A.N I know I say this at the start of every chapter, but, as always, SORRY IT'S TAKEN SO LONG. The good news is, this is the final chapter of this story. The bad news is there are 3 more stories to come, but hopefully they won't be this long. Unfortunately RL is insanely busy at the moment, and shows no signs of letting up any time soon, so although I WILL finish the whole bastard thing at some point, it is going to take some time. Please keep faith with me and I promise not to let you down.

*Warning* Some major B/A mushiness. If you're not a B/Aer.tough. You've been warned. Enjoy the fic.

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Angel jogged lightly down the stairs of the Hyperion hotel, heading for the kitchen. It was breakfast time, and he was really looking forwards to being spoilt for choice as to what he would have. He remembered from the day the Oracles had erased that he didn't like yogurt, but that still left him with a whole lot more choices than O negative or A positive!

As he moved across the lobby, he realised he was still following his ingrained habit of moving round the patches of sunlight that came through the windows. Grinning, he stepped into one of them, enjoying the warmth he felt from it. It dawned on him that he probably looked a bit weird, standing there, grinning at a window. I better move before any of the others see me, they'd think getting my soul back had sent me nuts. He stopped, grinned again. Who cares?! Connor and I are talking, I'm human but still super strong, and I'm going to see Buffy in a couple of hours! His grin dimmed slightly. Not that I'm expecting anything. Just because I still love her.He heard a noise coming from inside his office and grabbed the opportunity to stop obsessing over what would happen when he saw Buffy. Moving to investigate the sound, he found Wesley sitting at his desk, surrounded by piles of books and scrolls. Just like old times. He thought sardonically.

'Making yourself comfortable?' He asked, mock politely. Wesley's head snapped up from the text he had been immersed in. From where Angel was standing, he thought it might have been written in ancient Pali. 'Because you know, this is my office now.'

Wesley rolled his eyes. 'Oh I do apologise if I'm invading your personal space, but I thought that as we're about to face a really big, big bad, a little research as to what it might be would be in order.'

Angel ground his teeth at Wesley's tone, but realised he was right. 'Find anything?'

Silently acknowledging Angel's attempt at cooperation, Wes nodded. 'I think so. I looked through some of my books last night, and found a couple of references to "The Prophecy of Four." Unfortunately they were all very vague, none of them giving the actual prophecy, just a brief description.' He shrugged. 'I was hopping that you might have something with an actual transcript of the prophecy.'

Angel came round behind the desk to look over Wesley shoulder. 'Any luck?'

'Yes and no.' He sat back, turning the book he had been reading so Angel could see it better. 'Between this text and the Arcadian Codex,' he indicated another massive tome lying open on the desk, 'I have a fairly good idea of what the prophecy says, and here - ' he pointed to a specific line in the book in front of him ' - it says that the full prophecy is written in only one place.' He smiled triumphantly. 'The Tiberius Manifesto.'

Angel looked slightly bemused. 'Which neither of us have a copy of.'

'No.' Wes agreed. 'But Giles does.' As Angel started to grin, he hurried to continue. 'Or at least, he did. Let's just hope that it hasn't been burnt, eaten, torn up or in any other way destroyed in the last three years.'

'Ah.'

'Yes. Anyway. I thought I'd try and get as much information together as I could before we left so we would at least have a place to start from.'

'The fact that you turning up with the knowledge means that you can show Giles, Buffy and Xander that you're good for more than screaming like a woman never entered into it.' Angel's tone was teasing, but still slightly barbed.

Wes glared at him scathingly. 'Angel, I am a grown man with no need to prove myself or play such childish games.' Then he smirked slightly. 'Telling Buffy and Giles that the knowledge of the latest coming apocalypse has been under their hands for at least the last four years is a simple courtesy from which I shall gain no pleasure at all.' The gleam in his eyes said otherwise. Angel smirked back. It wasn't so much getting one over on Buffy and Giles that he was secretly looking forwards to, as showing Xander that his Slayerette superiority complex was a complete waste of brain power, and he really didn't have enough to throw any away.

'So,' Angel brought the conversation back on track. 'What did you find out?'

'As I said, it is quite vague. All the references I've found talk of some sort of coalition, an alliance if you like, between different groups who fight for the light, different champions. There seem to be four groups involved, and only when each group finds, and then cooperates with the others will we be strong enough to defeat what is coming.'

'Does it say anything about what it is that's coming?'

'Again, more vagaries. Lots of flowery language which mainly boils down to, "It's big and nasty and wants to kill you all."'

Angel shrugged negligently. 'No change there then.'

'Not really. One thing I did find interesting, whenever this.evil thing.is mentioned they're even more vague about it than they are about us. Some of the texts describe it as council of evil beings, some of them describe it as only one being. It's very unusual to have this kind of uncertainty in these books.' Angel raised a disbelieving eyebrow at such an obviously wrong statement. 'I know they're always vague, but usually they say manage to say "The almighty, unholy evil one" or "The ever dread council of soul drinkers" or something. What I mean is, they don't usually mix up "it" and "they".

Angel nodded in grudging agreement. 'So what do you know about the people we're going to have to work with?'

'As I said, there are four distinct groups mentioned.' He pulled the Codex towards them and pointed at a paragraph. 'Here it describes the four groups.' He ran the back end of his pencil under the first three lines. 'This talks about "The group lead by The Chosen One." It calls them the youngest group but says they contain ancient power. Perhaps that means Willow's wiccan powers? Anyway, here it talks of "The group who shouldn't be. Father and son both contradict nature." I think we can be fairly certain that's us. Next we have the oldest group, the ancients, including "one who used to be brother of the enemy". Until we find out more about who or what the enemy is, I can't tell you much more about that. Finally we have this group. The best translation I can come up with it authority. One assumes that means the police, or more likely, the military.'

Angel growled. It was one of the vamp talents he had retained. 'The Initiative.' He practically spat the words.

'I can't be sure, but I don't think so. I've come across various mentions throughout my research of each of the groups having already excelled themselves in the fight against evil.' Wesley explained. 'From what we've heard about The Initiative, I don't think they count as.where is it...' He searched through the piles of documents and texts on the desk. 'Ah.here it is. "Proven in battle many times over. Saviours of man, of earth, of souls. Each group holds its own strengths, only combined will they defeat that which is to come." Doesn't really fit the description Giles gave me.'

Angel nodded, reassured. 'True. Guess we just have to wait and see.' He cocked his head. 'That sounds like the others arriving. You ready?'

Wes regarded him blankly, considering how to answer that question. He knew there was more that he and Angel needed to talk about, but he didn't feel that now was the time to disrupt the fragile truce they seemed to have going. Silently, he picked up the codex and handed it to Angel, before picking up the other texts off the desk that he thought might be useful. 'This way we both have something to show the Scooby Gang.' Then he walked out the office door and into the lobby.

Fred and Gunn stood just inside the hotels main doors, sharing one last kiss before their lives went crazy. Again. Wesley did an abrupt about turn as he came out of the office, not wanting to witness such a, to him at least, sickening display of affection. Because his mind was centred on thoughts of Fred and Gunn, or more particularly just Fred, he didn't notice Faith until he span round until he crashed into her. It was only Slayer reflexes that stopped the box of doughnuts in her hand splatting onto the floor. The cream doughnut shoved into her mouth stopped her from saying anything, so they simply stared at each other, Wesley unwilling to move out of her way and Faith totally clueless as to what to do. Their face off was broken by Angel emerging for the office, his still supernaturally strong senses having picked up the smell of fresh doughnuts. He didn't even notice the tension between Wes and Faith, or Fred and Gunn making their way into the middle of the lobby, he was too busy digging through the box of goodies, trying to decide which one he wanted most. Definitely not jam. I think I'll avoid anything red and gooey for, oh, ever, but that still leaves chocolate, cream, custard, chocolate with sprinkles.

'Easy there big guy.' Faith grinned at him after she pulled her own doughnut out of her mouth. 'This is only your second day on solid foods. Wouldn't want you to eat so much you puke when we get to Sunnydale.'

'Yeah.' Cordelia appeared in the middle of the room, although the glow of her entry wasn't nearly as blinding as it had been the day before. She'd been practising (along with trying to find out more about what they were up against.) since she had left them in the hotel yesterday. 'Remember what happened last time?' The others stared at her, but before they could ask her what exactly she had meant by that last comment, Connor appeared at the top of the stairs. He was a bit heavy eyed, but happy. He and Angel had talked through the day and into the night. They had made a huge amount of progress, but all the years of hatred Holtz had taught him weren't going to disappear over night. Combined with the huge emotional traumas he had been through recently, it was amazing he was even out of bed. The reconciliation with his true father, and the beginnings of accepting that he himself was not an abomination against God had gone a long way towards relaxing and revitalising him.

Angel grinned as his son, his son! walked down the stairs towards him, and actually smiled. Grinning foolishly, he offered him the box of doughnuts he was in the middle of stealing from Faith. 'Breakfast? No, wait. You should have something healthy. A growing boy needs.vitamins and.stuff.' He trailed of helplessly, looking to Cordelia for guidance. She just smirked at him openly whilst everyone else tried to hide their grins. Connor simply reached over and plucked the chocolate cream filled doughnut out of his hand, the one Angel had just been about to take a bite of.

'This is fine, dad. Really. You should have seen some of the stuff I used.' He trailed off. 'This is great.' The smile was slightly forced now, but it was still there.

'Well.' Cordelia broke the silence before it could become too uncomfortable. 'Looks like we're all here. Everyone packed and ready to go?' She looked around the assembled group. Angel and Wesley were both carrying books, but other than that and the box of doughnuts being passed about, no one carried anything. 'What do you think I am? Some kind of teleporting taxi service?'

They looked at each other, and then back at Cordy. They all shrugged and looked hopeful, although it was Gunn who actually said the word. 'Yeah?'

Cordelia mock growled at all of them. 'It's a good thing I like you all most of the time. Fine, I'll make sure you've all got enough clothes to keep the vamps from smelling you before they see you. Now, everyone get your weapons and lets get moving.' They all grinned at her, some thankfully, some cheekily. Angel was still going with inanely. 'On second thoughts, Buffy has enough weapons for a medium sized army. I don't think all of us turning up armed is going to lead to easy cooperation between the two groups,' she turned to the dark Slayer. 'And by that I do mean you Faith.' Faith shrugged sheepishly and put back the axe she had been testing in her hand.

'So,' Gunn drew his customised crossbow from its resting place behind the counter and settled it comfortably by his side. Faith had a history with these people; it was understandable that they might get a little upset by her arriving armed. That didn't mean that he was taking his first trip to the hellmouth with out something to say hello to the natives with. He looked over at Cordy, shrugged, and said 'Do it.'

The fang gang starred around themselves. Fred, Gunn and Faith, having not travelled by 'air Cordy' before were surprised by the sensation. Gunn hadn't been sure what he was expecting, but the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy gets carried over the rainbow kept flashing in his mind. Instead, the light around him, around all of them in the lobby just got brighter, and brighter, until he couldn't see anything. Weirdly, it didn't hurt his eyes; he just couldn't see anything for a split second. When the light dimmed again he didn't feel like he had moved but his surroundings had changed. He found himself in a shop, with a group of people facing him, their faces showing varying degrees of apprehension. 'I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.' He muttered to Fred. 'No, wait. My bad. We are in Kansas now.' Then he grunted as she elbowed him.

The two groups starred at each other. Giles smiled and nodded at everyone, trying not to look too avuncular. Faith tried to blend into the background. Buffy and Angel could do nothing but stare at each other.

Predictably, it was Xander who broke the silence. Already defensive and worried about Willow, when his brain couldn't handle the strain anymore his mouth leapt into action. 'Hey, Deadboy's here. Now the party can really start.'

Giles sent him a disapproving glance over the rim of his glasses whilst Fred and Gunn's heads snapped around in synch to glare at him. Willow and Faith unknowingly mirrored each other, staring at the floor. Wes rolled his eyes cynically. And so it begins. Anya just sighed. As Buffy and Angel didn't even seem to hear what had been said, it was left to Connor to reply. 'Deadboy?' He made a show of looking around the shop. 'I don't see any dead people around here.'

Xander smirked at the new kid, not noticing the familiar tilt of the young mans head, the slight smile on the face. He's pretty young, and doesn't know the story. Guess I should fill him in. 'Obviously you haven't known this guy too long.' He jerked his head towards Angel.

Connor smiled again, and took a step towards his fathers' tormentor. 'You must be Xander. Dad's told us so much about you.'

The room froze. Buffy and Angel finally came out of the trance they were in

'Dad?' Although it was Xander who actually said the word, the whole room thought it so loud, and with so many exclamation points, Cordelia actually ducked. 'You're Wesley's son?' As unlikely as this prospect seemed to Xander, it was the only possible explanation for the young man in front of him.

'No.' Angel stepped across and put his hand on Connors arm, drawing him over in front of Buffy. 'This is my son, Connor.' This time the silence in the room was absolute, mental as well as verbal. 'Connor, that's Xander, Willow, Giles, Anya over there by the counter.' He paused. 'I hadn't realised you were a demon again Anya.' Angel wanted to bring that out into the open, mainly as a warning to Connor that she wasn't a threat, but also to delay the moment when he had to meet Buffy's eyes and introduce her to his son. He would never be ashamed of, or sorry, for Connors existence, but he wasn't exactly proud of his own behaviour leading up to his sons' conception. 'And this is Buffy.'

'Hi.' Connor, ever his fathers son, ducked his head and starred at a point just left of Buffy's shoulder.

Buffy was speechless. Angel had left her because he could never give her children, and here he was, presenting her with a teenage son! She didn't know what she was feeling; confusion, anger. This boy was in his late teens.Before her thoughts could spin completely out of control, Cordelia interrupted. 'It's complicated Buffy. You guys have a lot to talk about.' She stopped when she heard the realisation kick into Buffys head, what she had been feeling in the back of her mind since the L.A group had arrived, but had been too overwhelmed by the sight of Angel to process what her more tenuous senses were telling her. As Faith had before her, she finally realised what she was feeling, or rather, what she wasn't feeling.

'You're alive.' It was just a whisper, then she tentatively held out her hand, placing it over his heart. Thumpthump, thumpthump. Déjà vu. Then louder 'you're alive!' Happiness raced through her, and sadness. Betrayal, because he hadn't told her twinned with joy that he had finally reached his redemption.but why hadn't he told her? He didn't love her anymore!

'Only since yesterday morning.' Angel smiled awkwardly. He knew this was the moment, his moment. True, pure happiness was right in front of him, with nothing to hold him back, if he could just find the words to take hold of it. Unlikely. Cordelia help me!

Cordelia stepped forwards. 'You guys need to talk, privately.' She pointed to the training room. 'Why don't you go in here and.talk.' Good luck she sent to Angel. Be honest with her. But stand up for yourself. And don't apologise for everything. But don't hold back. And-

'We'll do that Cordy' He held out his hand for Buffy to precede him into the training room. Connor squeezed his arm briefly, and then watched them as they left the room. Although he wanted his father to be happy, he couldn't help feel slightly ambivalent towards Buffy. He knew his father loved her, but he also knew that she had caused him a great deal of pain, including sending him to hell for hundreds of years. Also, he wanted to beat the crap out of her friend Xander, which he didn't think would go down to well. He had known him for slightly less than five minutes, but already he had a feeling that if Xander didn't back off from Angel a bit, the two of them were going to have serious words.

All eyes watched as Buffy and Angel left the room. When the pair disappeared from sight, the room returned to awkward silence.

'Well.' This time Cordelia broke the silence. 'Those two are going to be a while, so we may as well get started without them. Wes, you've got some information, right?'

'Indeed.' Said Wesley, stepping forwards to put the heavy books that he and Angel had been carrying on the table. 'As you know, I've only had a limited amount of time to-'

'Wow there Watcher boy.' Xander interrupted. 'Let's just back up a step or two. One, Angel's human, two, Angel has a son, three, Angel and Buffy are going to "talk about things" in the training room, and we're just glossing over this and diving straight into the next apocalypse!?

Wesley visibly checked himself, taking a deep breath to control his temper before he slowly turned his head to meet Xander's aggressive gaze. 'Angel has a son, Connor. We don't know how this is possible, only that it happened,' he paused, then offered a sardonic smile. 'Much like Angel's return from Hell. Cordelia is now a Higher Being with as yet unknown limits to her power. She made Angel human but with Slayer-like powers. I think that about covers it. Any more questions, or can we get back to saving the world?' With that he went to push past Xander, dismissing him. Xander grabbed his arm, halting his progress. Before he could speak though, his eyes met Wesley's, and what he saw made his words die in his throat.

'I suggest you let go of my arm now.' His voice was quiet, civilised and very polite, but the threat of savagery underneath it was obvious to all. Even Xander saw past his bitter anger enough to realise that the man in front of him was not the same as the one he had last seen three years ago, whimpering for painkillers as he was loaded into an ambulance. Still, without a full explanation and demonstration of Wesley's metamorphosis, there was no way he would believe what the former Watcher was now capable of.

'Gee Wes,' Xander's tone was saccharine sweet and totally insincere. 'I wouldn't want to get in anyone's way, just because someone decides it's time for deadboy to rejoin the living!' His agitation was clear for all to see. 'Did you forget what he did!?' He spun to face Giles 'did you forget what he did to Miss Calender?' Giles flinched visibly, whilst Xander's shoulders heaved with emotion.

'My God Xander!' All eyes turned to Anya. 'I can't believe you.' As she moved out from behind the counter, he starred at her. Of all the people he had been expecting to interrupt him, Anya wasn't one of them. They barely spoke anymore, other than to exchange the occasional barbed insult. Her eyes, and her tone, were derisive, as she asked 'are you really that selective in your judgements? In your "moral standards"?

'Huh?' Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn't been for her to begin a discussion of his morals.

'You never saw it, did you? She stared into his face, looking for some sign that he understood what she was talking about.

'Huh?' Beginning to sound like a really dumb parrot here.

'The parallels between you and me, and Buffy and Angel.' Her tone soften slightly this time, realising he really didn't have a clue what she was talking abut, and when it hit him, he wasn't going to be happy.

'What!' The exclamation exploded from his mouth. Cordy could tell he really didn't have a clue what his ex-fiancé was driving at. 'What are you talking about!?' You're nothing like him. He spat the final word.

'Do you know how any men I've killed Xander? Tortured, maimed, with the power of the wish-'

'Exactly!' He sounded almost triumphant. 'You were making other peoples wishes come true, that's all. You're not like-'

'Xander stop.' Her voice firm, Anya gave him a light shake whilst the rest of the room looked on. Connor and Gunn weren't sure what to make of all the talk of Anya killing and torturing, but they figured they should wait for the scene before them to unfold before they did anything. 'Try reality now. I've told you enough stories. You know what I created from a woman's wish was very rarely what she had in mind, and if it was, it was only for a second.' She turned away from him, stepping back before she faced him again. 'I hated men, and I despised women for their weakness, for needing them!' She let out a breath, and then looked him dead in the eyes again. 'You want to know the difference between me and Angel?' He tried to look away, but found he couldn't stop staring into her gaze. The same kind of morbid fascination that makes you stare at accidents on the motorway kept his eyes locked on hers. 'He feels guilty over what he did whilst the demon controlled his body. I never did. I only wanted my powers back, so I could carry on with my life as a demon.'

The silence was deafening again. Cordelia gave Connor a mental command to stay the hell put. Finally she spoke. 'You're a good man Xander. You've saved the world, some would even say you're a great man, but Angel is a blind spot for you, always has been.' She smiled gently at him. 'The jealousy you felt towards him as a boy coloured the emotions of the man. He is not responsible for the actions of Angelus.' When she sensed he was about to interrupt her, her voice grew louder, deeper, and way scarier. 'Trust me Xander.' She looked the same, he realised, but totally different, as if all the power in her now was coming through her skin. She smiled at him again, and she looked more like the old Cordelia. 'I know things, I see things now, things that. He already is a great man Xander.' She finished quietly.

Xander starred at her, shocked. He felt like the things Anya and Cordelia were trying to explain to him, what Buffy had been trying to get him to understand for years, were too big for his head, too much to comprehend. He nodded mutely before leaning heavily on the counter, silently trying to assimilate what he had been told, and adjust his thinking accordingly. He wasn't sure he could.

'Well,' said Wes. 'Now that we've had the first of what promises to be many pleasant chats with Xander out the way, perhaps we could get down to some work?' He was back to using that quiet, polite, acid edged tone.

Giles finished cleaning his glasses, replaced them and then moved over to the table where Wesley was laying out the books he had brought with him. Cordelia listened to the quiet talking to he was giving himself. After everything we've been through recently, it's not surprising you haven't had time to do any research. Just because Wesley has, there's no need to be embarrassed or start up old rivalries! He's obviously changed a lot since he left Sunnydale. With that final chastisement he asked 'What have you found?' Nothing in his voice betrayed his thoughts, but Wesley's slight nod of acceptance before answering showed he understood.

'We found mention of a prophecy, The Prophecy of Fours. Although we found a few descriptions, the only mention we found of where the full prophecy is transcribed is in the Tiberius Manifesto, which I do not posses a copy of.' As Giles started to smile, he continued, 'but you did the last time I was in Sunnydale.'

Giles nodded. 'Did and still do.' Involuntarily, he looked at Willow who became fascinated by the floor again. 'It's in the restricted section.'

'Ah.' Was all Wesley said. Nodding, Giles climbed the stepladder. Amazing. They're all back where they should be. What a pity she couldn't do that when she was in High School.

'I heard that!' Cordelia snapped at him playfully. Giles smothered a laugh as he backed down the steps. When he reached the bottom, he turned and handed the book over to Wesley, a symbolic gesture.

Throughout Xander's outburst, and Giles and Wesley's silent and verbal communications, Dawn had been quietly checking out the group Angel had brought with him. Wes and Faith she recognised of course, all though it amused her vaguely to realise she'd never actually met either of them before. Still, they didn't know that. They'd both obviously changed a lot. Wes was darker, scarier now. She wondered how he'd got that wicked scar on his neck. As for Faith, Dawn didn't think she'd ever seen her keep quiet or still for this long. Maybe all the talk about Angel not being responsible for Angelus was making her think about all the things she was responsible for. Whatever, she was very different from Dawn's fake memories, but they hadn't been wrong so far.

Moving on, she checked out the biggest, and cutest, of the three newcomers. Charles Gunn. He was obviously exceptionally strong by human standards, or he wouldn't have lasted five minutes hanging around Angel. Buffy would no doubt be able to wipe the floor with him in about three seconds flat, but he might like to do some training with the newest Slayer.That thought made her grin until her gaze ran into Fred's. She couldn't decide whether the other girl was warning her off or telling her she didn't stand a chance. Probably a bit of both. Fred looked like she'd blow away in a stiff breeze, but Dawn figured there had to be more to her than was presented at first glance. Probably another brain she decided. Finally she looked at Connor. Although he wasn't as good looking as his father, he did have something about him, an aura. She met his gaze and quickly looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring. Almost as quickly, she looked back again, unable to help herself. He was still staring at her.

'It's alright.' Connor said.

'Huh?' Dawn wasn't sure what he meant. His tone was a mixture of world weariness, condescendtion and annoyance.

'You can stare at me all you want. I'm used to being the weirdest kid in the world.'

'Please.' Dawn snorted, annoyed by his patronising air. 'You're not even the weirdest kid in this room.'

Connor's brows jumped up his forehead at her words. 'What! I'm the off spring of two vampires, both of which have been brought back from hell, and one of which staked herself so I could be born!' The implied 'So there!' was obvious to everyone.

'Oh yeah.' Dawn fired back. 'Well I'm a millennia's old ball of energy, mixed with Slayers blood and made into human form.'

'I grew up in a hell dimension!'

'I nearly made earth into a hell dimension!'

'Y'know, it's kind of scary when I'm the most normal person in the room.' Gunn stage whispered to Fred.

'He is so not the weirdest person in the world.' Dawn announced to the room at large.

'Don't worry sweetie.' Anya patted Dawn's arm consolingly. 'We're all pretty weird around here.'

'Ahm.' Giles cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. 'We appear to have found the prophecy.'

Leading Angel into the workout room, Buffy was more aware of herself than she had ever been. Her own movements, her clothes against her skin, the slightest breeze in her hair, and Angel's eyes following her. She moved behind the pommel horse, using it as a barrier between herself and Angel. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes as she spoke. 'So. was he just one of those things that you forgot to tell me about?' Angel shrugged, unsure of where to start. He'd been intending to take a few seconds to gather his thoughts, but Buffy didn't give him the chance. 'Like you forgot to tell me you were a vampire? Like you forgot to tell me about your curse? Like you forgot to tell me about your reputation?!' Buffy new she was being unfair, especially about the curse, he hadn't known about the loophole anymore than she had, but she was so confused by the arrival of Connor, she couldn't help herself.

Angel's head jerked up, his guilt warring with his new found anger, the words Cordelia had spoken to him butting up against those that Buffy spat at him now. 'And when you told me you were leaving me because you couldn't give me children, did he just slip your-'

'He's only eight months old!' He didn't shout, but the bite to his words was sharp enough to cut like a knife.

'What?' She stared at him, unable to understand what he had just said. She understood the words, but she couldn't make them apply to reality. Also, he distracted her by taking a deep breath to calm himself. She was reminded that, physically and emotionally, he was not the same man as the one who had left Sunnydale three years ago. Besides, she had enough things in her past that were going to need a bit of explaining to at least listen to him, hadn't she?

The silence lasted this time, both hoping the other would break it. Finally, Angel spoke. 'We don't understand how Connor.came to be.' He paused. This was going to be more difficult than he had realised, telling her about his most recent descent into darkness. 'Two years ago, some of the people I've sent a lot of time fighting against, lawyers actually. Anyway, they found a way to raise Darla.' Buffy gasped, but didn't speak, so after a second Angel ploughed on with his explanation. 'She was able to invade my dreams, invade my mind.'

She just stared at him shocked. She had thought she was prepared for whatever he would tell her. Very little shocked her anymore. Wrong again.

'They brought her back human Buffy.' He looked away from her then. The memories still pained him, especially his failure to save her. 'She was dieing when The Master turned her four hundred years ago, and she was dieing when they brought her back. I convinced her - eventually.God.' He covered his face with his hands. This was too difficult. 'I convinced her that being turned into a vampire again wasn't a solution. I couldn't save her, but I could be with her, support her, until the end. Maybe we could give her soul a chance.'

Buffy nodded, trying to be reassuring. If anyone could understand how difficult it was coming back from the dead, it was her. For Darla to come back human, after four hundred years as a vampire and however long she had been in Hell was something she didn't even want to think about. She tuned back into what Angel was saying.

'I was never in love with her, not like with you.' He didn't meet her eyes as he spoke 'but we were together for over a hundred years, and she was a human being in pain, even though she had just tried to drive me mad.' He muttered reflectively. He finally looked at her again. 'I made it Buffy. I connected with her, convinced her that we could do it, we could save her soul. She believed, and just when she did, they broke in, and Drusilla turned her.'

Surprising both of them, Buffy took his hand. She didn't speak, but the gesture of reassurance let him carry on. 'Things were already pretty bad for me, but Darla getting turned, it kind of sent me over the edge. Darla and Dru, loose in L.A. I couldn't let them go on a rampage, but I couldn't have lived with myself if anything had happened to Cordy or Wes or Gunn.'

'What did you do?' There was no judgment in her tone, only empathy.

'I knew, the only way to beat those two together. I had to give in to my own darkness. Not Angeluses, mine.' He stared down at their joined hands. 'I embraced it Buffy, the darkness, the despair. I thought evil was everywhere, that we couldn't win, and I slid into the darkness.' He was waiting for her to draw away, to shout at him, to judge him. So far she hadn't, and he didn't think she had understood how bad things had got. He decided to tell her the worst. 'I let people die. They were my enemies, but they didn't deserve to die like that. I thought, everything, the whole fight against the darkness. was pointless, so I decided, I decided to give in to it.' He tried to pull away from her then, but she wouldn't let him. Instead, she lifted her hand to his face.

We have to get it all out there she thought. It's the only way we'll ever have a chance. No matter how much it hurts, I have to know the truth, and so does he. 'What did you do?'

Starring into her eyes, he could see love, and fear. 'I tried to lose my soul.' He felt her tremble, and she dropped her hand from his face, but her other hand still held his tightly.

'What happened?'

'There's only one way I knew of to lose my soul.' He looked at their hands, then back to her face again. 'Turns out that it only works with you. I slept with Darla, and. something happened, but not what I'd been expecting. I remember you know, what it was like.last time., with you. Instead of that, I had an epiphany.' Buffy looked confused at his choice of words, and this time he managed a small smile for her. 'I realised that there is evil everywhere in the world, just like there is good everywhere. That's the point of champions, like you and me,' he raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed them. Buffy felt a thrill zing through her body at the contact. 'People like us keep fighting, and the darkness can't win.'

She starred at him, tears in her eyes. 'And Connor?' The question was gentle, caring rather than demanding.

'Connor.' He smiled again, still nervous. 'When you're a vampire, you don't really worry about protected sex, y'know?' He fidgeted, looking back. 'It took a while for me to make it up to the guys, and then we went to Plyea,' at Buffy's look of incomprehension, he explained briefly, 'different dimension. That's where we found Fred. Anyway, we'd pretty much forgotten all the stuff with Darla, until she turned up, nine months later, the size of a house, and calling me daddy. Whew.'

'Where is she now?' The tightness was back in Buffy's voice.

'She's dead, again.' Anywhere else that would be a weird thing to say. She just nodded, trying not to look too relieved that the mother of Angel's son wouldn't be coming for a visit. 'There was some kind of magick protecting the unborn baby.' He started to explain. 'When Darla first found out she was pregnant, after she got over the shock, she tried everything she could to get rid of it.' At Buffy's indrawn breath Angel just cast her a sidelong glance. 'Vampires aren't really known for their nurturing instincts. Anyway, whatever magick was protecting the baby, it endangered it too. It wouldn't let him be born.' This time he had to look away from her. 'The soul of the baby was affecting her, making her feel. At the end, she loved him. She staked herself so that he could live.'

'Wow.' This last piece of information was a little bit difficult to deal with but it still didn't explain how that eight month old baby was now a teenager. 'Was it some kind of magick that made him grow up?'

'No.' The single syllable came out more tersely than he had intended. 'Sorry, no.' he said more gently, placing his other hand over their joined ones. 'It's another long story, but basically an old enemy of mine turned up, and with some help, tricked Wes into kidnapping Connor. Then he took Connor to a hell dimension and raised him as his own son. They came back through a portal a month ago. Holtz, the man who took Connor taught him that I was. Angelus. He hated me, but with Cordelia's help we're working it out.'

Buffy just starred at him, trying to wrap her head around everything he had just told her. Finally, she managed to wrap her mouth around a single word. 'Wes?'

He nodded, understanding all the questions she was trying to ask with that one word. 'We're trying to work it out. It's complicated, but we'll get there. Holtz is dead, and Connor's beginning to accept me, not in his place, but like, a different father.'

He starred down at her, bringing his hand up to caress her face. 'You're still here' he breathed.

'What?' Her voice was just as soft, just as breathless as his.

'You're still here. I thought for sure after I'd told you all that, you'd have told me to get the hell away from you or.' His eyes fixed on her mouth. Nervous, her tongue slide out to wet her lips, making Angel's pulse quicken. Slowly, he lowered his head until their lips brushed, barely touching. They both stayed like that for a second, which felt like an eternity. When Angel moved to deepen the kiss though, Buffy put a hand on his chest to stop him.

'No.'

Angel pulled back, confusion and rejection written across his face. 'Why. But, I thought.'

Buffy raised her hand, cupping his cheek. 'You showed me yours, now I've got to show you mine.' Reacting to the confusion still evident in his face, she explained, 'you're not the only one who's done things they regret.' He still didn't understand what she was getting at, but he leant back slightly, keeping hold of her hand but giving her space to talk. 'Before, when we were together, we were both so scared of telling the other what we really thought and felt.' She forced herself to look at him. 'We can't do that anymore. We have to be honest with each other, no matter how much it hurts.' She took a deep, fortifying breath, then let out a shaky laugh. 'Well. This whole baring your soul thing is a lot harder than it looks, isn't it? Fantastic. I'm doing a nervous Willow impression. 'Oh God.' She tried to pull her hand away from his, to put some distance between them, but this time it was him that wouldn't let go of her. She nodded and attempted a smile for him. 'Right. Well. You know, after I came back, things were. It was really hard for me to adjust to being back. I told you Willow and the others thought I was in a hell dimension.' She paused, unsure of how to go on.

'But you weren't.'

Buffy starred at him. 'How.?'

'How did I know?' She nodded. 'You told me.'

'No I didn't.'

He gave a quiet laugh. 'Not in so many words, no, but when we met up you said the same thing then, "they thought they were bringing me back from a hell dimension." You didn't put the emphasis on it that I did just then, but I could tell from the things you didn't say, and the way you acted. besides, I've been there.'

She goggled at him, trying to find a way for his words to mean something other than what he'd just said. In the end she managed a couple of gasping vowel sounds and to shake her head a bit. He understood. 'When I lost my soul with you, where do you think it went?'

Buffy just starred at him, confused, and then aghast. He was in heaven! He was in heaven, and I-

'Don't feel guilty about this Buffy!' There was a snap in his words now, a firmness and command that had never existed before. 'There's no way you could have known. I didn't even know.' Her eyes were full of tears when they met his. 'By the time I got out of hell, I'd all but forgotten it, blocked it out. I didn't start to remember it again until I visited the Oracles. Seeing Higher Beings again, it rang a bell.anyway, there didn't seem to be much point in bringing it up then.' He shrugged, unsure of where to go from there.

She starred at him, just starred, thoughts flying around her head so fast she thought they were all going to come exploding out her ears. He'd been in heaven. After everything that had happened, everything she had been through, it had never occurred to her that he might have done the same thing she had. No, not what she had, she realised. When she had first got back, she'd asked Dawnie, is this hell? But it had been earth. He'd fallen straight from heaven to hell, with a kiss from her to send him on his way-

'Buffy!' His voice snapped her head up again, so he could see her tear filled, guilt shrouded eyes. 'I didn't tell you that so you could feel guilty about it.' He held both her hands tightly now, willing her to listen to him. He of all people understood just how badly guilt could screw up your thinking. 'I told you so that you would know I understand. Maybe no one else can, but I do! I'll never forget, and neither will you, but. What?' He trailed off at the look in her eyes. A look of awe and joy, and sadness. 'What?' he sounded uncertain this time.

A tear slid down her cheek, but she didn't even notice. He raised his right hand, still joined to her left, and wiped it away with his thumb. Gently, he sucked the moisture from the tip of his thumb before lowering their hands again. She let out a trembling breathe, them stumbled out 'I forgot!' The tears came now, in floods as Angel looked on, hopelessly confused. She threw herself into his arms then, and sobbed into his ear, 'I promised I'd never forget, and I did.'

He got it then. Their perfect day, which only he was supposed to remember, but somehow she did too. 'How?' he gasped out hoarsely.

She pulled back, but kept her arms around his neck. 'When I was.gone.' still can't say dead. 'You know what it's like.'

He nodded, still not quiet sure of her feelings on the subject. She was still crying, but that could be a good thing or a bad thing. He decided to keep quiet, just keep holding her. If she decided to be pissed about this, it might be the last chance he got.

Eventually, she pulled back so she could meet his eyes again. 'I remember it all.' She spoke quietly. 'When I found out, up.there. Well, up there you're never mad, so I didn't have to do the usual wait a while until I calmed down so I could think rationally about it. I could see why you did it, and how much it hurt you.' She went up on tiptoe and brushed her lips, butterfly soft over his. 'You were right. We both needed to be able to fight, to save the world. I'm not saying I think the way you went about it was perfect, and we really are going to have to do something about your habit of making all these gigantic self sacrificing decisions for both of us, but in the end, it was what had to be done. Now we can both fight, but together. I hope.'

She pulled away from him again, this time succeeding in putting a few steps distance between them. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from him. This wasn't the same as trying to explain to the others. Angels' history with Spike was something she knew she couldn't even begin to comprehend. She knew that the last time the two of them had met, Spike had tortured Angel. She knew that they had over a hundred years of shared history that she could never be part of. Oh God. 'I slept with Spike.' She spoke quickly, before he could close the gap between them.

His hand stilled in mid air. He didn't want to believe he had heard her right. 'What! How! WHY!' He took a breath and then ploughed on before she could form any kind of answer. 'No, wait. I know what and I really don't want to think about how. Why Buffy, why?' But when she turned to him, misery written all over her face, he understood. He pulled her to him then, holding her head to his chest, mutely offering to listen to her the way she had listened to him.

Her voice was muffled when she spoke 'Cause he made me feel.' She had no more tears to shed. She had reconciled herself to what had happened between her and Spike, and why. In her heart of hearts she knew she didn't need Angel's forgiveness for it. They hadn't been together when it happened, and she hadn't done anything actually wrong, but she did want his understanding. She craved it. For a second she was tempted to stay there, with her face hidden, safe in his arms, but safe wasn't her way. She pulled back. 'He didn't expect anything from me like the others did, I didn't have to pretend with him and. he loved me.' At Angel's incredulous look, she reaffirmed 'he did. In his very own, unique, Spike way, he loved me with everything he had. I knew it was wrong for me, but right then, I needed that.'

This time she met his eyes calmly. It was all out there now. Nothing more she could do but hope.

Angel stared at her, realising that the woman in front of him was not the one he had fallen in love with all those years ago, as he watched her from the shadows on the steps of her high school, watched as her life was changed irrevocably. That woman, girl really, had been a paragon to him, a creature of good whose light he could bask in. The woman who stood before him now was real. She had made mistakes, she had hurt and been hurt, but she always got up, and tried again. This was a woman he could stand beside, fight next to and fight with. They had been together and apart and could finally meet as equals, partners, lovers, as they were meant to be. He reached up, cupping her face with his hand, running his thumb over her lower lip. He pulled her towards him gently, and took a half step himself, meeting her in the middle. Slowly, oh so slowly, his head came down and he captured her mouth with his, gently at first, but then with more passion as he tried to communicate the depths of his feelings to her. Her hands came up and tangled in his hair, trying to drag him closer still until their bodies were pressed together. Finally, they both had to come up for air. Gasping Angel muttered wryly, 'that hasn't happened in a while.' And Buffy giggled. It was such a fabulous, light sound, Angel new he would do everything in his power to make her laugh like that every day for the rest of their lives. He knew he wouldn't succeed, but he'd enjoy the effort.

They stared into each others eyes exchanging slow, gentle kisses, nuzzling against each other, just enjoying the feeling of closeness that came after that type of honesty. Buffy reached up a hand and stroked his brow. 'You're gonna get worry lines.' She whispered contentedly, 'and I'm going to love watching them, as they grow, and change, with you. with me.' She smiled almost sleepily at him, she almost felt as if she was floating, the weight removed from her shoulders was so great.

Angel grinned down at the beautiful woman in his arms. His love, his soul mate. Even after everything she'd been through, she still had a fragility that made him want to protect her, although he knew that in reality she was one of the most powerful, most dangerous creatures in the world. And she was his! Leaning into her, he pulled her head long into a heated, passionate embrace. Slowly, her mouth moved to explore his strong jaw, the column of his throat, and she dropped a trail of kisses in her wake. Angel let his hands explore her petite, powerful frame, relearning the curves he knew so well from his dreams. Sliding her hands down his back, Buffy hooked her fingers into his belt, then returned her mouth to his for another soul drugging kiss as she pulled him with her to the pile of exercise mats in the corner. The heap of mats came just above her knees, and she fell back onto them, drawing him down with her, over her. As Angels' body came down on hers, thoughts of all the things he wanted to do to her, do with her, ran through his mind, which is probably why Cordelia chose that moment to shriek in both their heads 'Euwww! I so didn't need to know any of that!' They both froze for a second, then Angel let himself collapse on top of Buffy, his forehead touching hers as they both laughed wryly. There really wasn't much else they could do. 'I guess that's our cue to get back out there.'

'I guess it is.' She replied, keeping her arms securely round his waist. She reached up for another kiss, and then another, and another, until another mental bellow from Cordelia made them spring apart.

'Any time you guys wanna come back in, that'd be great!' Cordy yelled from the next room.

They shared one last intimate smile, and then linking their fingers, walked across the exercise room. Just as they reached the exit, Angel stopped, and pulled Buffy in for one more kiss. Jerking his head towards the pile of mats, he grinned impudently and said 'don't forget your place, we'll finish this later.' Part of him felt like this was going too fast, like they should wait a while, try and be mature and careful about it all. The rest of him didn't care. He loved Buffy, and she loved him. They'd been apart for too long, partly because of circumstances, but also because of their own fears. He didn't want to waste a single second more that he could be with her.

Buffy just grinned back at him, then, raising their joined hands, she slowly sucked the index finger of his right hand into her mouth, caressing the length of it with her tongue before drawing it out again, millimetre by millimetre. 'You betcha.' She winked at him, and then dragged him out to the main floor of the shop before he could say anything else.

Looking around the shop, Buffy was reminded a little bit of her senior year in high school. Giles and Wesley were discussing the translation of some obscure demon dialect, Xander and Anya were listlessly flicking through research books, more interested in bickering with each other than doing any actual research. Cordelia was checking her hair in the counter top. Of course, she was only reminded a little bit of High School. Dawn and Connor seemed to be locked in an argument abut who was the weirdest, Fred and Gunn, who Buffy hadn't really met, were helping with the research party. At least, Fred was helping, Gunn looked to be more on Xander's level when it came to research, and Faith and Willow were having a, somewhat monosyllabic, conversation over by the potion ingredients. Buffy wasn't sure how she felt about Faith being there, not doing cartwheels over it, that's for sure. But she figured she could only deal with so many issues at once; Dawn becoming a Slayer, Willow becoming a murderer, Angel being back, and human, and having a son, and another apocalypse on the way. She did not need to start another front of battle right now. Besides, if what she was lip reading was right, Faith was actually trying to help Willow, as unbelievable as it seemed. She'd defiantly caught the words 'understand' and 'been there'. Buffy turned away, shrugging. She'd deal with Faith when she had more energy, and more information. Still not letting go of Angel's hand, she marched over to the research group. 'So, what've we got?'

'Ah, Buffy.' Giles paused and cleaned his glasses, and then handed his handkerchief straight to Wesley, so he could do the same. Perching them back on the end of his nose, he peered over them, looking between Buffy and Angel, before nodding and clearing his throat. 'Yes. Well, we've found a copy of the original prophecy, and I think we've just about succeeded in translating it into English, although it is a bit rough.' He smiled, pleased with the groups efforts. 'It was written in an obscure dialect of a demon language that hasn't been spoken for some millennia.' He smiled again, waiting for some acknowledgment of the feat of translation they had pulled off. When none came, he cleared his throat again, and continued. 'Ahm. Well, as I said, it doesn't flow like it did in the original, but we've got the jist of it.' He nodded to Wesley, who read from the note pad in front of him.

'At the dawn of the new millennium, four groups of champions will unit. All tested, all triumphant, tried in battle many times. They fight not for glory, but for right.

The first, led by The Chosen One, fights with her family; father, brother, sisters. The fire of youth, the ancient power.

The second, the unnatural, grown from those who didn't belong. Father and son both contradict nature. The one who grew beyond them all, the warrior, the scholar, the one who travelled far.

The third, the youngest old, the oldest ancient. One brought back, one champion, one magickal, one who acquires what is needed, one who was once brother to the enemy.

The fourth, not all of this world, from beyond, grown beyond, they fight for more than governments.

The strength of all, the knowledge of all, the experience of all.

Once brother to one, once god to one, forged in hell, raised from below. This evil will destroy all, if all cannot destroy it.'

Silence greeted the end of Wesley reading, until Cordelia barked, 'What now!?' Everyone jumped and stared at her, until she pointed sheepishly at the ceiling. 'Gotta go. Back soon.' I hope. And she was gone in a flash, before anyone in the Magick Box could say anything.

Reappearing on the higher plain, Cordelia spun round, looking for the source of the being who had called her, so she could nail their.essence to a wall for dragging her away at such an important stage.

A voice spoke behind her. A very familiar voice. 'Glad to see you finally made it princess.'

Spinning round, she choked, speechless. There, in front of her, was the same, badly dressed, short, annoying, infuriating, brave, wonderful Doyle she had last seen 2 years ago, when he had saved the lives of all those demons, and Angel, and her. Only then, he didn't glow. Giving an inarticulate shriek, she launched herself into his arms.

Fin.

Please look out for my next story. I can't guarantee when it'll get here, but it'll be a Buffy / SG 1 cross and the second part of the four part story I'm writing.