CHAPTER 5

Historical Note: This Trilogy takes place in the fifth season of Buffy, and the third season of Angel.

Author's Note: By now in the show, Dawn has joined the Summers' family, but the arrival of Glory will be postponed due to my stories perspective; which is about Buffy, Angel, and Connor.

Also, you'll notice that some of the plots from both of the shows later episodes are happening sooner since I've altered a lot of both shows story lines.

Thank You Note: I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's given my story a chance and took the time to read them. And the feedback, thanks sooo much for the feedback! It's really helped me, and made me realize some of the mistakes I may have made, or just things I could add to make it better. Thanks SOO much!!

Buffy awoke the next day before Angel did. She stretched and carefully sat up, not wanting to wake him. She then couldn't help but to extend her hand towards his face to touch him.

All of a sudden, Angel smiled as his eyes opened. Buffy pulled her hand back quickly.

"Morning," she whispered. Angel looked at her, still smiling.

"Hey," he whispered back as he slowly sat up. "Feeling better this morning?" he asked. Buffy nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about last night. I was really tired," she explained.

"I could tell. You fell asleep not even ten minutes after you hit the pillow," he told her. Buffy laughed just as they heard a knock on the door and Joyce slowly opened it.

"Well, good morning you too," Joyce said as she leaned against the doorframe in her thick bathrobe holding a cup of coffee in her hands. Buffy smiled.

"Good morning," Buffy said smiling.

"Good morning Joyce. I hope we didn't wake you," he said.

"No. Not at all," she assured him. "I thought I heard movement, and decided to say good morning," she explained.

"Well, I'm glad you came in to say good morning," Buffy said with a trace of happiness in her voice as she smiled. Joyce looked at her daughter.

"It's good to see you smile. Its been a while since I've see it or heard you laugh," Joyce noted as she herself smiled at her daughter. "Thank you Angel," Joyce said now looking at Buffy's boyfriend.

"For what?" he asked.

"For making my daughter's smile. I miss seeing her happy, and we both know it's been hard on everyone," she explained.

"It has, and I think were doing better with that," he told her. Joyce smiled at the two of them.

"Oh, would you two like something to eat? Dawn's already eaten her breakfast," she asked them. "Angel, I noticed there was a carton of blood in the fridge, would you like me to warm it up for you?" she offered.

"Thanks," he told her. Joyce nodded then looked at her daughter.

"Buffy? Is there anything you want?" She asked her daughter. Angel looked at Buffy sternly.

"I'll um, have some of that left over pizza," she said.

"Alright, fine," Joyce said as she left the doorway and the two of them heard her climb down the stairs. Buffy looked back at Angel, and noticed his expression.

"What?" she asked. "You wanted me to eat something, and I am." Angel smiled at her.

"Alright. Granted I drink blood; shouldn't you eat something more...breakfasty? Like Cereal or, something,"

"Are you trying to give me a hard time?" Buffy asked challengingly. She couldn't help but smile as she turned around to face him.

"Why would I do that?" he asked. Before she was able to answer, he quickly began tickling her. Since he knew where she was the most ticklish, he seemed to have the upper hand as Buffy kicked and tried to squirm away.

"Angel no; stop!" Buffy said as she tried to crawl away from him. Then suddenly, Buffy fell off her bed and onto the floor with Angel following as he fell on top of her. As the two of them fell onto the floor, they created a thump sound Buffy knew her mother had heard.

"No rough housing you too!" Joyce called up.

Buffy looked up at Angel as she continued to smile at him, even though he had stopped tickling her.

She pulled his face down for a kiss. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around his back. Angel's kisses then trailed down her neck, getting carried away in the moment. All their feelings and grief screaming to be forgotten, even if just for a moment.

"Ahem," Dawn said as she stood in the doorway; her arms folded in front of her chest as she stood there looking at them. Buffy and Angel both jumped at the sound of her sister's voice "Don't let mom catch you two," Dawn warned. "Oh, and breakfast is ready," she told them before she left.

"Buffy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." Angel trailed off.

"No. I shouldn't have. It's just...hard. I want you so bad, and I know we cant..."

"Right," Angel said as he slowly got up. He then extended his hand so that he could help Buffy up.

"Thanks," she said as he pulled her up.

"We should probably go down and eat," Buffy suggested. She could feel the heat in her cheeks from being caught with Angel on top of her, even if it was just her sister.

"Right," he agreed quickly as the two of them headed out of her room.

* * *

By the time night came, Buffy, Angel and Joyce were sitting in the living room talking about what had been going on since the last saw each other.

"I still can't get over the idea that Spike can't hurt anyone anymore," Angel told them. Buffy smiled.

"I know. I can't either. Although he has been useful with helping me fight," She admitted. Angel raised his eyebrow.

"You're kidding. Spike helps you kill vampires?" he asked. Buffy nodded.

"I guess he can still beat on demons and, things. So I figure we can use him for fighting," she explained.

"Oh."

"Plus he figures if he helps us out, he'll be protected against all the other demons that are out for him." Angel smiled. Now that sounded more like the Spike he knew.

"Did I miss anything good?" Dawn asked as she entered the room with a large bowl of popcorn. She crossed the room and sat in between Buffy and Angel on the couch.

"We were just talking about Spike fighting alongside your sister," Angel told her.

"It's pretty funny, huh?" Dawn asked.

"Considering I know Spike in a very different way, yeah I guess it's funny," he told her. Dawn looked at him with a confused face.

"I'll explain it to you another time," he promised. Joyce looked at the clock.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed young lady?" Joyce asked. Dawn looked at her with her mother with a mortified expression.

"Mom, are you serious? It's nine thirty, and it's not a school night!" Dawn argued. "Besides, Angel's here, and you know as well as I do he's not here all the time," she pointed out desperately. She then looked at Angel.

"Oh no. Don't get me involved in this," he told her.

"Oh come on. I like, never get to see you,"

"Dawn, you know I love you, but your mother is right. You should probably go to bed," he told her. Dawn looked at him.

"I thought you didn't want to get in the middle of this," she reminded him.

"Dawn," Joyce reminded her. Buffy decided to step in.

"Besides, Angel and I have to go out and take a quick sweep through anyways," Buffy told her. Dawn sighed and got up.

"Yeah, I see a lot of hunting being done in that scenario," Dawn commented as she began to walk towards the stairs. Joyce couldn't help but laugh. Buffy on the other hand looked at Dawn.

"Bed. Now," she told her trying to keep her tone serious. After Dawn disappeared upstairs, Buffy turned towards Angel, who was smiling at her sister's comment.

"It's not funny," she told him. She then looked over at her mother, who was smiling also. "It's not," she told her mother as she got up.

"Alright. Angel, let's go. We have patrolling to do," she said as she grabbed her and Angel's coat.

"Oh and guys? Try not to be home too late," she asked them. Buffy rolled her eyes before shutting the door.

* * *Quick Author's Note! I know, I know, I had to bring the 'Cladding' (-did I spell that right??)

Ring back. I always wondered just exactly what the hell happened to it. Last I knew of it, Buffy put it on the floor in the mansion the same night angel came back in season 3. BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED TO IT EXACTLY! Lol. Sorry, frustrating subject, lol.**************

Buffy and Angel arrived home a few hours later. To their surprise, the night had gone a lot easier than either of them had expected it to. There were only a few "noobie" vampires out and about, and it didn't take them long to dust them.

Angel followed Buffy into the kitchen and sat down as she walked over to the fridge and grabbed a carton of juice. He then remembered he had something for her in his pocket he had forgotten about until just now.

"Tonight went pretty well don't you think?" Buffy asked before she sipped her juice.

"Yeah, It was pretty easy," he agreed with her as he watched her. "Hey Buffy, do you remember the ring that I gave you on your seventeenth birthday?" he asked. Buffy looked at him with a confused expression.

"Of coarse I do; why?" she asked as she walked towards the counter. Angel then looked up at her.

"I, I have something for you," He told her as he stood up and reached into his pocket. Buffy walked over to him as he pulled out a familiar silver ring.

"Oh my god. How did you find it? I left it in the mansion before you came back," she explained.

"Oh um, while I was packing; before I went to L.A.; I came across a shiny object in the corner of the main room," he explained.

"In the room where I put it," Buffy whispered.

"I was going to give it to you before I left, but we were arguing, then Faith shot me with that poison arrow and I kind of forgot," he admitted as he held it in his hand. Buffy looked at it as if she was in a trance. She then remembered back to the night Angel had first given it to her...

They looked at each other as they stood on the dock with saddened expressions. Trouble came and ruined her plans as usual, only this time; the evil was forcing Angel far away from her; and on her birthday. She couldn't bear to say goodbye to him; She needed him so much. They needed each other desperately.

"I have something for you. For your birthday. I was going to give it to you earlier, but..." He told her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an antique looking ring.

It was a beautiful silver ring. Two hands held a crowned heart. Buffy had never seen anything so beautiful in her whole life.

"It's beautiful," She told him.

Angel's voice was husky from trying to hold back his emotions, as he knew he had to leave her. "My people...before I was changed, they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. It's a Claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship; the crown represents loyalty; and the heart, well, you know..." He smiled. "Wear it with the heart pointing towards you, it means you belong to someone. Like this," He explained. He then showed her his own hand. He was wearing a ring that looked the same as hers, and the heart was pointing towards him. He belonged to someone. She remembered knowing the 'someone' was her. She felt the tears build in her eyes.... (Copied part of that from a Buffy/Angel book I own, not all of the italic part is mine!!)

"Buffy?" Angel asked. Buffy blinked as her mind came back to the present. Angel looked at her worriedly.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Buffy nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him. Angel smiled as he put the ring on her finger.

"There," he said as they both looked down at the ring on her finger.

"Thank you," she told him as she hugged him. The ring had meant the world to her back then, but after she sent Angel to hell, she thought she'd never see him again. So she brought it to the Mansion and placed it in the floor where she and Angel had shared their last kiss; or so she thought.. After Angel had returned, she had gone back one evening, and tried to look for it, but was unable to find it. She was so upset that she had lost the ring he had given to her.

"I've really got to stop walking in on this stuff. I'm going to be scarred for life," Dawn said as she entered the kitchen in her pajamas. Both of their gazes were now on her sister as she walked over towards the fridge and pulled out the ice cream box from the freezer.

"Dawn, what are you doing? Its almost midnight, and your down here eating ice cream?" Buffy asked as they watched Dawn scoop out large scoops of ice cream into a bowl.

"Mom wouldn't let me. She said it would rot my teeth. Only I don't know why we even have it if it rots your teeth," Dawn explained.

"So why do think I'm going to let you?" she asked. Dawn shrugged.

"Buffy, just let her. It won't kill her," Angel told her as Dawn waked over and sat beside them. Buffy walked over to the Ice cream carton and put it back into the freezer.

"So what flavor you got there?" he asked curiously trying to make conversation with her.

"Cookie Dough Fudge Mint Chip," she told him proudly as she scooped a bite into her mouth. Angel smiled and looked at Buffy. She slowly turned around towards them at the sound of the flavor. Apparently she was thinking the same thing because Angel noticed her cheeks had turned red.

"Really. I love that flavor," Angel told her as he raised an eyebrow. Buffy felt as if she was about to die. Dawn looked at Angel confused.

"Ok. Correct me if I'm wrong, but vampire's can't taste anything but Blood, right?" she asked.

"Right. I mean to say, I liked that flavor back..." he trailed off knowing she wasn't buying it.

"But your like two hundred and forty something years old. They didn't have Ice cream back then." Dawn corrected him. Buffy loudly cleared her throat.

"Dawn, why don't you go eat your ice cream upstairs in your room," Buffy suggested.

"Why?" she asked. Buffy walked over and grabbed Angel's hand.

"Because were going to bed," Buffy told her. Angel walked over to Dawn. He hugged her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight Dawn. I'll see you in the morning," he told her before Buffy tugged on his hand once more.

"Fine. Goodnight guys, and lay off the smoochies," she told them before they disappeared up the stairs.