By the time Buffy could talk rationally again, there was only one hour left until sundown, and Angel knew that they somehow had to reach a decision. Would he have to leave her again, ignore this Doyle guy, or could they make it work long distance – just one more obstacle in their way. Dawn had stayed in the bedroom the entire time, either too afraid to come out, or Doyle really had known which books and magazines to buy for a young girl. Angel really didn't know anything about him; for all he knew, Doyle could have a daughter, or niece. It was a mystery that he wanted to be solved if he was going to obey his destiny.

"Buffy, I'm not going to leave you. I asked you to come here so that we could talk about what's going to happen – I don't even know if I'm gonna go along with all of this vision and destiny stuff, and especially not if it means loosing you. I wont make the decision for you, so I need you to tell me what you think I should do."

"Destiny sucks." If the situation hadn't been so serious, her typical Buffy answer would have forced a chuckle from him. As it was, he couldn't even coax a smile onto his face. The whole circumstance sucked. None of it was fair – he couldn't have his moment of happiness, but couldn't leave the one person who could provide it; they both had destinies, neither coinciding with each others. Those gypsies really knew what they were doing when they cursed him, but letting him know about the true happiness bit would have been nice … or just leaving it out altogether. But then, he wouldn't be in so much of a fix now, and that wouldn't be as much fun!

"I know, luv, but what can we do? You quit the council, but have carried on slaying, and just because I help you doesn't mean that I don't need to fight in my own way; fight for my redemption. You never know, a miracle might happen along the way and we might be able to bind my soul. Maybe find a more experienced Wicca to help Willow if she's willing. It could happen."

"It could happen in Sunnydale! I don't want you to leave me" 'again.' The last word went unsaid, but Angel knew she was thinking it – it would be a long time before they both got over him leaving her, even if it had been for a week. Not being able to make-up 'properly' was also a rut in their already pot-hole covered road.

"Well, how about we finish this vision, and then see what happens? We haven't got anything to loose, and I can take you out to coffee at the same time. We haven't had a real date in a while, and it would be something new."

"But caffeine makes you jittery."

"So I'll have something else, or just watch you have some. It's not like I need the sustenance."

"Sounds like a plan, what do we do with Dawn? If it's a demony thing, I don't want her near, and if it isn't … it's a date with my boyfriend, and she cant tag along!"

Angel laughed softly, glad that the trauma was over for now, but still somewhat dreading what was to come.

"Is Oz still in town? Or you dad maybe? I wouldn't really like to leave her here – anyone can come into a demon's home, and it has sewer access."

"I can drop her at dad's house and hope that everything goes okay … it's sort of illegal, but we wont be out the whole night, and the neighbours know both of us pretty well for people that are only there a few times a year."

Two hours later, Dawn was safely spending the evening with Mr and Mrs Jones, who owned the apartment below Hank Summers, and Angel and Buffy were slowly making their way towards the coffee place that Doyle had given to Angel.

"So what exactly are we trying to do here? All we have is a name, and know that she needs help."

"I was kinda hoping you'd be able to help me out there – if you were a girl in trouble and a stranger asked you if he could help you, what would you think! I don't even know what kind of trouble she's in – for all I know, it could be something as simple as having run away from home and not having the money to get back."

"Running away from home isn't simple, Angel. It takes a lot of desperation before you get that far, and by then, logic doesn't really have a big role in your life anyway."

He kissed the top of her head and shut up (a very wise move in my opinion). They continued to walk down the dark streets of LA with Angel's arm around the slayer's waist, and her head leaning slightly on his shoulder.

On my time scale, there are still a few days before Buffy starts university (lets say she starts on a Wednesday okay!), so 'City Of …' will finish before the rest of 'Freshman' starts.