Hey everyone,
thanks so much for the feedback. Thanks for liking it so far. Enjoy the next
part.



Love's Gift - Part 4
By Jill


It was after midnight when suddenly a loud yawn sounded through the
library. Startled by the noise everyone looked up to see Willow blush,
then laugh slightly in embarrassment. "Sorry," she said biting her
lower lip.

"Good God," Giles smiled at her. "There's no reason to apologize."

"He's right," Buffy agreed instantly. "You're all sitting here for hours
just to help," her eyes shifted to Angel, then back at her friends, "us."

"Hey, that's what friends are for," Xander spoke up, trying to apologize
that way for his earlier slip. "Besides. There's really nothing going
on tomorrow but school. And who needs that anyway."

"Mom!" The Slayer jumped up, her eyes wide in panic. "Oh God. Mom's
supposed to get back from her art exhibition in New York tonight.
She's going to freak if I'm not there." She looked at the clock, sighed,
"I'm SO grounded."

"Maybe I could come with you, explain," Giles offered.

"And say what?," she shot back. "Sorry your under-aged daughter missed
curfew time, but she's the Slayer, who just got her vampire boyfriend
back, with whom she had sex. Afterwards he got his soul back, which he
lost in the first place because they had sex before on her 17th birthday?
I don't think so."

The watcher frowned, then sighed in defeat. "Point taken."

"But what am I going to do?," she asked nobody in particular. "I cannot
be grounded at the moment. I simply can't."

"But you're going to be, young lady. And for a very long time."

Buffy gasped in shock and eight pairs of startled eyes turned to look
at Joyce Summers standing in the doorway.

"Mom." The Slayer's voice was pure panic. "What are you doing here?
It's past midnight."

"Oh?," Joyce raised a brow, "Well, let me think," she said sarcastically.
"I come home around ten only to find my daughter gone with absolutely no
cue where she might be. I call Mrs. Rosenberg, and she tells me Willow
isn't home either. Then I remembered Mr. Giles, and thought he might know.
So here I am. And I really have to say, Mr. Giles, that I think it's
irresponsible of you to call teenagers in for some tutoring at this time
of the night without giving any note to the parents."

Buffy's eyes widened, "Tutoring?," she asked, staring at her mother
dumbfounded.

"Yes, Buffy," Willow looked at her urgently. "We were learning together.
You know, history."

"Ah, yes, tutoring," the blond gave her friend a grateful gaze, "We were
doing ... history, you know. You know how I flunk in history, and so I
thought-"

"Yes, I know all about history," her mother sighed, stepped fully into
the library, joining the group at the table. When her eyes fell on Angel,
who was the only one standing beside Buffy, she frowned, "We met before,
haven't we?"

"We have," Angel replied, "About a year ago, in your house."

"Ah, yes," she nodded, her eyes narrowing instantly. "And what are you
doing here? I thought Mr. Giles was tutoring-"

"Yes, yes, I am," the watcher jumped up, too, walked over to her, "But
Angel ... uh ... his knowledge about history is stunning."

"Yeah," Xander cut in, "almost as if he's lived through it himself."

"That's true," Willow was quick to agree. "He knows things ... stuff ... you
wouldn't believe. He's really smart."

"It's awesome," Oz agreed as well.

Cordelia just rolled her eyes.

"I ...," Mrs. Summers looked around. "Are you a teacher, too?," she asked
finally looking at Jenny.

"Yes, I am," Miss Calender got up, "I'm the computer teacher. I'm here
to explain how to use the computer for research," she told the older
woman with a complete straight face, and for a moment Giles was painfully
reminded of her betrayal.

"I see," Joyce nodded, still not completely convinced, but the fact
that two - she glanced at Angel, three adults were present, somewhat
mollified her. Still, she remembered the way Buffy had looked at Angel
a year ago. And the guy was far too old for her daughter. "But it's still
too late. You've got school tomorrow, Buffy. And although I'm willing to
acknowledge the efforts you're taking for school, a certain amount of
sleep is important, too."

"Of course," Buffy nodded eagerly, and, glad her mother had bought the
lie, collected her stuff from the table. "I'm ready."

"Fine," Joyce looked around, "Good night everybody."

Good nights from everyone were the response. She turned and behind her
back Buffy quickly kissed Angel on the cheek then followed her mother.

*

"Dru, baby, you need to eat."

"No."

"But you need to eat. You can't go on like this. You'll lose your
strength."

"No."

Spike rolled his eyes. He usually loved her stubborn streak, but at
the moment, it was more than he could handle. And all because Angel hadn't
shown up for two days. Damn him. He swore inwardly. Damn him to hell.
Angel had turned Dru's world upside down and now Spike was left to pick
up the pieces.

"Boss."

He whirled around in his wheelchair, raised a brow at Lucius. "What?"

"I brought the food." He pointed over his shoulder, towards a young
man, bound and gagged, his eyes wide in horror. Spike could smell his
scent through the whole factory, and it made his belly grumble in
anticipation.

He nodded at his minion, then turned back to his lover. "Dru, baby.
Lucius brought the food," he said gently, rolling over to her, touching
her shoulder. She was lying curled like a ball on the ground, staring
into space. He knew her mind was far away where he couldn't reach her,
and he hated it.

She froze at his touch, her shoulders tensed. "Angel," she whispered.

"God, I hate the bugger," Spike gritted out between clenched teeth. He
had to find out what was going on. And soon. Tonight for the first time
since his accident he'd felt a slight stirring in his legs. He hoped it
meant what he thought it did. As soon as he was on his feet again, things
would change around here.

He gave his lover a last glance, sighed. She had to end some time, but
there was no acute danger. She was strong and healthy now that he had
performed the ritual with Angel, and she could go for a few days without
blood. He would find a way to bring her back into the real world. And
together they would rule this miserable town.

With a determined motion he whirled the chair back to Lucius. "Bring me
the boy," he ordered. "I'm suddenly ravenous."

*

They were leaving the library, and Angel had already walked a short
distance when Jenny's voice stopped him. "Angel?"

He turned, saw her standing beside her car, her fingers entwined,
playing with each other, her expression uncertain. Trying to ease her
tension, he smiled, "Yes?"

"Can I ... uh ... could I give you a lift?" She nodded pointedly at her
car, bit her lower lip.

Of course she knew he didn't need a car. As a vampire, if he wanted,
he could be almost as fast on foot, but he felt there was more to her
offer. "That'd be nice," he replied, walking towards her.

He saw a fleeting smile cross her tense features, before she climbed into
her car and he did the same.

Sitting side by side the tension was almost palpable and after a moment,
Jenny turned on the ignition, started the car, and pulled it out of the
school parking space. Clearing her throat, she said, "I ... uh ... don't
know where you live. I might need directions."

He looked at her profile, her eyes directed on the street, he could see
a muscle in her jaw jumping. "Just drive on, I'll show you. It's not far."

More tense, silent moments went by before she suddenly blurted out,
"I'm sorry." She shot him a short glance, tried to give him an apologetic
smile. Failing, she bit her lower lip instead. Misery was written all over
her face.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," he said softly, not taking his eyes
from her. "Whatever your people did to me, believe me, I deserved it."

Stubbornly she shook her head, "No. That's not true. Your demon did
all those things. You ... your soul wasn't even there."

"But I was responsible it happened in the first place. If I had turned
Darla down-"

She cut him off in mid sentence, anger replacing guilt, "You were young,
for God's sake. Okay, not that young, but young. You can't tell me you
had any idea what it meant to be a vampire. You couldn't know what
would happen."

"No, I didn't," he confirmed. "But it's a fact I agreed. She asked me if
I wanted to see the world. And I wanted it. I didn't ask. I didn't care
what it meant. All I wanted was to escape. The funny part is, I don't even
remember what I wanted to escape from." He paused for a moment, considered
his words, then added, "Besides. I can't be angry. All that happened
brought me to her. To Buffy. Without the curse ... we wouldn't have met.
Or maybe we would have and tried to kill each other."

Jenny smiled slightly, then sighed, "We'll probably never agree on this.
And I can see the part about Buffy. But you have to admit that creating
a curse like yours is irresponsible. It's one thing to curse you with a
soul, as cruel as it might be. But to create a curse that can be
broken ...," she trailed off, shook her head.

"They probably didn't think it was possible someone could ever love a
monster," he mused.

"You're not a monster," she protested. "And don't even try to tell me
otherwise. Angel, when I came to Sunnydale I expected ... I don't even
know what I expected. But certainly not a man who cared for others, who
risked his life to help the Slayer, to help mankind. There is a demon
inside of you, but it isn't responsible for your actions. Your soul is.
We all have seen you without it, and I think none of us will ever mix
you two up again."

He had to chuckle, "Probably." Suddenly he frowned, "I ... uh ... am
glad you translated the curse. To help, you know."

"It's the least I could do."

"Still, I'm glad you did. And I'm glad I didn't know ... you know ...
before I got my soul back."

She shot him a puzzled glance, "Why?"

He laughed, but it was without any humor, "My demon doesn't take those
things well. I have no idea what he might have done if ...," he trailed
off, not willing to go into the depth of things, and Jenny realised he
was afraid to ponder the possibilities.

She felt a cold shiver run down her spine. "Oh," was all she said.

"You have to turn right the next corner," Angel's voice pulled her from
her scary thoughts.

"Oh. Right."

"It's the fourth house. There," he pointed at a large apartment
building. "I persuaded the owner to let me have the basement."

She laughed slightly, but Angel heard the tremble in it, "That has
to be perfect."

"It is," he agreed, "The windows are small. It was easy to cover them."

"That's ... uh ... good then."

"Jenny." Angel's voice was soft. "I didn't say what I said to scare you.
I will never hurt you - if I can avoid it."

She stared straight ahead, took a deep breath. "Yes. Yes, I know.
That's not ... I think I never realised I put myself in danger by
translating your curse. I never even thought about ... your demon ...
you know."

"I know." Slowly he reached out, took her hand. It was ice-cold, and
he squeezed it gently. "Thanks for your help."

She blinked, then turned her head and looked at him. "You're welcome.
You are a good man, Angel. And you're good for her."

"I don't know," he said honestly. "But I hope so." He smiled, "She is
good for me, too."

Jenny smiled as well. "Good Night, Angel." She glanced at the sky where
the night was already fading, giving way to the day and the sun. "Or
should I say Good Morning?"

He squeezed her hand again, and with a last look at her, he slipped out of
the car, and disappeared in the building.

... to be continued

Feedback would make me madly happy and make me write faster! And I would
really like to know if you still like it!