Chapter 2
Five years after her battle with The First Buffy returned to the place where her home had stood. In the middle of the crater a long figure (tall, dark, handsome—you know the type) stood waiting for her approach. "Buffy."
"Angel." Briefly she wondered if they had ever just said hi to each other instead of this ritualistic calling of each others names. "Giles and Willow say something big is happening. Not hellmouth big, but world big, universe big. Do you know anything about it?" She sounded somewhat caustic.
Angel shrugged, he had become use to the harshness that was now Buffy, "Just that it's called the End of Days."
"Oh." It was silent, and knowing Angel wouldn't be the one to break it she spoke again, "Wasn't there some prophecy about you and a shoeshine after the battle at the End of Days?" She glanced at his shoes and smiled mischievously.
Angel didn't bother to correct her; he knew that she preffered everyone to underestimate her wit. What he had never understood was why any one ever believed it, "Yea." He took a deep breathe, which she knew was his way of stalling, "but that's not why I'm fight, not anymore." He looked pointedly at her.
"If you're not fighting for redemption, what are you fighting for?"
"At one time, I would have said you, but not anymore," Buffy was slightly disappointed and it must have shown, because he quickly continued, "I'd way that I'm fighting now because it's the right thing to do. I can help people, so I do. You taught me that you know. When you first came to Sunnydale, you didn't want to fight, you wanted to be a cheerleader and you wanted to have a boyfriend and you wanted to skate. But you didn't want people to die either. So you stood up and took your place between them and the rest of the world. You knew you could, so you did."
Buffy nodded her head in understanding, "You think it's going to happen in L.A?"
Angel nodded his head.
"The scoob's are flying in tomorrow afternoon. I tried to tell them that you might not welcome our interference, but they insisted." She shrugged, knowing that he would understand.
"I asked for help before and you didn't. Andrew told me it was because you didn't want to help an evil law firm, or their evil boss."
Buffy's eyes reflected his sadness, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. If you heard it from Andrew than it was probably from the council, not me. I would have flown here and helped in a heart beat, even less than a heartbeat."
"Illyria and I were the only survivors, and she died a month after." He looked so sad, all of his friends dead. Buffy stepped closer and pulled him into her arms. For once she was the protector, shielding her lover from the harsh reality of their lives.