it hurt?" Her fingers continued to trail down his jaw line, letting an errant finger pass over his smooth lips.

"I'm feeling better." He reached up and wrapped his hand around her wrist, removing her fingers from his skin.

"Sorry." Buffy mumbled under her breath, feeling embarrassed. It was so confusing to be right next to Angel and not be allowed to touch him. "So, uh, you wanna tell me why that kid wanted to bash your face in?"

Angel could tell Buffy was feeling uncomfortable, but he really wished she had chosen another topic. He sighed deeply and decided to tell her the truth. "He's… he's my child."

"Oh." Buffy got up off the couch and walked over to the counter. She started fiddling with some pens sitting in a can. "So I guess you're feeling pretty guilty, huh?"

Angel couldn't believe she was handling this so well. "Uh… yeah. I taught him every move he knows."

"Good thing you didn't teach him mine." She laughed a little and flashed her teeth at Angel in a smile.

"Yeah… I guess." Angel couldn't wrap his head around it, why wasn't she freaking out?

"So… how old is he? Like 100… 150? I mean, you did sire him when you were Angelus, right?" She lifted a pen up and started clicking it repeatedly. "Unless you sired him the last time you went evil, which would make him like—"

"Buffy, he's not a vampire." Angel cut her off, realizing what she had thought he meant.

Buffy stopped clicking the pen and returned her focus to Angel. "What?"

"He's human. He's my son."

"Your son? What… how? How is that even possible? He's like Dawn's age, so what, you just popped out a kid before you even met me?" Buffy started pacing back and forth, still waving the pen around and occasionally throwing her hands up to emphasize her words.

"No, he was just born last year. He grew up in a hell dimension." Angel sat up, separating his back from the cushion.

"A hell dimension? You let your son get sucked into a hell dimension even after everything that you know about them?" Buffy briefly stopped pacing as she glared at Angel incredulously.

"Okay, I didn't LET him. He was taken from me." Angel thought back to the events that made him lose Connor and he shut his eyes tightly, trying to block out the memories.

"So all that stuff about you not being able to have children, was that just a lie to shut me up? Some line to make yourself feel more justified when you dumped me?" Buffy hated herself for unleashing on Angel like this, but her heart was breaking at the thought of possibly having Angel's baby.

"No, Buffy, I would never lie to you like that. I don't even know how…" He sighed and let his head drop down into his hands. He lifted his face back up to look into Buffy's eyes. "It's complicated."

Buffy's features softened as she locked eyes with Angel. She stopped pacing and sat back down next to Angel. "I'm sorry. I had no right judging you like that. I'm just surprised, is all."

"It's okay. I sort of deserved it. I should've told you about Connor sooner." Angel leaned back against the couch again and turned to look at Buffy.

"Obviously you were busy. I understand." She averted her gaze from Angel as she started awkwardly playing with her fingers. "So… who's the mom?" A part of her really didn't want to know the answer, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"Darla." Angel said her name quietly, and Buffy could hear a trace of pain in his voice as he said it.

"Are you sure it's even your kid? This tramp could've just said you were the dad and you being the noble guy you are, bought it. 'Cause you know, Darla... that sounds like a pretty trampy name to… wait, Darla?" Buffy's eyes grew wide as she had flashbacks of a vampire girl named Darla. "Darla, the vampire? The one you killed six years ago?"

"Yeah." Angel felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that Buffy was most likely jealous. "Wolfram and Hart brought her back."

"Oh. So you just decided to bone up on your old history?" Buffy knew she sounded petty, but honestly didn't care.

"It wasn't like that. I was going through a… dark time. I just wanted to be able to—"

"Feel something?" Buffy knew that state of mind all too well.

Angel looked at her quizzically. "Exactly."

"I get it. I've felt the same way lately, and I've done some things I'm not very proud of." She held back the tears that threatened to fall. She was so ashamed of herself for being with Spike, and she was about to reveal to Angel what a monumental slut she had become.

"Buffy, what is it? Are you okay?" Angel laid a hand on the back of her neck and rubbed it softly in comfort.

"I wish I hadn't, but I've been—" Buffy was interrupted by the entrance of a petite brunette girl and a large, bald black man.

"Angel? Oh my god, I'm so glad you're okay!" Fred rushed up quickly to be by his side. "We were worried about you, what happened?"

"I'm fine, Fred." Angel smiled weakly, trying his best to look like he wasn't in any pain. He quickly removed his hand from Buffy's neck, hoping that Fred didn't notice.

"That's good. We just hadn't heard from you and… who's that?" Fred finally stopped her babbling and noticed Buffy's presence.

"This is Buffy." Angel shot a glance in Buffy's general direction.

Fred said something quietly under her breath that sounded vaguely like "The girl with the funny name." She then extended a hand to Buffy and grinned. "I'm Fred, and that's Gunn."

Buffy shook Fred's hand and looked over at Gunn, who just nodded in response.

"What brings you to L.A.? Are you and Angel back together? 'Cause I told everyone that it was strange that you loved each other and weren't—" Fred continued to ramble until Buffy cut her off.

"I'm just here to help Angel." Buffy tried her best to hide the slight blush that crept onto her cheeks when Fred mentioned her love for Angel.

Angel turned to face Buffy, confused on exactly what had made Buffy come here. "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"Willow. She, um, sent me here. She said you needed me and… oh my god. Willow." Fear flashed into her eyes as she remembered her best friend's darker side wreaking havoc on Sunnydale. "I, um… I have to go." She scrambled quickly off of the couch, leaving everyone very baffled by her sudden exit.

Angel was the first up to follow her. She still had his car keys, and if he wasn't mistaken, he was fairly certain she was about to drive his car back to Sunnydale. He walked out of the hotel to see her turning the keys in the lock, about to open the door. "Buffy! Buffy, come on, wait a second."
His vampire hearing kicked in as he heard a faint ticking noise coming from the car. He watched as Buffy opened up the door and a clicking noise resounded through the air.
"NO!" Angel tried to run up to her, but was met with a blast of hot air as the car blew up in a giant explosion. His mind screamed in horror as Buffy was catapulted backwards onto the pavement. "BUFFY!"

A/N: I dunno, I really wanted Buffy to blow up. I just thought it'd be neat. Lol man, why do I always end up writing fics at 1 in the morning? Yeah, so I realized I made it through an entire chapter with absolutely no mention of Cordelia… that was nice. Haha, she'll be in the next chapter for sure though. Review it and tell me if it's good… or tell me it's crap, just be nice about it :)