Part 1

November 2004

Angel brushed his lips close to Buffy's ear and whispered softly; his warm breath tickling the hairs on her neck, making a shiver run down her spine.
A slow smile spread across her face and she swooped down, grabbing the tiles from the rack and placing them triumphantly across the board one at a time using a G from Xander's Surfing.

"I, G, N, E, O, U, S. Igneous! hah take that! And oooh triple word score!" She crowed, gaining a chuckle from Angel and huff from Xander.

"Since when was it a good idea to let Angel play? He knows more words than should be allowed!" Xander grumbled, scanning his own row of tiles.

"That's what happens when you read, Xan," Willow sniggered. The friends were divided up into pairs: Robin and Faith, Buffy and Angel, and Willow and Xander. Gunn was spending the evening with his crew, more than likely giving them a stern talking to for recent misadventures. So far in the game, Willow and Xander and Buffy and Angel were neck and neck, so Xander's whining was more in fun than anything else. Although his competitive streak when it came to Angel hadn't diminished since high school.

"You know next time the power goes out and you complain your bored, I'm gonna use you as vampire bait, cause that would be a hell of a lot more fun than listenin' to you whine, Harris." Faith snapped, a little annoyed that she and her high school principle boyfriend were tailing so far behind. True they spent the majority of the game making out, rather than watching the board, but still, out of all of them Robin was the only one to have finished college, that should count for something.

"Nahh, vampires tend to be fussy eaters." Angel said deadpanned, causing Xander to scowl and the girls to snigger.

"See that has to be wrong, cause hey, they picked you," Xander shot back, outward appearances aside, the banter between the pair tended to be light hearted and all comments said in jest. They would never be friends, but they got by in each other's presence by letting off steam by verbal sparring. Willow put it down to Alpha male syndrome since day one, way back when in Sunnydale. Angel was Alpha and Xander was Beta, and even though Xander was no longer vying for the attentions of the Alpha female, it didn't stop him pushing his luck.

"What can I say, Darla wanted a pretty boy," Angel tossed back with a shrug and then his face twisted into the notorious Angelus smirk, "pity she got more that she bargained for."

"Gahhhhhh, do not, do that!" Xander shuddered, "its seriously creepy."

"Maybe he wouldn't have to do that if you'd shut up and play!" Buffy laughed, leaning back into Angel's chest. Angel wrapped his arms around her waist and shifted her slightly on his lap, with a grunt. Turning her head so she could look at him, Buffy shot him a concerned look. "You ok?"

"Legs gone to sleep." Angel replied sheepishly. Buffy bit her lip and gave him an apologetic look before sliding off his lap to sit beside him on the couch.

"Some things you can't do with a circulation huh?" she said softly, snuggling into his side. As the game continued Buffy thought back over the last two weeks since the fight with Tolezar's minion. They'd talked, quite a bit actually, between Angel's personal mission to sort and familiarise himself with the book collection, and she and Faith getting back into serious training and patrolling. They'd put up some extra bookcases in the morning room and turned it into a study room, and also cleared out a section of the basement and filled with training equipment. Angel had been helping the two slayers train in a purely observatory and advisory capacity so far; he still wasn't allowed to do much more than take a short walk or other light exercise, so training was definitely out. He seemed content though, and Buffy had to wonder whether he was as keen to get back into the physical action as everyone thought he was, or maybe he was just enjoying things day by day, which considering his brush with death no less that 6 weeks ago, was hardly surprising.

Angel had taken to his role as 'book guy' like a duck to water, but things were less settled in their personal life. With everything going on, the talks they had, had been mostly catching up; major slaying events, demons they'd fought, world in peril stuff. The more personal stuff was yet to be properly explored. She still didn't know the full story about why he went over to Wolfram and Hart, oh she knew the party line, the 'belly of the beast' thing, but she felt there was to it than that. From what she knew, Wolfram and Hart had been a thorn in Angel's side since his arrival in LA, so his explanation didn't really cut it.

On the flip side, she hadn't found the courage to broach the subject of Spike yet. The only real talk they'd had about him had been in the cemetery back in Sunnydale, and that hadn't exactly gone to plan. Buffy knew she would have to talk to him about it, they'd promised each other no secrets. They had to start with no skeletons in the closet, but she wasn't totally naïve; she had become an expert at keeping secrets and Angel had so much past, that at some point something was going to jump up and bite them in the ass.

So apart from not really having talked everything through, things were good between them. They cuddled, they kissed and they worked well together; it wasn't as intense as it once was, but they were both gun shy. To be honest, Buffy was grateful that Angel had put the brakes on anything they did. Older and wiser, she knew they had to go slowly if they had any chance of lasting. They had made a number promises to each other, to be honest, patient and nonjudgmental about anything that happened when they were apart. She intended to keep those promises, and she knew Angel did too, their relationship meant too much to both of them to mess it up.

Angel watched as Buffy performed a graceful, violent ballet in the guise of ridding Los Angeles of its newly risen fledglings. God, he loved watching her, the way she moved; so small, yet so deadly. No one would believe that it was the same girl who was snuggled into his side, playing Scrabble by candlelight the night before.

Getting up from the gravestone he'd been sat on, Angel moved round and perched himself on another to get a better view. They were in one of the many cemeteries in LA, Faith and Buffy had looked over most of them while working out patrol routes, and this was one of the worst for new risers. Angel could have told them that without them scouting them all out, but he'd felt they would be better off getting used to the differences between Sunnydale and LA on their own. As a result this was the first time he'd been on patrol with Buffy since he'd taken on the role of 'Book Guy', along with everything else that title didn't cover. He wasn't too bothered, he knew better than anyone his own limitations, less than a month out of hospital he was far from recovered; running to catch the garbage men the week before had left him bed bound the rest of the day and had earned him a stern lecture from all three of his constant mother hens. His argument had been that had they bothered to take out the garbage the night before or got up before midday, he wouldn't have had to do it.

He wasn't surprised when he had broached the subject of accompanying Buffy that night, that she laid down a strict set of conditions; he wasn't to get involved with the slaying, he was to carry a loaded crossbow, a stake and holy water and he was to wrap up warm. He couldn't forget her incredulous look when he simply chuckled and agreed; most of what she'd said he's already thought of. He had no intention of dying or getting turned again, and now sat in the crisp November air, he was more than grateful for the extras layers.

He hada specific reason for wanting to come along, it would be the first time Buffy had patrolled alone in LA in nearly a decade. Both she and Faith felt they were in less than top form after such a long period of inactivity, so they had resolved to patrol together until they were confident enough to go solo. However, Faith had agreed to attend a school function with Robin and Buffy didn't what to not patrol.

Shifting uncomfortably on the tombstone as the cold seeped through his coat and started to numb his rear, Angel frowned as he continued to watch his Slayer. She had been pounding the same fledge for well over 10 minutes now, and the newly risen vampire was beginning to resemble puree. Raising his crossbow, he waited for an opening and fired, taking pity on the batted vampire. As the dust settled Buffy straightened and scowled at her sort of boyfriend.

"I was handling it!" She huffed, a deep scowl marring her features.

"A little too well," Angel replied as he loaded another bolt into the bow, without looking up he spoke again. "Something on your mind?"

"No," Buffy snapped back, and then huffed and folder her arms over chest when Angel just raised an eyebrow and looked at her knowingly. Buckling under his intense look, she huffed again and pouted, before moving to sit on the gravestone opposite him.

Angel waited quietly, knowing that Buffy would speak up when she was ready. After another sigh and a hand through her hair, she spoke.

"Dawn has a boyfriend."

Angel blinked, of all the things Buffy could be this worked up about; her sister's love life was not what he expected to hear about. Regaining his equilibrium he studied her a moment before speaking.

"And this bothers you." It wasn't a question; the recently dusted fledgling was proof enough of Buffy's concern.

"YES!"

"Why?" Angel asked, clearly confused.

"Why? WHY! This is Dawn we're talking about, do I have to go through the list of fuck ups that is Dawn's love life?" Even though it was posed as a question, Angel knew he was going to hear about Dawn's love interests whether he wanted to or not. And not forgetting his new mortal status, he wasn't in a hurry to interrupt an irate Slayer. "OK, first there's her not so tiny crush on you. Sure, great taste, but can you say lost cause? Then there's Xander, then Spike, Spike of all people! Next we have the VAMPIRE I caught her making out with, in a STOLEN car, on Halloween a couple of years ago. And lastly, some high school jock with a magic Jacket! Yeah, my sister has really good taste in men!"

"Feel better?" Angel said after a short pause. He was still trying to digest the content of the rant, but he had the feeling he should be insulted by at least half the content and in hysterics over the other. It was on the tip of his tongue to point out that Dawn shared her sister's taste in men, but figured that could result in blood shed, so left the subject alone until Buffy was calmer.

After a few deep breaths and a withering look in Angel's direction, Buffy felt halfway sane again.

"No,"

Angel fought the urge to smile, her pout was adorable; it made her face look years younger, it was such a Buffy expression.

"Buffy…" Angel started in a soothing tone, but Buffy cut him off, leaping from the head stone and pacing furiously.

"Don't start, I'm worried ok? She's my Little sister."

"I can understand that." And he really could, more than once he thought that had his own sister Kathy, been born in this day and age, he would have gone insane when she started dating. "But Buffy, Your track record isn't much better. We all have to make our own mistakes. She's 18 and at college. you can't wrap her up in cotton wool. And you never know, this guy, he may be just what Dawn needs. "

I Know, but…"

"She's your sister, and no matter how old she is, you want to protect her." Angel cut her off. Giving her a sympathetic look he stood, he caught the blonde slayer in his arms. The fight left her as she was enveloped by his familiar embrace.

"Yeah."

Buffy and Angel decided to call off patrol early, but when they arrived back the house, they found it unusually quiet. Assuming both Willow and Xander had gone to bed, as it was just gone midnight and none of them got much sleep the night before; they crept quietly into the kitchen to raid the fridge for post slayage snacks. Well aware of how bad Buffy's cooking was and noticing a lack of snack food, Angel shoed Buffy to the table and set about making omelets.

"I forgot you could cook." Buffy said after watching him for a long moment.

"I would have reminded you earlier, if you lot would let me do anything around here." Angel replied not looking up from his task.

"You can't blame us for worrying, Angel."

"I don't, I just feel like I'm not pulling my weight sometimes." He sighed.

At the mention of weight, Buffy thought back to how he had been when she first arrived back in the city, so thin he was almost skeletal. The memory made her shudder; having seen him so very ill went a long way to explain why they weren't letting him pull said weight. Glancing over to where he stood over the stove, she looked him up and down; the month running up the surgery had only bulked him slightly, but the month after had done wonders, he had a healthy build now. He was still nowhere close to the physique he once had and she knew he might never look that muscled again. Truth be told, she couldn't say it bothered her; he was still the most attractive man she had ever met.

When Angel turned around to pass her a plate, he caught her heated look, and much to his own surprise, felt a blush steal up his cheeks. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Buffy ducked her head. Taking his own plate, he took a seat opposite the blonde, who was now studying her omelet intensely. Toying with his food with his fork, he mulled over how much of a mood killer the question he really wanted to ask was going to be. Deciding it didn't really matter, as no matter when he brought it up it was going to be difficult, he took a deep breath sat back in his chair.

Sensing a change in Angel's mood, Buffy abandoned her meal and looked at him curiously. She watched him watching her, until he spoke.

"When you were talking about Dawn you mentioned Spike…"

Buffy nodded and pushed her food away. But before she could speak the back door opened and Faith and Robin entered, obviously trying to be as quiet as possible. When they noticed the pair at the table, they too took seats, and Faith collapsed forward, folding her arms on the tabletop and dropping her head to rest on them, with along drawn out groan.

Knowing that they weren't going to continue their conversation, Angel smiled at Buffy before speaking.

"Rough night?"

Faith looked up, resting her chin in her hands. "Freshman Music Recital."

"Nasty." Buffy said in sympathy.

"No kidding."

"It wasn't that bad," Robin chimed in, when Both Buffy and Faith looked at him incredulously he shrugged, "I've been to worse."

Angel let out a chuckle as Buffy patted Faith on the head. "This is what happens when you date high school principles."

Faith dropped her head back on the table, this time without the cushioning of her folded arms, with a loud thump.

Tbc…