Disclaimer and stuff in the first part.

The Night Remembers - Part 2
By Jill


The next Day.


"Come one," Buffy grinned at Angel, sweat running down her face. The vampire was
grinning as well, enjoying the fact that he was able to be so close to her and
forgetting all the problems surrounding them for a moment. There was only Buffy
and a relaxing training session. Something he'd missed for what seemed like an
eternity.

Giles sat on a chair and watched their first sparring-session in Buffy's
basement.

"What do you mean, come on?," Angel shot back. "It's you who's sweating all over
the mattress."

"Smart ass," she retorted. "I've got circulation after all." Slowly circling him, she couldn't help the feeling of happiness that had settled inside of her. This, training with the dark-haired vampire, seemed so natural, like something she'd done countless times before. And she probably had, too bad she couldn't remember.

A little sigh escaped her throat that had him looking up, "Tired already?," he
asked, smirking.

"In your dreams," she returned, her leg shooting up the same moment, but Angel
had guessed her move and side-stepped the kick.

"Really slayer, you've been better," came a well known voice from the door. Spike strolled into the room. He was a little bit pissed that his darned grand-sire seemed to blend in so easily. After all the crawling Spike had done to get into the slayer's good graces, one bloody memory loss had destroyed all his chances. Not that he had any, not then, and certainly not now. The little blond had never really accepted him. Maybe she had tolerated him in the end, even trusted him with Dawn, but that was all she had been ready to give. Too deep rooted was her belief that only a soul was capable of love.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Save your comments chip-boy," she said without looking at
him.

"No insults here," he replied and found a chair beside Giles.

"Maybe you want to take my place for a while," Angel teased slightly, while
ducking another blow.

"Oh yeah," Buffy's face lit up. "That'll be fun. You'd be my own personal
punching-bag."

"Very funny," the blond vampire grumbled and reached for a cigarette in his
pocket. Catching the stern look of the watcher, he grinned and deliberately lit
his smoke, blowing the soft, grey cloud into the watcher's direction. He wasn't
allowed to make any remarks about the Slayer or the Poof, but one way or another
a man had to have his fun. Or a vampire for that matter.

There had been times when he had hated the chip, when he had cursed it, but at
the moment he was ready to kill. It should be him there, training with Buffy, not his bloody grand-sire who'd left her. Suddenly he felt a headache starting around the implant. **Not the smartest move to think about killing.**

"Ouch," Buffy yelled when Angel's foot suddenly connected with her stomach, but
she recovered instantly. "Be aware," she threatened. "Punishment is on its way."

"Promises, promises," the vampire grinned again, yet side-stepping another
attempt of hers to kick him.

Buffy was amazed by her opponent's flawless movements and silently she was admiring the way his body twisted and turned, his muscles rippled over his torso. His upper body was bare and like a sculpture in the pale light of the basement. This was their first meeting after yesterday, when he and Cordelia had arrived from L.A. They hadn't talked a lot. Soon after their arrival the vampire and his friend had said goodbye and disappeared to a place the others had called "The Mansion." She had made a mental note to find out where it was.

"Buffy you need to concentrate," Giles scolded gently.

"I am concentrated," she replied and grimaced when she just barely avoided a blow from the vampire. Somehow she had a feeling she'd been better in this or maybe he'd improved?

**God, I want to remember.**

"She's doing great," she heard Angel say and her heart did another flip-flop. "We didn't train together for a long time," he straightened and looked at Giles. "And I had lots of opportunities to improve my skills."

"Yes," Giles nodded and stood. "I could see that. You've become quite an expert
in hand to hand combat, Angel."

"Just shoot me," Spike snorted, threw his smoke to the ground and stomped on it.
"And anyway, this is just boring. I came down to see some real action, but you
two are barely touching each other." **No need to listen to this.**

"Gee, thanks," Buffy shot back, rubbing a spot at her shoulder where she could
feel a bruise coming up. "Sorry, that we can't supply you with some blood-shed."

"Yeah, yeah," Spike made a dismissive gesture with his hand, turned and walked
out of the door, "but with all the love in the air," he shrugged, "what could one expect."

The slayer's head snapped around, her suddenly irritated gaze resting on Angel,
then she turned towards Giles. "Love in the air? What is he talking about?"

"Nothing," the watcher said quickly, silently discussing if he might just stake
Spike after all. It could be quite satisfying after all the insults the vampire
had inflicted on him. "Angel is right," he tried to change the subject instead,
dismissing this foolish urge. "You weren't that bad."

"Fine," she didn't pay attention, because she was too busy looking at Angel, who
was trying to look anywhere but at her. His private thoughts weren't that far
away from the watcher's. Plus the fact that the woman of his dreams was standing
right before him, her sweat-covered body shining in the lamp-light. This moment
he was grateful for each of his almost 250 years and the self-control he'd gained over the centuries. **Oh, man.**

**Jackpot. There was more between us than just friendship,** she thought, then
instantly scolded herself. **Buffy Summers, what are you thinking. He is a
vampire.** **Yes, and so what?**, the other voice in her head argued. **He's
yummy, who cares that he's theoretically dead.**

"I'd like to have you both sparring at least once each day," Giles voice
interrupted her thoughts.

"No problem," Angel agreed quickly. "It's good for both of us."

"Good," the watcher gave him a nod, then turned towards his slayer. "Buffy." When she didn't react, he repeated, "Buffy."

"Yeah." **I wonder if a dead body reacts the same way a living one does? Stop it, Buffy. You're a bad girl. And anyway. You can't even remember how a male body reacts.** Trying to cover the heat rising in her cheeks, she gave Giles an
innocent look.

Finally he had her attention. "I want you to patrol with Angel tonight," he told
her. "You both did that a lot. And although your skills have improved since then, he's still familiar with the way you fight. And with the sparring you should become a good team in no time."

"Patrol, huh?," she glanced at both men, then finally her eyes rested on the
vampire. "It's actually the first time, he's allowed me to go with anybody but
him," she said. "He seems to have an awful lot of trust in you."

Angel just shrugged at that and turned to get a towel for her. Throwing it into
her direction, he grabbed himself a bottle of water and took a large gulp. It
wasn't that he'd lost any fluids, after all he didn't sweat, but somehow he
needed it. Maybe just copying human behaviour. He shrugged inwardly, "Patrol
then," he nodded at Giles, then grinned at Buffy. "Take a shower. I'll see you in half an hour." With this he left the basement.

****

To Angel's great relief nobody was present when he returned to the living-room
and with a sigh he let his body fall on the sofa at the window. It was already
dark outside, a typical Californian night with bright stars shining down, the sky cloudless.

So he would go on patrol with Buffy. A part of him was looking forward to it. It
would be like falling back into old patterns. There were so many memories of
meetings in graveyards, fighting together, the kisses they'd shared at a time
when there had still been something like innocence between them. **It's been
years only, but it almost feels like another life.**

The other part of him - the larger part - was dreading the next days. He would be with her, time and time again. They would spend hours together, spar together, laugh and fight together. His heart ached at the images involuntarily flooding his mind. But this would end. As soon as Buffy was fit enough to do it on her own again, his task was finished and he would go back to L.A. and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to do it. If he'd be able to leave her again.

Closing his eyes for a moment, trying to push all the heavy thoughts in the back
of his mind, he sighed. Not to forget about the fact that she knew nothing about
him. Everything that had happened between them was lost to her. Maybe it was for
the best, Angel thought. There was so much pain, so much hurt, but the vampire
also remembered the bitter-sweet hours, the ecstasy, the love they'd shared.
Given a choice Angel would gladly accept the pain if he could keep the other
memories as well.

"Hi."

The soft voice had him opening his eyes and a smile spread across his features
when he saw Dawn standing in the doorway looking at him a bit hesitantly. "Hi
back," he said and motioned her to come in. "How are you?"

"Glad that you're back," she said instantly and then sat down beside him. Angel
put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. With a little sigh she laid her head against his chest. "I've missed you," she admitted.

"I've missed you too."

She slightly pulled back and looked up at him, "Really?," she asked with a little voice.

"Really," he replied honestly and their eyes met.

Dawn studied him for a moment, then smiled for the first time and put her head
back on his chest. "How was your first sparring?"

"Good," he said running his hand up and down her arm. "She's not as good as she
was, but she'll be alright in no time."

"You mean the Slayer will be alright." It wasn't really a question.

"When did you get so wise?," there was a smile in his voice.

"When your mother and sister die within some months, shortly after you've
realised you aren't even real," she laughed unhappily, "Tends to make you grow up fast."

"Oh Dawn," he pulled her even closer. "You feel real to me. Buffy told me all
about you, but that doesn't change all the memories I have of you. For me you are her younger sister and I'm your friend."

There was a silence after his last statement. Then Dawn asked, "Do you think
she'll ever be Buffy again? I mean, the Buffy we know."

"I have no idea," he replied honestly. "Nobody knows. And maybe," he paused for a moment, then continued against everything he believed, "maybe it's for the best. She had a lot to go through. This way she might be happier..."

"That's bullshit, Angel," she pulled back completely and sat straight up beside
him, nailing him with her angry gaze. "It's her life, she is missing. Granted, it wasn't all fireworks, but it's her life nonetheless. I wouldn't want to wake up with all my memories gone. Asking me all the time, how it might have been. No, Angel. It's not for the best," she said firmly.

He reached out and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You miss her,
don't you?"

"Yeah," she nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. "First you left. I know you
left Buffy, but somehow you left me too. You were like a big brother for me. Then mom dies and then Buffy. Not to forget about Dad," she said with a snort. "Sure, Buffy is back, but somehow she isn't. I feel so alone," she admitted, suppressing a sob. Then after another short pause, "Are you going to stay?"

"As long as you need me," he replied. "Not forever though. There's still the
curse and ..., " he shrugged, "Even if she will remember. It doesn't change what
I am or what she is. She might be the Slayer, but she is also human. And she
should have a human boyfriend."

Dawn watched him again with those big blue eyes, swimming in unshed tears, then
snuggled back to his side. "She never loved him, you know."

"What?," he asked confused.

"Riley," she clarified. "In the end he left her too. They were shagging a lot,
but he never had her heart."

"Don't really need that piece of information," Angel muttered under his breath,
but said loudly, "Shagging? Bullshit? Dawn, where do you get those expressions?"

She smiled happily, loving him going into big-brother-mode. It made her feel safe
and protected. "You can't guess?," she looked up, grinning.

"I have a vague idea," he replied, rolling his eyes. "It seems I haven't quite
done my job when teaching Spike. You really shouldn't use words like that.
Jesus, Dawn, you're under-aged. You shouldn't even think about those things."

"Oh Angel," she laughed - this time it was genuine. "And besides. When you and
Buffy ...," she grinned, "you know. I think she wasn't quite 18 either, right?"

The vampire tried to give her a stern look at that, but soon he laughed with her.

End of part 3.

Hope you still like it! Tell me what you think!!!