Angel was lost in a world of violence. Whirl, kick, duck, punch, block. It was sort of routine. Kill one, another comes, kill, kill kill... It just went on and on for ever. He was dimly aware of Spike fighting close to his right, and Illyria a little further off and to his left. She was fighting better than he and Spike. She didn't seem to tire easily. But Gunn... Angel couldn't see him anywhere. He wanted to ask Spike, but other that the fact that it would distract the other vampire, there was no way he would be heard.

He felt a wave of heat behind him and realised the dragon was flying overhead. Have to be careful of that fire, he thought grimly.

God, this is useless, Angel began to think. We're not getting anywhere.

As he fought for what seemed like hours, he lost sight of Spike. For all he knew, he could be dead. Angel started to get a strange sensation as he looked at the masses of demons. Although he couldn't see, he got the sense that something was happening behind them.

He fought still, looking up to see where the dragon was. What he saw surprised him. The dragon was writhing in the air, twisting on itself. As it turned, Angel saw that there was someone on its back. As much as he squinted, he couldn't see who it was. But when the shout came, he knew.

"Angel!" Buffy. Angel almost forgot to fight the demons hemming him in as he looked at her struggling with the dragon. She gave him a small nod, and he got back to fighting. She was here to help. And if he knew her, she'd have a hell of a lot of Slayer's backing her up. The only problem was, they were all on the other side of this demonic army. There were only four on this side, and two of those had gone missing.

Buffy did something pretty clever though. She tied a piece of rope to the dragon's neck, and used it as a rein, directing the thing's fiery breath at the centre of the demon army. It wiped out a good 100 or so, before Buffy broke the dragon's neck and it fell down onto the roof of the building next. She jumped off it's still form and leapt into the alley to fight.

The last demon standing. Everyone was still. Bodies, everywhere. Blood, all colours, but mostly red. It was Kennedy who stepped forwards calmy and ran her sword through the demon. It fell to the floor with a thunk, and everyone just stood. Silence. The rain fell down, mixing with the blood to create a runny, red river that flowed past Angel's feet.

Slowly Buffy walked towards Angel. There was sadness in her eyes. "It's good to see you again."

"And you." The two of them were awkward. Angel wanted so badly just to kiss her, but he knew that was out of the question. "How did you know..."

She tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. "My, uh, ex had some information."

"Your ex?"

"The immortal. We broke up." She shifted a little, obviously uncomfortable.

"We should... see to the dead. And find any survivors." She raised her voice at the end to address everyone. She walked away, towards an area where several bodies lay.

The first one was Zoë, a slayer she had trained with. She crouched beside Zoë's body and let the first tear fall. She had forgotten how much she missed Angel. Seeing him brought back so many lost memories... It was so confusing. And now this, this battle. She had got so many girls killed. Zoë had only been fourteen. She shouldn't have been here. Sure, they all volunteered, but none of them really knew what a real battle was like. What a war was like.

Angel retreated into the coolness of the shadows. Dawn was beginning to break. He wondered briefly where Spike was, then felt sadness as he realised Spike was probably a pile of dust. He looked at the huddle of young Slayers carrying their dead comrades and creating a pile in the middle of the alley. There were perhaps 20 or 30 of them. He remembered the first time he saw them all, as the number of demons decreased enough to show him them. Valiant and courageous, all of them. Fighting to the death. Faith was with them, and also Willow. She had not been involved much. A few healing spells whenever she could, a couple of destructive ones now and then. Right now she was looking for the injured, healing them as best she could, or simply resorting to bandages. Angel wanted to go and help them, but the sunlight prevented him. Buffy carried the body of a girl to the heap, and dropped her there.

She walked back to where she had been before. More tears were falling now, and not just because of Angel. Something about this fight, about the people she had seen die was unbearably painful. She felt all the sadness in the world, all the hurt and the grief, and understood it.

Illyria was nearby. She had found Gunn. Dead. She didn't understand but... she felt sadness, and was angered by it. Why should she care if this person was dead. He was just another person. But no, something told her, he was not just another person, he was her friend. Or close to one. He was a comrade. She carried his body to the heap and left it.

Buffy found herself walking to the other part of the alley that was in shadow - the other side of Angel's shadow. She sat down heavily on an old oil barrel. A hand touched her shoulder and she turned. It was Spike. She stared at him for a long time, before she shut her eyes to hold back yet more tears. Spike. Andrew had told her but... Spike. Was here. She remembered their parting. I love you, were the words she had said. Spike had told her she didn't mean them but... was that really true? Maybe she did love him. Perhaps not the same as Angel but there was something there certainly.

Something of her pain must have showed on her face because he backed away a couple of steps and withdrew his hand. "I'm sorry."

Oh God, his voice. She had thought he was dead for so long. She had grieved for him. This was the vampire – the man – who had saved them all. Who had given the ultimate sacrifice to save them all, to save the world. And sure, maybe he came back, but that wasn't the point. The point was, he was willing to. He had intended to die. She stood up slowly and put a hand to his cheek. He stayed still, his blue eyes looking into hers. Buffy leant forwards and kissed him softly. He was stunned at first, but he responded quickly, kissing her with love, but not with passion. This was... well, almost a friendly kiss. A thank you kiss, in Buffy's case.

"Thank you," she whispered, as she drew away.

Spike suddenly collapsed against the wall, and Buffy put out a hand to steady him. "You know," he said weakly, "Angel's over there."

Buffy glanced down. "I know. I just... I don't want to talk to him. I feel awkward around him."

"Bloody poof," Spike muttered. "Anyway, how's your um, boyfriend."

Buffy smiled a little. "We broke up. So you don't need to get all jealous. But he gave me the information that a big fight was on it's way here. He... has connections to Wolfram and Hart."

"He's a bleeding woman stealer," Spike blurted out, and Buffy looked mildly amused.

"Are you referring to me?"

Spike shrugged. "Ran in to him once before. Took Drusilla from me, and Darla from Angelus."

"Oh." Buffy was aware of Willow looking in her direction. "Stay here, we'll find a way of getting you and Angel out of here. But first we've got to burn the dead."

"Wait! Buffy... talk to Angel," he finished lamely.

She smiled and nodded, then walked into the light. He watched as she and Willow talked. They hugged each other and Buffy wiped a tear from Willow's eye. They were still close, those two. He wondered where Harris was. Surely he would be here. Fight to the death with his best friends. It was stupid, but Spike was insanely jealous of Xander. He could spend so much time with her. If he wanted to, he could spend every minute with her.

Soon, with the dawn rays peering over the buildings, a bonfire burned in the alley. The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh. Of burning bodies. All the Slayers, Willow, Faith, Buffy, they all stood in a huddle. Illyria stood by Angel in the shadows on the far side.

"Gunn and Wesley are both dead." She stated, and Angel looked away. "I am feeling sadness for them. It hurts. Why?"

"I guess because they're your friends."

"When Wesley died... I was with him. I assumed the form of the one you call 'Fred'. I lied to him. I pretended to be her. I cried. I told him it would be ok. I said, 'We will be together'. Was that good? It felt cold, and hollow." Illyria glanced at Angel. "Wesley was my guide to this world. I don't understand it."

Angel watched the flames flicker for a while before he spoke. "Wesley was a good friend. He shouldn't have died. He didn't deserve to die."

"No." Illyria agreed, also looking at the fire. "He didn't."

"Nor Gunn. He shouldn't have fought in his condition. He was injured."

"That woman." She pointed at Buffy. "Is she a friend?"

"She was, a long time ago." Angel said sadly. "We were in love. But she's a Slayer, and I was putting her in danger. I had to leave her a few years ago."

Illyria cocked her head. "Love is a strange thing. I don't understand it. Do you still love her? Does she love you?"

"I think she does. I love her. I will never love anyone else as much as I love her. I think she feels the same. But our love is cursed. It brings nothing but pain, and I'm scared that if let myself love her, I could put her in danger, put other people in danger. It's happened before."

"I don't wish to fall in love. All it does is bring pain. I felt Fred's sadness when Wesley died. I felt it. I hated it. Love is bad. I don't understand why people love."

A voice came from behind them both. "We love because it is something special. It connects you to people." Connor emerged out of darkness. "It's not something you can control. And love can be good. It's worth the pain just to know that you are loved. Loving someone isn't about you. It's about them." He looked at Angel. "I don't know everything about you and Buffy, dad. But I know that if you love her, you should talk to her properly."

"I did that. Last year, before she took on the first. She told me she wasn't ready."

Connor smiled. "Dad, she's fought the first evil. She's dated the immortal, she's seen half the world. I think she's ready to tell you to get stuffed."

Angel smiled and punched his son lightly in the shoulder. "You're pretty wise for someone your age."

Connor shrugged. "I've had a pretty cool life. I've learnt a lot."

Angel's eyebrows rose. "your life has not been cool. It has been a mess. That was my fault. I'm sorry."

"All in the name of love, right?"

Angel sighed again. "I'm starting to agree with Illyria."

I actually wrote this ages ago and I've just found it again so I thought I'd put it here. I don't think I'm going to continue it, I really can't be bothered, plus I don't have a clue where to go with it. So anyway, I don't care about this much, if I get enough inspirational reviews I might continue it but I don't know. Probably not.