Once again, thanks to all who are reading and especially thanks to those of you leaving me comments. I love knowing what you think. And probably three more chapters to go after this!

Angel picked the receiver up from Cordelia's desk, never breaking stride as he walked a few more steps to the elevator. One AM and he hoped whatever crisis someone was calling about, it could wait until tomorrow. He had just finished taking care of a small group of vampires that was attacking kids that hung out at the beach at night and he now had sand in locations that needed immediate removal.

"Angel Investigations, we help the---"

"Buffy?" She had said his name in that way she had, as if it was the single most important word in the English language and he was briefly transported back to happier times. He echoed her name back using the same cadence; it was a call and response that was forever ingrained within him. Almost in the same instant, he was aware that phoning each other was no longer done and he could only imagine one reason she would have done so.

"Is everything all right? Is something wrong with the baby?" He wondered how people with working hearts survived. He was already running through a hundred scenarios, each more horrific than the last, all of them ending up with Buffy's child dead before it had had a chance to live.

And then, just like that, Buffy's laugh and teasing voice caused his doom and gloom to vanish. He plopped down in Cordelia's chair, setting his feet none too carefully on her desk.

"No, no. Of course you can call just to say hello. I'm glad you did."

She was talking a blue streak now, regaling him with stories of what everyone was up to in Sunnydale. Xander was currently working construction (apparently after first failing at a variety of other jobs, including phone sex operator. Angel couldn't imagine anyone desperate enough that Harris could have turned them on.), Willow was sadly single after Oz had left but was getting As in all her classes (something in the way Buffy talked about that particular breakup made him decide not to ask about it) and Giles was happily retired. She didn't mention Riley and he certainly wasn't going to ask after him. The whole thing reminded him very much of the rather stream of consciousness conversations that he used to have with Buffy early in their relationship, when he foolishly believed that things could work out. He knew better now, but still, he couldn't help grinning. Belatedly, it seemed she had just asked him a question and now, he was hard pressed to answer her.

"Jonathan Levinson? Doesn't ring a bell."

"Oh, right, that kid. Yeah, I remember you saving him."

He did remember, he now had a clear picture of the nasally voiced kid in his mind but what overtook his memory was Buffy slowly being driven mad by everyone's thoughts. He had been so terrified that he would lose her. He was brought out of his musings when he realized that Buffy was still talking.

"He what? I have to admit, as spells go…" He chuckled at Buffy's description. "So, James Bond, movie star, demon killer and suave lover? And none of you thought that was a bit much?"

He listened, amused, as Buffy explained how everything had seemed so rational and then, began to sputter.

"The father of your baby! You're kidding, right?" When he heard Buffy say, "Duh," he decided he had been a bit irrational.

"It's a good thing he isn't. The kid would be 4 feet tall, at best." He smiled at Buffy's mock indignation and wondered why they didn't chat like this all the time. He felt lighter than he had in months.

Would you always know me? The second she had asked the question, suddenly hesitant, he had known that was the real reason for the phone call. He didn't answer her immediately. He knew her better than he knew himself, truthfully. He knew her smell, he knew her heartbeat. He had drawn her a thousand times and because of the day that never was, he knew every inch of her skin. He knew the taste of her sweat and her blood. He could pick her voice out of a crowd. If he were blindfolded, he'd recognize her fingers drifting across his skin.

He couldn't say any of that.

"Of course, I'd always know you. Why wouldn't I?"

Her voice became quiet and still, so different than her normal animated self. He had rarely seen her like that. When she had had to reface the Master. When he had thrown their lovemaking in her face and treated her like a cheap whore. She hardly said anything, but he figured it out. Faith had stolen her body. He felt physically ill. How could he not have known? How could he not have realized that more was at play than Faith attempting to kill her?

"Buffy, god…" He wished he could take that pain away. He knew her well enough to know that her friends wouldn't suspect that this was a scar that wouldn't heal for a long time because she would keep it from them. He hoped Riley was helping her and then he remembered Faith's words about sleeping with Buffy's boyfriend. At the time, he hadn't thrown Riley's betrayal back at Buffy. Now he understood it was a betrayal of a different kind entirely and maybe, in some sense, worse. He gave her the only small comfort he could.

"I'd always recognize you. No matter what. Always."

She whispered, "Thanks," and then hung up the phone. He held the receiver for a while, wishing that he was something different. Finally, he stood up and realized he was in desperate need of a shower. The sand had moved into crevices he didn't know he possessed.