Chapter Twenty-two: Buffy and Angel

After Buffy and Dawn had put a very unconscious Spike to bed, Buffy made her way downstairs. She found Angel sitting in the living room, waiting for her.

As soon as he saw her he stood up. "Buffy," he began.

"Outside," she said, her voice brooking no debate.

Angel followed her out onto the back porch. Once the door was closed behind them, she turned around and slugged him.

Angel lost his balance and fell off the porch, landing on the grass below. He looked up at Buffy with a look of complete and utter shock.

"What the hell did you do that for?" she yelled. "What? You bring Spike back to life just so you could kill him? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Angel pushed himself up from the ground and brushed the dirt from his clothes. "Look," he said, "I had my reasons."

"Oh really? Would you mind sharing them with me, or do I get to beat you down again?"

"Don't you think your little boyfriend driving a stake through my chest was enough?" he asked, clutching at his wound.

"What?"

"Yeah, Spike? You're little hero? Drove a stake through my chest."

Buffy couldn't help but smile a little. Knowing it was wrong, she forced herself to sober up and glare at Angel. "I don't care what he did to you down there. Whatever he did, he did in self-defense. Now, again. What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I know what he did to you," Angel said somberly.

"Excuse me? As in . . .?"

"As in, last year? You? Spike? Upstairs in the bathroom?"

Buffy's face fell and she felt her heart sinking in her chest. "How . . . how did you . . .?"

"The Oracles. They showed me. Buffy," he walked up the steps and joined her on the porch. "What were you thinking, having a relationship with Spike after that?"

Buffy looked at him with some astonishment. "What right do you have to tell me what relationships I should and should not have?"

"Buffy, he tried to rape you."

"And he failed."

"And that's a moot point, and you know it. Maybe you don't remember what it was like. Maybe the memory has faded for you, but I just saw it. Just days ago. And it haunts me. Every night I close my eyes and I see it. God Buffy, how could you get over it? How did you convince yourself that everything was okay? How desperate where you?"

There was something maddening in Angel's holier-than-thou tone. Buffy pulled back her fist and swung at him again. This time Angel caught her hand in midair and stopped her.

"Fine. You want to defend him, go ahead. You think he's changed? He hasn't changed Buffy. He's still the same evil, selfish, violent, deranged lunatic that he's always been. Even a shiny new soul can't change that, as much as you'd like it to."

Buffy wrenched her fist out of his grip. "Oh, so it's fine when it's you and Angelus. Then the soul makes a difference. But not for Spike, right?"

"He hurt you Buffy."

"He's not the only one."

They stood there in silence for a moment. Finally she said, "What do you want Angel? Why did you come here?"

"To repay Spike for his treatment of you."

"Then why get him his life back in the first place?"

"Because we needed you. Spike was just a means to an end."

"And you figured you could always come here and kill him and I wouldn't mind."

"Something like that."

Buffy turned to go back into the house. "Go home Angel. You've gotten your revenge. I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself." She went back into the house leaving the door open behind her. Let Angel go back to LA. He was leaving enough problems behind him in Sunnydale to last long after he was gone.