At the Chases', Angel was part worried, part annoyed. Buffy was nearly ten minutes late, and she was never late, especially not to meet him. She only had to come next door, what was taking her so long? It wouldn't hurt to go over there and check nothing had happened, would it? He quickly left the house and walked next door.
His heart rate spiked when he saw the door was slightly open. Buffy didn't leave it open when they said goodbye. Someone was in there. He quietly opened the door the rest of the way and checked downstairs, she wasn't there. He heard voices and stalked up the stairs, careful to miss out the one that creaked. As he reached her room he saw Pete holding her by the shoulders, and pushing her into the wall.
Pete heard him and turned around, holding Buffy by the neck now. She managed to choke out, "Angel", and Pete tightened his hold. Angel stepped into the room, his fists tightening. "Get the hell away from her."
He let her go and walked up to Angel, rolling his sleeves up. He drew his fist back to punch him, but Angel easily caught it, and returned the punch, connecting with Pete's mouth. Buffy crawled to her dresser where the phone was and picked up the receiver. It was a distraction enough for Angel to sweep Pete's feet from under him and punch him again in the face. Buffy rang 911, asking for the police. Her voice was shaking and her hands were trembling. She watched Angel hit Pete again, then she told him to stop. She didn't want him to kill Pete. She couldn't bear it if he got into trouble.
Pete groaned on the floor as Buffy curled closer into the dresser. Angel knelt down in front of her and helped her up, wrapping an arm around her and leading her downstairs, making sure the window was locked before he went. He didn't want Pete escaping before the police got there.
When the police had finished questioning Buffy, Joyce arrived, running into the house and throwing her arms around her, holding her tightly. "I was so worried! When the police rang me, I thought something terrible had happened." Buffy hugged her mom, then tried to extract herself. "I'm fine mom. But I…I don't want to stay in my room tonight. C-can I stay at Angel's?" Joyce knew Buffy and Angel were dating, and opened her mouth to argue, but then she saw the look on Buffy's face. She didn't want to refuse her when she was upset. She nodded her agreement, then Angel wrapped his arm around Buffy, nodded to Joyce and led her to his house.
Buffy had barely spoken and hadn't eaten anything since she'd got to Angel's. He brought her a plate of food and sat on the bed next to her but she insisted she wasn't hungry. "You need to eat Buffy." She just shook her head. "I know he scared you Buffy, but you can't let him do this to you." She looked at him, incredulous. "Angel, you know what he would have done if you hadn't shown up!" Angel took her face between his hands and looked at her intently. "But I did. Don't worry about what could have happened. He didn't do anything, and he's going to jail. You're not going to have to worry about him Buffy."
She lent into him and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. "Thank you." He held her for a while then pulled away and helped her off the bed. "Come on. Cordelia's downstairs, she's worried about you." He kissed her tenderly and led her downstairs.
Jenny hesitated when she realised Buffy would want to sleep in the same bed as Angel, but decided to be lenient, just this once. She'd been through a lot. And if she said no, she was sure Angel would find a way to get to Buffy, even if she took up post outside Buffy's door. She just told them to get some sleep, to which Angel couldn't help but grin. He could practically see her itching to stop them, but she didn't which he was grateful for. What his mom didn't know was that he'd slept in Buffy's bed a few times since they'd been together. He was sure she'd love to know that.
Buffy rested her head on Angel's chest, cuddling close to him. She was glad now that she had asked to stay with him, she didn't know how she'd sleep otherwise. She knew Pete was in jail, but it didn't make her feel any better. Only Angel did. She held her close, massaging her back with his fingertips. "I was so stupid. I should never have stayed with him after what he did to me. Maybe then I wouldn't be like I am now." He shifted slightly so her head was on the pillow and propped himself up on his elbow. "What do you mean?"
She pointed to the small scar on her lip then lifted her shirt and showed him the two scars on her ribs and one on her stomach that he had seen a few times before. She bit her lip as she looked at him, stopping the tears. "They're so ugly." Angel's heart ached. He knew she was self-conscious about them but she'd never come out and said it before. He knew words wouldn't work on her, so instead he bent his head and kissed every scar, running his lips and tongue over them, before moving to the one on her lip and doing the same. "Every part of you is beautiful." Her eyes filled with tears and she gently caressed his face. "Why did he hit me if I was so beautiful? Maybe he was right. Maybe I don't deserve anything more than him."
"No, Buffy. Pete's a coward and a creep. He hit you because he was stronger than you and he wanted to feel better about himself. Because he knew you were too good for him and he was afraid you'd realise it and leave him. He wanted to make you feel like you weren't worth anything more. Not because you're not beautiful, not because you made him angry, and not because you did anything wrong." He kissed her lips softly. "You're the best person I know. You're sexiest, prettiest, most amazing girl." He punctuated every sentence with a gentle kiss to her face. He kissed her lips again and a hot tear slipped down her cheek as she heard the adoration in his voice. He placed a warm hand on her cheek, wiping away the tear and holding her gaze. "And I love you." His lips met hers and her eyes closed as more tears ran down her face. When he pulled away she opened her eyes, love shining out of them. "I love you too."
He smiled at her before kissing her again, then pulling her into his arms.