Chapt 4

"Dawn are you ok" Angel found her being held back by none other than spike.
"Angel?"
"Peaches?"
"Spike what the hell"

Before anyone could say anything else, Angel decked Spike in the jaw. This of course led to a full fledge fist fight between the two vampires.

"Separate"
Angel and spike both got flown across the Summers' front lawn, in opposite directions

"That's the second time you've used that against me Red, one more time and you'll be getting a visit from the big bad" Spike grumbled as he picked himself up.

""Whatever Spike" Willow turned towards Angel who was dusting of his leather duster, and grumbling to himself.
"Angel I really don't care what grudges you bear against Spike, but he is a friend and Dawn's guardian, attack him again and you will spend a month as a puppet again."

Angel quickly looked up.
"How do you…. Never mind where's Buffy" Angel directed the last part at Dawn.

"Inside with our dad, she did not look happy" Dawn said as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Great, I knew teaching her that barrier spell was a mistake until she had better control" Willow cautiously moved a hand towards the door, only to pull back with a gasp of pain.

"Can you do anything, I don't think she's exactly thinking clearly, the minute she saw her pa, she started losing control"
"I'm not surprised, after his no-showing act this past years, I also do believe Joyce told him that Buffy was a slayer when she ran away, that summer"

"She doesn't think of him as her father, that's you Giles, she believes that you are her father now" Dawn told her stunned audience. At the reactions Dawn continued "What it's true, you are more of a father to both of us then he ever was, ever will be."

"Hang on what does Buffy's dad knowing she's a slayer have to do with any of this." Spike asked
"Well I told him, that Buffy had died and also that she was back alive." Giles paused "I told Buffy this two weeks ago"

"Well it's good to have an explanation for the destroyed training room, but let's get back to the present." Willow turned back to the house.

She stood there seemingly doing nothing, with everyone watching her. Angel started to get impatient and was about to say something, when he noticed her hair started to glow blonde.

"There I can breach the barrier, but only long enough and big enough for one person to get through"

Just as they deiced for Angel to go the Summers house exploded, throwing everyone across the street.

Angel, Spike and Willow recovered first, just in time to see a drained Buffy start to fall to the ground. Before she completely fell Angel caught her.

"Angel?" she whispered before going limp in his arms.
Angel looked up to see Hank Summers being supported by Spike and Giles.

"Let's get them to my house, its closer" From the look on Giles face Hank wasn't at all light.

They made their way with Willow helping Dawn, Angel protectively holding Buffy, and Spike and Giles half carrying half dragging Hank.

By the time Buffy woke up, Willow had got Tara, Xander and Anya over, so she could fill them up on the nights recent events.

The gang now sat downstairs in an uncomfortable silence, waiting for the blonde slayer to regain consciousness.

Angel heard movement upstairs and went to investigate.

It took a while for Buffy to realize that she was in Giles' bedroom, tucked up safely in his bed.

"Oh Goddess, what did I do this time." She tried hard to remember, but like all the previous times she could only summon up random images.

One was of Angel holding and looking down at her, with his eyes full of concern.
She knew this was a hallucination, brought on by the conversation she had with Willow about him, and her mind trying to find a safe hold, in the lingering effects of her overload.

That was until she felt the all to familiar tingle at the base of her spine, and the slight pulling of her soul, reaching out towards its other half.
This only happened when HE was near, her soulmate.

The usual feelings of love and joy began to fill her being, but also a bright warm glow spread over her body, filling her with power.

She thought she was losing control again, which led her to panic.
Her powers responded and soon some of Giles' possesions started floating up around her, and exploding inches from her face.

She curled up in a protective ball away from the exploding implements, and the world she know thought of as hell.

"Buffy calm down, breathe, focus on my voice." She looked up with tears in her hazel eyes to see him, her Angel, sitting beside her and holding tightly on to her hand.

"Angel, why are you always here when i need you the most." she paused to lean into his strong, comforting chest.
"I'm so scared, i can't control myself, and no matter what i do, it is always the people I care about who get hurt." She cried into him.

"Shhhh, it's okay, we will find a way. My beautiful girl, we will find a way together" Angel pulled her closer to him, until she was sitting in his lap and then he kissed her forehead and made big soothing circles along her back.

"No you can't, I won't let you stay. What if I hurt you, how could i ever forgive myself if I killed you again" she sobbed into his now very soaked shirt.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere, you know I'm very hard to hurt, let alone kill.

"You don't know, you haven't been here, and no matter what they tell you, you still couldn't understand. They don't know Angel, I never told them. I'm so scared it's going to take over and I..."
she stopped herself from telling him something no one else knew.

The one thing she feared the most and had been fighting every single moment since she awakened her powers.

Angel gently lifted her head so he could look into her watery, pain filled eyes.
"What is it Buffy, why are you so scared of telling them, tell me whats wrong."

"I can't tell you, you wouldn't be able to look at me the same if you knew, and I wouldn't be able to take it from you" she whispered out of breath from all her crying, eyes cast down not being able to take his concerned look.

"Love you can tell me anything, and I would never hate you, please tell me whats got you so scared" Angel tried again to get her to open up.

"NO" Buffy shouted, and Angel was thrown against th wall with so much force, he almost went through it.

"No not him, I won't hurt him again, I'll die first." with one last look at the downed Angel, Buffy climbed out the window, and ran off into the night.

Angel shook out of his daze, just in time to see Buffy flee out the window.
"Buffy come back" he gasped trying to regain his senses.

The bedroom door burst open, to reveal the scooby gang waiting anxiously on the other side.
"We have a problem, Buffy's gone" Angel calmly explained.

"What did you do to her this time deadboy" It was the first time Xander had addressed the souled vampire all night.

"We don't have time for you to be jealous and protective over Buffy, Xander she is in trouble" Willow said as she slapped across the head.

"She'll come back, give her time to cool off, gotta get over the shock of seeing her dad and peaches over here in one night" Everyone was staring shocked at Spikes logic

"No there is something she is hiding, something she is scared of. Whatever it is, it's bother her deeply."

Willow took charge.
"We split up and go find her. She is our friend and I'll be dammed if we lose her again." She paused and raised an eyebrow. "Any questions"

"Yes, who's fixing my bedroom" Giles inquired.

Ignoring him the gang split up. Giles with Willow, Xander with Anya, And Spike with Angel.
Dawn and Tara were left behind in case she came back, and to look after Hank.

Dawn was not happy about getting left behind but Spike wouldn't change his mind.

"Look niblet, I promised your big sis that nothing would hurt you. I am not breaking it again, especially after what happened the last time i did." Spike's face turned grave as he recalled the fight at the tower.

With that they went their separate ways. Desperate to find their slayer/champion, but more importantly their friend and soulmate.