Time: Mid-Season 7 of Buffy (pretty accurate) and Mid-Season 4 of Angel (accurate to Season 2, Overview for Season 3 and 4).

Relationships: Angel/Lily Love (a new character), Fred/Wesley, Buffy/Spike, Buffy/Riley, Faith/Spike, Willow/Kennedy, Willow/Tara, Giles/Jenny Calendar, Xander/Anya

Need to know Info: not all of the watchers were killed, Cordy is somewhere between good and evil, also with her visions.

Distribution: No

Rating: R, violence, language, and sexual relationships

Story:

Chapter 4 (Welcome Back?)

A month later, nighttime, LA, Angel Investigations: A young, blond, petite woman steps into the lobby; she walks up to the desk. Seeing no one, she rings the bell on the desk. Cordy backs up, finishing her conversion from the other room; she looks at this young woman and immediately her jaw drops. She asks, "How … How can I help you?"

"Well, I have been having weird dreams, and I saw your flyers and thought maybe you guys could help."

"Well, we don't usually deal with weird dreams; have you tried a psychiatrist? They can be very helpful with those sorts of things." Cordy states.

"Yes, I have, but the thing is, sometimes, these dreams come true. Most of them show events that hurt people; some of them show events that I believe have already happened. Those are like past memories; things I don't remember. Like this hotel, I feel like I have been here before, but I don't remember ever being in this part of town. Oh, by the way, my name is Lily Love. You are?" Lily clears up.

"Cordelia Chase. Well Lily, I don't know if there is anything we can do for you. I am so sorry, Lily." Cordy says a little louder than she wanted to.

"Cordelia, what have I told you about saying that . . . name?" Angel asks as he enters the room. "Lily, what are you doing here?"

"How do you know my name? And why don't you want any one to say it? You know me, don't you?" Lily questions.

"No, there is someone else that is named Lily that hurt me and hearing her name still upsets me. You just look similar to her, that's all. How can we help you?" Angel lies.

"Well, I just told Cordelia here that I have been having dreams that have been coming true and dreams about places I have never been to or seen. She told me that there is nothing that you can do, so I will just be leaving."

"No, wait. There might be something that we can do; come around here and we will what we can do. Wesley, come out here; I think I have a case that you can help out with."

"Alright, (he walks out into the lobby) what is the case? Who is the. . . client?" Wesley closes his mouth, realizing that Lily doesn't know them.

"This is Lily, and she has been having prophecy dreams and dreams about places she has never been to or seen. She wants to get rid of them. . ."

Lily interrupts, "I don't want to get rid of them; I want to understand them. I have this feeling that I can change the outcome, but I am only one person. How can one person change things? My parents think that I just strange; that I should change my major to something that is respectable. I am a sophomore at UCLA; I am majoring in Paranormal Studies. I am trying to prove that demons, especially vampires, really exist; I know that they do, I just have to prove. I saw your flyer and thought that maybe I could be useful to your team. . ."

Angel interjects, "Demons don't exist; it is just a myth. Your parents are right; you should change your major to something else, something that is concrete. Something that is proven. We don't need any more help around here. . ."

Cordy grabs Angel's arm and drags him and Wesley out of the room; she states, "We'll be right back."

"Are you nuts? You have been moping around here for weeks; you don't even want us to mention her name. Now here is she wanting to help us, wanting to hang here, and you are just throwing her out and telling her to change her life. Are you completely wacko? You love her; I know this goes against everything I believe in, but let her stay. We could use the help. She might be even bring you back from your dream world; may be she will bring your heart back into your work. Ever since she came into our lives, your life, your heart, and your mind have revolved around her. When she left, part of you left; today for the first time in weeks, you got a sparkle in your eyes again."

"Yeah, but she chose to leave. It was her choice; she chose to leave this life. I am going to respect that, and tell her to leave, so let's go back out there." Angel states.

They head back out to the lobby; Lily is standing there. She says in irate tone, "Well!"

"Sorry, we can't help you. We can get rid of the dreams, but other than that we can't help you. Remember what I said earlier; demons don't exist, change your major."

Lorne enters the lobby, "Hey, beautiful, what are you doing back here?"

"I KNEW IT. DEMONS DO EXIST. You lied to me; you do know me. I KNEW IT. I have been to this place before; the dreams are repressed memories. So how do I get them all back?" Lily shouts.

"Oh, dear. What have I done?" Lorne whimpers.

"This is Lorne; he is an actor in a horror movie and he forgot to take off his costume, didn't you Lorne?" Angel clears up.

"Yes, it is correct. How silly of me? Forgetting like that . . ."

"You are not going to fool me." Lily goes up to Lorne and pinches his face.

"Ow, dearie, that hurt."

"Is lies the only thing you know? . . ." Lily grabs her forehead; there is an image of a Dekon demon, a large, snot-like face, green demon with three horns on its head and cloven claws, is attacking Angel in the lobby. An image of the clock, it is five minutes from now. The pain is gone; she is on the floor looking up at Angel, Cordy, Wesley, and Lorne.

"Are you ok?" Angel asks.

"What did you see?" Cordy requests.

"I am fine; that has never happened before. There was a demon, Dekon I think; it is going to kill him (pointing to Angel) in about five minutes."

"I knew there was a clan of them in town; you probably kill a child and now the leader or parent wants revenge." Wesley informs.

They help Lily to her feet, but there is no time to get her to safety. The Dekon demon is early; it starts to speak in its demon language. Then it begins to throw fireballs from its hands at Angel, Lily stands in the way, throws her hands out, and yells, "Nooooooooo!"

A force field goes up around Lily and everyone behind her; she steps out of the field and states, "You are going to pay." Electrical beams come out of her hands towards the Dekon demon; the beams kill the demon. Lily turns towards to the group; Cordy and Lorne cower behind Wesley and Angel. They are afraid that she will turn her powers on them, but Lily says, "Angel," and collapses.

Angel goes up to Lily, checks her pulse, and conveys, "She is fine; she just fainted. Wesley clear the couch in the office; Cordelia get everyone else down here, call Willow, and ask her if there is any way for Lily to get back her memories and powers." Angel picks up Lily and carries her into his office; the others slowly begin to gather around the office waiting for her to wake up. Cordy comes in and states, "Willow has no idea on how Lily could regain her powers or memories; she suggests that we contact the First."

"There is no need for you to do so. I know why I received my powers and memories back."

"Well, enlighten us." Wesley requests.

"I chose to defend, to protect, you all. I chose to fight the Dekon demon to save a life. I was willing to give my life for another, but since I wanted to save a life, not to destroy all of lives. The part of me that remembered that I had powers call for those powers to return to me, so I could save everyone. There is only one thing I don't understand; how I was able to retrieve them. They were suppose to be out of my reach; I wasn't expected be able to call for them." Lily clears up.

"I am just glad that you are back. . . . What! I am! Do you think I like working for Mr. Brooding-Pants?" Cordy informs.

"Mr. Brooding-Pants?" Lily questions

"Angel! God, sometimes you hero-types are really dense."

"That's . . . funny. Mr. Brooding-Pants."

"So you're cool." Cordy inquiries

"If you mean by 'cool' that I no longer what to kill everyone on the planet, then yes, I am cool."

Angel doubts, "Are you ok? I mean you chose to give up this life."

"Yeah, I know, but I choose to fight. Even though, the Powers-That-Be interfered with my life . . ."

"They didn't until the vision that you received. The spell that I cast only works completely, if and only if you wanted that life absolutely. If there was even a tiny part of you that wanted to fight the good fight, then you would receive hints about your old life." The First Good informs.

"So the smallest part of me that wanted to come caused me to come back?"

"No, if it was microscopic part or even handful, it would have taken months or years for you to come back, if ever. Because you could fight it, over half of you wanted to come back, hence the dreams. When over 75 of you wanted to return, you came to the one place, the one person that could bring you back. The Powers-That-Be just gave you a little push; they gave you a vision to help you decide if you 'run and hide or stay and fight.' They wanted to know if you would let the one person that connected to this world die or if you would try and save him. It was your choice and you did choose. Free Will." The First informs.

"Free will, that's cool."

"Well, since you have been informed of the information, I need to go. I will let you get reacquainted with your life and your friends. I will be in touch." With that the First disappears.

"So, have you really been 'Mr. Brooding-Pants'? I am sorry that I hurt you, I am sorry that my presence and name upset you. I am thankful that you tried to respect my wishes by trying to make me leave and change my major." Lily expresses.

Angel starts to say, "I just . . .," but Lily French kisses Angel for nearly ten minutes. Lily is the one that breaks away; she takes a deep breath. "Wow, I thought if we kissed again, you were going to kill me."

"No, I said that if you grabbed me and kissed that I would kill you. You must be wacko to like me; only a complete nut would have feelings for me."

"Lily, why do you do that? Why do you always try to ruin a perfectly wonderful moment with self-doubt? (He gently grabs her up the arms and looks her straight in the eye.) You are a wonderful and caring person; yes, you have had a bad past, but who here hasn't. You are a beautiful person; you deserve to be loved and to love."

"Lily, there is something that you should hear. Angel told us about month, right after you left, 'I was willing to spend all eternity to show her how to love and be loved, to show her that the world is not as bad as she has seen. That everyone on the planet is not as bad as she has seen; I wanted to show her that she deserves to be love.' I thought you should know." Wesley informs.

Lily grabs Angel and French kisses him for another ten minutes; Cordy is the one who interrupts the couple by saying, "Get room. Wait minute, don't get room; don't even think about getting horizontal."

"CORDELIA!" they all yell.

"Don't worry, Cordy, wasn't planning on it. Hey, don't even think about that; yes I can read minds. Those are naughty images; get them out of your mind." Angel grabs Lily and starts frenching her; the rest of the gang leaves the couple in the office with the door open. A few hours later, Buffy, Willow, Giles, Xander, Dawn, and Spike come barging into the lobby.

"Where is she?" Buffy demands.

"She in the office with Angel, but I wouldn't … (Buffy storms into the office and finds Angel and Lily half-naked, and Angel is feeling up Lily.) . . . go in there." Wesley tries to warn Buffy.

"Why didn't you tell me that she wasn't evil? Willow gets this call from Cordelia asking if it is possible for Lily to get her powers and her memories back. So we assumed that she had return with her powers and memories, we also presumed that she was evil. I am guessing that she is not, since she and Angel are making out in the office." Buffy imparts.

"Yeah, they have been kissing for awhile now." Wesley informs.

"Well, when I went in, they were half naked, and Angel was fondling Lily. They were pretty close to 'true happiness.'" Buffy enlightens.

Lily and Angel walk into the lobby; their clothes obviously dishevel. Lily is still rebuttoning her shirt and rearranging her skirt. Angel's shirt isn't completely buttoned, and he is zipping up his pants. The distance between the two proves that they were doing something that the rest of the group would not approve of. They aren't looking anyone in the eyes; they are looking everywhere else, but directly at people.

Cordy is the first to speak, "I thought you said that you weren't even going to think about it. What happened?"

"We got carried away; we didn't mean to go that far." Lily states.

"What happens when someone doesn't walk-in on you two? Angel, what happens when you have a 'moment of true happiness'? Well! Are you willing to throw your soul away for a 'moment of true happiness' with her?" Buffy demands to know.

"Look, we said we were sorry; we didn't mean for it to go as far as it did. We are going to try to stay physically away from each other until our feelings cool down." Angel conveys.

"You are letting her stay here with you, when you moved away from me for the same reason? I can't believe you. You are willing to risk your soul for a girl that you known for barely two months; you make me sick. We are leaving; let's go gang." Buffy starts to head out.

"Stop," Lily screams; she moves in front of the doors, blocking Buffy and her gang. "No body move."

"Why the bloody hell not?" Spike demands.

"Because there is something watching us, it is waiting to attack us. Can't you smell or sense it? Its odor is sickening; it is so strong that I am about to puke. I think it is in-heat; it is trying to find a gift for its mate." Lily reports.

"Holy Hell, she is bloody amazing; I can see why you would want hang on to her."

"Quiet! I am trying to track it." Lily moves around the room; everyone is following her with their eyes. A cat-looking demon pops out from behind the desk, where Lily was looking. The demon grabs Lily by the throat and starts speaking in its native language. Lily speaks, "I will translate, 'You will make a perfect gift for my mate; he will be pleased. I have already notified my clan that I have found a creature that unique, one of a kind. You are the only one in this stupid group that knew I was here.' (Angel, Wesley, Buffy, and Faith begin to attack the demon.) Don't touch her or me; she is poisonous. If you touch her skin, your skin will burn and melt. Remember I have self-healing power; right now, it is working overtime. She has more to say, 'You are truly special; your skin does not burn; you do not need air to breathe. You are the perfect creature; you are most annoying.' Enough of this."

Lily begins gather energy; she strikes the cat-like demon with energy spikes. The demon lets go Lily; the demon isn't dead. Lily begins to gather energy into a ball; she throws it at the demon. The demon dies immediately; Lily turns towards the group. They are in awe; Cordelia is the first to speak, "Well, you certainly look the part, but I won't, don't, believe you are one."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lily demands.

"Honey, you look-like an angel. (Lily is still confused.) You transformed; you have angelic wings, an angelic glow, and dressed in all white. The whole works, when you gather the energy for the energy ball, you transformed. God, you look beautiful, pure, and angelic."

"God, are we going to have to hose you down?" Cordy challenges.

"Cordelia!"

"No time to yell at her. We have to go after the rest of her clan; otherwise, they will come after us. Follow me; I will lead the way." Lily commands.

They start to head out; Angel speaks, "Dawn is only a few minutes away."

"Just hold my hand, both you and Spike. You won't burn as long as you touch my skin. Don't ask how I know this; I just do." Lily informs. She puts a glamour on herself to hide the wings and glow. Spike and Angel grab one of Lily's hands; they head out into the pre-dawn. A few minutes later, dawn is approaching; Lily turns to Spike and Angel. She speaks, "We might have to fight in the open. I am going to weave a strand of my hair into your; it should last for the entire battle."

She begins to puck two hairs from her head, when Spike reasons, "If you are not sure how long the strand of hair will last, when I will just fight in the shadows or building without the hair."

"Suit yourself. Angel, tilt your head down." She pucks one strand of hair from her hand; when she begins to weave the hair into Angel's hair. She also chants in several ancient languages. Once she is done, a force field surrounds Angel and then it goes invisible. "It is done."