Title: Always and Forever

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, it all belongs to Joss (he is evil but he is a god nonetheless), the WB, Fox, and Mutant Enemy (Grrr Arrrg). Please don't sue, I have no money, so all you'd get is a creepy cat...

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Chapter 3

When Buffy had finally stopped crying, it was almost a half-hour since Xander had left, unknown to her, to get Angel. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were stained with tears. She didn't look happy.

Willow glanced up from the computer she was researching on and saw her friend descending the stairs. "Oh, hey, Buffy!" she called, trying to sound bright.

Buffy shivered a little, wrapping her arms around herself. "Hey. Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, research," Willow said. "Laura O'Brien was admitted to hospital a little while ago. She was badly beaten, and I visited her the other day. She told me she'd gone down to the basement to smoke, and some guy suddenly appeared out of the shadows and pummeled her. She told me he said 'lucky nineteen', before he knocked her out."

"Lucky nineteen?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"Yeah," Willow said. "I've been surfing the Net for a while, but the only connection I can make between lucky nineteen and Billy Palmer is Little League. You know, number nineteen?"

"Was Billy number nineteen?"

"Yeah, he sure was," Willow said. "Now if I could just-"

She was interrupted by the library door banging open and Xander and Angel striding in. Giles came out of his office at the arrival, and Willow stood abruptly, almost knocking her chair over. Buffy took one look at Angel and turned the other way, moving up to the stacks.

"Hey," Xander greeted Willow and Giles. "So, uh, I didn't exactly tell Angel what was going on, I thought Buffy should tell him herself."

"Uh, yes, that's...uh...very thoughtful of you, yes," Giles murmured. "So, then, Buffy-" he turned to where Buffy had been standing and was faced with an empty space. He hadn't seen her retreat to the stacks, but Angel had. His every fiber, every being was focussed on her. Xander had told him something was wrong, but he hadn't said what, and Angel was desperate to find out.

He moved slowly to the stairs and climbed them, keeping his eyes trained on Buffy the entire time. The three below him stood silently, trying not to make it completely obvious that they were eavesdropping. Angel moved in and out of the bookshelves until he found Buffy, standing in the corner, looking extremely upset. She shivered a little when she saw him, a little afraid, a little lusty, and a lot ashamed.

"Buffy," he greeted her in that honey-toned voice of his.

"Angel," she sniffled, tears building in the corners of her eyes.

Angel moved closer until he was standing right in front of her, reaching out and taking her hand.

"Angel, I...I'm not..." Buffy couldn't get the words out. She tried again. "Angel, I've...changed...and..."

"Shhh, it's okay," he whispered, collecting her up into a big hug. "It's okay, Buffy." She melted into his arms, crying softly against his chest. They slipped to the floor, and he held her, leaning against the wall, until she cried until she had no tears left. When she was all cried out, Angel pulled her back so he could look at her.

"Buffy, I know," he whispered to her. "I understand. I could sense it from the beginning. I know you're a vampire, baby." She sniffled, and settled against his chest again. She liked it there.

"How did you know?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Vampires just have a sixth sense for the undead, I guess. I knew you weren't human anymore the second I walked in the door."

"You did?" she asked in a tiny voice.

He nodded. "But, uh, I didn't know why?"

She sighed. "Long story," she muttered. "But here's the short version. There's a little kid in a coma at Sunnydale General Hospital, and until he comes out of it, everyone's worst nightmares are coming true. Xander was chased by a clown, Willow was forced to sing in front of an audience, Giles couldn't read, and I...well, I became a vampire."

"You dreamed of becoming a vampire?" he asked her softly.

She nodded. "I told Giles that I didn't; that it was real. I thought it was at first. But now that I think about it, I remember I did have the dream about a year ago, when I first found out I was the Slayer."

"What do you feel now?" Angel asked.

"Now?" Buffy replied. "Um, I feel very strong, a little tired, uh, and, um...I feel...uh...well..."

"Hungry?" Angel murmured.

Buffy blushed, embarrassed. "Yeah, okay, I'm hungry. But not for blood. Ew, no way, I'm not doing it!"

"Okay, okay!" Angel laughed a little. "Settle down. No one's going to make you. But if you eat food, it won't do anything, you know. You'll still be hungry. And you know what happens to vampires who don't eat?"

"Do I really want to?"

"They literally become a walking skeleton," Angel told her. "Their flesh comes off, and their bones keep walking around without it."

Despite the circumstances, Buffy had to giggle at the thought of a pile of bones walking around. "But Angel, that won't happen for a while, right? I mean, I'm sure we can come up with an alternative."

Angel's eyes flashed as he got an idea. "I'm sure we can," he replied.

Taking her hand, he pulled her to her feet and they walked down the stairs to the ground level, where Giles, Willow, and Xander were all trying to look busy, and not like they'd been trying to listen to a conversation for the past ten minutes.

"Hey guys, any luck with the research?" Buffy asked as she walked up behind Willow and looked over her shoulder at the Internet articles she was pulling up. She seemed a lot happier than before Angel was there.

"Nothing yet, Buffy," Willow gave her friend a smile. "But I'm sure we'll find something soon. And I'm going to start looking for a way to wake up Billy, so all the nightmares will stop and you'll be human again."

"Great," Buffy said, hugging her arms to her chest. Angel had sat down at the table, and Buffy walked over to join him, lowering herself into his lap. Willow and Giles exchanged a look at the newfound closeness between them, while Xander just gaped and fumed inwardly. Buffy intertwined her fingers with Angel and snuggled closer to his chest, feeling linked to him in some way, now that they were both vampires.

"Well, as much as I hate to ruin this Kodak moment," Xander interrupted, hopping off the counter and walking towards Buffy and Angel. "You two should know that the sun rose a good ten minutes ago, and soon it'll be high enough to shine in here, so I suggest you find shelter unless you want to fit in an ashtray."

Buffy glared at him. "Thank you, Xander, I'm sure your advice will be put to good use," she replied with a hint of sarcasm. She turned to the librarian. "Giles, what are we going to do?"

"Hmmm?" Giles roused himself from his books. "Oh, um, well, I suppose...I...I don't..."

"There's a sewer access," Angel cut in. "It leads to my apartment. We can get there without catching a ray of sun."

"Sounds good," Buffy replied. She looked at each of the humans in turn. "Well, I guess we'll be catching you guys later." She gave a little wave, then turned and followed Angel out through the stacks.

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TBC!