Angel was reeling. His nightmare was coming to life; the demon was going to kill her. He was going to lose her. He wouldn't let that happen…
Buffy's vision was blurring, and then suddenly, she could see…
Angel lay on the ground, and was just sitting up, shifting into fighting stance. She watched, paralyzed as he aimed deadly blows at the demon, only some of which went unblocked, and hit their targets. It was torture. Watching, but not being able to help. Granted, Angel was inflicting damage upon the creature, even if it was only a little bit compared to what he was receiving in return. He copped a powerful blow to the stomach, and crumpled for a few seconds, before growling, and launching at the creature again. By this time, Buffy was getting frantic and antsy. The demon wasn't going to stop until Angel was dead. It was just like her nightmare; Angel was being taken from her… She had to help him… Suddenly, Angel got the upper hand as one of his blows collided sharply with the demons cheekbone, snapping its head to the side. Dizzy, it swayed, and collapsed on the ground. Buffy felt her vision clearing…
Angel made immediately for Buffy, pulling her up, drawing her close to him. They didn't speak, but panted heavily in the wake of the fight. Buffy was staring at the demon, its eyes were glazed and it appeared to be unconscious. Finally, Angel spoke.
"We should kill it; it's only knocked out…"
"Yeah…" she replied, hollow.
Angel let her go gently, removing his hands from the familiar resting place of her small hips, and headed for the collapsed demon. Buffy swayed slightly without the protective hold Angel had had on her. She watched, unfazed, as he picked up his fallen battle-axe and brought it swiftly down across the demons neck.
20 minutes later, the demon was buried, head and body together, (but detached), and Buffy and Angel were walking hand in hand back to Angel's apartment. Both were silent, lost in their thoughts. It had been so close; their nightmares had almost become reality…
They arrived at the apartment and as they stepped over the threshold, Buffy turned and spoke to Angel for the first time since the fight.
"Angel, I want you to be straight with me. You said I would be seeing my past…"
"I… I-uh…" Angel trailed off. He hated lying to her, but he didn't want to worry her. Buffy started again, determined to tell him what she saw.
"That demon showed me… showed me…" She couldn't finish. She couldn't say it. Angel saw the horror in her eyes, the fear… Her nightmare must have been worse than he thought... Guiding her softly to the bed, he sat her down, and took her small warm hands in his.
"Buffy, it's - "
Suddenly, she got up, and moved away from him.
"She - she was kissing you, a-and touching you…" A bitter look of resentment tainted her pretty face. "And then she…" A long pause followed, in which Angel stood up, but still keeping the distance between them. "- she killed you. I-I couldn't help, I was - I was… I couldn't help!" Her voice was strained and raspy, and tears were threatening to slide slowly down her cheeks.
Angel froze. That was – that's was what her nightmare was? She wasn't worried about her own life? And more importantly, Faith? He had never even considered her in that way, he was done with trailer trash like that. He knew his heart belonged to Buffy, always would. He was lost in thoughts, and it must have shown on his face, for a second later, Buffy had moved towards him again, softly squeezed his hand, and was trying to catch his eye. She was crying.
"Angel, you were - "
"Shhh…" He cooed soothingly, and without a moments hesitation, he took her into his arms, pressing her small frame against his. She was crying freely now, her chest rising and falling in deep gasps.
"Angel, she took you away from me… she stole you from me… I…"
Angel loosened his grip and leaned back a little so he could look into her eyes.
"Buffy, it wasn't real. I'm right here." His voice was husky and low, and he didn't break eye contact. He moved closer again, and kissed her. He could taste the salt from her tears on her lips, he could feel her shaking with grief, and he wanted to take all that away from her, to shield her, protect her. They remained kissing, Buffy was holding Angel on the hip with one hand, the other was snaking up his back, feeling the smooth skin on the back of his neck. She was gripping him hard, afraid that if she lost contact with him he would somehow disappear. Angel had one arm around her waist and was squeezing her passionately; his other was cradling the back of her head. Angel broke off suddenly, panting. She deserved the same honesty she had given him. He had to tell her what he saw. Holding her by the hand, he took her back to the bed…