Buffy woke up sometime around sunrise and didn't dare open her eyes. She could feel Angel's body half underneath her, their legs tangled together. She could hear his heart beating beneath her cheek. His breath stirred her hair gently.
"Please tell me this is real," she said softly. "That this isn't a dream."
"You're not dreaming," he said. "It's real."
Her eyes flew open and she twisted to look at Angel. After a moment of simply staring at him, she leaned down to kiss him, her tongue relearning the shape of his mouth. "I was afraid I was going to wake up back in Revona," she said.
He traced his finger along her jaw. "No, you're right here next to me in our bed in our home. Caddie and Micah are in the next room over. Everyone's safe."
She tucked her head under his chin, throwing on arm over his chest and snuggling as close to him as possible. "I didn't sleep, you know. Over there."
"Not ever?" Angel asked with a frown.
"I couldn't. But I'd dream. I used to dream about you and how you'd come to rescue us. I tried to find ways to escape, but there wasn't much I could do when the girls were younger and even as they grew up, I was ghost-y and go-through-y. Not much good for a break out."
"It's going to be hard, isn't it?" he asked softly. "To make things work now."
She sighed and pressed her face against his neck. "Yeah," she admitted. "It's going to be hard."
"But we both want it, right?"
She sighed again and said nothing for a long time. "That's all I've ever wanted, Angel," she said finally. She rolled away from him and slipped out of bed. "I better check on the girls," she said, pulling on a t-shirt and a pair of his boxers. She slipped out into the hallway and into the old nursery.
Caddie had taken over the bed. She was sprawled out, tangled with the blankets, one foot hanging over the side. Micah was curled up on the floor with a pillow and a blanket. As Buffy crouched next to her, the Fey's unhuman eyes snapped open.
"What is it, Mother?" she asked softly.
"Nothing. Just making sure you're okay."
Micah sat up, running a long-fingered hand through her short, black hair. "I'm fine." She looked around. "It's very strange here."
"I know. Are you going to go back to sleep?"
"I'm not tired anymore." Micah rolled to her feet gracefully, and Buffy realized she was still wearing the clothes she had brought from Revona.
"Come on. We need to get you something to wear. Are you hungry?"
"Not…seriously," Micah said. Buffy nodded gratefully. A hungry Fey was the last thing she needed right now. As they went back into the hall, Angel appeared out of Dawn's room.
"How is she?" Buffy asked.
"Still sleeping." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't even think about how it would affect her when I told Willow to open the portal. I should have known it would be hard on her."
"It got us back," Buffy said flatly. "It was worth it. Could you start fixing breakfast? I'm going to see if I can find some of Dawn's old clothes for Micah and Caddie."
"Sure." Angel looked down at the Fey. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, I did, thank you," she replied. He hesitated, and then asked, "I had hoped that perhaps you would continue my combat training. I saw what you did in Revona and you are very good."
Angel smiled a little uncertainly. "Yeah. Sure, we could do that."
Micah smiled suddenly, revealing sharp, white teeth and long canines. "Thank you."
Buffy got Micah dressed and then Caddie woke up and they dug up some clothes for her and finally they all made it to the kitchen where Angel had set out plates of eggs, bacon, pancakes, fruit (but no yogurt), and toast on the island.
"I, uh, didn't know what they liked," he said when Buffy surveyed the offering with amusement. The two girls proceeded to devour everything in sight, impressing Angel with the sheer amount of food they put away. Angel approached Buffy where she stood to one side with a plate of mixed fruit.
"You should eat something," he said. He held a strawberry to her lips. She blinked in surprise and opened her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock at the taste of the fruit and Angel remembered she hadn't eaten in twelve years.
The phone rang and Buffy jumped as both girls flinched. "It's okay," Angel assured them. "It's just the phone." He picked it up and tucked it under his chin. "Hello?"
"Angel, ah, hello. I didn't actually expect anyone to be up so early."
"Hi, Giles. Is there something I can do for you?"
"I was simply wondering how everyone was doing."
"The girls are just finishing up breakfast. Dawn's still sleeping."
"I did some research on Feys last night and I thought you might want to know what I found out. Would I be able to come by this afternoon?"
"Yeah, that's fine. We'll see you then." He hung up and looked around. "Buffy, where's Caddie?"
Buffy spun around in alarm and saw the back door open. "Caddie!" she called sharply, running out onto the deck. Caddie stood in the middle of the yard, staring up into the sky. Buffy hurried toward her, Angel on her heels. "Caddie, what are you doing?"
"The sun is a different color here," she said dreamily. "I like it. It makes me feel warm inside."
*****
Giles stood on the deck beside Angel, looking across the lawn to where Buffy sat on the grass with Caddie and Micah, deep in an explanation of some sort. Angel felt shut out, cut off from their lives. He sighed. After twelve years, he could just expect them to accept him.
"What did you find out?" he asked Giles.
"Well, Feys are a very old race," Giles began. "They were created by a group of powerful sorcerers who sought to use them as tools for their own ends."
"What happened?"
"The Feys destroyed them for having no honor. Ever since, they have made it their personal mission to seek out those with no honor and, well, kill them. They are very dangerous and somewhat unpredictable. Wolfram & Hart were no doubt seeking to harness the Fey's formidable skills."
"They wanted to use her as an assassin," Angel told him.
"Not surprising." Giles mused silently for a few minutes. "There's a few more things you'll need to know. Feys were created by infusing humans with the essences of several demons, not unlike how the first Slayer was made. She's going to need careful maintenance."
"Such as?" Angel asked.
"Such as several pounds of raw, bloody meat once a month. She's cold-blooded, so she'll need a lot of warmth, sunbathing and such. Oh, and once she reaches maturity, she'll go into heat about three times a year."
Angel stared at Giles. "Please tell me that was a joke," he said.
Giles took off his glasses and polished them on his shirt. "I'm afraid not. Feys apparently have a very strong drive to reproduce, probably the result of there being so few of them." He smiled suddenly. "You'll be beating boys off with a stick."
"Just fantastic," Angel muttered. He sighed. "At least Caddie still has some growing up to do."
The girl in question suddenly stood up and walked toward the two men. She approached Angel shyly, and he dropped to one knee to get eye-level. Without speaking, she held up her cupped hands. When she opened them, a small, yellow butterfly sat on her palm. Caddie looked from the insect to her father almost apprehensively.
"It's very pretty, isn't it?" Angel asked gently. Caddie broke out into a brilliant smile.
"I've never seen anything like it before," she said. "What is it called?"
"It's a butterfly," Angel told her. "There are lots of them in California."
"I like it," Caddie said shyly. Angel smiled.
"If you like butterflies, wait until tonight and the fireflies come out."