Angel carried Buffy up the stairs to his room at the hotel. The waiting area was quiet and blessedly nobody was inside to question him about her. Gently, he pulled the covers back and placed her between the sheets. "I want you to rest" he told her pointedly "no playing for Buffy for a few days".

"I don't want to stay in bed" she complained "I'm not good at doing nothing".  Angel draped his jacket over the edge of the bed, "don't worry you won't be alone" he assured her, joining her on the bed. Buffy looked wary "are you sure about this?" she asked.

Pulling her into his arms and holding her close "I can handle anything except not having you close" he whispered into her hair. Buffy smiled and snuggled into his embrace. "What did you see in England?" Angel asked her.

"Giles took us to the countryside" she smiled "they have some massive homes, there". Angel chuckled "yeah, they call them castles" he said. "Whatever, they were really big" she said in amazement.

"Why didn't you call or write?" he asked "we were all worried about you?" Buffy shrugged her shoulders "I don't know" she sighed "I was just enoying my not being "THE" slayer for a change, ya know?" she cocked her head.

Angel nodded "I know exactly how you feel" he sighed "sometimes I wish I could just quit". Buffy looked up at him "I hate that we have to be apart" she admitted "that's why I came back." Angel pulled her even closer, "I hate it too" he sighed "but I'd rather have you here than on the street somewhere."

Buffy yawned feeling the effect of her trip and being sick. "Okay, enough talk" Angel declared "time for Buffy to go to bed".  Buffy was too tired to argue, and fell asleep against him. Angel reached around her, pulling her into his arms. Lowering them both under the covers, he folded her into his arms and pulled her as close to him as he could.

With a contented sigh, he fell promptly asleep…

"Where is Angel?" Spike roared "I need that ring".  Willow threw him a dirty look "pipe down Spike" she chided him, "he got in really late last night. Why don't you use the sewer tunnels?"

Spike through her a dirty look "remember what happened last time I tried that Red?" he asked? Boy did she, Spike knew Sunnydale like the back of his hand, but LA was a bit too much for him.

"Angelus" Spike paced the floor in front of Angel's room. The door swung open with a fury "Will you please shut-up?" Angel spat through clenched teeth "one of us in this room is trying to sleep?"

Spike raised an eyebrow "one of us?" he questioned "just how many of us are in there?" he asked.  "Aw hell" Angel swore "I was trying not to share yet". With a defeated sigh, he opened the door, letting Willow and Spike walk in. "Buffy" Willow shrieked "when did you get here?"

Willow ran across the room and enveloped her best friend into a hug. Spike watched from across the room, "yes, when did you get here?" he repeated Willow's question. "I brought her home from the hospital last night" Angel said.

"Hospital" Willow and Spike said together. Spike was the first to recover "what happened?" he demanded "tell me where the vamp is and I'll dust him". Angel cringed at those words "sorry killer" he shot back "but the bad guy here appears to have been a virus, not a vampire."

"Are you okay?" Willow asked, concern etched on her face. Buffy nodded "I'm just a little tired is all." Angel stood at the door, holding it open "which means you two are leaving". Spike glanced at him "what about you?" he asked. "This is my room" he reminded the other vampire. "She's not yours" Spike pointed toward Buffy. Willow threw her hands up in the air "She's always been mine" Angel said with deadly silence as he pushed Spike out the door "you can't change that".

The door slammed with resounding force as Angel shut the other vamp in the hall. "Did I mention how much I hate him?" Angel turned to Buffy. She just shook her head "been there, done that, time to get over it" she said. "when I left you were supposed to have a normal relationship" Angel reminded her "he is not normal".

"I tried normal" Buffy answered "remember Riley, and lets not forget good ole' love em' and leave em' Parker".  Angel sat on the bed beside her "I didn't like soldier boy either" he admitted. "Another thing you have in common with Spike" she replied.

Angel sighed, he knew it was his fault that she got involved with the wrong people. He did choose to leave, even if it was for their own good. "Angel" she took his hand "I know you don't like it and I know you feel guilty, but don't" she looked him in the eye. "Spike was there when I needed him to be. I mean losing my mother, dealing with Adam and Riley, not to mention Glory" she shuddered.

"When the guys brought me back from death, I just felt so…I don't know alone" she sighed "and the only person that really helped me deal was Spike".  Angel thought about what she said "I helped a little, right" he asked hopefully. "Of course, you did.  I'll always love you, you know that" she looked at him, "but you choose to leave and after Faith came back to L.A., it just felt different."

Angel remembered that time, it was a dark time for both of them. So dark in fact, he went to Sunnydale, only to be accosted by Riley Finn and his men. "And what about now" he asked "where does Spike fit into your life?" Buffy shrugged her shoulders "Spike doesn't fit into my life, he never did" she answered "he was more or less a distraction, we both realized that in the end."

"And me?" Angel asked "what am I?" Buffy looked thoughtful "you are what you have always been" she said caressing his palm with her thumb "the one guy I measure every other guy up to." Of course, all of them fell short of that model, they both knew that. "Too bad none of them ever measured up" Angel scoffed. "Well, once you've had perfect, you don't want to settle" Buffy responded.

Apparently content with her answer, Angel pulled her into his arms "you got that right" he murmured into her hair.