The Journey, not the Destination

by Xena Avenger

An epically long fic. What happens in is? Starts with Angel fighting the dragon and Buffy helping deal with the consequences. Story begins at the end of 'Angel, Not Fade Away.' Buffy/Angel

93. A Dog's Life

Happy 2021!

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A Dog's Life

November 13, 2010

Angel's legs were pumping hard as he raced through the thick foliage.

If you lived more towards the east coast, early November would bring with it the not always subtle changes of cooler weather and turning leaves, if not outright snow and barren trees, but it wasn't so on the west coast. The stubborn leaves were still green, thick and full, despite the dry weather and near constant blowing of the Santa Anna winds, which were a little later than usual this year.

Most of his patrolling and slaying happened in a city environment these days, surrounded by cars and buildings and asphalt, not so much shrubs and trees and various forms of nature.

Yeah, maybe he was born in a day and age where nature still ruled more of the land than people, but his whole life had been centered around civilization. Either as living in a society, or feeding off one.

There was plenty of green in his current life, such as in the touristy parks and fresh mowed lawns in the cemeteries, but those settings were relatively maintained and highly manicured in comparison to a legit forest.

Because of the inconsistencies in the uneven ground, he had to keep dodging, jumping or otherwise adjusting his pace to keep from rolling an ankle.

'I'll never take a paved path for granted again.'

Twice now he'd gone down after tripping on an unforeseen root, a third would cost him the sight he still just had on the son-of-a-b*tch he was chasing.

The pain-in-the-ass demon was a tiny little thing, comprised of various shades of green which blended into the surrounding leaves and making it that much harder to keep his eyes on. Angel might have called it a Leprechaun had he believe in them, but even as an Irishman and former undead, he didn't.

Barely catching himself after the tip of his boot caught on yet another root, he plowed through a particularly thick patch of shrubs, which turned out to be sharp with pickers, and into a fairly open clearing.

He cursed, thinking 'Shit. If I ruin another shirt, Buffy is going to stake me' as the little pin pricks scratched along his face and hands, thankful for the leather jacket and jeans for protecting the rest of his skin. More curses followed as his dark eyes scanned the grounds but found no sight of a small green demon. 'Where the hell did that puke colored little bastard go? I didn't chase it though half of Angeles National Forest just to lose it now...'

Turning to his other more vampiric senses, Angel listened hard and grinned to himself when his sensitive ears picked up on the creature's rapid heartbeat. His eyes carefully scanned the area the sound was coming from, but he still couldn't see it. 'I can hear the heartbeat right there; little shit must be camouflaged.' He thought, pretending he didn't know where it was and started to purposely poke around in the wrong area as to not alert the demon that it was soon to be toast.

"Great!" The living vampire growled out for show, "I lost it!" Making as to march past the hiding creature and back in the direction he'd come.

The small demon was just about to celebrate giving his pursuer the slip when he was abruptly grabbed around the neck and lifted off the ground.

"Got ya." Angel's demon grin filled the tiny face as the creature screeched in panicked alarm, the camouflage disappearing as it flailed for freedom.

Already marching back in the direction he'd come, the annoyed Irishman shook his prisoner as he demanded, "Where is it?"

"No take, no take!" The creature bellowed, trying to squirm free of Angel's iron grip, even sinking a mouth full of sharp teeth into his captors' hand as a last-ditch effort.

Angel growled and roughly squeezed the small two-foot-tall demon, "You bite me again and you're going to magically become a green smear on the next tree. Now, where is it?"

Begrudgingly, then demon stopped trying to get away, "No take!" It wailed.

"You did take!" The angry living vampire accused, pulling the creature close to his face, and right up near his bared fangs, "I won't ask again!"

"Okay, okay, I give!" The little green humanoid replied, making a reaching motion with the hand not gripping the one Angel had around its neck.

Angel adjusted the suspended demon so it could reach under a flap of skin. 'Uh...do I even want to touch it now?' He thought in disgust. Adding a second later, 'And after spending centuries drinking people for food, you're now grossed out by excess skin...yeah, apparently Buffy's influence isn't always a beneficial factor in my life...'

From under the flap, the demon removed a small round object, very similar to a coin, just larger than the average half dollar. One side had a sort of animal craved into it, the other some text in a demon language. Angel didn't pay too close attention; it matched the description his client had provided of the missing talisman.

"You take, I go?" The anxious creature screeched, all big eyed now as it tried to look disarming and harmless.

Or the pop eyes could have been from the pressure of Angel's hand around its neck, making its eyes bulge.

The living vampire didn't think too much about which was causing the bug eyes. He was tired and annoyed.

Snatching the token from the demon, Angel resumed his walk in the direction of his car, which was likely miles away by now, "I take it and you, now shut up."

There was no way he was letting the demon go now, not after the chase he went through to catch him.

After a moment, the little imp began to speak, it wasn't in a language Angel recognized, but from the tone and rhythm it sounded like, "Hey, no chanting...!"

However, the rest of Angel's scold ended in a silent scream as his body exploded in pain, feeling like every single bone inside of him was simultaneously breaking.

The moment his grip loosened, the demon shot away to safely, but Angel didn't notice, he was already on the ground, unconscious.

...

"Angel!" Buffy yelled again into the rows and rows of trees that climbed up into what she considered the mountains that consisted of the Angeles National forest, which was hard to believe was only a half hour north from the Hyperion.

The report about a theft of a magical talisman was transferred from the LA police office over to Angel Investigations for following up, and Angel had decided to volunteer himself instead of sending a slayer team.

"Hey, I need some action here, okay? Besides, the creature that took it is what, two feet tall? I'll be back in an hour, tops." He'd declared to his wife as he grabbed his coat off the rack.

That was what he said to her almost two hours ago and he hadn't returned any of her calls for over an hour now.

The leads and witness accounts Angel had used to locate the demon had brought him to the forests outside LA, that's where he'd told her he'd be during his last phone call, so that's where Buffy had started her own search, but she wasn't here for the demon, just the vanished part demon who was chasing it.

Slamming the door to the SUV, she had checked around his abandoned GTX left in the parking lot beside one of the hiking trails but found no signs he'd returned back to it since running off into the woods.

'Okay Angel, you best just be lost out here, because if I have to drag you out...I'm going to be really, really pissed.'

Stashing a few stakes in her clothes, she radioed the slayer team en route that she was going in.

Twenty minutes of vigorous jogging later, all she succeeding in finding was a path that he might have made while crashing through the underbrush, or what could have been an animal trail. When it came to nature, Buffy was so not in her element and tracking not the top of her skill list.

The things she hunted usually left pretty big signs, like bodies, blood trails, and screaming people...

It wasn't so much the trees that worried her, but the recent reports there were some pretty unnatural things in the woods here, like a pack of something carnivorous that had been picking off hikers and morning joggers.

The official statements claimed a pack of wolves or coyotes were running wild in the area, Buffy thought not. She'd seen the pictures the police took, it sure as hell didn't look like canine teeth marks to her.

It had been on her 'to do list' to gather some intel before sending in a team, of course her bull-headed husband hadn't bothered to read that report and hadn't realized it was the same area.

Whatever it was out here, Buffy feared it could have gotten Angel while he was chasing the pick-pocketing creature.

Despite the unwanted attention it could draw, she yelled out her husband's name a few more times, in hopes his super hearing would clue him in that she was looking for him. Apparently, his cell buzzing every five minutes wasn't obvious enough.

Figuring if anything unfriendly was out here with her, they already knew where she was, so she dialed Angel's cell again for the heck of it.

The answering ring hadn't been expected, yet she heard his phone somewhere off to the right, proving the device was in fact working.

With Angel, you never could be sure the battery was charged or if the phone was even on.

"Angel?" She called out, hitting redial to keep his phone chiming, she followed the sound though the foliage until she reached a small clearing.

In the center of the clearing, she found the cell.

It was in the pocket of his leather coat.

Picking up the discarded jacket, she looked around for the owner, however her unease grew as she realized the rest of this clothes and shoes were heaped underneath. 'What the hell? Is he running around naked out here?'

As much as she liked him naked, being in the woods and without her didn't contribute to anything positive in her mind. 'He's not...out here with someone...is he?' Gathering up the items, she balled them all in the coat and used it as a carry sack as she called in to the team about what she'd discovered. 'Least the girls have a warning he's not wearing anything...granted not really sure I want any of them seeing what's for my eyes only.'

The five slayers were making their way up the hill now, having been delayed in the famous LA traffic.

Unfortunately, they couldn't set up portals just anywhere for teleportation.

As least not quite yet. It was Willow's side project.

Buffy called out for her Angel several more times, but received no response. 'Damn it Angel, where are you? And why are you naked!?'

Another thought crossed her mind, but the clothing pile hadn't been coating in dust, and she was fairly certain his body wouldn't poof like a typical vampire anymore…but it wasn't something she wanted proven, either way.

Time was passing and the trail was only going to get colder.

"Damn it!" Buffy repeated aloud, kicking a stick in her frustration.

There were over 1,000 square miles in the Angeles national forest, she'd hoped he'd have been relatively close to his car, but she had no idea which direction he'd gone from here or how far, she needed a narrower range to focus her search.

"Fine." The blonde muttered, figuring she'd have to call up Willow again for yet another tracking spell. It was a good thing she kept a few hairs or nail clippings of his around just for this sort of situation.

As she was reaching for her phone, she heard something moving quickly through the woods behind her. Hope flared as she thought she felt her husband, "Angel?" She called out, her eyes searching for movement.

Suddenly something big and furry leaped out of the foliage at her.

With a well-aimed punch, she managed to deflect the creature away, causing a yelp and a whine as the animal landed hard a few feet away.

'Wolf.' Was the first thought that popped into her head, it certainly had the size, if not larger, but it lacked the distinct wolf features. It was canine though, had longish deep brown fur and was as big as a great Dane but with a more solid build. Unlike a wolf or coyote, the ears flopped over and it had a long but more rounded snout.

The animal shook off the blow as it regained its feet and was watching her warily as she pulled a stake from her waistband. "Okay Fido, you jump at me again and I will not be held responsible for the complaints filed against me by PETA."

The dog seemed to consider this a moment before growling and moving towards her.

'Crap, am I really going to have to stake someone's pet?' Despite not being much of an animal person, slaying a dog wasn't exactly high on her 'want to do this' list, however, 'not be mauled' was considerably closer to the top.

'Granted, mangled joggers and Cujo here could be related…' She thought, sizing up the animal and not finding it hard to fathom it devouring someone with all those sharp teeth.

The beast looked down right rabid as is suddenly charged at her, but instead of swinging her stake, she ducked as it sailed over her head and clamped its jaws around the demon that she hadn't seen sneaking up behind her. "Whoa, okay, good dog." She praised as she faced off against the other four humanoid demons that had materialized from the trees.

If Giles had been hovering over her shoulder with one of his dusty demon filled tomes, he would have supplied they were Boretz demons, the terrible smell would have been one giveaway, having like, no lips to cover their people eating teeth was another. What would have been helpful to know was their bite was poisonous.

Buffy managed to daze one of her opponents by kicking it into a nearby tree while she slammed her stake into the chest of another.

Though not a vampire, a piece of sharpened wood penetrating the heart killed a fair number of creatures.

She heard the Boretz that the dog was attacking screeching before the animal clamped his jaws around its neck, ending the sound along with the life. Apparently throat ripping-out and exsanguination worked to kill these things too.

A sudden howl of pain from the dog caused Buffy to turn, watching with a strangely heavy heart as one of the demons viscously clawed into the dog's side and tossed it off its companion.

'Well my odds just got worse.' Buffy thought as several more demons filled in from the woods, swelling the number of opponents to eight.

Clicking her radio, Buffy signaled for back-up, like quickly.

Despite the bleeding wound, the dog suddenly was on his feet again, staggering back into the fight, growling angrily, ears pulled back, fangs bared.

Buffy took a hesitant step back but then something happened that almost made her dropped her stake.

The dog's face changed.

Dark eyes turned yellow, the canine teeth elongated further, and even the dog's brow roughened.

The dog had just so totally vamped out.

'No way.' She thought in shock, 'Vampire dog? But wait...no…it can't be...can it?'

Then the animal was in motion, leaping at the closest attacker and going right for the throat.

Trying not to think about it until after, when she wasn't in a fight for her life, Buffy followed up on the surprise attack and launched herself at the demons nearest her.

It would have taken longer, but backup arrived in the form of crossbow bolts taking out two of the demons, then the rest of the slayer team sprang into action as they caught up, finishing off the remaining four, and even flushing several others out of the shrubs that hadn't joined the fight yet.

One of the girls noticed the demon dog and aimed her crossbow at it, but Buffy jumped and snatched the bolt out of the air as she yelled to stand down.

Panting, the dog took a few weak steps before collapsing, the demonic features then vanishing, leaving a pair of dark chocolate brown eyes watching her as she knelt beside it.

Those familiar eyes gave him away instantly as Buffy leaned down and drew the animalistic version of her husband onto her lap, "Angel." She whispered, running her hand along his furry side, her eyes drawn to the bleeding wound. 'Oh no, no, no, no...'

She felt warmth on her fingers and found a wet tongue lapping her hand, behind them his tail wagged weakly in the dirt, happy she recognized him.

Forcing a smile, she ran her hand along his neck, "Gees, I leave you alone for a few hours and look what happens to you..."

From her lap, there was a groan of acknowledgment.

The slayer team was done slaying and moved closer to the scene, curious about the dog, "What's with the hellhound?"

"I don't know the how or why yet, but this isn't some mutt, it's Angel. So treat him as such." Buffy clarified to the girls, to make sure none did anything to harm him.

Buffy gratefully took an offered med-kit and did her best to bandage the stab wounds, but truth be told, she didn't know much about dog anatomy. There was a heap of fear that Angel could be dying from his wounds but it was hard to tell what to do when he couldn't talk to her.

In fact, he hadn't moved much since collapsing a few minutes ago, currently he was very still and his eyes were closed.

"Angel?" Buffy's worry flared as she finished with the bandage, scared he might not wake up.

Instead, he lifted his head and cocked it to the side, watching her with almost amusement.

Relieved, she patted his furry head, "Don't scare me like that."

This time that hot tongue found her face, "Yuck, let's not making face slobbering into a habit."

Seeing he was okay for the moment, she stood and spoke to the lingering slayer team, "I need a litter or something to carry him on, maybe we can rope some branches together and..."

The rest of Buffy's request was cut off when one of the slayers pointed to Angel, "Don't think he intends to be carried."

Sure enough, the four-legged version of her husband was already on his feet, sniffing around at the pile of clothes he'd been wearing earlier.

"Angel! You have four punctures in you, go lay down!" The angry wife fumed, hurrying towards him with the intention of grabbing him and forcing him back down.

Instead, Angel dropped to his front elbows, butt raised as his tail wagged, then darted off before Buffy could reach him.

"Angel! Get back here!" She yelled as she chased him into the woods.

The five slayers looked at one another, then one shrugged and grabbed the pile of clothes, then they all headed back towards the AI van, which is where they presumed the two bosses would eventually end up.

Twenty minutes later, Angel sat panting by the driver's side door of his GTX as Buffy burst out of the woods, practically fuming as she ranted off the ways in which she was going to skin him alive if he did that again.

Ignoring her threats, he sat by the door and looked up expectantly at his car, head cocked.

"Oh no, you are not driving. You don't even have fingers or an opposable thumb to grip the wheel!" She pulled out her keys and popped open the trunk of the adjacent SUV. "Get in the back."

He started at her, as if to say, 'Not riding like luggage.'

"Don't look at me like that, you have plenty of room back here to lay down and look out the windows." She tried to sell the back of the van to him, patting the utility blanket they used to cover weapons when they had to transport them between parts of the city for patrols.

The slayer team arrived then, the one carrying the ball of clothes passed them off to Buffy, "Did you need us for anything else, Buffy?" The young redhead asked, eyeing Angel's car.

Angel growled and barked when Buffy fished his key-ring from his coat and handed the woman the key to the GTX, "Yes, actually, can you bring this back to AI for me."

"Sure." The slayer smiled and snagged the key, giving the victory look to the other members of her team.

Nobody got to drive Angel's car. At least not if he wasn't near death.

Buffy was still trying to get Angel to jump into the back of the SUV when he darted past the redheaded slayer as she opened the GTX door and dove into the convertible, climbing into the backseat and giving both woman his best 'Go ahead and try to drag me out' look.

Resting her face in her hand a moment, Buffy finally gave up. "Fine, whatever, do what you want."

If it was possible for a dog to look pleased with himself, Angel did.

"Umm..." The slayer holding the GTX keys suddenly wasn't sure she wanted to drive it. It was an awesome car, but there was now over two-hundred pounds of half-vampire demon dog in the backseat.

Rabies might be safer.

"I'll sit in the back with him and keep him muzzled." Buffy assured the girl, holding up her keys to the others, "Can someone take the SUV back please?"

A blonde slayer with short spiky hair volunteered.

Beyond annoyed, Buffy climbed into the backseat of the GTX with Angel, giving him the 'I'm annoyed with you glare' as she settled in.

Ignoring her glare, he plopped down beside her, laying his head on her lap and fully expected to be petted.

"Not petting you." It came out as a promise.

He kept looking up at her, giving her the ultimate puppy dog eyes.

Groaning, she shook her head, "God are you infuriating."

Within a minute she was in fact scratching his ears, however uselessly she'd been trying not to. She might not have been all that into animals in general, but this wasn't just some dog, it was Angel, and her hands had always found their way into his hair at some point...he just happened to have several more places to run her fingers though now.

A short while later, the three vehicles were inching along traffic in what should have been an hour ride, which ended up taking closer to two.

...

She'd been half expecting Angel to be hanging his head out the window for the whole ride, instead, he'd simply slept like the dead. Buffy would occasionally break from absently petting him to examining the bandaged wounds. He'd bled during the chasing though the woods, soaking the bandages, but it seemed to have stopped now.

The cloud of worry won't completely disappear until Cassidy had a say in the matter.

Once she knew his wounds weren't life threatening, she'd have Willow turn him back to human form.

When the cars finally rolled into the AI parking lot, Buffy shook her dozing dog awake and led him though the back door from the parking lot directly into the Med-ward.

The concern came back full force at how listless he seemed, his head was down, his tail hanging limp. He seemed to be walking alright, but Buffy couldn't help worry Cass was going to give him a grim diagnosis.

"Here, let me help you up." Buffy moved to pick up the big dog but he slipped past her and jumped up onto the cot, dropping down on it and watching her with his head resting on his paws.

"Boy, you must have gone to disobedience training..."

Cassidy came walking into the Med-Ward then, a little bell in her office alerting her to activity in the room. "Nice try Buffy, but this is defiantly not a veterinary clinic."

"Cass, just tell me he's not dying." Buffy pleaded, not about to waste breath defending Angel's rights to be here right now.

"Where did you find him and what did you do to him?" The redheaded medic asked while eyeing the huge dog, and wondering why Buffy had it, she wasn't known to be big on pets.

"Angeles forest, a demon impaled him with its claws." Buffy clarified as she undid the bandage around his abdomen, "It was bleeding earlier, but seems to have stopped."

Figuring she might as well take a look; the doctor brushed aside some blood matted fur and examined the punctures. "When did you say this happened?"

Buffy glanced at the clock before supplying, "About two and a half hours ago."

Cassidy stopped looking at the wounds and back at Buffy, "These wounds look like they happened days ago, the holes are closed and the skin around the edges is mostly healed."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Buffy unconsciously rubbed Angel's ears, "Okay, good, so he's going to be fine?"

"That would be my guess." The medic offered, tentatively examining around the dog's muzzle, "Gums are pale and slightly dry, he's likely suffering from anemia and dehydration, which would explain the fatigue."

Buffy nodded as she took a few moments to circle the cot and examine the furry beast from all sides. There hadn't been much opportunity to study what had happened to him physiologically during the fight or chase through the woods or the car ride.

"What breed is he?" The slayer asked, she hadn't seen a dog that looked like this before.

While Cass was conducting her own examination, "Not a clue, but if you plan on keeping him, you should get him neutered."

Angel didn't like that comment one bit, he jumped up and snapped at the redhead, not intending to actually make contact, but he let the demon out just to prove now much against that thought he was.

Cassidy almost hit the ceiling as the dog went demonic on her.

"Angel! Stop that!" Buffy scolded, grabbing him around the collar, suddenly noticing he had a collar.

About three shades whiter than before, Cassidy blinked as the vampiric features vanished and those familiar accusing brown eyes stared back at her. "Angel! You mean ...your husband, Angel?"

"Oops, sorry, I guess I left out the part where I mention my think headed spouse got turned into a dog while chasing down what should have been a five-minute case." The slayer added accusingly, eyeing the beast and shaking her head, still annoyed he'd gone off half-cocked and gotten the whammy for his trouble.

Shaking her head, the medic figured maybe now she'd seen just about everything. "Well, at least that explains the quick healing and anemia."

Now that the threat to his balls seemed to have passed, he yawned and stretched, then was content to lay back down and watch the two women talk.

"If he's going to be okay, why's he so listless? Even half-dead he's usually trying to crawl out of here." It was a reasonable question; Angel hated the Med-ward. She'd expected to have to literally drag him in with his nails digging into the floor. Instead, he's walked right in and jumped on a cot, in fact, he didn't look like moving off it.

"A full body metamorphosis from one physical form into another has got to be a load to the system, add that to healing from a serious wound...my guess is his body is depleted and wants to rest." The medic surmised, grabbing a clean bowl out of the cabinet and filling it with fresh water from the sink.

When she laid it before the dog, Angel lapped at it thirstily...and rather messily.

'Damn, never thought's I'd miss a straw.' Angel thought as he tried to drink how a human would. His muzzle got in the way, almost tipping the bowl, then a second attempt got his nose submerged. He growled at the bowl, annoyed with it and his lack of understanding how to use this new body.

"Try lapping it." Cassidy suggested, while she and Buffy shared amused looks behind his back as they watched him try to drink.

That made even more of a mess, but after a few minutes he figured out how to cup his tongue and use it to shovel the liquid into his mouth.

When he was finished, after two refills, Buffy announced she was going to visit Willow.

Instead of taking the nap his wife had suggested to him, Angel jumped down off the cot and trotted towards the Med-Ward doors, looking back at her as if to say, 'Are you coming?'

Giving Cassidy a look, "See what I have to deal with? He never listens."

The redhead blinked back at her, "And this is different than usual how?"

Rolling her eyes, Buffy followed the canine into the hall then into the elevator.

Wrinkling her nose, "You smell like wet dog." She commented in the enclosed space, noting he's spilled a good majority of water while trying to figure out how to drink it.

He growled lightly as he cocked his head at her. 'No shit, I am a wet dog...hopefully Willow can fix that.'

When they reached the top floors, they walked together to the witch's office and Buffy knocked, both relieved as the woman in question opened the door. "Hi Buffy! Oh, and you have a uhh...really huge dog with you..."

"Look again." Buffy said as she walked into the office when Willow indicated to come inside. Angel followed after a moment, his nose twitching as he began sniffing the werewolf scent that was everywhere in the room.

Willow did just that, this time focusing on more than just the physical realm of sight and touch, tapping into her magical senses. "Oh!" The Witch gasped, looking wide eyed at what she could now tell was her best friend's husband, "Now how did you manage that Angel?"

The dog cocked his head, "No idea, but I'm certain it was the little green son-of-a-bitch that did it."

"Language." The red-head scolded as she felt around him magically, checking for how to reverse the spell.

"Can you understand him?" Buffy asked, looking from her friend to her spouse.

The witch nodded, "Not if he growls or barks, but I can read his mind. When there is a human thought at least."

"So what'd he say?" The worried wife asked, wanting to know what happened to make him like this.

"Hang on."

Willow tried to few spells, then tinkered with the energy surrounding Angel, trying to pinpoint the kind of magic that had been used. After about ten minutes the Wicca frowned, "I can't break it."

Buffy's mouth dropped open, surprised and a little afraid, "What? Why not? You're magic girl! You made a few thousand slayers from a glorified ax, brought me back from the dead, restored Angel's soul a few times, made portals, moved the freaking building we're in across the country... so why wouldn't you be able to shift Angel back into a person?"

Not exactly thrilled at the lack of results, Willow shook her head, "This isn't a spell, it's some kind of curse. I'll need to research more, but I'm positive it has to do with this." She fingered the black leather collar surrounding Angel's neck and rotated it until Buffy could see the coin-like object hanging where an ID tag would be.

"That's the thing!" Buffy announced, "The stolen object Angel went to find. That's what did this to him?"

Angel growled, annoyed, "Little bastard set me up!"

The witch translated what Angel was thinking, letting Buffy know about the chase through the woods and what Angel remembered before waking up as a dog and trying to figure out the new body.

"Is there really nothing you can do to de-fur him?" Buffy asked after a bit, she was getting restless while Willow checked through some of the spell books on her bookshelf.

The Wicca shook her head, "I could remove his fur, but I'm not so sure that's what either of you want. Besides, I told you it isn't a spell, it's a curse. If curses were that easy to manipulate, they wouldn't really be all that effective."

"Right, effective." Buffy muttered darkly, uncharacteristically letting her mind wander back in time to when Angel's soul had been a curse and allowing the 'what if's' poke around at her thoughts. 'What if Willow had restored Angel's soul before he'd released Acathla and I had to send him to Hell? What if we could have been intimate without breaking the curse?'

'Why am I thinking this? I married my love and had his babies… I don't need any do-overs.' Shaking her head to clear the distractions away, "Okay, so we get Giles and the training-wheel-Watchers involved to speed up the research process."

The redhead nodded as she put a heavy tome back on the high shelf, "Absolutely, the more minds the merrier, besides, it'll be good for training."

The half-demon dog was pacing around the office, sniffing at the couch and nosing the baby toys on the floor. His human nose was normally as sensitive as a dog's, now with actual canine scent receptors it was incredible what Angel could smell.

And so much more disturbing.

Getting a whiff of regular werewolf was bad, but werewolf with mega nose, he could practically see Oz's scent, like a lingering trail twisting around the room where the musician had been.

He needed to leave, quickly.

Oz was his friend, and this…this was just way too up close and personal into the other man's privacy.

Willow caught the discomfort radiating off Angel and opened her office door for him, letting the four-legged beast out into the hall.

Buffy frowned, getting a quick summery from Willow that his senses were acting up again. His wife was familiar with the problem, it wasn't the first time he'd been oversensitive, granted this time she'd have a hell of a time trying to stick a clothes pin on that muzzle.

The blond gave her friend a hug, thanking her for trying, "Right, you make with the reading, I'll get Lassie here home and resting."

…

Angel's ears ticked back; his attention being drawing by familiar voices.

Tail wagging, he trotted towards his office, where he could hear his children playing within.

The door knob was elongated, unlike the traditional round handle, making it simple for his paw to depress, then easy enough to shoulder open the door with his massive size.

"Daddy!" He heard Katie yell, she always knew when he was close, much like her mother.

The little girl came running, her big smile dropping as she slid to a sudden halt when she rounded the couch and saw the massive beast for the first time.

"Katie, stay back!" Someone yelled, Angel turning his head to see the slayer who was babysitting, one of the younger girls, brunette, Mattie.

She'd pulled a knife from her back pocket, the kind Crocodile Dundee would have called a knife, or what most other people would call a machete.

'Not good.' Angel thought as he ducked back from a furious swing of the blade, the young woman determined to protect the kids from the sudden intrusion of the huge beast, "Get out!" She yelled, her weapon slashing the air before Angel's muzzle.

"Mattie no, stop it!" Katie's voice blared out, pausing both Angel's retreat and Mattie's advance as both turned to face the attention commanding five-year-old.

"Katie, I said to…" The young slayer started to scold the girl, but was overruled with a look the child inherited from her mother as she added, "That's not a monster Mattie, it's my Daddy."

Angel's ears twitched forwards, head cocking to the side, trying to figure out how his little girl could be so damn intuitive.

Mattie stood there with her mouth open as Katie walked past her and stood before her four-legged father, having to look up into those big brown eyes that matched her own, "Daddy, why are you a big dogie?"

"Because Daddy can't keep his nose out of the 'fun' cases." Buffy spoke from the doorway, having caught the end of the skirmish.

"You mean that creature actually is Angel?" Mattie asked, sheathing her blade as she looked to Buffy for confirmation.

Buffy just shrugged "I couldn't make this stuff up…" as Liam poked his head around from behind the couch, where he'd been watching when the shuffle broke out, "Can I be a doggie too?"

"No." The blonde muttered, giving Mattie a quick explanation as she picked her one-year-old daughter out of the playpen she'd been trashing.

Meanwhile, Katie and Liam were grinning as they petted their father, who didn't seem to be all that put out by it, sitting there with his tongue out and tail wagging.

Once Buffy gathered their things, she herded the group out and down to the portal, getting a few curious stares as the word spread around the building about Mr. Boss turning into a dog.

…

The Slayer opened the can of dog food and spooned it onto the plate, her eyes glancing over towards Angel as he watched her with a weary glare. "Don't look at me like that, I'm sure it's delicious."

The brownish jelly with meat-like clumps sure didn't look edible to her human pallet, but she was sure his doggie taste buds would love it.

"Here you go, dinner is served." She said as she placed the plate on the floor.

He didn't move for a full 30 seconds, just staring at her with those, 'You've got to be kidding me' eyes.

"Oh, just try it!" She snapped at him, anxious for him to eat something.

He'd done some hard-core healing today, his body was weak from blood loss and energy excursion, he needed rest, but he needed food too.

Growling, he leaned in, took one sniff, then turned his nose up to it.

"Damn it, Angel, you need to eat!" She gritted out, wondering why her normally 'eat almost anything' husband was suddenly fussy.

If a dog could smile, she was sure Angel did, and it was right before he pranced over to the kitchen counter. Most dogs would have had to jump up onto their hind limbs, but his head was almost even with her chest, which made it perfectly even with the counter, so it only took opening his mouth to scarf her peanut butter sandwich off her plate.

"No! Bad dog!" She yelled, chasing after him, but the majority of the sandwich was already consumed by the time he darted out of the kitchen.

"Daddy didn't want the yucky doggie food." Katie laughed, having been watching from the living room.

"Go play." Buffy muttered to the girl, eyes scanning for the beast, but he had smartly made himself scarce.

Later on that night, she'd tucked the kids into bed, Angel sneaking in right after and 'kissing' all three as best he could, mostly just slobbering them, much to Buffy's displeasure and their delight.

'Kids best not get used to having a 'dog', I'm so not having animals…' Buffy was about to head upstairs for a bath when Angel's barking startled her. "What on earth?" She groaned out, thinking maybe there was someone or something lurking outside.

Quickly entering the kitchen, she found him pawing at the back door, "What is it? Something out there?"

He barked again, somewhat softly as to not wake the kids.

Steeling herself, she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Angel darted out into the darkness.

Switching on the back light and illuminating the deck, she walked out and held her stake up, checking for a foe.

When nothing jumped out at her, she hurried down to find her furry spouse.

"Hey!" She yelled when she located him, "Not on that tree!"

She'd caught him lifting his leg by the treehouse.

He looked startled a moment, then begrudgingly held the flow and lowed his leg as he went to find a different place to relieve himself.

Buffy tried not to watch as he did his business in the far corner of the yard, and not so subtly called to him as he headed past her back to the house, "Just so you know, you're picking that up once you have hands again."

He stopped and groaned at her, then darted back into the house.

…

After a long hot bath to try and relax, yet hadn't worked to relieve really any or her tension, she found her spouse laying on the couch, snoring.

"Hey, off the furniture! You're getting fur all over it!" He yelped as she whacked him off the couch with a throw pillow.

He jumped off with a startled growl, sleepy eyes glaring annoyingly at her.

"You can sleep on this." Buffy spread a throw blanket down on the floor beside the coffee table, double folding it for extra comfort and made sure the water bowl was filled. "Okay, now where the heck did you go?" She asked to the empty room.

After spending a good ten minutes walking around the house, she still couldn't locate the damn dog.

"Fine, whatever, he's hiding around here someplace, not like he has thumbs to open the doors to escape." She mumbled to herself, stifling a yawn and figuring she'd deal with the infernal creature in the morning.

Entering the bedroom, she found him. "Oh my god, you can't be serious!" She grumbled, seeing the dog sprawled out on the bed. "I said not on the furniture! The bed is also furniture! Those sheets are going to smell like dog forever!"

He didn't seem to pay her complaints any attention.

At least he was on his side of the bed.

Groaning out her frustrations, she shook her head as she entered the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

Once dressed in her pajamas, she sent him a 'you little shit' glare and climbed in under the covers, no longer in the mood to yell at him.

Her mental coping was shot to hell.

She laid there a good twenty minutes trying to fall asleep, but for some reason just not able to find a comfy spot.

Angel rolled over and laid his head on her chest, his tongue flicking her cheek, "Oh come on, I just washed my face."

Despite planning to throw him off the bed and out of the room, her fingers found their way into his fur. "Fine, two minutes, then you're out."

She fell asleep in one.

…

In the morning, Buffy woke feeling like a little kid again, waking up squeezing a favored teddy bear, or perhaps Mr. Gordo.

Except this wasn't a stuffed animal.

There was a very distinct heartbeat under her ear, and breathing, and snoring and the same feeling she always had in her spine when her husband was near.

But that feeling wrapped in fur was different.

Opening her eyes, she found she'd snuggled up to him during the night, wrapped around him in fact, hugging him like a maternity pillow.

"Oops." She pulled back, hoping she hadn't injured him.

He didn't appear hurt, hell, he didn't even appear remotely awake.

She sat up and observed him for a few moments, a smile pulling at her lips when she noticed his muzzle twitch then his leg. 'He's dreaming, I wonder what about.'

It was still early, and it didn't sound like the kids were up yet, which left her a few precious moments of Buffy time.

Leaning up on her arm, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried to untie the little knot that had been sitting in her stomach ever since Willow said she couldn't de-dog her spouse.

'I've been treating him a little harshly, haven't I?' She thought to herself, remembering spending most of the previous day yelling at Angel for…well…being a dog.

Laying back down, she thought it wasn't like he was doing it on purpose, he just, by matter of curse, was a dog for the time being.

In a so very Angel-like way, he rolled over and nuzzled his muzzle against her neck.

Just like if he were human, she ran her fingers though the fur atop his head, wandering over to scratch at his ears as he slept.

There was a familiar sounding growl of approval as he inched closer.

Buffy grinned, feeling more comfortable with him, despite the physiological change to his body, he was still Angel in every way.

A warmth washed over her neck, followed quickly as he trailed wet kisses on the skin beneath her ear.

It felt good, and normal.

He rolled over onto her, licking her neck more intensely, her hands moving on their own to explore his back and down his flanks.

It was like rubbing a teddy bear.

It wasn't until a few moments later she realized things were heating up between them, she was aroused and he was…

"Off!" Buffy sat up and shoved the huge beast off her, his yelp of surprise echoed as he rolled and fell off the bed.

"The words doggy-style come to mind and I'm having you neutered!" She threated as she pushed the fur covered comforter aside and got out of bed, her spouse sulking at the foot of the bed as he watched her storm into the bathroom and shut the door.

'That hurt.' Buffy thought, hugging herself and rubbing the tingling on her neck, where his mark was, while she sat on the closed toilet, hating punishing him for what only came naturally between them. But this was different right now, he wasn't even human…not that he was ever fully human, but at least they'd had matching anatomy before. 'Intimacy like this? No, so not happening.'

She needed a little time to cool her jets, which despite her brain, her traitor body still reached out for her spouse, regardless of what form he was in, 'So cue the uncomfortably cold shower'.

…

When Buffy exited the bathroom, she wasn't all that surprised he'd figured out a way to open the bedroom door, since he was Angel, and he was always doing something that shouldn't be possible.

Shrugging, she dressed and put on her usual make-up, doing her hair, going through the morning motions, trusting he was certainly capable of surviving their kids until she was ready.

Half-hour later, she was going to check the kid's bedrooms but it wasn't necessary, she could hear them laughing downstairs. 'Well, let's see what crazy shenanigans today will bring.'

A smile lit up her face as she descended the stairs, her hazel green eyes watching with amusement as Angel lay on his back in the living room, all three of their children literally dog-piling him.

His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, tail thumping rapidly on the carpet as he rolled on his back, little whines escaping as he wriggled in bliss.

You wouldn't find a happier dog anywhere.

"Stop slobbering all over my babies." She teased as she reached the bottom, greeting her children as they rushed over to say good morning...and more importantly ask when was breakfast.

"Go wash your hands and I'll get you some cereal." Buffy sent Liam and Katie off and scooped her recently turned 1 year old into her arms, "Morning beautiful." She kissed the toddler and brought her into the kitchen, settling the squirmy little blonde into her highchair.

After Buffy wiped her little hands and face with a damp cloth, much to the little girl's displeasure, she went through the morning routine of heating hot water for oatmeal, switching on the coffee pot and fishing the milk from the fridge and count chocula out of the cabinet.

It wasn't long before the three children were eating and Buffy cast a glance over at Angel, who seemed to be pouting in the corner, watching with those annoyingly effective puppy eyes.

"Come here."

His brows shot up, an almost fearful look at he slowly got his legs under him and crept closer.

Buffy still was having trouble with how freaking huge he was, while she was sitting he could look her in the face.

"Sit." She told him, keeping her face neutral but giggling inside as he sat, his head cocking sideways as to indicate he'd bite her if she asked for his paw next.

Instead, she took his big fuzzy face on her hands and pulled him closer, pressing her lips to the top of his hairy head. "I'm sorry about this morning, I guess I freaked a little." She said quietly, running her hands out over his flanks, "You know I love you, but bestiality is so not on the menu. No way, shape or form pal."

He let out a little whine, licked her cheek and laid his head down in her lap, those deep fathomless eyes looking up at her.

A plea if she ever saw one.

"Suck it up, not happening." She repeated, rubbing his ears. After a moment, she leaned in close and whispered huskily into a big floppy ear, "Don't be grouchy lover, once we get you right form again, so making up for lost time….with interest."

There was an answering thumping sound, it took her a second to realize it was his wagging tail hitting the side of the fridge.

Darn tail was a weapon in itself, it looked like a whiffle bat, and she imagined it'd feel like one too.

They sat there for a few moments, her petting her mangy mutt while he savored her love, then it was back to getting the kids ready.

…

"Hey Willow" Buffy greeted as her friend came into her office, baby Danny bouncing happily on her hip, "What did we find out, we did find something out, right?" She asked nervously, eyeing the redhead as she waved hi to Angel.

Angel was standing in the middle of the office, a padded blanket next to him, Joan standing tentatively on it, little hands braced in her daddy's fur.

Willow smiled at the girl, kneeling to put her son on the blanket beside her. The 11 month old redhead grinned and crawled closer to Angel, no wonder the son of a werewolf being drawn towards the canine.

Joan let go and dropped to her bottom, giggling as the dog dropped to the floor, tail wagging as he nosed the little wriggler, that big doggy grin back as he played with the two babies.

All the kids loved Angel, no matter what form; it was like having a demon inside sent a neon blinking sign saying 'come play with me' to everyone under the age of 14.

That could be a large chunk of reason why there were so many warnings to little kids to stay aware from scary strangers, evil just acted like a magnet to the innocent.

"Well," Willow began, schooling her smile as she watched her little boy giggle and pull on Angel's tail, "We found a few leads that…well need more leading…but I can tell you Angel's breed."

The big dog looked up, clearly listening from where he sat babysitting.

Willow turned to address him, "It's called an Irish Wolfhound, which as you are Irish, not such a big shocker."

He hadn't actually looked into the mirror lately, but he could buy that. He'd never actually seen one before, as the breed was nearly extinct in his early human days. The huge hounds had been vital for hunters in tracking down Ireland's native Elk and wolves, but after those beasts went extinct, the hounds became obsolete.

"And the curse?" Buffy asked, more interested in how to undo it than what type of dog suit Angel was wearing.

The Wicca frowned, "We've found a ton of references with humans shifting into animals, but none of them have any indication of a coin or talisman. I'd like to get a picture of his coin, to run a scan though the digital database.

Angel gently pulled his tail out of the little Danny's hands and padded over to Willow, holding still while she took a few shots of the coin on his collar with the camera on her phone.

When she finished, he moved back over to the babies and plopped down beside them, giving his girl a lick and grinning as they both crawled on him.

Who needed a fancy expensive battery-operated baby entertaining do-hicky when a dog the size of a pony worked just fine?

Willow send the image to the Watchers and to some of the witches in her network, hoping it would dig them up a lead.

Buffy was absently watching her furry spouse play with the babies while she let her mind run, "You don't think there could be some form of hidden loop-hole that could trigger something worse, do you?"

The redhead turned to Buffy, a frown on her lips, "Oh ahh, I don't think this is anything like his old gypsy curse, I mean, I don't know for sure, but it isn't set up the same way. Soul curses are serious black magic, it takes a lot of power and experience to pull one off. While object curses, well they aren't kiddie sized but not nearly as difficult to manage. Heck, once it's set, anyone can trigger it."

The blond nodded, then frowned, thinking aloud, "How can soul curses be that difficult, you managed it as a magic-noob."

Willow shook her head, "I actually didn't, at least I don't think I was alone in it, I wore out almost immediately, but the spell sort of…I don't know how to explain it, but it took over, self- empowered and forced me to finish it."

Buffy thought that over for a moment, then asked, "Would there have been a way to remove the loop-hole?"

There had been at least a zillion times Buffy had asked the question, just never out loud to anyone else. She'd been afraid of the answer.

"No." The Wiccan answered immediately, "I don't think even the original witch that constructed it could have after it was crafted."

When Buffy's mouth opened to ask why, Willow added "A complex curse like that is… well, I guess you can think of it like a sheet of music, if you start changing the notes, it isn't the same song anymore."

"Right." The slayer nodded, somewhat placated that past events couldn't have transpired differently.

Willow checked her phone, but none of the replies back had much information.

"Nothing at all?" Buffy questioned, afraid she'd have a dog for a husband indefinitely, which she was pretty sure was illegal in this state…or in all the states maybe. If not, it should be.

The witch shrugged, "Research takes time, even when Giles has a whole bunch of eager watcher helpers."

Angel's playful growl drew their attention for a while, both mother's smiling as their little ones giggled and squealed in delight of the big fluffy goofball.

About 15 minutes passed, Buffy's gaze caught on the collar around her husband's neck, "That collar, you think it's just a plain leather strip or something more to it?"

It seemed pertinent, especially since Joan was tugging at it, as in using her full body weight.

Willow nodded, "As far as I can tell, the curse's focus or nucleus is the coin, that's where the magic is centered…but if you're asking if say the collar, and thus the coin, came off, if he'd be turned back to normal…or be stuck a dog forever…or die outright, then I'm not sure."

Rising, Buffy walked over to the playing trio and scooped her daughter up, sending her spouse a sassy smirk as she told the child, "Hands off mini-me, only mommy gets to jerk daddy's leash."

Angel cocked his head to the side, somehow sending her a withering scowl.

Buffy retorted with a bright smile and headed back over to the couch with Joan perched on her hip. "Ok, so no removing of the collar til we know what's what."

After a few seconds passed, Buffy sighed, "Okay…so what do we do til then?"

Girl of action, yet no action to take, left Buffy feeling antsy at best.

Willow grinned, eyeing her baby boy grinning at Angel, "Start up a doggie daycare?"

Buffy groaned, "These dog jokes have… gone to the dogs…"

….

November 17, 2010

Chocolate brown eyes watched with a concentration routinely reserved for disarming a bomb or performing brain surgery.

A little nudge to the left, a slide to the right, a little more, a little more…

The muscles in his flanks tightened as he prepared to leap.

The timing had to be perfect…. or else she would ruin it for him.

A little more, a little more.

"Liam!" Katie cried out in a voice of complete outrage, the kind of glass breaking tone only a nearly 6-year-old could hit. A scuffle, the table shook, a cry from Joan to add to the confusion and distraction.

There!

Angel darted forward, fast as the demon power running though his blood could propel him.

His jaws opened, catching the object of his desire before gravity could bring it to the floor.

Victory!

Jaws closed on the prize, swallowing it down immediately to keep it from being taken from him.

Buffy's hand grabbing the collar around his neck did nothing, the slice of chocolate cake was already half way to his belly by then.

"Damn it Angel! Chocolate is poison for dogs!" She yelled at him, not for the first time that night.

With a cake-eating grin, he just lapped his chops, 'Worth it.'

With a huff, she turned to her three giggling children, "Nice going guys, collaborate with the idiotic mongrel that's trying to kill himself with food poisoning."

Angel seemed to snicker as he slipped back under the table, Buffy rolling her eyes as she tried to pretend that she wasn't watching all three of her kids sneaking food to their furry father.

Not at all amused, Buffy shook her head, planning to drag her husband to the Med-Ward in the morning and have Cass run a few tests on him, to make sure he wasn't bleeding internally after scoffing just about every non-pet-friendly edible there was in about a 12-hour span.

…

Angel growled.

It wasn't as if he didn't actually do that when in normal form, but when you had a long muzzle full of sharp teeth, it certainly added to the effect.

"You do it." Cassidy handed the needle to Buffy as she backed away from the rabid beast.

The blonde scrunched up her face, sending the medic a glare, "He won't actually bite you."

Angel growled again.

"Not from over here he won't." Cass replied, keeping herself well away from the irritate demon-dog.

Frowning, Buffy looked down at the hypodermic in her hand, fingering it as she asked, "But, I'm not trained for this kind of thing, I don't even know where to stick it."

"I have a few ideas…" Angel thought to himself, glaring at the needle.

"Pointy end into him, then pull the plunger up until it stops." The medic supplied from behind a rolling cart. If he lunged, perhaps it would buy her a second before he mauled her to death.

Rolling her eyes, she stared at her mad dog, "Damn it Angel, we're just taking a blood sample…just a little bit…it's not like we're trying to neuter you or anything."

Angel knew exactly what they were doing, and to be frank, he was perfectly fine with it. But if everyone was going to treat him like freaking Cujo…then he'd damn well act the part.

All day he'd been dealing with slayers and watchers and such either gawking at or avoiding him.

He'd been turned into a dog on Saturday, it had been early in the afternoon, and from pretty much that moment on his whole world was off kilter.

It wasn't just the physical toll on his body from the change, but everything else.

He couldn't even go to the restroom normally any more.

For days Buffy had been trying to feed him dog food, which he just couldn't choke down, which left him perpetually hangry.

He'd been removed from the training roster, the slayers were treating him either like a pet or a threat, he couldn't even kiss his wife without her brushing him off…

Spike laughing at him had sent his rationality out the window, sparking a short but violent fight in the halls, one that left a certain vampire with a soul laid up for a few days with broken bones and punctures and a certain living dog demon with shredded Spike between his teeth.

Buffy had dragged the bloody hound to the Med-ward for a check-up, but Angel wasn't having it.

He growled again, tightening the muscles in his back and making the hair on his spine stick up.

The picture of a wolf defending his territory.

Buffy couldn't take it right now.

The blonde smacked the needle back down onto one of the rolling carts, "Fine. Eat poison, wig out and be psycho-attack hellhound." Buffy spat, sending the animal an accusing look as she pointed at him with a wagging finger, "But when someone tranqs you, don't come crying to me." With that said, she stormed out of the Med-Ward, needing air, or space or maybe a drink…

Angel's dark eyes followed her, feeling then tension between then growing tight.

Ever since she'd thrown him off the bed, there'd been distance between them, an emotional wound that was only widening.

With a whine, he dropped the act, his head laying down onto his paws and let out a deep breath, 'Great, now even my wife is avoiding me.'

Cass was about to slink away, but stopped herself. That wasn't a dog laying on her cot, it was Angel, and she wasn't going to let a friend suffer. It was part of her Medical vow and also her personal ethic.

"She's not actually mad at you."

Angel looked up, eying the medic.

"She's just worried." Cass continued, coming closer when he didn't growl or snap at her, "She doesn't want you getting hurt or sick in this form, when it would be a heck of a lot harder to treat you, especially with the magic in the mix."

He put his head back down, tail twitching slightly as he thought about it.

"I'm betting just showing her some bloodwork would help to alleviate a lot of her concern." Cass said, holding up the syringe and giving it a little shake.

The dog grunted and Cass was sure rolled his eyes.

"I'm taking that as, if not a 'yes', than at least not a 'no'.

Angel didn't move as Cass quickly found a vein and took a few tubes of blood, his dark eyes half watching with a disinterested stare.

The warm vials of blood left a satisfying smirk on her face, feeling like she'd managed an achievement the mighty queen of slayers failed to accomplish, not that she'd ever say it to the slayer.

She sent her friend a quick text, letting the blonde know she got the blood and was starting the tests.

Angel just laid there, looking listless and moping. Not seriously injured from his scuffle with Spike or in need of any medical treatment, but mostly just tired and depressed. He'd only been a dog for a few days, and already it felt like an eternity.

'No wonder dogs only live for 10 years, who'd want to live for longer like this?'

…..

"Well?" Buffy asked while peering over the medic's shoulders, trying to decipher the medical garble showing on the computer monitor.

They were in Cass's office, the doctor seated behind her OCD organized wooden desk as she inputted data into her computer.

Cassidy rolled her grey eyes, "Buffy" She said sternly, 'It's been five minutes."

It had taken a bit of time to dispense the blood into the numerous test tubes and mechanical inputs, the medic running programs and taking various readings.

Most tests were now running, but needed time to finish and even more time to organize the results into something readable.

The blonde scowled, realizing she was being a pain but too tightly over strung to relax. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she took a few steps and plopped herself down on the surprisingly plush blue chair on the other side of Cassidy's desk.

"What's up with you?" The redhead asked after a few tensely quiet minutes, "I'd understand if Angel was foaming at the mouth or having seizures, but he's not, heck, he's acting perfectly fine... well, at least what he passes for as fine, considering the circumstances."

Buffy frowned at that, "Since when is being a dog even remotely considered normal?"

Cass shrugged, "Certainly beats him being injured or dead."

Buffy sighed, "I guess."

The medic stopped typing and looked up, meeting her friend's eyes, "You guess him being a dog is better than dead?"

Buffy shook her head, feeling defensive, "That's not what I mean. Yes, or course alive in any form is better than dead, but it's not really…I don't know…he's not how I need him to be."

"How do you need him to be?" Cass asked, figuring Buffy was in need of a little phycological counseling.

"Himself." Buffy answered, "Mostly human with a side of demon."

Nodding, "Ok, so his current form is inconvenient to say the least…"

"Inconvenient!" Shaking her head, Buffy shrugged, "The love of my life, father of my children, isn't even the same species as me anymore and you consider that just inconvenient?"

"Well, is a vampire/demon really the same species?"

Countering the Medic, "We had interlocking parts, could interbreed, that works as the same species to me."

Getting the point, Cassidy supplied, "So the moral here is you're on edge because you can't sleep with him?"

Red flushed across Buffy's face, "Yes, well no…maybe…I don't know…it's certainly a factor. We're married… so we do married things…that's what married persons do…"

Raising her hands defensively, the medic conceded, "I know, trust me I know, but there's no reason you can't be intimate in a non-sexual way. You can touch and be close, stare into each other's eyes, watch bad movies together…it's not so unlike when you couldn't be intimate when you were carrying Joan.

A sullen expression washed over the blonde's face, "Yeah, which sucked...a lot."

Cassidy shook her head, "Sorry sister, nothing I can prescribe for this."

"I know." Buffy sighed, missing just being able to have a darn conversation with her husband. 'Granted, we managed when he was blind and deaf, and after the miscarriage, and when he was sick… this isn't really as bad as I'm making it…I just hate this…'

After a moment of self-reflecting, "It's not just the sex thing, we can't communicate, he can't talk…and he can't open things or reach stuff on the top shelf, or change diapers, or drive, or…" Buffy's voice had risen a few decibels, but then dropped to a whisper as she finished, "or the other stuff."

Cassidy sat back in her chair, nodding.

"It's the uncertainty." Buffy said after a short silence, "Not knowing how to get him back to normal or if he can be."

Cassidy looked up from her monitor, giving her friend an encouraging nod, letting the young woman vent.

"Changing him into a dog isn't just throwing a wrench in our sex life, it's changing how we interact, how people interact with him, and in a way, it's made him into someone else. He can't do most of the things he used to, like draw or read to the kids, tinker with his car, run training sessions, help with chores, work on cases… This is getting to him, hitting below the belt in a way, and that frustration is seeping into me."

The medic glanced over at her, feeling the tension boiling just under the blonde's skin, "Listen Buffy, you are both 100% correct and 100% wrong at the same time. There is plenty of communication between you two right now, and from what I can tell, it's all of your frustrations flowing into each other. You guys need to take a step back, relax, stop focusing on what is wrong about this situation and dive into what is right. From what I can see, other that in shape, he's still acting like Angel. He's on edge and that's never good for anyone. Stop feeding each other negative vibes or this is only going to deteriorate further."

Buffy blinked at her friend, taken aback.

Without giving the blonde the opportunity to respond, Cassidy rose, "Now these results will take a few hours, take Angel for a walk, the fresh air will do you both some good, and I'll call when I can give you some answers."

Buffy frowned, "Should he be out and walking around?" She had brought him down here for a reason, like eating foods dogs shouldn't eat and chewing on a vampire.

A tense Angel wasn't something she usually liked unleashing upon the outside world.

"What's wrong with him isn't medical, it's emotional." Cassidy replied, "I don't need a test to see that but I'll check every vital stat anyways."

"Okay, I guess if you think it's safe." The slayer replied, wondering if this was a good idea.

"Staying cooped inside isn't going to help him much." Answered Cass.

A bark from down the hall came as assurance he was more than ready to split.

"And of course, his hearing is ridiculously acute at the moment…" Buffy mumbled, getting up and heading for the door.

"Buffy." Cass called before Buffy could exit the office, tossing the young woman a length of red and blue rope. "Leash."

"Oh he'll love this." Buffy rolled her eyes, knowing full well Angel would flip about being tethered.

Cassidy shrugged, "Sorry, I know it sucks, but it's kind of a law in this state, unless you want the dog catcher dragging him off to the pound."

…..

The trip to the park backfired.

And cost her a small fortune in fines.

Not to mention her spouse was even more moody.

The only highlight had been playing with the kids, which had been cut short when Angel pulled away from her to chase Liam and Katie around the field and someone had called in a rabid dog was loose, bringing the dog officer. Things had only gone worse from there, like the fine she had to pay for 'her dog' not being secured while leashed or him not having vaccine records, nor being neutered or licensed, and being aggressive and causing a scene…

She was certain the only reason she wasn't in jail and Angel in the pound was their contacts at LAPD pulling a few strings as a favor.

Walking into the Medic's office, the slayer tossed the leash onto Cassidy's desk, startling the medic. "Go out for a walk, she says, it will be good for you both, she says…"

The redhead took one look at the slayer and cringed, "Something tells me I'm not going to like what you say next."

Buffy took a seat in the chair across from her, her body moving slowly, as if sore or extremely tired. "I suppose from a third-party perspective, it could be a funny story. Not so much from mine."

Cass nodded as she listened, her eyes scanning her monitor, pausing every now and then to ask a question or shake her head or stifle a laugh.

"Well" The medic replied once Buffy's tale ended, "that could have gone better, and it could have gone worse."

With a snort, Buffy shook her head, "Pretty sure it couldn't have been worse."

The doctor gave it a beat and countered, "You could have been jailed, the kids put in child services and Angel euthanized."

Buffy blinked a moment, horrorstricken, "Okay…so if you put it that way, paying a few fines wasn't so bad."

Cassidy had hoped the walk would have helped calm the swirling tide, "Still, sorry if I provided bad advice, really thought getting out would help."

Buffy shook her head, forcing herself to relax, "You weren't wrong, it wasn't all bad, walking and playing with the kids was great, it was a load off until the dog officer riled Angel up."

After a somewhat uncomfortable silence, Buffy leaned over and looked at the monitor, "Anyways, you get anything on the blood tests?"

Switching to medical mode, Cassidy began to explain some of the tests she'd run.

"Actually yes, I ran a full blood CBC, diagnostic panel, toxicity screening and I checking with a local veterinarian for canine lab parameters."

"And?" Buffy insisted, still feeling antsy, especially with Angel's aggressive behavior of late.

The medic almost smiled, "He failed miserably."

Blood drained from the slayers face, "He what! You said he was okay! What does that mean? Is he sick? Dying?" Panic wasn't far behind.

Cassidy made with quick 'calm down' motion, "No, no, that's not what I meant at all. As far as I can tell, he's perfectly healthy."

A very confused expression settled upon the slayer's face, "But, how can the tests fail if he's fine? I don't understand."

Cassidy clicked a few keys on her keyboard then spun the monitor around to show her a side by side comparison on the screen, "See these two results?"

There were columns with numbers and colors graphs, some line diagrams, nothing that made much sense to Buffy. "What am I looking at Cass?"

The doctor pointed to a few spots, "Don't look at the data so much as compare the two as you would a picture."

Nodding, Buffy got it, "They are pretty much the same."

"Right." Cassidy spun her monitor around, "Angel failed because the tests were calibrated to a canine profile."

"His demon side get in the way?" Buffy asked, figuring the monstrous side of her husband probably didn't look all too normal under a microscope.

Shaking her head, "It does skew results, sometimes a lot, but not in this case. The two results I showed you were his current results, and his last check-up a few months ago."

Buffy's blonde eyebrows drew down, "But, they look the same."

"Exactly." Cassidy continued, "The lab results show that biologically his blood hasn't changed, despite the fact he's wearing a fur coat and sporting a tail, he's still human on the inside…well, human for him."

The young woman blinked at that, "So he's not really a dog…in the chemical sense."

"Nope. The curse, it hasn't really changed him, just reshaped what he already had. Think of it like molding a tree out of clay then reforming it into a bird, the material is still the same despite reshaping."

Buffy sat back in the chair, thinking that over for a while. A weight lifted off her shoulders, knowing the foods her furry spouse had been scoffing were no longer a concern if he was digesting with a human stomach still, however it made her feel pretty low for treating him more like an animal than her husband of late. "Okay, good, human is good, kind of bad because I've been trying to feed him dogfood for the last few days, but at least I know why he's been annoyed with me about it."

Cassidy scoffed, "Bring him a nice steak dinner and I'm sure he'll forgive you."

For what felt like the first time that day, a smile pulled at Buffy's lips, "Highly possible." She glanced at the clock, "Right, now looks like a good time, kids will be getting hangry so I'll start with a big lunch."

…..

Buffy entered her office, a grin pulling at her lips.

The kids must have been beat from running in the park, as all three of them were snuggled up to their fuzzy father, who was snoring lazily on the couch.

The sound of a wrinkling paper bag snapped Angel awake, his head quickly turning towards the sound and the spreading aroma of cooked beef and fried potatoes.

He whined a bit, sort of trapped under his kids.

Liam, ever the light sleeper, roused as his mother walked further into the room, removing toys off the kid-sized table and chairs so she could place several plastic containers of food from the bag onto the table.

"Hi Mommy, when's lunch?" Liam asked, rubbing his eyes.

"How about right now?" She answered, getting the meal set up for the two children.

Angel shifted, nudging his older daughter with his nose while Liam climbed off the couch and headed towards the smell of hamburger.

"Yuck, no doggy kisses daddy." Katie mumbled, slowly waking.

Joan opened her eyes when Buffy came over and lifted the toddler into her arms, "Looks like someone need a new diapie." Then directed towards her spouse, "Be back in a sec."

The four-legged half-demon slipped off the couch and took a moment to stretch while he watched his children pop back to full awake mode and honed in on the chow.

For a quick second, he contemplated snagging the burgers before the kids got to them, since Buffy had no doubt a can of dogfood waiting for him, but instantly decided he literally couldn't take food from his own kids mouths.

If the cheeseburger belonged to Xander, then hell yeah, but not his kids.

A few minutes later, Buffy came back into the room, a giggling Joan on her hip, the baby mouthing 'Ma!' as her mother bounced her.

Angel dropped down by the table, eager for crumbs as his nose practically did somersaults at the scent of food while his stomach rumbled with hunger.

The majority of his meals of late had been discarded scraps from the kids and anything he could steal while his wife wasn't looking.

Hangry was becoming his new normal.

Once Joan was set up in her mini highchair and munching pieces of cut up burger and fries, Buffy took the remaining bag and settled onto the couch, utilizing the coffee table to unload the remaining goodies.

Glancing over at her prone spouse, Buffy commented. "I know you're hungry, I can hear your stomach growling from over here."

He raised his head, eyes narrowing with suspicion as he breathed in, just now noticing the reek of the dogfood wasn't present.

Ok, so she was either torturing him with the smell of food, or had something worse in store for him, as in prescription food or maybe no food if Cassidy determined his doggy stomach was maxed out on in-edibles.

Slowly he got up and padded over, snagging a loose fry off the floor as he passed his son's chair.

Buffy frowned at him, "You really shouldn't eat that."

'Great, lecture time.' He thought, getting ready to wander off at whatever vile animal product she was about to pull out of the bag with expectations he would consume it.

His wife was still talking, something about how human him wouldn't eat food off the floor normally…though after eyeing him, retracting the statement.

He watched with jealous eyes as she removed a container with a huge triple patty burger with just about everything imaginable piled atop it, the kind you see on those food network shows.

It wasn't too dissimilar to the primal hunger of a guy watching a woman remove her bikini.

Following that was a monster slice of chocolate cream pie.

Angel felt his tongue lapping the drool from his watering mouth.

Lastly, she removed a large chicken Caesar salad, popped the cover and began mixing dressing into it.

'Um…where's my rancid can of dog mush?' He wondered; afraid he'd be sitting here dying of hunger as his family ate.

After a moment, she looked over at him, a gleam of tease in her eye, "Hey dummy, the burger is yours."

Angel's eyes widened, shocked and surprised he was actually getting his own plate of human food, and not just any food, something he actually wanted.

"You get ketchup on the rug, and we're going to have a problem." She play-threatened as he tore into the monster burger.

So far, the one really great aspect of being turned into a dog from Angel's perspective was how much wider he could open his mouth. Human jaws just wouldn't have been able to take on a burger like this, but doggy muzzles left plenty of room for a few fries and onion rings in one bite.

Buffy grinned and sat back, explaining to her ravenous husband about how he was really still fully human under that furry exterior, thus human food was back on the menu.

Angel thought about it between bites, finding the conclusion as easy to swallow as his lunch. He certainly still thought like a human, despite having the mechanical workings of a canine.

And his stomach certainly hadn't gone to the dogs.

…

Angel was thinking.

Night had fallen, the kids were sleeping, he was alone in bed beside his wife.

And he was still technically human…

"No." Buffy mumbled as she rolled over, scooching away from her spouse, who'd gotten a little more snuggly against her a moment before.

'Damn it!' Angel thought, pouting.

Being a dog certainly was a hamper on his love life.

…

November 22, 2010

"Really? Nothing after a whole week of research?" Buffy was pacing in the AI library, a formidable fortress of the written word. The research center in their home base, now teeming with trainee watchers, a few scholarly slayers and a handful of Willow's wiccan pals. The really dangerous books were kept locked and warded in Giles's office, but between here and the library in the Hyperion, the collection was impressive. Adding to it the resources of the Watcher's Council and the Wiccan's collections, they were usually able to find at least something on just about everything.

Except this, apparently.

Back and forth the slayer treaded, trying to get a handle on how so many minds, both witches and watchers and so many volumes of knowledge between several libraries and not one damn person could figure out how to turn her husband back to man-form.

Giles exhaled, his glasses in his right hand, tapping his knee while the left wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Buffy, do sit down please, you're making me dizzy with that incessant pacing."

"I'm not pacing." She countered, while still pacing.

"No, of course not." Giles muttered, more to himself but loud enough for her to hear, "You're merely testing out your new shoes."

Buffy paused, giving him a sidelong look, "Well at least you noticed I bought new shoes."

The former librarian glanced down at the young woman's feet, clad in sleek leather boots with shiny silver eyehooks and laces that seemed to go on forever. "Actually, I hadn't noticed in the slightest."

The slayer rolled her eyes, "You know, for a guy who can memorize every passage in like 500 books, you're total crap at noticing fashion accessories."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Giles replied as he slid the spectacles back on, not at all offended at being called blind to fashion, as far as he was concerned, it meant much more room in his head for actual life-relevant information.

Pulling the topic back on track, "I wouldn't say we have nothing, if anything we've been able to determine a good number of ways not to cure Angel of his doggy dilemma."

"Ugg, not you too. We've had enough of the dog puns." Buffy grumbled, so not amused by this whole situation. In fact, she was getting more tense by the hour.

Giles suppressed a grin, "Don't be so mellon collie."

"Uh, not you too." Buffy turned on her heels, heading to the other side of the room and scanning her eyes over the ten others in the room, most of their faces half-hidden in a textbook.

"Anyone find the leprechaun?"

The mix of slayers, witches and watchers turned to look at Buffy, a range of surprised, doubtful and humorous expressions crossing various faces before being schooled back to stoicism from Buffy's hostile glare.

The group was having a status meeting, getting the various teams together to discuss the hot topics of the week, which usually involved supernatural crime cases from the LAPD, regular slayer cases involving the hellmouth's demony clientele, research based highlights involving upcoming demonic events and R&D into helpful spells, tools and techniques.

Angel's case was high on the priority list, yet also the one with the least progress.

There had been plenty of action and involvement, but no matter how many books were read, spells were cast or leads chased down, Angel remained on all fours.

Rolling her eyes, "Ok, fine, it's not an actual leprechaun, but it was small and green and the thing turned Angel to begin with so it obviously must know how to turn him back." Buffy corrected, emphasizing the need to track down the little demon that caused this whole mess.

"We've got ears and eyes everywhere, but nothing's come of it as of yet." Theo replied, looking tired but eager. The young watcher had been fighting for research duty again after recovering from his nearly fatal knife wound courtesy of the traitorous watcher Kwan in the hellmouth a month prior.

Marie held up a glossy photo taken from the surveillance system, "We caught him on a security camera, Willow sent a copy to our whole network, but it's almost like the little creep vanished."

Buffy shook her head, "Think it could be another spell? Like an anti-tracking?"

Shasha, one of Willow's wiccan associates, answered, "Perhaps, but I think not. The feel of the magic, is not old. It has not the flow of something before done. The curse at least, I think it is not to be found in books. I think it is new."

"New?" Buffy questioned.

"Of course." Theo replied, an enlightened look spreading over his still rather pale face, "If one were to have the right resources, a curse could be crafted, like an original score written for a film."

"People can just…" Buffy wiggles here fingers, "poof...make a curse?"

"Curses can be constructed like any object, with the right tools and ingredients." Shasha answered, "You should be familiar with this, the Romani Kalderash clan created the soul restoration curse to torment Angelus."

Buffy had never thought of that before, she'd always assumed the spell had been generic, not deliberately created just for Angel.

"So how do we research a do-it-yourselfer?" The slayer asked the group.

After a long thought-debating silence, Theo answered, "That is akin to asking to know the thoughts of a composer as they write a song. I fear we can only form hypothesize and conjecture."

"Great." Buffy sighed out, feeling as if this curse was purposefully crafted just to dive her crazy, "Just what we needed, a brand-new, all original curse."

….

"So that's the gist of it." Buffy finished explaining all she'd learned today.

Angel shook his head, sighing himself the best he could.

How lucky he was, being the focal point of everyone's home-brewed curses.

A small part of him, mostly the demon side, was actually a bit flattered that he was worthy of the extra effort.

For a guy who'd once been called the scourge of Europe, it was something.

It was the middle of the work day in the ever-busy LA, the sidewalk was fairly crowded with lunch-time traffic as they wandered down the crowded street a few blocks from Angel Investigations.

Despite the incident at the park, they both needed to get out.

Buffy had the leash held loosely in her right hand, her cellphone held against her ear with her left, to divert attention from the fact she was actually having a full conversation with the dog beside her and not the phone itself.

"I wonder if we can counter-curse you." Buffy started thinking out loud as they walked, "I mean, if that leprechaun made a curse to turn a man into a dog, why can't we make one to turn a dog into a man?"

'Two curses at once? God I hope she's joking.' He thought, sending her a 'are you nuts?' look.

Catching it, "Ok, ok, I get it. This is one of those rare cases were two is not better than one."

Angel thought he heard something and looked up.

"Oof!" Buffy exhaled as the dog slammed into her, propelling them both off the sidewalk and into the street behind a car parked at the curb.

Behind them, the spot they had been walking in a second before, was littered with the twisted remains of a fallen Air Conditioning unit from the seven-story high rise they had been walking past.

"Ahh, good dog." Buffy said as she absently pet her spouse, several people in the immediate area having stopped to look at what had caused the god awful crash a moment before.

Quickly picking herself up off the asphalt, Buffy wiped the dirt off and grabbed her spouse's leash, "Ok, I think we've had enough exercise for the day, let get back to AI."

Nearly getting killed was part of the Slayer deal, but this had spooked Buffy. She'd inadvertently signed up for getting skewered by monsters or blasted by vengeful witches just by being a slayer, but regular old oops accidents were the scary things.

How pitiful would it be to survive demons and hell gods and apocalypses to end up being taken off the map by a random falling object?

…..

November 23, 2010

Angel was bored.

Buffy was teaching a defense class down in the training rooms.

He'd been put on leave due to his current condition.

'I don't even know why I'm on the sidelines, I can still fight.'

If a dog could grin, he did.

He wasn't exactly being guarded, but Buffy did have people keeping an eye on him, especially since he couldn't really use his cellphone at the moment and he had a rather lengthy history for not being where she was looking when she wanted to find him.

Angel figured it was fine to shake the tail if he was going to be where she was.

Sneaking down to the training rooms in the basement wasn't all that hard, especially when it was so easy to stay low to the ground.

The class had just begun when he slipped into the back, keeping to the proverbial shadows as he slowly made his way around the room, looking for an opening.

He could only assume Buffy would know when he got close enough, but he did catch her off guard occasionally.

Like today.

She held a quarter staff in her hands and was demonstrating with a volunteer how to sweep away an incoming blow when Angel rocketed in took her feet out from under her.

Buffy wasn't down for long, and when she rolled and popped back up, there was vengeance in her eyes. "Ok, seems we're having a change of plans ladies, instead, we're going over how to fight off a four-legged opponent."

Most of the slayers hadn't seen what had taken Buffy down, he'd moved fast and low enough he'd been mostly a brown blur. When they got their first look at him, it was popping up from behind a weapon cabinet and in full game face.

Just about everyone knew he'd been turned into a dog, but only a quarter of the building had actually seen him, even fewer in this class up till that moment.

"Angel." Buffy addressed the animal, to make sure everyone was aware the monster was a friendly, "Just for that, so not giving you a belly rub later."

A few of the girls laughed, Angel grinned, though it looked rather menacing with the long jaws full of sharp teeth.

"I get first crack at the fuzz-ball, then we'll rotate so everyone can practice how it feels fighting something without a humanoid build."

The girls readily agreed and formed a wide circle around Buffy and her demon dog opponent, already knowing when the bosses battled it was epic.

"Ok mutt, let's see what you've got." Buffy provoked, and the fight was on.

…

November 24, 2010

"Take a look at this." Gloria, the slayer currently in charge of building security, held out a series of glossy polaroid pictures to Buffy, each of the same non-descript white van from various angles.

"What am I looking at?" Buffy asked, taking the pictures and scanning though them as she sat in her office, trying to get everything closed out on her desk for the upcoming Thanksgiving break starting tomorrow.

The young woman presented a manila file folder to her boss, "As you know, we perform perimeter scans around the building daily, looking for suspicious activity or potential threats to AI, this van has been spotted in the neighborhood either parked or circling for the last week." She withdrew a typed report, "There are date and time logs showing this van has been staking out the place, possibly learning routes and timelines for those entering and exiting the building."

"So we have a stalker?" The elder slayer asked, rescanning the driver's side of the van for a possible face, but none being found.

"Likely, but that isn't the worrisome part." The younger slayer responded, pulling another paper from the folder to show her superior.

"Ok, and that part is?" Buffy asked, getting a pit in her stomach.

"It took Willow and two assistance to back-track it all, because of all the legal and contractual exchanges, but we discovered the van is registered to a holding company that is owned by Wolfram & Hart."

Buffy was glad her spouse was down in the training rooms helping Faith with a class, because just mentioning the law firm's name was enough to bring Angel to full attack mode.

The law firm hadn't been in their lives much, the company going to ground again after the death of their last operative working with the late Ethan Ryne. Even as Buffy though it, it sent a chill up her spine. They'd used a form of curse against Angel then as well, a hex, taking advantage of the turmoil in their lives after the miscarriage and sending Angel on a rage induced rampage to both kill her and deliver their kids into Wolfman & Hart's hands.

The idea this dog thing could be something they concocted left her feeling sick.

"Who knows about this?" She asked quickly, needing to know so she can make sure her husband didn't find out.

"Just the security and tech support teams, and us." Gloria answered, having been briefed before that anything involving Wolfram & Hart is given its own special handling procedures.

Thinking back to the AC that fell from the building the other day that nearly killed her and Angel, Buffy asked if there had been any sighting that day.

Turns out that van had been parked right across the street at the time.

And upon further track back, a traffic camera had picked it up at the park the few days prior.

This was getting uncomfortable for Buffy.

A quick call to Kate at the LAPD discovered an anonymous source had submitted legal paperwork demanding the immediate euthanasia of the dog reported as rabid by the LA pound in the incident report, but she'd been delaying and diverting it until she could back track where the order had come from. Kate was well aware of what Wolfram & Hart was capable of and had wanted to verify if they were involved before calling Angel or Buffy.

Turns out she'd been right.

Buffy thanked the officer and hung up, now even more freaked, thinking back to Cass's comments and realizing had Kate not been on shift that day, Angel very well could have been euthanized.

Turning back to Gloria, "Ok, this case is now priority #1, and strictly confidential to my eyes and ears only, understood?"

The well-built slayer nodded, her short dark hair spiked up and gelled, to keep from falling into her eyes, "Yes ma'am"

It wasn't that Buffy didn't want Angel to know, she just needed him not to know.

Once he found out Wolfram & Hart were involved, he'd go Mad Max, or worse.

No, it was Thanksgiving tomorrow, she needed him calm.

…

November 25, 2010 - Thanksgiving

"So help me Angel, if that turkey disappears off the table, you'll be chained in the backyard for the rest of your natural life."

Angel doubted the effectiveness of threat itself, but the context was clear.

Buffy would whip his ass.

Granted, he'd held his own against her in training class, so the turkey challenge remained in the potential category of his mind.

As she headed back into the kitchen, Angel dropped his head down onto his paws, pondering if it would be worth it or not.

Could be fun.

Not like there were many things he could do, and it wasn't like pissing her off would lead to no sex...he was already guaranteed that.

Granted Buffy was on edge already, more so than usual, he wasn't sure why, but pushing her buttons right now might not be wise.

Before he could debate with himself further. "Daddy, play ball with me?"

Angel turned, finding his boy holding a baseball.

He couldn't exactly toss the ball back and forth with his son as usual, not without hands, but Angel figured he'd make something work.

Liam smiled, "Fetch daddy!"

A growl of disapproval erupted from Angel's throat, rolling his eyes the best he could, 'Gees, even my kid treats me like a dog.'

'Guess I kind of am a dog, on the outside…whatever, it'll keep us both entertained.' Angel thought as he chased down the ball, catching it in his jaws and bringing it back to the laughing boy.

It was truly all fun and games…until the large bay window in the living room shattered.

"Oops." Liam said, "We're in trouble."

"Angel!" Came yelling from the kitchen.

It had been working out well, the usual Thanksgiving day entertainment was football.

Not many in the house were big fans, but it was playing on the TV, Hank the only one watching with much interest.

Xander was half-watching, the young man tending to spend holidays with friends rather than the war-zone of his own family gatherings.

Willow and Oz were spending the day with family. Now with a baby boy, and grandparent obligations, they split the holidays between his family and hers.

Katie had Connor trapped at her toybox, helping her dress some Barbie dolls, granted she was more into the accessories than the clothes themselves. Her mother's daughter.

Giles, Dawn and Joan were with Buffy in the kitchen, helping finish the sides while the turkey rested.

Those in the kitchen came in to see what was the commotion, Buffy leading, her features a mix between anger and worry.

When it became evident that they weren't under attack, Buffy chose anger, "What the heck happened to the window!"

'What do you want me to say?' He thought when her furious look was directed towards him.

Just to be petulant, he responded, "Woof."

Buffy's eyes skirted to her son, Liam put his head down, "Sorry mommy."

Her face softened as she came over and knelt beside him, "Can you please tell me what happened?"

He nodded, "I tossed the ball to daddy, he swung his tail like a bat, the ball flew and the glass broke."

Buffy's glare returned to her husband, "Ok, thank you honey, go play with Katie please."

Angel sighed, 'My own son ratted me out to save himself…not sure I should be annoyed or proud.'

Xander found an opportunity to be helpful while waiting for dinner, heading towards the front door, "No problem, I've got some 4x6 plywood in my truck, be right back." Running a construction company did have perks, like quick repair services, which came in handy in the slayer business.

"No more playing ball in the house…ever." Buffy ordered like a drill sergeant to a bunch of new recruits, "Now everyone not helping, go outside until I call you for dinner."

Connor helped Xander patch the hole in the window with the wood and clean up the glass while Angel and Hank were in the backyard with the children.

When the two kids ran off to play tag, Hank came to sit in the deck chair beside his furry son-in-law, holding his little granddaughter as she squirmed around, "The holidays must be hard for her."

Angel nodded his head. Since Joyce's death, gathering weren't the same for Buffy, she told him herself.

Holidays always were hard on those who had lost family, especially a parent.

Angel was sure just the holiday and him being cursed a dog weren't what was causing Buffy's stress today, there was something she wasn't telling him, he could tell when she was holding something back. He had hoped it was their upcoming anniversary, but he doubted it.

"Before the divorce, we were a lot closer with our families. Joyce would invite everyone over; she'd make a big fancy meal, decorate and serve hors d'oeuvres. She'd liked to entertain." He paused a moment before continuing, "Later into our marriage, I'd spend most of the time either making business calls or answering emails…. barely breaking from work long enough to grab a plate of food. If I only knew what I was sacrificing back then."

Family dinners, those had been common in Angel's life too, usually a tense time when he was still home and human, more a sadistic ritual while a demon.

"I'll never know what life would had been like if Melissa hadn't gotten her claws in me, maybe we would have worked things out, stayed married, or maybe Joyce and I still would have divorced… only thing I do know, is I'd have never left my daughters, especially not after their mother's death."

As a father himself, Angel could relate to that. He leaned over and gave the giggling one-year old a lick to the cheek.

As much as he'd hated Hank in the past, now he was sorrier for the guy. He'd missed out on a lot due to being controlled by a Sayona demon, lost a large chuck of his children's lives, but the man was making up for lost time when it came to his grandchildren, which Angel was thankful for. Professional babysitting rates were crazy enough, but being high risk for kidnappings made having trustworthy sitters the higher priority, and blood was blood.

"So uhh, nothing on the curse yet?" Hank questioned, having thought when he'd first heard Angel had been turned into a dog it was a joke. The scowl on the mutt's face when he'd seen him confirmed it's been true. He'd know his son-in-law's growl anywhere.

He'd been on the receiving end of it enough times.

Angel shook his head, hoping there'd be a crack in the case soon. Their anniversary was coming up and he hadn't been able to work on his gift to Buffy without his hands.

He'd wanted to try and weld something using iron, the traditional endowment, but he had a feeling he'd be ordering candy, which strangle enough, was also acceptable.

"It'll all work out." The grandfather said confidently, "I'm sure of it."

Angel sure hoped so.

"Dinner!" Came a yell from the kitchen window.

"Well, better go get washed up." The only one able to speak said as he stood and brought the little girl back into the house, Liam and Katie soon running in behind him.

Angel took one last look out into the back yard, committing as much of it as he could to memory.

Someday, if he lived long enough, he'd miss this.

His kids little, his home and friends and family.

Life wasn't perfect at the moment, but for him it usually wasn't, but despite the problems and the challenges, he was thankful for every second of it.

…

November 29, 2010

It had been awhile since someone had tried to run him over.

He didn't much care for it.

Angel had been bored, a common occurrence since being stuck in the shape of a dog.

Improve training sessions were good, and the first day back from a long weekend of eating turkey was ripe with overstuffed slayers eager to burn some extra calories.

However, some of the junior level slayers were being trained to take over this week's course load, giving the senior trainer teams a much-needed break.

Buffy had scheduled the kids for their own school classes in the building and he was left with a large amount of free time.

Which he usually enjoyed, when he had hands…

Painting, drawing, sharpening weapons, wood crafting, mechanics, reading, groping his wife…all took fingers he didn't have at the moment.

Slipping down to the basement, he snuck though the Med-Ward with its strong sterile disinfectant scent and out the rear door into the parking lot.

He figured some fresh air would be good, help clear out the lingering scents of the building.

His nose was still very sensitive but at least he was able to handle the sensory overload this time, unlike when his senses had gone haywire before.

Having actual dog scent receptors was a plus.

Trotting over to a patch of sun, he sat in the grass beside the lot to quietly observe the busy LA car and pedestrian traffic.

After having been attacked several times, there were numerous magical defenses weaved around the building and surrounding property, a mix of wards, barriers, magical alarms and counter-attack mechanisms along with regular old-fashioned surveillance cameras.

Their house had most of the same.

Angel never worried much when on the property, as there were subtle spells acting as privacy screens along the perimeters, making those inside the boundary not usually noticeable, dim to other's awareness.

It was a highly helpful tool in reducing unwanted observation when carting weaponry or dealing with the supernatural beings that sometimes do business with the slayer run investigator agency.

Thus, it came as a surprise to him as he realized he was being watched.

With sharp predatory eyes, he scanned the moving people and cars passing by him, quickly dismissing most going about their day, still oblivious to the dog-shaped living demon.

When his eyes paused at a white van parked at a meter across the street, he felt the hairs on his back prickle.

There wasn't anything specific about it, but the van drew his attention, like a sixth sense for danger.

A flash of light came from the driver's side window, there being no other windows on the vehicle besides the front.

The glare of sunlight off a camera lens.

He may be famous in certain circles, but this wasn't paparazzi and no one good would be taking his picture from inside an unmarked van.

Angel rose, padding in for a closer look.

The occupants of the van must have realized he'd spotted them, since the vehicle started and quickly tore away from the curb, nearly hitting a red jaguar that was passing.

The demon dog gave chase, taking off out of the security of the AI lot and along the sidewalk parallel to the retreating van.

Several people screamed in alarm when the large aggressive looking canine came around the corner, Angel's teeth bared in strain as he tried to keep up with the speeding vehicle.

When someone whacked at him with a cane, he yelped and focused on avoiding the frightened mob of people suddenly attacking him.

In the commotion, he lost track of the white van.

Not in the mood to fight off stupid fearful humans, Angel darted away for them, heading back towards the relative safety of the AI lot.

That's when he saw the van again.

Coming right at him.

…

Buffy paused.

Her outstretched hand was hovering over the light blue towel she'd been intending to pick up and dry her sweat soaked hair with, but something caught at her attention.

It wasn't anything in the room, just a feeling, the kind that she often thought of as her danger alarm.

Similar to an unsettled stomach, it tugged at her consciousness.

And she hated to admit it, but lately it was usually something her spouse was doing that was causing the feeling.

"Anyone seen Angel?" The blonde asked to the retreating recruits, having just finished an intense training session they were all eager for the locker room showers to wash the sweat off.

Most shook their head no, one thought she'd seen a four-legged shadow go by the gym door a half hour earlier.

Buffy followed her gut, which was fairly good at leading her in the right direction.

Something was pulling her towards the med-ward, but also not.

Deciding to take a look outside, she headed towards the rear door to the parking lot and spotted a stick laying in the door jam.

'Ok, so Angel did come by here.' Normally something obstructing the closing of a door would be an instant security breech, but in this case, Angel didn't exactly have fingers at the moment to turn a doorknob, so he'd been improvising with leaving objects propping doors open so he could get back though them.

Opening the door, she peered out into the parking lot, even in November/December the days were still fairly warm and heat was reflecting off the black asphalt from the pleasant afternoon sun.

The daily car and human traffic was in full swing, everyone in a rush to go nowhere fast.

The sound of screeching brakes and a car horn drew her attention to the right, in time to see a van swerve in front of a blue sedan and off the road, up onto the sidewalk, side swiping a fire extinguisher on the way and causing an instant fountain of spray.

It wasn't until she caught a glance of brown fur that she realized the van hadn't lost control while avoiding the blue sedan, but had been purposefully aiming for something on the sidewalk.

Her spouse.

"Angel!" Buffy yelled, suddenly realizing what her gut had been warning her about; the connection between her and Angel, the link between them from his mark, it sometimes worked like that, it wasn't just feelings of love or the sense when he was nearby, but also sometimes when he was upset or in distress, it filtered though to her.

Like now.

The van's wheel turned as the accelerator revved the engine, the driver seemingly determined to run down the four-legged beast currently trying to dodge the spinning tires.

The mist from the damaged fire hydrant was rapidly reducing visibility and the panic from the crash was scattering people in every direction away from the peeling out van.

Buffy sprinted towards the van, wanting a better look at who she'd be throttling for trying to kill her doggie husband.

Angel yelped as his rear right leg was brushed by the front tire, which did a lot to help motivate him to leap away before much more than a few layers of fur were scraped off.

It was too hard to get a good look into the van's window, with the sun reflecting off a mirrored surface, but someone inside must have spotted the incoming slayer as the van's brakes immediately screamed, the vehicle ceased chasing the scrambling Fido and cut hard to the right, taking out a black Dodge truck's bumper before speeding off and down an alley.

Chasing after the van would be pointless, at least on foot, besides, she wanted Angel safe more than the van's occupants beaten bloody.

"Angel!" Buffy reached him, the big brown animal panting heavily as he limped towards her, his body shaking with the adrenaline as she through her arms around his thick neck.

His tongue was dry and hot on her arm as he lapped at it, almost directing her away from the road, like to say "Hug me away from the street."

"Right, let's get back." She agreed, moving with him quickly away from the commotion and the arriving blue flashing lights.

…

Buffy slammed the 'end call' button on her cell, for once wishing she had a corded phone to slam back onto the base, which just felt so much better to do when one was upset then click a button.

"The security team is reviewing the surveillance footage now." She explained aloud while fiddling with the stake she usually kept in her back pocket, as if she were subbing for sticking it into someone, "They'll send up the stills on the van's occupants and Willow will run them though the database, see if we get any hits."

Angel was only half paying attention; he was annoyed and frustrated and angry.

All he'd wanted was to sit and enjoy the sun…then some asshat in a van had tried to run him over.

Cassidy was dabbing at the bloody fur on his right rear leg, which had a good bit of road rash from the van's tires, and was also tending to a few minor cuts on his paw pads from some broken glass.

The medic would have preferred to do it in the med-ward, but Angel hadn't given them the opportunity and charged right passed her on the way back into the building.

However, the medical professional was not to be denied once she'd spotted the bloody pawprints and matted fur, following with her medical bag to the upper offices and into Angel's.

Buffy had been, and still was, getting the teams activated to figure out who, what, why and how the fiasco outside occurred and how to track those responsible.

She tended to get a bit agitated when someone tried to kill her spouse.

When Angel growled, Cass took it to meant he was done being a patient.

"Ok, fine, I get it, you'll live." The red-head placated as she gathered her tools and loaded them back into the medical bag, then turned to the irate blonde who was checking her messages, "Try and make sure he keeps the wounds clean for the half-hour they take to heal."

"No promises." Buffy muttered, not looking up as her eyes skimmed a text from one of the tech teams that got a clear shot of the van's license plate from an ATM security camera in the plaza down the street from AI.

Granted they already had the license number, it was a face she wanted.

No sooner than the door closed behind Cassidy, Angel jumped down off the couch and limped over to the floor to ceiling windows, dark eyes scanning the street five stories below.

The van was gone now, but his nerves were riled up.

"Something tells me they won't be back now." Buffy said from behind him, coming to stand by the window, more interested in watching him than the street far below.

He growled, something that probably would have been a curse or a threat had he the right vocal cords.

Now that it was over, his head was processing what his senses were picking up, the scents from the van were weak but he knew the scent.

He looked up at her, he could see it in her eyes now.

That's what she'd been hiding.

She'd known.

The fur on his back began to rise.

Buffy, having not noticed his anger yet, yelped as she absently went to pat his head and he snapped at her hand, not catching it but getting close enough for her to know he was pissed.

"Angel!" She demanded, "What the hell?"

One look into those blazing eyes and she knew he knew.

"Shit."

She let out a breath, "Yeah, we traced the license plate back a few days ago to a holding company for Wolfram & Hart."

He stared at her, as if to say, "Keep going."

She told him everything she knew, about the van being parked across the street when the AC fell, the paperwork to get him euthanized, the times and locations the van was spotted. She'd had Willow and the tech team set up additional cameras around their home and places they frequently went, to give them warning it the law firm tried anything around the holidays or when they weren't at work.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but if I did, you'd have been strung tighter than a guitar string and you couldn't have done anything but wear yourself out." She said to him as he marched towards his office door, wanting to try and track down the van by scent if he had to just so he could eat those f*ckers from Wolfram & Hart.

In his opinion, had he known about the van he could have avoided walking right at it unknowingly.

Though the opposite was more likely, he would have been waiting for it.

Buffy jogged ahead and quickly twisted the lock on the door, preventing him from pressing down the handle to open it.

Smoldering eyes moved towards his wife's, 'Like I couldn't tear if off the hinges.'

"And what exactly do you expect to do if I let you walk out that door? They'll make sure you get caught by the dog officer, or get shot by the police or attacked by any random person on the street, if not outright run over. They will use this to their advantage, you know they will. They want you dead, and if you go running out there you will be, somehow, someway, they will pull it off because right now you look like a dog and that will be their loophole."

Angel wanted to bite her, rip the door down and go running down the street after the van.

But he knew she was right.

The Boretz demons in the forest were certainly part of it.

Wolfram & Hart mostly left him alone, but every now and again they took a shot, hoping to get lucky.

Apparently the whole case with the missing talisman and the green demon had been a ploy to kill him.

This time, instead of turning him mortal or driving him mad with a hex, they turned him into an animal.

He really wasn't looking forward to whatever bizarre plan was to crossed their 'ridiculous schemes to kill Angel' side project list next.

If he let his anger get the best of him, they'd win.

He wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

Unfortunately, the thought didn't dissipate the anger any.

WR&H were the reason Fred, Wesley and Gunn were dead.

They'd tried to use him to kill his wife and children.

The law firm just sparked a slice of demon insanity in him, one that he couldn't always be controlled.

And it was manifested, it was raging and he needed an outlet.

Buffy could feel it.

He was her husband, she loved him dearly, but when that boiling rage hit, even she cringed.

It reminded her of the hex, that blackness that filled his eyes.

This wasn't part of the curse.

This was part of what he was.

The demon inside.

Normally she could dismantle the rage easily enough by shedding her clothes and giving the energy a different outlet.

But she couldn't really do that at the moment.

He was a dog, they just wouldn't fit together.

Not knowing what else to do, she unlocked the door and opened it.

Angel moved though it, crossed the hall to the door for the emergency stairs and shoved it open, bi-passing the elevator and going down towards the ground floor.

Buffy closed her eyes, took a few breaths and followed him at a healthy distance.

She wasn't afraid he hurt anyone, he seemed able enough to be rational in his rage, she just wanted to give him space to vent.

Whether he was going after the van or not wasn't readily apparent to her.

Buffy really hoped he wasn't, because if he was, she'd have to stop him before he got himself killed.

That that could set him off.

When she got to the the ground floor, she was relived to feel him still in the building, moving below her into the basement. Heading down another flight brought her to the training floors by the Med-Ward, where she could hear sounds coming from the smaller training room in the back. The room smaller than the two main training rooms, which wasn't much use for large classes and was used mostly for one on one training and storage.

Her spouse was inside.

The sound was coming from the punching bag he was brutally mauling.

There were very few things now that brought out such violence or madness from him.

Wolfram & Hart was clearly one of them.

Standing outside, her back against the wall, she listened to the thumps, the tearing of the foam and padding, the creaks of the chain, straining against the onslaught, the grunts and growls and groans as he let the fury out. She bit her lip, feeling helpless as she slid down the wall. If she'd taken him into her arms, and kissed and soothed him, would it help? Or would he want more that she was willing to give with his body in the form of a dog? Would telling him no when he was like this send him over the deep end?

She didn't know, but it wasn't something she could risk.

He had to work out the anger on his own.

Her mind wandered, forcing herself to relax for his sake and open the connection to him as much as was possible to do on a conscious level.

The blinding anger, it was there, she could feel it though him.

She could almost feel his jaws clamping down on the vinyl or claws scratching up the polyester.

Time faded out for a while; she didn't know how long he'd been attacking the equipment when something else began to filter into her.

It wasn't anger now; it was pain.

Buffy opened her eyes, quickly rising as a knot formed in her stomach.

A gap escaped her mouth as she steeped into the room and took in the destruction of the bag.

There wasn't even a carcass, just small shreds of torn vinyl and broken chains in a matrix of sand…and blood.

Angel's jaws were clamped on a few links of chain, his head furiously whipping back and forth, causing the metal to lash at him.

Self-flatulating if she ever saw it.

His muzzle was slick with blood, his breaths heavy with strain as he fought his own fatigue.

"Angel! Stop!" She yelled, realizing he was causing more damage to himself now than the destroyed bag.

His frenzied actions didn't stop until she tackled him, throwing her arms around the berserk animal and squeezing tight.

At first, he fought her, the wild rage still fueling him.

Not unlike riding a bucking bronco, she held tight. Pressing her lips to him as his spams slowly weakened, whispering calming words as she pushed as much love and calmness into him as she could though their connection.

Finally, he collapsed under her, panting loudly, bloody bubbles at the corners of his muzzle.

"Angel" She moaned, running her hands over him, feeling the dampness from sweat and blood in his fur, tears in her eyes at what he'd done to himself.

He was alarmingly still now, except for the harsh breaths.

His heartbeat felt like a freight train against her cheek.

Buffy wasn't sure if she should get Cassidy or not.

Pulling back, she brought Angel's head around so she could look into his open eyes, but they seemed glassy and distant.

He wasn't unconscious, but he didn't seem quite there either.

"Angel?" She called, running her fingers along his jaws, looking for a reaction.

There was just the panting.

Making a decision, she stood and pulled him up to his paws, checking his ability to stand and walk.

He seemed able to do both, although stiffly.

Leading him by the collar, she brought him into the locker room, empty at this time of day and turned on the shower.

It'd been a while since he'd had a bath, courtesy of being a dog, but he was getting one now.

Depending on how it went, the next stop would likely be the Med-Ward if he didn't snap out of his catatonic state.

It wasn't possible for her to know what he was thinking, if anything, but she really hoped whatever it was the caused the spontaneous self-abuse was over.

There were enough outside sources wanting to kill or injure her husband, she didn't need him to have internal ones as well.

Once the water was hot, she nudged the limp beast under the spray, quickly shedding her clothes to join him.

He moved only enough to keep his nose out of the flow, which was something at least.

Pumping a good amount of shampoo into her hands, she began to work the soap into his fur, washing out the sweat and blood and sand and grime.

After a while, she felt her lips pull back into a grin, she could tell by the way he shifted slightly here and there he was enjoying the rubdown.

That and his tail slowly wagging.

"Are you done?" She asked, wanting to know if the rage was going to come back or not.

She wasn't sure he was going to answer, then he nodded his head yes.

It was gone now.

All of it.

The anger, the frustration and self-loathing.

He hated being stuck like this.

Trapped in a form that wasn't him.

It all came out as he'd attacked the punching bag, flooding out of him much like the water from the smashed fire hydrant.

"Need me to get Cass?" He didn't have any external wounds she could see, most of the blood had been from his mouth and the chain tearing at his gums, but she wasn't sure about internal. His breathing was somewhat better but still sounded wet, though it could be from the steamed-up shower.

There was also possible internal damage from hitting himself with the chain, though nothing had felt broken while she'd washed him.

He shook his head no.

Kneeling, she looked into his face again, his eyes were clear, if not still distant.

Her hand ran along his muzzle, where his cheeks would be, to his neck and front legs. All the shampoo had rinsed out, he seemed as clean as he was going to get.

She planted a kiss on the top of his head, "Don't do that again...okay?"

He nodded after a moment.

"Here." She adjusted his collar down, as it had rode up his neck during the assault. Her fingers caught the coin, her eyes quickly glancing over it before pausing and looking back.

Something about it looked different somehow.

'Ok, note to self, take a look at that again when we're dry'.

She stood to shut off the water, as she did so, his long tongue caught her between the legs.

With a gasp, she spun away. "You jerk." She said, the ghost of a smile in her eyes as she moved out of his line of fire to grab some towels, tossing one over his head when she reached them.

If he was going after her goods, he was certainly not dying.

He made no attempt to hide the fact he was watching her cleavage, groin and butt at every opportunity, and growled when she wrapped her towel around herself.

"Hey, looking and not touching isn't fair to either of us, you can do both when the curse is lifted."

'If the curse if lifted.' He thought, savoring the tiny lick he'd gotten of his wife's lady bits. He would really have enjoyed seeing what this long flexible tongue of his could have done to her if she'd allow it.

"We'll find a way." She assured him, having been able to read the doubt in his eyes, and began running his towel over him, head first, to break up the leer, as she dried him off.

After, she stepped into another stall to dress, so he wouldn't try anything again while she was naked.

"Ok, you ready?" She called as she stepped back out, expecting him to be there but finding the locker now empty. 'Crap, now what?' She thought, hoping he wasn't going to go crazy again.

He wasn't missing for long, when she exited the locker, he was by the elevator door, his head cocked as to say, 'You coming?'

Shaking her own head, "Keep it up fuzz ball."

Once in the elevator, he poked his nose to the button for the café, "Good choice" Buffy agreed, certainly willing to indulge in some comfort foods after everything lately.

Grabbing some to-go boxes, she filled two to the brim with that day's daily special, which happened to be chicken parmesan and ziti, and together they escaped to her office to eat.

Once the food was gone, Angel crashed on the pull-out couch, which was exactly what Buffy had expected, which surprised her as he rarely did what she expected.

As he snored, Buffy had a phone meeting about the attempts on Angel's life with the security team, informing them Angel was aware of the threat now but not mentioning his rampage in the basement.

She was surprised to hear a team spotted the van over of the far end of town, and managed to intercept.

They hadn't been able to actually 'do' anything, as the occupants were human and legally employed by a major law firm which would take legal action against AI if slayers attacked them in broad daylight, but the WR&H people got them message they'd been identified and to make themselves scare.

After that, WR&H seemed to vanish off the radar again.

That was one problem, the other was the coin on his neck.

Buffy took a quick picture with her cell while he slept and when it was compared to the original, she'd been right.

The script on the back was different.

…

December 4, 2010 – 6th Anniversary

"This sucks."

It had been a regular Saturday for them, lazy morning with the kids, juggling playing and cleaning and calorie intake.

Buffy had been almost-afraid to bring up their anniversary, feeling bad Angel wouldn't have been able to celebrate with her due to his…cursed condition.

She hadn't even noticed he'd been extra focused on tiring the kids out all day, so they'd be wiped out by bedtime.

When evening fell and she'd been paging though the menu's in a box on the refrigerator for ideas for their dinner when the doorbell rang.

"Who the heck?" Buffy wondered, not having expected visitors after dark, at least not good ones.

There wasn't any barking from her spouse, who looked rather smug as she walked past him to unlock the front door in the living room.

Upon opening the door, she found a delivery man with two very large paper bags. "Food delivery."

"I didn't order anything." Buffy responded, wondering if the guy had the wrong address or it was a prank.

The guy passed over one of the bags for her to hold as he pulled out a receipt, "Order was placed yesterday, says to deliver to a…Buffy Summers…at this address and time. That you?"

"Yeah, ok." Buffy accepted the other bag in her free hand, "Guess these are for me then."

The guy took a step back, "Whoa, that's a big dog."

Angel moved beside her onto the front step, trying to look friendly but size alone made him menacing.

"With a big appetite." She remarked, realizing her spouse was certainly involved with the bags now in her arms.

"Right, night." The guy said as he backed away and to the delivery truck idling in the driveway.

Buffy turned to her husband, "You played me, didn't you? Here I was thinking you either forgot or chose to not acknowledge our anniversary all day just to fake me out."

Angel grinned as he pushed the door shut while she carried the heavy bags into the kitchen.

Upon glimpsing the contents of the bags, she had a better idea, since sitting at the table wasn't technically possible for her spouse, "Despite my better judgement, I'll sacrifice the cleanliness of our bedsheets for a dinner in bed."

Angel wagged his tail and shot upstairs, Buffy smiling as she carried the bags up.

…

Angel rolled over, nuzzling his wife as she moped in bed beside him.

"Our six-year anniversary and this is how we spend it."

He cocked his head, eyes scanning over the multiple boxes of takeout containing various food and desserts spread out over the sheets.

There were dishes of all the major groups; Pasta, Chinese, Mexican, Pizza, appetizer samplers, sliders, grilled meats and veggies. The ultimate variety pack, a guaranteed winner for every craving.

Instead of breakfast, it was a multi-course smorgasbord in bed.

For not having thumbs or the ability to talk, he'd thought he'd done pretty good arranging it.

Buffy grinned, "Not for this, this is great, I love this." She leaned over and kissed his furry head, "It's the fact I'm kissing fur and not your cheek that sucks."

'Well…' Angel thought, 'I am still technically shooting human…'

"We are not having sex." She reiterated, reading the foxy look in his eyes.

'Least I tried.'

She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, "I love you."

He tried to say it, but came out more like a dying cat would sound.

Buffy giggled, "Was that 'I love you' or gas?"

He groaned.

Later on, "We don't have to do gifts this year, not guessing you had much time, or hands for that matter, make anything and I know for a fact the mall isn't pet friendly."

Angel jumped down off the bed and went straight to the closet, nudging it open and picking up a fairly large box in the back with his teeth, holding it by a big pink ribbon.

"You actually managed to get me something?" Buffy asked in surprise, taking the gift from him as he jumped back onto the bed. "Color me impressed."

With a big smile, she opened the package.

There were three separate boxes inside, arranged in a pyramid shape, tied with the same ribbon.

Buffy removed the mini tower and started with the smallest top box.

Traditional six-year anniversary gifts were iron and candy.

Inside was a little metal bowl filled with metal shaped candies. "Oh, these are adorable."

The second box contained a collection of exotic candies, a little card on the top indicated from which country each stemmed.

When she opened the third box, there were a tray of 30 chocolates, each piece had a frosting letter or heart on top, together the arrangement spelled out, "Happy 6th Anniversary my love".

"Not sharing." She joked, grabbing a chocolate and taking a bite.

'Like hell!' He thought, challenging her with his secret puppy-dog stare.

"Oh fine, you get one." She tossed a chocolate into the air, his jaws snapped shut on it.

"My turn." She took the chocolate with her, put then it up onto his dresser for safe keeping from his hungry jaws.

Smart girl.

She removed a 3x6 box from her drawer and brought it over, unwrapping the heart paper as she went. "OK, so I'm hoping your inner vampire isn't going to scoff at me giving you wood, and knock it off because I can already hear you trying to turn that into a dirty joke…"

Despite not having the right vocal cords for it, Angel chuckled.

"I'll keep this on your dresser until you're back to wearing pants." She opened the box and pulled out a folding knife.

But it wasn't just any knife.

Angel nudged closer as she held it up for him, the blade catching his eye.

It was double edged, smooth and polished and gleaming.

On the mahogany wooden handle, the words 'Worth fighting for' and their wedding date were engraved.

'Perfect!' He thought, wagging his tail and wetting the side of his wife's face with a sloppy thank you kiss.

"Uhh, stop with the licking!" Buffy yelped in not quite mock disgust, pushing him playfully away.

…

December 13, 2010

Angel was bored.

He'd had one of his specialty classes that morning and another just before lunch, but now that his schedule was clear there was nothing to do.

Usually he found something to occupy himself with, either the kids or Buffy, but not today.

Liam was at a ballgame spending some time with Hank and Katie and Joan were with Dawn, having a girl's day out with auntie.

Buffy would have gone with her sister and he with his father-in-law, but no dogs allowed at the stadium and Buffy was running around with the researchers, still trying to de-curse him and figure out the problem with the coin.

By now, Angel was having doubts he ever would be human shaped again.

They knew the 'lettering' on the coin around his neck was changing, but what the symbols meant was anyone's guess.

Would he turn into something else? Were they instructions on how to remove the curse? A disclaimer? A warning? Would he die?

Spending his time worrying about it wouldn't change whatever was to come, so he didn't bother.

Even WR&H seemed to have abandoned their hit on him.

In the meantime, he was bored.

He's tried sitting in on the other training sessions during the days, but he was generally a distraction. Wasn't like he could provide feedback to the training slayers, just growls and barks.

Paws didn't have opposable thumbs, so must of his usual actives were off the menu.

He'd tried to read a book, but it wouldn't stay open and it was impossible to turn the pages without tearing it or rubbing his snout on it.

At least when he'd been a blind guy, he could sharpen swords in the armory.

If he wandered around the building, it was inevitable someone would start petting him.

Which got Buffy pretty damn jealous.

Angel's ear twerked back as the office door opened, his nose picking up Buffy's scent before she was more than 5 feet into the room.

Normally a slice of time like this was what he lived for, neither of them occupied and without the kids to watch, he and Buffy could spend some time with one another.

But even after a month of no sex, he hadn't been able to persuade Buffy to relent into making love to him while in his current canine form.

He couldn't tell because they were covered in fur, but he was sure his balls were blue.

"Hey." Buffy greeted as he padded over, his tail wagging on its own accord. Her hand slipped onto his head, giving his ears a scratch as she continued, "They haven't decoded the symbols yet, but there's a theory it's some kind of countdown."

'Countdown to what?' He wondered, unsure if he should be freaked or not.

"They're still working on the 'to what'." She added, not reading his mind but knowing it was the logical question.

Neither moved for a few, her petting and he being pet, it was about as sexually fulfilling either had been able to achieve as of late.

"I'm going to grab a quick shower, then maybe we can go for a walk around the building or something." They hadn't returned to the park since their little incident, but the parking lot was fairly safe, provided they stayed within the perimeter.

They had security looking out for the van, just in case, but it smartly hadn't returned since trying to run him down.

At least most demon-y things kept a healthy distance, the wards surrounding the place could dust a hostile in a second.

Willow wasn't playing around anymore after the last attack on the building.

He nodded and watched her walk away, plotting on how to get the door open behind her and get a peep show.

The door to the bathroom had just closed when Angel felt an odd sensation, a vibration from the collar, almost like an alarm clock.

'Countdown?'

'Uh oh' crossed his mind before the pain hit, a yowl escaped his throat, then everything went black.

…

Buffy hadn't even begun to undress when she head Angel cry out.

The sound was pained and horrible and not entirely dog, but sounding less like a beast and more like a man towards the end.

Shoving the door out of her way, Buffy reached for her stake, unsure what she'd find.

What lay in the floor where Angel had been wasn't a dog.

It was a man.

A naked one.

With a good month's worth of beard scruff.

"Angel?" Buffy called, noting his eyes were shut, his face pale. Hurrying closer, she knelt beside him, her eyes scanning his chest for breath even as she reached out to touch the pulse point at his neck.

There was a pulse.

A bit erratic, but there, strong.

Her pants were still on; thus, her cell was within reach. In a few seconds she was calling for Cassidy to get to Angel's office ASAP.

With help on the way, Buffy took her husband's stubbly cheeks and patted then, "Angel? Angel, wake up."

He offered no response.

Angel wasn't shy when it came to his body, but Buffy wasn't a fan of other's seeing him naked, so she grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and spread it over her husband right before Cassidy burst into the office.

"What happened?" The medic asked, bee-lining right to the horizontal person in the room.

There wasn't much for Buffy to tell, but the moment she was done telling the Medic what she knew, she asked the doctor if Angel was okay.

Cassidy had been taking vitals while Buffy had been speaking, none of which had sent off any alarm bells. "Unconscious for sure, appears to be in shock, though stable enough to not need medical intervention."

"Why is he unconscious?" Buffy asked, looking down worriedly at him, his head now in her lap.

The medic snorted, "Umm, that should be obvious."

At the slayer's look, Cass continued, "He's not a dog. The curse released and he reverted back, if it happened as fast as you say, a transformation like that would knock anyone out cold." She shook her head, "It has to hurt, your bones, muscles, organ's shifting all at once. And one hell of a tax on the nervous system."

"Right." Buffy said, still a little shell shocked herself. Less than five minutes ago she'd been scratching his furry head.

"Pull the couch out, we'll get him settled here instead of the Med-Ward."

Buffy liked the sound of that, it meant she didn't need to carry him downstairs or have a trail of rubber necking slayers watching a gurney wheeling though the building. "So, he's going to be okay? No…side effects?"

"His vitals are perfect, I'm sure he'll be tried and hungry, at worst, grumpy and sore." Cassidy smirked, thinking to herself, 'Though I'm guessing he'll also be horny as all hell.'

They got him onto the fold-out bed and wrapped in blankets.

"Huh."

Buffy turned towards the medic, as the red-head picked something up off the floor with a gloved hand, "Probably don't want to leave this lying around."

It was the talisman that had been on the collar.

After the transformation, the collar had vanished, the coin-like object must have dropped to the ground and been forgotten in the following confusion.

"Think you can drop it off with Willow?" Buffy asked, glancing at the spot on the mattress beside her spouse she wanted to be sitting.

Cassidy nodded, knowing Buffy wanted to be alone with him, "Can do." Indicating back towards the unconscious man, "I'll check back in a few hours or so, though I'm not expecting he'll be out for too long." Cassidy informed as she was being walked to the office door, "Call when we wakes, or…if there's issues."

"I will, thanks." Buffy closed the door behind medic, eager to return to Angel.

Slipping into the bed, she laid down beside him, facing the man for the first time in a month.

'A month?' She looked over at the calendar, noticing it had been exactly 30 days since the curse was activated. It was then she noticed the time, mid-afternoon, she was willing to bet the same time that Angel was turned into a dog, he turned back 30 days later. 'So it was a countdown.'

Grabbing her cell again, she dialed Giles, giving him a quick synopsis of what happened, what she figured out, were the coin was now and to roll that out to the rest of the team.

Once that was settled, she turned back to Angel, her eyes focusing on his lips and thinking how much she'd missed kissing them.

Bending down, she pressed a kiss to his forehead instead, figuring she'd waited this long, what was another hour?

…

Buffy was close.

Very close.

Angel inhaled; the scent of his wife was right against him.

She was lying next to him.

It felt really, really good.

He rolled over, wrapping himself around her, at least until she eventually pushed him off.

But until then, he kissed at her neck, shivering at the taste of her.

"Stop licking me already!" Came his wife's expected angry response.

She pulled away from him, no longer spooned against his chest, but then was right back in close, but facing him this time.

He barely opened his eyes when she spoke, "I've got a much better use for that tongue."

Then she was kissing him.

On the mouth.

With tongue.

He hadn't been kissed on the mouth in a month.

It took a second, then he was all in.

When she finally broke for air, she was giggling, "Ugg, you have 'I've-been-a-dog' breath."

"What?" He asked, dazed, still not quite realizing he was back to his right form yet, in fact, he was wondering if he was dreaming again.

This was usually when he woke up, because Buffy throws him off the bed.

Instead, she kissed him again, adding more tongue and sliding herself over his body, finding a comfy spot.

The lower brain had not a trace of the confusion of the upper one.

"Buffy." Angel asked at their lips parted.

"What, you really want to stop and talk right now?" She asked, horny as hell and getting impatient.

"Hell no." He answered, pulled her back against him and rolling atop her, "Just miss saying your name."

"You may be yelling it in a minute." She teased, both of them high-strung from a month of sexual distancing.

There wasn't any distancing going on right now.

…

"What happened?"

Buffy raised her hand and placed it over her lover's mouth, "Quiet, I'm tingling."

Angel smirked, still riding his own high, he rolled onto his back, crossed his arms behind his head and waited.

Now that he'd finally gotten laid, he was content.

For a little while at least.

When Buffy was ready, she gave him the run-down of what had happened while to was out cold and finishing that he needed a shave and get a haircut.

"What I really need…" He pulled her against him, "Is another dose of you."

Whacking at him, she laughed, "Ugg the beard is scratchy!"

…

Cassidy glanced at the clock; it had been almost three hours since she'd left an unconscious patient in his wife's care.

If Buffy hadn't called by now, she was positive is wasn't because Angel was still out cold.

She smirked as she filled in her expense report and budget proposals for the coming year.

Angel was almost guaranteed to sign without too much scrutiny after spending a few hours of quality time alone with the misses.

Heck, in that state, he might even approve a raise.

…

End