"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Angel asked quietly, looking over at Buffy. She stared out the windshield at the house across the street. Her house.

"Not really," she sighed. "I'm trying to run different scenarios through my head and so far I'm not liking any of them."

He reached over and took her hand. She marveled at how warm it was. "It's going to be okay. Together, remember?"

She smiled. "All three of us." Her hand rested on her still-flat stomach. In fact, it would be months before she started to show. "Let's get this over with." She climbed out of Angel's convertible and circled around the car to his side. When he didn't immediately start walking across the street, she looked up quizzically. "What is it?"

"You," he said softly, reaching up to touch her hair. "In the sunlight. You…you're glowing."

She smiled and took his hand. "That would be because of you," she informed him.

Rather than barge in on whatever her mother was doing, Buffy knocked on the front door and waited. After a moment, Joyce Summers opened it and looked first at Buffy, and then at the man beside her.

Joyce sighed and seemed to deflate slightly. "Okay, I give up," she said wearily. "First you say he's your history tutor, then your boyfriend. He's good, bad, and good again. What is he now?"

"Human," Buffy said simply. "Can we come in?"

Joyce blinked several times. "Oh, my god. Sunlight. You—you can't be in sunlight. What's going on?"

"We'll explain everything," Angel promised. "Can we come in?"

Buffy's mother stepped aside. "Oh, yes, of course. Can I—uh—get you anything? I have lemonade, and tea—"

"Lemonade would be great," Angel said, his voice and demeanor calm. "Thank you, Joyce."

When the older woman retreated to the kitchen, Buffy and Angel seated themselves on the couch. Angel took Buffy's hand and pulled it into his lap, tracing designs over her palm and wrist. Joyce returned and handed them each a tumbler full of lemonade. Buffy watched Angel closely as he took his first sip. He made a face. "Wow. That's sour."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I guess I didn't put enough sugar in it," Joyce began, looking extremely agitated. Angel hurried to assure her.

"No, no, it's okay. It's just that—well, I've never really tasted lemonade before."

"And this has to do with you being in the sunlight," Joyce said hesitantly.

"Angel's human, now," Buffy spoke up, unable to hold it in anymore. "His blood mixed with a Mohra demon's and he's mortal again."

Joyce's mouth dropped open and she stared at the former vampire. "I-is that t-true?" she stammered. "Is that even p-possible?"

Angel got to his feet and walked over to the chair Mrs. Summers had collapsed into. "May I?" he asked gently. She continued to stare at him, so he took her hand and placed it on his chest over his heart. Her eyes widened as she felt his pulse: undeniable proof he was alive.

"I-I don't know what to say." She shook her head. "When did this happen?"

"Last week," Angel replied, returning to the couch. "Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. It was a shock for me, too."

Joyce massaged her temples. "So…I guess this means you two are getting back together?" she asked after a long silence. Buffy and Angel exchanged a look.

"Mom," Buffy began quietly. "Things are different now. Angel's human. He-he's safe. It's okay for us to be together." Her mouth twisted wryly. "He's also not going to outlive me by several centuries."

Joyce stood abruptly, her hands flapping. "I-I, uh, have to go. Have to be at the gallery. I'll see you later, okay? Dinner? Yes, dinner's fine." She grabbed her purse and fled out the door, leaving Angel and Buffy staring after her.

"That…went well," Angel finally ventured. Buffy snorted and put her head in her hands.

"Just wait until we tell Giles and the others," she said. Angel winced.

*****

The door to Giles' house was open and Buffy walked in. Willow and Oz were on the couch in each other's arms, looking very content. Xander and Anya were doing something in the kitchen, either making out or making tea—Buffy couldn't tell. Giles sat at his desk, glasses dangling from one hand as he read from a dusty old book.

"Oh, hey Buff," Willow greeted. "When did you get back?"

"This afternoon," Buffy replied, not moving to sit down.

"How was your visit with your dad?" Oz asked politely.

"Uneventful," Buffy said with a note of gratitude. Her relationship with her father was becoming more and more strained, due not in the least to the fact she viewed Giles more as a father than her own flesh and blood.

She looked down at her hands, twisted together and white-knuckled. She and Angel had decided it would be best if he wasn't here for this, but she ached at being apart from him. "There's something…" she began before trailing off. "Giles, something happened in LA."

He put on his glasses and focused his attention immediately on her. "Were you hurt?" he asked, examining her closely.

"No," Buffy said quickly. "I'm fine. It's just—I saw Angel," she said finally. Then a flash of anger gave her confidence. "Why didn't you tell me he was in Sunnydale?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "Don't you think I had the right to know?"

Giles sighed and whipped his glasses off again, cleaning them on his shirt. "He asked me not to tell you," he said, aware of how lame it sounded. "And—and I thought he was correct. It would only have hurt you to know he was in town."

Buffy crossed her arms. "Not that it matters anymore," she muttered. "While I was at his office, we were attacked by a Mohra demon," she continued. Giles' face lit up.

"Really? How extraordinary! What was it like? What do you remember?"

"Green, ninja, big sword," Buffy replied sarcastically. "Angel fought it and his blood mixed with the Mohra's."

Giles blinked at her. "I'm assuming there is some significance to that fact?" he said hesitantly.

Buffy nodded. "Apparently mixing your blood with the blood of a Mohra demon's is the cure for vampirism," she said flatly. Her words fell like iron weights on the dead-silent room.

"What?" It was Xander who finally broke the tension. "What do you mean, cure?"

"I mean, Angel's human again," Buffy said softly. Giles slowly got to his feet.

"That's impossible," he said. Buffy turned the full force of her stare at Giles until the former Watcher had to turn away. "I mean, th-that's incredible. I've never heard—there's no precedent."

"It's true," Buffy insisted. "He's been in the sunlight, and…and his heart beats again."

Willow got up and walked over to Buffy. "Buffy, that's amazing," she said, giving Buffy her sweetest smile. "I'm so happy for you." She hugged her friend tightly before pulling away. "I mean, I'm supposed to be happy, right? This is a good thing?"

Buffy returned Willow's smile. "Yeah, Will. It really is."

"Is Angel the vampire who had sex with Buffy and then went all psycho?" Anya asked, blunt as always.

"One and the same," Xander said grimly. "Buffy, you know how I feel about Angel and—"

"And it's too bad," Buffy snapped. "Angel's human, he's moving back to Sunnydale, and we're going to be together. Get over it, Xander. I've had enough of your passive aggressiveness towards him! I love him more than anything in this world. So if you try to force me into a choice, don't think for a second I won't choose him!" So saying, she turned and fled the house, leaving behind five very shocked people.

After a moment of silence, Oz turned to look at Xander. "Nice going," he said.