Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. Or any of the characters. I just own my pretty computer that allows me to write...which I really enjoy!

Pairings: Eventually B/A (although I do realize there hasn't been a lot of B/A action just yet...That'll all change! Promise!)

THANKS FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS! I LOVED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! YOU MAKE MY DAY! :D

Trickster-jz: Thanks for saying those nice things about this fic! And no, Buffy doesn't know about Angel and Cordelia and what's going on between them...which isn't a whole lot, since Cordy slept with Connor and stuff...but still. Buffy has no idea those two are...well, I don't wanna say 'in love', but....interested...in each other. Oh and don't worry about being a little behind when it comes to Ats. Just ask whenever you wanna know something!

A/N: Alright, well...honestly writing this chapter wasn't easy. Like I mentioned before, I know what I want with this story, but I haven't figured out the minor details just yet, which causes some problems. I have tons of idea though, so I'm sure it'll all work out, but it isn't easy. So please be patient and if you have ideas, let me know in your review...I might use them. Okay, well...enjoy the chapter. Hopefully it doesn't suck too much and please leave a review! Thanks.

Steffanie (a.k.a Nice-one)

Chapter 9

Buffy slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Where was she? She sat up straight and yawned. Then she remembered: she was in L.A. Or actually, she was in the sewers of L.A. Her head had been resting against the wall when she woke up and the spot next to her was empty. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark and she noticed the dark figure standing in a corner.

"Angel?" Buffy said.

Angel moved a little and did a few steps forward.

"Ssssh...be quiet" he whispered. "I don't wanna wake the others. They need their rest"

"Is it time to go yet?" Buffy asked, whispering this time.

She slowly got up from the cold floor and walked up to him. Angel shook his head.

"No...we're leaving in about 30 minutes"

"What's going on?" Buffy asked. "Why aren't you sleeping like everyone else?"

"I couldn't. I thought it had something to do with an adrenaline-rush from the battle, but then I realized I probably don't have adrenaline rushes...being a creature of the night and all. Which is also a reason I'm not sleeping"

Buffy smiled.

"Maybe you're worried" she stated.

"Maybe...." he agreed.

"After all, your son and friends are in danger...and you want to save them, I get that. Not to mention the responsibility you feel towards all the other people...the world...You have to save everything and everyone"

"Hearing you say that just takes the pressure right off" Angel whispered, sarcastically.

"I'm just saying that I know what you're feeling right now...Maybe that makes you feel better" Buffy explained. "And you're not alone...We're all here to help you. Like you all helped me"

"That does make me feel better" Angel said.

"Good...good"

"And it means a lot to me that you're here...After everything that's happened between us"

"Of course I'm here...I'll always be here. You know that, right?"

Angel nodded.

"I'm sorry" he suddenly whispered.

"Sorry?" Buffy asked, not sure what he was talking about.

"About Spike. And I'm sorry for not saying it sooner. I know you cared about him."

Buffy looked away. Spike. She hadn't thought about him in a few hours...She almost felt guilty about it. She suddenly realized how much she was going to miss him. His sarcasm, his jokes, his strength, his shoulder to cry on, his love for her. Life wasn't going to be the same without him.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked her.

She looked up again and gave Angel a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for saying that. I...I just want you to know that even though Spike was in my heart, he wasn't...."

She didn't know how to finish that sentence. She also knew she didn't have to.

"I know" Angel said.

And they both knew what she meant. No love in the world was stronger than their love for each other. And there never was going to be love that was strong than their love for each other. They didn't need to say it out loud though...They both knew it. Buffy moved a little closer to Angel. She looked at him. The familiar eyes, lips. She saw how he started to lean in and their heads moved closer and closer. Buffy closed her eyes when their lips finally touched and brought her hand to his cheek. She knew it wasn't supposed to happen, that it wouldn't make things better, but yet it could never be avoided when they were together. They deepened the kiss and it brought back memories neither of them wanted to remember, simply because they were too wonderful...and too painful because of that. They could never be together. They both knew it and they both hated it. No matter how much they wanted it, it could never happen. It was why Buffy eventually broke the kiss. This was only going to make things more complicated and that was the last thing they needed. She didn't step back though and being this close to him didn't make it any easier. Eventually it was Angel who stepped away. An awkward silence was all that remained.

"We...we should probably wake the others" Buffy ended the silence. "So they can get ready"

Angel nodded.

"Yeah...that's probably a good idea"

Neither of them moved though or showed any intention to indeed wake the others up. They just stood there, looking at each other.

"Is...Xander going to be okay?" Angel asked, trying make things less awkward.

Buffy was surprised by his question, but she also knew he was just trying to make conversation to break the silence.

"....Yeah, I think so. I hope so...He's trying to pretend nothing is going on and that he's fine. I know he's not. And he knows he's not...I just don't think he's ready to deal with it just yet. Give it time"

Angel nodded slowly.

They both looked up when Faith moved and sat up. She looked at the scene going on in front of her.

"Bad timing?" she asked.

"No...not at all" Buffy answered.

"Oh...good. Cos it would suck if I even have a bad timing when it comes to waking up. When it's completely unintentionally."

Nobody reacted.

"Who else would kill for a shower right about now?" Faith asked as she got up from the floor.

"I think we would all kill for a shower" Buffy agreed.

"Not literally though" Xander said, who had woken up too. "Is anybody else sore? Cos this floor is really nothing like my big fluffy mattress at home....not that I have a home or anything, besides a big hole in the ground, but....you get my point"

"How's your head?" Angel asked Faith.

"Still attached to my neck...which I've been told is a good thing" Faith joked.

Everyone stared at the one person who hadn't woken up yet. Fred. She was curled up in a corner and had pulled the blanket over her head, so only a small part of her forehead was exposed, proving it really was Fred asleep in the corner.

"Should we wake her up?" Buffy asked.

"We can't leave her here...she would freak out" Angel said. "Besides, we need her. She knows exactly what's going on"

"She seems awfully comfortable on that cold, hard floor though" Xander said, rubbing his sore limbs.

"Well, that can be explained" Faith said.

"Yeah, Fred lived in a cave in a hell dimension for a while....a long while" Angel explained.

He walked up to Fred and kneeled down next to her.

"Fred..." he tried.

She didn't move.

He slowly pulled away the blankets and softly shook her a little.

"Fred...Wake up"

Slowly Fred started to wake up.

"Angel?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's me. It's time to go"

When Fred noticed the others staring at her, she quickly sat up.

"Oh, I'm sorry...I was just...."

"Reliving your time in the hell-dimension. We get it" Xander said and he smiled at Fred.

Fred got up from the floor.

"Well, who needs Cordelia when there's Xander for all your subtle comments?" Faith sarcastically said.

When she realized what she had said, she quickly added:

"Sorry...I didn't mean we don't need Cordelia...I'm just saying that Xander wasn't exactly being subtle...and since that isn't exactly Cordy's strongest point either, I...."

"We get it" Angel said.

A silence fell. This time it wasn't an awkward silence. They were just thinking about what was to come and what was going to happen. They were all afraid things wouldn't work out and the world would be doomed. They couldn't let that happen....and they wouldn't.

By the time they had reached the hotel, the realization of how serious all of this was had kicked in. People had been walking aimlessly through the streets, announcing how great Jasmine was, how she was their 'rescuer' and how she brought peace. A woman had come up to them asking them if they had ever felt this great before, Angel had responded with a no, knowing they couldn't risk being exposed. Fred was very afraid. She was scared people would know she wasn't under Jasmine's spell, since Jasmine and some of her bodyguards were after her, but it seemed as if besides Jasmine and her helpers, no one knew about it. Luckily.

"You know, this is my hotel" Angel said. "My stuff is inside there..."

"Then I say it's time we take it back" Faith said.

"Yeah...and we will...just not now. We came for the blood. We have to stick to the plan" Buffy said.

"Who died and made you the leader of the group?" Faith asked.

"You mean besides Anya and Spike?" Xander asked her.

"Alright...wrong choice of words...but why is she suddenly the leader?"

"I'm sorry, but wasn't this your plan? To get the blood?" Buffy said, a little offended.

"Yes, exactly...which is why I have the right to change my plan. All the people here are crazy! I want to end this right now"

"Don't you think we all do?" Fred asked, softly.

"But we can't. One step at the time, remember?" Buffy said.

"Buffy's right. We stick to the plan. One step at the time" Angel spoke.

Faith shook her head, but didn't say anything. Just like no one dared to say anything to that. They all looked up at the building.

"Maybe we should just walk in through the front door" Xander suggested.

"Right...so we can immediately run into Jasmine, make her our goddess and doom the rest of the world? Yeah...let's do that" Faith sarcastically said.

"Jasmine is never downstairs...unless announced otherwise and she makes a quick appearance for her admirers...The lobby is probably filled with them" Fred said.

"So...maybe my plan isn't that bad" Xander said proudly.

"We could pretend to be admirers and sneak in" Buffy continued working out the plan.

"We could sneak upstairs and find Cordy" Fred said.

"Sounds like a plan. And it also sounds much better than climbing in through bedroom windows....plus it's MY plan, so..." Xander said.

Angel stared at the hotel, thinking. The others were waiting for him to agree to the plan...or not. Eventually Angel opened his mouth.

"Yeah..alright...Let's do that"

It didn't sound like he had a lot of faith in the plan, but the truth was that none of them had a lot of faith in it, considering all the risks they were taking.

"And it's save for me too....they won't notice me in the big crowd" Fed said, relieved.

"The only thing we have to make sure of is that we don't run into: Gunn or Wes or Lorne...or Connor....or Jasmine of course." Faith said.

They all nodded. It didn't sound like waterproof plan, but they also knew they didn't have a choice. It was now or never.

They tried to act as casual as possible when they entered the hotel lobby. Fred had been right, the place was crowded with people. Even entire camera crews were there, reporting live from the hotel lobby. Angel realized how bad it would be if the camera only got a glimpse of Jasmine. It would cause the entire world to fall under Jasmine's spell. They split up and spread through the big crowd. They realized they didn't look that casual, because they kept looking around to see if the others were still there, but they hoped and prayed the people wouldn't notice. The stairs were guarded by big men who made sure no one would be able to get upstairs without permission. It was going to be tough to get pass them. Buffy searched for Angel and eventually found him standing near the stairs. He motioned for her to come to him. Buffy made her way through the crowd, trying to smile and look happy like every one else.

"This is sickening..." Buffy murmured, while making her way through the crowd. "No one smiles like this"

She finally reached Angel.

"Isn't this sickening?" she whispered in his ear.

"It was already sickening to begin with" Angel answered.

"Smile" Buffy ordered him.

Angel tried to bring a smile upon his face. Buffy saw Faith on the other end of the room, smiling the fakest smile Buffy had ever seen. Fred and Xander were standing together still near the door. Ready to leave any second.

Buffy nodded to the stairs.

"Any ideas?" she asked Angel.

"Yep...you are going to distract them"

"Me? Distract THEM?"

Angel nodded.

"Distract them? As in flirting with them?" Buffy asked, just to make sure.

"You can do it"

"Of course I can do it...but I'm not going to, because....they would be oblivious to my flirting. There's only one thing on their mind: Jasmine. Even I can't change that" Buffy objected.

Angel sighed.

"Then what are we gonna do?" Angel asked her.

"We're going to tell them that we have something for Jasmine...that she send us to get her some food....or something"

"Fred said she eats people" Angel said.

"Even better, cos we can just pretend to be the food"

Buffy searched for eye contact with Faith to let her know she had to come over here. Faith picked up the hint pretty fast and made her way through the crowd. Fred and Xander had noticed it too and walked up to Buffy and Angel.

"What's the plan?" Xander asked, when they were all standing together.

"We're gonna be Jasmine's food" Buffy announced.

Before the others had a chance to react to that, Faith looked at the stairs and said:

"I have a better idea: Hide!"

Everyone looked up and saw a guy coming down the stairs. Fred, Angel and Faith had immediately recognized him. It was Gunn. The three of them looked around, then crawled under a table that was standing near them.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"Gunn" Angel said from under the table.

"Oh...great" Buffy said.

She and Xander moved and stood in front of the table, trying to cover up that three people were hiding under it. Gunn made his way down the stairs, pass the big men. He passed Buffy and Xander without even looking at them twice. A woman that was standing next to Xander had noticed the three under the table and gave Xander a weird look. Xander hesitated, then he stuttered:

"Yeah, I know...Kinda weird, huh? It's just....They are so happy. They were so excited about Jasmine that they just HAD to......hide under the table....We all have our ways to express our happiness."

The woman didn't seem convinced, but she walked away anyway.

"Smooth" Buffy told Xander.

Gunn was still walking through the crowd. He looked at all the different people. Then he walked pass a camera crew that pulled him in front of their camera and started asking him questions. His back was facing them now. The opportunities weren't going to get much better.

"Now" Buffy said, while walking away from the table to the stairs.

"Now what?" Xander asked, clueless about the plan.

Fred, Angel and Faith got up from under the table and followed Buffy. Xander did the same.

Buffy stood still in front of the big men and smiled at them. The men smiled back at them.

"Hi. I'm here with.....the people Jasmine asked for" Buffy said, trying to act normal, but happy.

The men exchanged looks.

"Jasmine already had her people for the day" One of the men spoke.

"Oh....really?" Buffy asked. "Well...that makes sense, cos I'm a little late. But...Jasmine specifically asked for these people. She's not going to be happy if she won't get them"

Fred decided it would be best to stand behind Angel, since he was the biggest and there was a chance the men would know about her. Angel kept one eye on Gunn.

"Let me ask Jasmine's father about this first, okay?" Another one of the men said. "Just wait here. I'll be right back"

Connor! Angel thought. The man was going to ask Connor.

"Why don't we come with you immediately? Otherwise you have to come back to get us when he says it's okay" Buffy said.

The men exchanged looks again, then the man that was going to ask Jasmine's father nodded.

"Come with me" he said and climbed the stairs.

Angel saw how the camera crew was wrapping things up with Gunn. They didn't have much time left. They followed the man and started walking faster and faster, the fear of getting caught worse than ever.

"I really appreciate this." Buffy said. "And I'm sure Jasmine will too"

The man smiled. Buffy tried to smile back at him.

Then, the second they were out of everyone's sight, Buffy knocked him out against a wall.

"Sorry..." she said. "And I really did appreciate it"

Now they were standing in the big hall with doors on both sides. Where should they begin?

A/N: Okay, that was it for now. Pretty long chapter, huh? I'm so proud of myself! :-D No, just kidding. I had a lot of trouble writing this and I'm not entirely happy with it, but I'm glad I managed to finish another chapter! I'll try to update asap, but...my dad is probably going to get my computer fixed (its' not working like it's supposed to) and that could take a long time...months even. But it could also take two weeks, so I don't know if I'll be able to update any time soon. I'll try to though. I'll do the best I can. Well, thanks for reading this and please leave a review!

Steffanie (a.k.a Nice-one)