I hope you enjoyed Chapter One - I couldn't stop, so here you go. This is much more fun than writing essays.

They couldn't think of a way to tell Buffy. They'd finally left the bed when the growling from their stomachs was too much to ignore, then distracted themselves making pancakes – then got distracted from making the pancakes – but now the sink was piled high with dishes and pans and they were lying sated on the sofa, they began to accept the inevitable.

'She's going to hate me.' Said Jenny in a quiet voice, her head in Rupert's lap and their fingers intertwined.

Rupert brought her hand up to his face and kissed it. She smiled sadly up at him.

'I don't know how she'll take it.' He admitted truthfully. 'I was the one who – ah – delivered the final blow, so to speak. If she blames either of us, she should blame me.'

'Yeah, but you're not the failed protector of the ancient Kalderash curse. I should have stopped him. I didn't.'

'You did your best.' He said firmly. 'Buffy knows that. It just might take her a while to accept it.'

As she set upon the plates, scraping and scrubbing with a vengeance that scared him slightly, Rupert reached for the phone. He'd decided to invite them all over to tell them. This wasn't something that could be done by telephone. They owed Buffy that much.

And so, half an hour later, he was sitting nervously on the sofa waiting for them to arrive while Jenny changed into something less – ripped. His fingers drummed lightly on his leg while his foot tapped out an irregular rhythm. She'd forgive them. She had to forgive them. She had to.

The doorbell rang and he leapt up.

As he opened the door, he let out a silent prayer. Buffy, Willow and Xander stood there, each looking equally perplexed.

'On a Saturday, Giles? Really?' moaned Xander.

'Yeah, I was getting some quality shopping done. For slayer purposes, I mean.' Buffy added.

He removed his glasses and began polishing them with the corner of the faded college t-shirt Jenny had lent him.

'Why don't you all – uh – come in?' he murmured, ignoring the confused looks. He blinked twice, steeling himself.

Shutting the door behind them, he ushered them to the sofa.

'Uh, Giles?' Buffy said, perching herself on one of the arms. 'If this is Ms Calendar's place – and I still don't understand why we're here by the way – then where is Ms Calendar?'

'Just coming!' Jenny called from her room as she finished buttoning up the shirt she'd haphazardly thrown on. Ignoring Xander's snickering – and the blow to the arm he received from Buffy – she walked in and made a beeline for Rupert. He put his arm around her waist and they looked at each other nervously.

'What is it?' said Buffy. 'Please say there aren't going to be any baby Giles's running around soon. I don't think I can cope with more tweed.'

But it was Willow, previously silent, who noticed the glance the adults shared and then, as her eyes shifted, the marks around Jenny's neck.

'Ms Calendar – are you ok? Where are those bruises from?' she asked quietly, and Jenny took a deep breath in, closing her eyes.

'Buffy – we're so, so sorry. All of you, we're sorry.' She muttered. Rupert squeezed her side slightly.

'What is it?' the teenager asked, her joking tone entirely gone. 'What happened?'

Rupert took the helm. 'It was Angelus, Buffy. He – he came after Ms Calendar at the school last night. We think he, uh – well, we know he was trying to – trying to kill her.'

Willow let out a strangled gasp, clasping her hand to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. Xander looked murderous, his joking tone entirely gone. 'Where is he?' the boy muttered. 'We'll find him and kill him for this. I told you, I told all of you it just was a matter of time. Are you all right, Ms Calendar?' Jenny nodded slightly, and he smiled grimly.

But Rupert maintained eye contact with Buffy, whose face was frozen in realization. 'You won't have to do anything, Xander.' She intoned, unblinking. 'He's already dead. Isn't he?'

Rupert looked down, and Jenny, realising his strength was fading, took the helm.

'Yes, he is. I'm so sorry.'

'Don't be.' Xander said harshly. 'He deserved it.'

'Shut up Xander.' Willow muttered, shooting a quick glare at him and a worried look at Buffy, who was still immobile.

'How?' the Slayer said, still monotone. Jenny froze. 'I said, how?' she repeated, with no change in her voice.

'He was staked.' Jenny said simply, not wanting to mention Rupert's name in the same sentence.

But there was no point. Buffy could connect the dots as well as anyone there.

'He was about to kill you, so Giles staked him?'

Closing her eyes, Jenny nodded as Rupert took a deep breath next to her before looking up. Buffy's eyes were full of tears but they had turned to stone. Her face was frozen without a trace of sadness. Only anger was etched across her features, and it scared him more.

'I'm sorry.' He murmured.

'Don't be', came the flippant response, 'You only did what I didn't have the guts to do. Now you two can live happily ever after. Congratulations.'

And with that, Buffy grabbed the bag sitting by her ankles and got up to leave.

'Buffy –' he tried calling after her, but it was too late. With a rattle of its hinges, the door slammed. She was gone.

Willow and Xander left shortly after, and Jenny and Rupert were alone again. Unsure and on edge, he reverted to his default calming method and began to make tea. The process - choosing the blend, filling the strainer, rinsing the tea pot - was distracting, and for a minute he managed to forget. Jenny's upbringing travelling around Eastern Europe had given her some strange tea preferences, and he almost enjoyed himself for a moment smelling the many sachets dotted around the cupboards and guessing at their contents. But soon he was done and the kettle still refused to boil ('what do Americans have against electric kettles?' he muttered darkly at it). As he waited, the clouds began to fill his head again. He was standing with his arms tense on the sideboard, waiting for the eventual whistle when he felt her come up behind him. Jenny slipped her hands around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

'You did what you had to.' She said quietly.

'But Buffy loved him. Still loves him. She might never forgive me for this.'

'She loved Angel, not Angelus. She knows you had no choice.'

He nodded minutely. 'I saw red, Jenny. Maybe there was something else I could have done, something that would have spared him until you could restore his soul but I - I saw him with his hands around your neck and I snapped. I thought I'd lose you.'

Jenny smiled sadly. 'I could feel his hands tensing, ready to - well, ready. He was about to kill me, Rupert. There was nothing else you could have done, and even if he had got out alive, where would he have gone next? If it hasn't been me, someone would have died last night. You didn't even know I was planning to restore his soul. I don't even know if it was possible. You did what you had to.'

He nodded, and she hoped he believed her. Turning around, he gently cupped her face in his hands and she stared into his eyes. They were turbulent, angry and sad - but they were clear, and she knew he was beginning to accept what he'd done. His green eyes roamed around her face hungrily, as if trying to capture every detail for posterity. She saw something burning behind the clear green and the intensity of it made her blush. Honestly, if he could do this to her with eye contact...

Rupert stared back at her, still amazed beyond belief that they were both here. That they were both alive. That they were both in love. His eyes took in the ring around her neck, now fading to a mottled green, and the distinctive thumb prints over her jugular. She was biting her lip as she gazed at him, and even that small action made him want to wrap her in cotton wool, away from any danger (while simultaneously enacting some of his more - vivid - fantasies. She really brought out his normally very well hidden side). Moving up, his eyes met hers and he noted with some amusement that she blushed slightly. Her eyes were like chocolate, but bright and sparkling. There was comfort, and hope, and strength in them. He moved closer, wanting to drown in them if he could, but before they knew what was happening the kettle was finally boiling. He laughed softly under his breath, and moved slightly to remove it.

Jenny had different ideas. Raising an eyebrow, she moved her arms slowly up his sides and drew him towards her.

'Tea can wait' she muttered, before tilting her head up and gently sliding her hands around the back of his head. Smiling, he leaned down and kissed her. The fire burnt, and he lost himself for a moment.

After an eternity he felt the kettle jumping off the hob, and he reluctantly broke their kiss to move it. That done, he turned back and gazed at her again.

'I love you, Jenny Calendar.' He said softly.

She smiled, eyes shining. 'And I love you, Rupert Giles. All of you, no exceptions. Always.'

It was three hours later, and no one had seen Buffy. Rupert had called Joyce, wanting to make sure she was alright, but she told him Buffy was at Willow's. He'd given some excuse about a history test, and she hasn't seemed to question it. He wondered if anyone in this town believed he was a librarian. Naturally, when that proved a dead end he called Willow, who hasn't seen or heard from Buffy since she left Jenny's that morning. He wouldn't have worried normally - she was a slayer, she was probably slaying as stress relief - but something about the look in her eyes when she left had unnerved him. He was busy pacing post the sofa for the hundredth time when Jenny looked up from her computer at him, sighing.

'Rupert, you need to get out of here. Go look for her, I'll come too if you want. Just do something to put your mind at rest. She's not hiding under the carpet, you won't find her by wearing it out.'

He nodded. 'But Jenny, what if she doesn't want to be found?'

'She probably doesn't, or she would have told you where she was going. But you'll go mad worrying about her.' He nodded again and reached for his car keys when there was a knock at the door. They looked at each other, and Jenny moved across the room to answer it. Grabbing a stake from its place by the door, she opened it. Buffy stood in front of them.

Relief washed over him, and he saw Jenny's shoulders lower as well. But that relief was tempered with what he heard next.

'You shouldn't have killed him.' Her voice was acidic, sharp as steel. Her face was stone.

'Buffy, I-'

'There must have been something else you could have done, anything that would have stopped him, but you didn't have to kill him. How could you do that to him? To Me? He was the love of my life!'

'I'm sorry Buffy. I know you must be angry, and I understand, but –'

'Tell me what happened.' She continued, just as cold as before.

He froze. 'Buffy, I - I -'

'I know he wasn't the man I loved anymore, but I can't stop picturing it and I need to know. Please', She said, voice finally breaking, 'please tell me.'

He nodded resignedly.

'You should sit down.'

Buffy opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. She carefully sat on the plush armchair as he moved to the sofa. She'd changed into her dungarees. That was a bad sign.

Jenny, still observing from the door, came over to sit by him. She reached for his hands, and taking a deep breath he begun.

'Jenny was working late at school,' - He looked at her for a second then, and they silently agreed not to tell Buffy about the curse - 'and we were going to meet up to talk things through, when I - for some reason - decided to go back. It was an impulse I'm glad I followed. When I got there, the computer room was on fire.'

Jenny took over. 'Angelus had set my computer on fire. I managed to get out the room, but he was chasing me all around the school. I knew I couldn't escape, but I thought I'd make it difficult for him anyway. I was getting tired though, and he kept getting closer. Then I heard Rupert.'

Her voice broke softly, and his heart ached. 'I ran towards him, but Angelus caught me. He lifted me off the ground and he had his hands around my neck.' She saw Buffy's eyes flit quickly to the necklace of angry bruises and she nodded. 'He was about to - about to - kill me.' She stopped, her breathing becoming rapid as she remembered the feeling of his fingers grasping and her throat closing. As she fought for control, Rupert rubbed her back gently, calming her. As he did, he spoke.

'I came round the corner and saw him holding Jenny. Buffy, I snapped. I grabbed my backup stake, and I - I killed him. He went quickly.'

'You didn't.' She muttered, looking down

'What?' He said, panicked a vampire hell bent on vengeance was coming for them.

'Technically speaking. He was already dead.'

'Oh, well, yes - of course.'

She looked at them, and he saw the tears begging to fall. Still stony eyed, she asked 'Why you? Why did he go after you?'

Jenny flinched. 'He was trying to - send a message. He went into Rupert's flat and he - left things. Flowers, music. We think he was trying to stage - something. I - my body- was going to be the centrepiece.'

Buffy nodded. 'Can I see it?'

The drive there passed in a dead silence. Jenny was barely keeping control of her breathing as they got closer, and Rupert did his best to calm her by stroking her hands, but it proved difficult while driving. Buffy sat on the back, saying nothing.

Finally they got there, and as they left the car he turned to Jenny.

'Darling, you don't need to come in. You can wait here, I'll clear as much as I can. Please don't feel you have to be there.'

'I think I do, Rupert.' She replied. 'I think I need to know it's over as much as Buffy needs to know what happened.'

He unlocked the door and stepped in. Everything was as it had been the night before, down to the champagne bottle smashed on the floor where he'd dropped it in horror. The roses exuded their cloying perfume, and he realised at that point he would never be able to enjoy them again.

He'd been planning this for her. She would have been the grand finale. Jenny looked around the room, taking in the record player set up with what looked like La Boheme - her favourite, somehow he must have known that – then the broken roses and the cursive similar to her own with the simple word 'Upstairs'. Reeling, she clutched the sofa, holding herself up. Rupert, anxiously watching her, moved towards her when they heard Buffy retch.

'Oh God' muttered the slayer, running to the door and unceremoniously heaving outside. Rupert moved to go to her, then stopped, turning and looking at Jenny. Her knuckles were white on the sofa as she gave him a strained smile and nodded.

'I'll manage. Make sure Buffy's ok.'

He nodded tightly and went to the slayer.

Jenny watched as he tentatively knelt down next to the prone teenager and reached over, grasping her shoulder. She heard Buffy sob as she turned to him, burying her head in his chest. Rupert held her tightly, saying nothing but rubbing her back as she wailed. She couldn't make out Buffy's face, hidden in the t-shirt, but she could see Rupert and he looked devastated. No father could have felt more for her, she was sure. He was in agony just as she was. Jenny turned away, unable to watch. After a few minutes she heard a muffled whisper broken by a sob and turned around. Buffy was standing, Rupert holding her by the shoulders. The teenager sniffed, and tried again.

'I'm so sorry Ms Calendar. I should have stopped him sooner. This is so – so grim. So cold. So calculated. It wasn't Angel. It can't have been him. He couldn't have done this.'

Jenny shook her head quickly, her heart aching for the girl.

'No, I'm sorry Buffy. I should have told you about the curse sooner, then none of this would've happened in the first place. Whatever he was at the end, that wasn't how you knew him. Don't remember him like this.' She knew, as well as Giles did, that Angelus and Angel were one and the same. However unpalatable the idea, it was sadly also undeniable. The soul made a difference, certainly, but the mind that created this tableau of horror was the same that professed eternal love to the teenager. But if Buffy needed to believe – or pretend, she wasn't sure – that they were entirely different, she wouldn't say anything. Looking at Rupert, she saw he felt the same by the small smile he gave her.

Buffy nodded, sniffing again. 'I just can't believe it. I don't know when it'll feel real.'

'It takes time.' Rupert said softly, cleaning his glasses.

'He's really gone.' The slayer said, and it wasn't a question. Jenny realised where the girl had been for the last few hours. No wonder she hasn't wanted then to find her.

Buffy shook her head. 'I think I need to get home. Mom thinks I'm studying at Willow's.'

Giles nodded. 'Yes, I know. So does Willow.'

She nodded, frowning, and got up to go.

'Giles –'she started, and he looked up.

'Yes?'

'I do understand. I can't forgive you yet, but I do understand, and I will. Just give me time.'

He nodded slowly, and she left.

Jenny walked over to him and put a hand on his arm. His head was bowed, and she realised he was crying.

'She will forgive you, Rupert. I can see it in her eyes.'

Sighing, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. 'If I'd lost you, I'm not sure I'd ever have recovered.' He confessed. 'I'd have hunted him down, gone after him myself. I can't -' He stopped, and she felt a single tear land on her cheek. Hers or his, she didn't know. It didn't matter.

'I know.' She said simply. 'Me neither.'

They cleared the house together, dumping the roses in a bin liner and throwing the note in too for good measure. Every so often Jenny spotted him wiping away a tear, and she felt herself doing the same. They opened the windows to clear the cloying scent and changed the sheets on the bed, throwing away the ones Angelus had used for his tableau. He tried to throw away the record, but she stopped him.

'It's a good version. One day, maybe.' So instead he slid it back onto the shelves and took the bag round to the front, leaving it on the kerb. His house was clean again, and Jenny stood, alive and well in the middle of it. All was well for now.