A/N: This chapter was hard to get out of me. Needless to say, I got a big time writer's block. Sorry bout the huge delay, I brought this fic back from abandonment… so I hope people still want to read it! Some of the dialogue is nabbed from Ground State, I played around with that episode some.

Buffy shifted in her sleep. Her eyes barely flicked open and she surveyed her surroundings the best she could without moving. As her eyes became adjusted to the darkness of the room, she remembered the events from earlier. She looked down at the strong arm that was encircling her waist. A tiny hint of a smile appeared on her lips and she placed her hand over his much larger one. She regretfully lifted up his arm and carefully slipped out of his embrace. After sliding to the edge of the bed, she turned her head back to gaze at his face. It was amazing how different he looked when he was asleep. His features were gentler, and less filled with worry. His usually furrowed brow was relaxed… he just looked so unnaturally peaceful. She lightly grazed her fingertips across his cheek before turning around.

Stepping down onto the floor, Buffy's eyes trailed over to Angel's discarded sketchbook. It lay on the carpet, halfway peeking out from under a chair. She cautiously bent over and picked it up, fingering the leather binding. She glanced back at Angel before lowering herself into his chair. The thin notebook fell open easily, as a result of much use. The weathered pages appeared to be a darker yellow than they once were, and some of the lead markings from the drawings had smeared onto the previous pieces of paper. Thumbing through the pages, Buffy could pick out a few familiar faces. The almost majestic-like face of the vampire girl Darla graced several of the pages, along with a couple others that Buffy recognized from Giles' books. Buffy let the book fall open to the center page, revealing something unexpected. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she stared at the beautiful drawing. It was as if a mirror had been placed into her lap, echoing a younger version of herself on the sheet. She was about seventeen in the picture, her hair crimped and tangled with wetness. Although it only showed a portion of her body, she could tell from her bare shoulders that Angel had drawn her without a shirt. Buffy's mind went into overload as she remembered what day the drawing was depicting. She closed her eyes and could feel his breath upon her skin, his large hands trailing down her arms, his soft lips as they pressed against her own. At that very moment, the entire world had fallen away, and it was only the two of them. A small spark lit up inside of her, hoping that Angel's feelings about her hadn't changed as much as she had thought. A faint groan broke the silence of the room as Angel turned over in his sleep. Startled by the sound, Buffy dropped the sketchbook to the floor.

"Oh, crap", she mumbled under her breath. She leaned over and lifted the book off of the floor. Setting it back into her lap, she scanned over the page it had fallen open to. It was a sketch of Cordelia. Her hair was shorter in length and appeared to be a lighter color than Buffy remembered. The smile on her face was wide and vibrant, not at all like the one Cordelia had worn in high school. Buffy laid her fingertips along the graphite lines, tracing the contours of Cordy's face. It was amazing how real Angel had made it look. Buffy's jealously flared back up and Buffy quickly shut the book. She set it down on the table and stood up out of the chair. Buffy crept over to the door and attempted to open it. Praying that Angel wouldn't wake up, she turned the knob and pushed. As she was about to slip out of the room, she heard Angel's voice.

"Where are you going, Buffy?"

"I, um, I just needed to get some air." It was a flimsy excuse, but Angel seemed too tired to object. "I won't be gone too long." She slid out into the hall and shut the door behind her. As she descended the stairs all she could think about was the image of Cordelia. As much as it killed her, she knew that she had to get Cordelia back. Buffy entered the lobby and saw Fred propped up against the counter. "Hey, there." Buffy leaned on the wall next to Fred.

"Oh, Buffy, hey." Fred closed the book she had been looking at and faced Buffy.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, I guess." Fred was a bit wary, since the thoughts of what kind of favors a slayer would need permeated her mind.

"Well, the last I heard, Wesley was your mystical man, and I kinda need some help in that area." Buffy noticed the tension in Fred's expression at the mention of Wesley, but chose not to ask about it. "I was wondering if you knew where I could find him."

"Buffy, we, uh, we don't actually… well, you see, Angel, um…" Fred attempted to explain, but Buffy cut her off.

"Please, Fred? It's important." The pleading and desperate look on her face was enough to make Fred cave in.

"Okay." She scribbled down an address and handed the paper to Buffy. "This is his address. I can't be certain that he'll be home though."

"I'll take my chances." Buffy folded up the paper and pushed it down into her pocket. "Thanks." She flashed Fred a smile and exited the hotel.

Fred sighed as she watched Buffy leave. "You're welcome… I just hope Angel doesn't find out."

------

Buffy double checked the paper and looked back at the door in front of her. "Here goes." She rapped lightly on the door a few times. She was about to knock again when the door swung open. "Hi, Wesley."

"Buffy. What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story. But the short version is… I need your help. Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course." Wesley opened the door wider and allowed Buffy inside. He shut the door and led Buffy over to his couch. "So, what is it that you need? It's a bit strange for you to seek my help."

Buffy sat down and let out a deep breath. "Cordelia's missing. It's only been a day or two, but I highly doubt that she took a vacation without telling anyone… or without asking for paid leave." Buffy smirked, amused with herself, before continuing, "I think something supernatural happened to her."

Wesley lowered himself to the couch as well. "I see."

"I was hoping you would know how to find her. Considering my resident Wicca has recently gone off the deep end."

Wesley's eyebrows raised in a curious expression.

"Like I said, long story." She let out a brief, dry sounding laugh to accompany her comment.

"Well," Wesley shifted his position on the sofa. "There is one way. But Buffy, I don't think it's the best idea. Cordelia may be absent due to personal reasons."

"Yeah, but we're from Sunnydale, Wes. Nothing normal ever happens to us."

Wesley sighed. "That's true." He rose up off the couch. "We should check her apartment, to see if there's any clue as to where she might be."

"Okay." She stood up beside him. "Let's go then."

------

Buffy and Wesley stood in front of Cordelia Chase's apartment. Buffy glanced over at Wes. "You wouldn't happen to have a key on you?"

"Not really." Wes gave her an apologetic look.

"Well then, I hope they're insured." Grabbing the door knob, Buffy pushed hard until the door frame cracked and the door swung open. "That worked." Smiling to herself, she walked inside the room, followed by Wesley. "So… what are we looking for?"

"I'm not sure. Anything that looks out of the ordinary." Wesley flipped on the light switch and shut the door as well as it could now.

Buffy walked over to a large table and surveyed the objects on top of it. She lifted a photograph up out of the debris. "I guess she was feeling a bit nostalgic." The photo was of Cordelia, Wesley, and Angel. "This is what she looked like the last time I saw her. And now…" Buffy picked up a more recent picture of Cordy. "She's changed so much."

Wesley walked up behind Buffy and looked down at the pictures. "She really has."

Buffy spun around quickly to face Wes. "Wesley? Do you think…" A nervous laugh escaped from her lips. "Do you think that Cordelia and Angel were… in love?" As she reached the last two words, her voice took on a somber tone and her eyes brimmed with warm tears.

"That's not really my place to say."

Buffy lowered herself into a nearby chair. "I feel so stupid. I'm getting jealous over someone who hasn't been my boyfriend in years."

Wesley followed suit and sat down as well. "It's because you love him."

She shook her head. "I don't even know. But it doesn't matter… because he doesn't love me back. Not anymore."

"Of course he does. Those three months that he thought you were dead? There was no getting through to him. He was devastated at the thought of truly losing you."

"Then why? Why did he fall for her?" It felt strange to be talking to Wesley about all this, but at the moment she didn't have anyone else.

Wesley sighed. "Sometimes when we can't have the thing we want the most, we do what we can to ease the pain." It was ironic how closely Wesley could relate.

"I guess so." She sniffled lightly and brought her hands up to wipe her eyes. "We should probably get going. There's nothing here."

Wes nodded and helped Buffy out of her chair as he stood. His eyes locked with hers briefly, and he offered a comforting smile.

Breaking their contact, Buffy continued on with her task. "So, what's your other option?"

"It's dangerous." Wesley moved toward the door and made for the doorknob. Remembering Buffy's tactic for breaking in, he rethought that choice and simply pulled on the edge of the door to open it.

"My life is pretty much the definition of danger." She followed Wesley out into the hallway. As they reached his car, Buffy grabbed him by the arm. "Wesley." She stared intently at him, hoping that he would understand why she had to do this. "I have to find her. I'm the Slayer, I can handle this."

"No, you can't."

"Um, I'm sorry… how many apocalypses have I managed to stop? I think you're underestimating what I can do."

"No, I'm aware of what you're capable of. But the last time I checked, you still have a beating heart."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "Wanna tell me where you're going with this? 'Cause you lost me a couple miles back."

"No one living can enter." He reached into his car and pulled out an envelope.

"But Angel could."

"Yes." Wesley reluctantly handed the envelope to Buffy. "This won't bring Cordelia back."

In the middle of slipping the envelope into her coat, Buffy's head snapped up. A defeated look appeared on her face.

"It might help you to locate her, but I can't guarantee anything."

Buffy's features relaxed a bit at this news. "Thank you." She debated walking to the hotel, but it occurred to her that she had no idea how to get there. "Um, would you mind giving me a ride to the hotel?"

Wesley hesitated a moment. "I suppose I could."

------

Back at the hotel, Angel had woken up and was worried about where Buffy had gone. He rushed downstairs and scanned the lobby for any sign of her. "Buffy?"

"She's not here."

Angel was startled by Fred's voice. "Where is she?"

"She sort of went to go see someone." She hated lying to Angel, but she didn't want to see what he'd do if she told him the truth.

"Who?"

"An old friend or something, I think." Her voice quivered as she spoke and she bit down on her lip in hopes that Angel hadn't noticed.

"Don't lie to me, Fred. Who is she with?"

"She's with…" Fred looked away from Angel and stared at the door. "Wesley."

Angel spun around to see Wesley and Buffy standing in the doorway. "Get away from her." A low, guttural growl emitted from his throat.

Buffy glanced back and forth between Angel and Wesley. "Angel, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about him." He moved forward to get closer to Wesley. "Get out of my house."

Buffy quickly scrambled over to the two men and got in between them. Spinning to face Angel, she pressed her hand firmly against his chest. "He was just helping me with something. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"Hasn't done anything wrong?" The breath that Angel didn't need hitched in his throat and his words came out quietly. "He stole my son. He's the reason that Connor attacked me. He almost got you killed!" His increasing volume caused the words to resound through the room. Angel's chest heaved with frustration.

The shock of this revelation took Buffy by surprise and her jaw dropped open in disbelief. Slowly, she looked back at Wesley's guilt-stricken face. "Wesley?"

"I should go. I hope that everything works out." His furrowed brow loosened up for a moment as he gave Buffy the tiniest of smiles.

Buffy in return shot him a grateful look before he exited the hotel. She could sense Angel's pain and she inched over to where he was standing. "Angel, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." She extended a hand in comfort, but Angel just pulled away.

"Don't." The lobby fell silent as he pushed his way past Fred and headed towards his office.

Feeling responsible, Buffy called after him. "Angel." She sprinted over to him, catching the door before his could shut it in her face.

Angel ignored her presence and proceeding to sit in his chair and begin brooding.

"Look, I know that I—"

Angel abruptly cut her off, "Why were you with him?"

Buffy let out a long breath and reached inside of her coat, pulling out the envelope. "For this." The envelope slapped down onto the desk as she dropped it.

"What is it?"

"It's a way for you to find Cordelia. Or at least it's a start."

Angel's anger dissipated and he looked up into Buffy's hazel-green eyes. "Why would you do this?"

"Because as much as I dislike it, I know she means a lot to you. And she was… almost my friend. I don't want anything to happen to her any more than you do."

"Thank you." Genuine appreciation shown in Angel's eyes and Buffy could tell how important this was to him.

"You're welcome." She started to leave, but stopped briefly. "Oh and… good luck."

"You're not coming with me?"

"Would if I could, but apparently only dead things like you can enter." Buffy smiled at him. "Don't worry, we're gonna find her." She turned and left the office, leaving Angel alone again. He opened the envelope and slid out a picture. "Dinza, Keeper of lost things." He shoved the picture back in and grabbed his coat. Quietly, he slipped down into the sewers beneath the floor.

------

After what seemed like hours stuck in a dark room with a crazy demon, Angel walked back into the hotel to see Buffy and Fred sitting on the couch laughing. He crept up unnoticed and could over hear their conversation.

"So then, Angel walks in and goes 'How about you both bite me?'"

Buffy burst into laughter at Fred's comment and Angel smiled at the sound.

"Looks like you two are getting along."

Buffy and Fred both jumped when he spoke. "God, way to give us a heart attack." Buffy glared at Angel, but it came out a lot less menacing than she had intended.

"Sorry next time I'll wear a little bell around my neck."

His attempt at sarcasm caused Fred to snicker lightly, while Buffy just smirked in annoyance.

"Well, did you find anything?"

"Yeah… except it's not going to be easy to get." Angel sat down next to Buffy.

"Get?" Buffy shot him a confused look.

"It's called the Axis of Pythia. It's currently at Chandler's Auction House."

Fred got up off the couch and walked over to the computer to search for more information.

"Okay then, let's buy it." Buffy stood up and moved over to stand behind Fred. "So, how much is it?"

Fred scrolled further down the auction house website. "Um… 33 million dollars."

"Whoa." Buffy looked over at Angel, who apparently was just as stunned as she was. "Did I mention that I was poor now? 'Cause I really am. Angel, there's no way we can buy this thing."

"Then we won't. We'll steal it."

"Yeah, great idea. You go bust our criminal friend, Faith, out of jail and I'll call up my klepto sister." A dramatic eye-roll accompanied her statement. She leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. "We're not professional thieves. How are we supposed to steal something like this?"

"It can't be too hard. I mean, a heist like this, I've done it a million times. Okay, maybe twice, but I'm good at it, I swear."

"I hope you're not including the box we stole from the mayor that almost got Willow killed."

Angel laughed awkwardly. "No… of course not."

Buffy could see through Angel's façade and rolled her eyes yet again.

"The point is, we have to get it and that means stealing it. So let's just come up with a plan, okay?" Angel walked behind Fred and looked down at the computer screen. "Fred, find out their security devices." He looked over at Buffy. "Buffy, you come with me." Angel led Buffy up the stairs and opened the door to a room. "Cordelia used to keep some clothes here… maybe you can find something to wear."

Buffy smiled at him. "Okay." She walked inside and flipped on the light switch. Careful not to mess anything up, she slid one of the drawers open. Brightly colored designer material glared at her from the depths of the drawer. "Yeah, these are real stealthy." Digging deeper, she finally found a low-cut black top. She snorted lightly. "Figures." Eventually she found a pair of black jeans as well. Slipping out of her own clothes, she pulled on Cordelia's. She looked at herself in the mirror and was surprised to see that everything fit pretty well. A light knocking on the door caused Buffy to spin around. "Just a second." She pulled a hair piece off her wrist and gently secured her hair into a ponytail. Pleased with her appearance, she briskly walked to the door and opened it to reveal Angel on the other side. He was dressed in black as well, in typical Angel fashion. "Very Mission Impossible. Except for the 'you not being Tom Cruise' part." She laughed playfully.

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"No, it's alright. I like you better anyways." She smiled and swayed her shoulders from side to side. "Its fun, you know? To not be ourselves for once."

"Yeah. It is."

"I've missed this. The two of us working together."

"Me too." Angel looked down into her green eyes and inched a bit closer.

"Now I'm here, and we're together, and it's just really…"

"Confusing?" Angel added in.

"Yeah." She broke her eye contact with him and looked at the floor. "Sorry. I'm just being stupid."

"No, I get it." Angel thought back to a very similar conversation years before.

"All that stuff is in the past though, right?" She attempted a cheery tone and pretended to be nonchalant about the subject.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Angel seemed a bit crestfallen at her words and his brooding look deepened.

A shout from downstairs broke their awkwardness.

"Guys, I think I found a way in!"

"We'll be right down." Buffy faked a smile and glanced back at Angel. "You, uh, better go get your secret agent stuff." She lifted her hand and set it on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'll be downstairs."

Angel watched her walk down the hall and mentally kicked himself for the thoughts invading his mind. He sighed deeply and went to get his supplies.

------

Angel came down the stairs and saw Buffy on the couch. Her head jerked up at the sound of his bag hitting the floor.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Worry laced her voice as she spoke.

Before Angel could answer, Gunn came bursting through the front door. "They found Cordy's car, it was abandoned out on the highway… but no Cordelia."

Angel glanced back at Buffy. "Does that give you your answer?"

Buffy gave him an understanding nod.

Angel turned his attention to Fred. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

Switching focus again, Angel turned back towards the door. "Gunn, I need you to stay here and continue looking up information."

"Got it." Gunn walked back and took Fred's spot at the computer.

"Buffy, you ready?" Angel moved to face her.

"As I'll ever be I suppose." She stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her shirt. "Let's do this."

------

"Angel, don't you think that maybe we should wait a while before doing something this drastic?" Fred stared up at the fence, dreading having to get over it.

"The longer we wait the more trouble Cordelia might be in. We can't just sit around and let something happen to her." Angel shot the rappelling hook up onto the top of the fence. He leaned over and latched the clip onto Fred's pants. "Everything's gonna be alright."

Fred smiled at him and climbed up the wall. Once Fred was on the other side, Angel reached for Buffy's waist, only to be stopped by her hand.

"You go ahead. You need me to help you get the stuff over."

Angel nodded and attached himself to the rope. Buffy handed up the bag of supplies and he grabbed it as he disappeared behind the fence. Buffy clipped her body in place and scaled the wall easily. At the top, she tugged on the rappelling hook in an attempt to bring it down with her. Unfortunately, it wouldn't budge.

"Is everything okay?" Angel watched her struggle from below.

"Not exactly… It's stuck." She kept on pulling as hard as she could. "Almost got—" The hook came loose and Buffy flew down from the fence. With a soft "Oomph," Buffy crashed on top of Angel and tackled them both to the ground. "Oh god. Angel, are you okay?" Lying on top of his stomach, her face was only inches away from his.

"I'll be fine." He could feel her warm breath on his skin as he stared into her concern-filled eyes. Remembering why they were there, he carefully lifted Buffy up and slid out from under her.

"Sorry." Buffy brushed herself off and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Angel looked at both of the girls and motioned for them to follow him. "Come on."

They reached the entrance of the building and saw the electrical box. Angel yanked the door open to reveal a tangled mess of wires.

"Wonderful. So, blue wire or red wire?" Buffy said as she peered inside the box.

"I'm gonna go with all of them." Angel gathered them all into his hand and yanked the wires out.

"I guess that works too." Buffy turned and looked at the heavy metal door. "I'm hoping our way of opening the door is a bit more subtle."

Fred walked up with some strange gadget and held it over the door. "Subtle is my specialty."

The light above the lock flashed green and Fred pulled the door open. Once they were inside, Angel laid out the plans on the floor.

"Alright, Fred, you need to go here," he pointed to a place on the map, "Take care of any security problems."

Fred nodded in response.

"Buffy, I need you to take out any guards you find."

"Okay."

"And I'll go get the axis." Angel stood up and gathered his things. "Be careful. Both of you."

Buffy smiled. "You know me."

They all headed off in different ways, not knowing that they were being watched.

Gwen spied on the three through the security cameras. "Yeah, that's not good."

------

Buffy scanned the halls for any guards, but came up empty. "Yeah, some security," she scoffed.

"Hey!"

"I guess I spoke too soon." Buffy turned around to see an armed guard glaring at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I… um, I'm here because of… my cat." She mentally slapped herself for the lameness of her excuse.

"Your cat?" The guard crossed his arms over his chest, clearly not buying her alibi.

"Yeah, he uh, came in through a window… so I followed him… through the window."

"Right, I need you to come with me."

"Oh look, it's Mr. Fluffy!" Buffy squealed and pointed over the guard's shoulder.

"What?" The guard turned to look where she was pointing. "I don't see any—"

A hard right hook connected with the guy's jaw and he dropped to the floor. Buffy smirked and leaned over to grab him by his shirt. "Okay Tubby, let's find you a closet." She dragged him along and pushed a near-by door open. The closet was cloaked in darkness, but Buffy just shoved the man inside. She failed to notice the several other guards lying on the floor as well. Smiling to herself, she brushed her hands off and went to see if Angel needed assistance.

------

Buffy rounded a corner to see Angel standing in front of a large room. "Hey there, Mr. Fluffy."

Angel snapped his head back at the sound. "Buffy you…" His face contorted in confusion. "Mr. what?"

"Long story. So is this the spot?" She nodded in the direction of the room.

"I think so." He sprayed something into the room, revealing green security lasers crisscrossing the perimeter.

Buffy stared for a moment. "I can get through."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I just—" Suddenly Buffy was knocked backwards by the gate coming down. "That wasn't my fault."

Angel reached out a hand and helped her to her feet. "Yeah, I know. But who…" His eyes fixed on the girl who dropped from the ceiling.

"Who the hell is this?" An exasperated Buffy screamed at no one in particular.

"Who are you?" The girl hung on a rope in an upside down position.

"I asked you first." Buffy retorted with anger in her voice.

"Take it easy, cupcake."

"My name is Buffy."

"See, now we're all acquainted." She dropped her hand down and deflected the lasers. Flipping into an upright position, she jumped to the ground.

Buffy continued her interrogation despite the display. "I still don't know your name."

"Gwen." She pulled back her sleeve and sent blue shocks into the electric box, turning off the lasers.

"Okay, so we know who you are. Now the question becomes what you are." Buffy folded her arms across her chest.

"I thought that was obvious, I'm a freak." She smiled sarcastically.

Angel finally stepped forward and spoke up. "Please tell me you're not here for the axis."

Buffy rolled her eyes. Of course that was all he cared about.

"So the boyfriend speaks."

Both Buffy and Angel jumped to correct her.

"No, we're not… I'm not…"

"He's not my boyfriend."

The pair glanced at each other with somewhat hurt expressions before returning their attention to Gwen.

"A bit defensive, aren't we?" She gave off a pleased smirk.

Brushing off the comment, Buffy pressed on with the original topic. "You didn't answer the question."

"So what if I am here for the axis?"

Angel grasped the bars in his hands. "We need it."

Gwen shrugged and shocked the security sensor, opening the door to where the axis was held. She swiftly grabbed the axis and placed it in her bag. As she walked back into the room, Angel pleaded with her again.

"Please. I'm trying to find someone. Someone very important to me. I need her."

Pain flashed across Buffy's face and she tried her best to focus on anything but Angel.

A frown formed on Gwen's face and she pursed her lips together. "Her. Of course it's a her. Two questions. One, do you really love her?"

Angel froze up for a moment. His gaze moved to Buffy, who appeared to be finding the floor very interesting as she stared downward. He looked back to Gwen and in a low voice whispered, "Yeah, I do."

Gwen noticed the muscles in Buffy's face tense up when Angel responded. She decided not to comment on it and finished up her questioning. "Two, on a scale of one to ten, exactly how stupid do you think I am?"

Buffy perked up at this and lifted her head to face Gwen. "I can answer that."

Suddenly alarms started blaring and the gate flew up.

"Way to go, Fred."

Buffy ran in and swung a roundhouse kick into the side of Gwen's head.

Gwen recovered from the blow and shoved her hand against Buffy's chest, delivering a jolt of electricity.

Buffy slid across the floor and slumped against the wall.

Angel rushed over to her huddled figure. He could feel a faint pulse and knew that Buffy was alive. He looked up at Gwen, who gave him a taunting look before slipping up into the ceiling. Angel debated going after her, but at the sound of Buffy's moan, he dismissed the idea.

"Angel?"

"I'm here. You okay?" He crouched down to meet her eyes.

"Yeah. Where's electro bitch?"

"She's gone. She got the axis." He did his best to conceal the disappointment he felt.

Buffy sighed deeply. "Great."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

"I know. We'll find it… I'm not worried about that. But… Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"How's my hair?"

He laughed deeply and helped her rise to her feet. "Come on." He draped an arm over her shoulders and gave the far arm a brief squeeze. "Let's go home."

A/N: Yeah... that was an overly long chapter. I'm already writing the next one, so let's hope that one doesn't take me quite as long. And no matter how mad you all might be for the wait, feedback is still strongly encouraged! I love to know what you all think.