Disclaimer: Anything recognizable from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and/or Angel belongs to the creators of the show and not me. I'm using the characters/ideas for fun and not for profit. The title "Somewhere With You" was inspired by the Kenny Chesney song. Lyrics belong to Steve Earle.

"And I ask you friend what's a fella to do

'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue.

So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl,

And I lost my heart to a Galway Girl."

-Steve Earle

Galway, Ireland

Angel hadn't spoken since they got off the plane. He had remained silent in fact since about an hour before they landed in Ireland, which was around the same time he asked the flight attendant for a large glass of Jameson. Buffy looked over in concern at Angel. His head was laid back against the headrest and his eyes were open, his face unreadable. Buffy sighed. Angel shouldn't have to go through this, Buffy thought. She could have easily done it with just Faith. They had been in Stockholm when Giles called about their next location...

"Don't you usually just e-mail us the flight info and the girl's name?" Buffy asked Giles. "It's a whole lot cheaper than this long distance call, you know."

"I know, but I felt I should call," Giles said. "Colleen Kennedy, the slayer we've located, lives in Ireland."

"Oh," Buffy said, a little surprised.

"Galway, to be exact," Giles continued.

"Oh," Buffy said again, understanding now.

Personally, Buffy had always wanted to see Ireland; to see where Angel – or rather Liam Gallagher – came from. She told Angel that she and Faith could do this one solo, but he had insisted on coming. Everyone's got to face their demons someday, right?

It was dark when the plane landed so it was impossible to see the lush rolling green hills that Buffy had heard so much about. She peered out the window of the taxi that was taking them to their hotel at the quaint villages they passed through, enjoying the bumpy ride due to cobblestone streets. She was itching to do some exploring and would have to drag Faith along with her tomorrow after they had all gotten some rest. She turned to Angel who was looking out his own window and asked, "Has it changed much?"

He was silent for a moment before quietly saying, "You have no idea." He never took his eyes off the window. Buffy wondered if any of the pubs they passed were ones that Liam had frequented.

As soon as they got to the hotel, Angel went straight into his and Buffy's room, leaving her with Faith and Spike in the hallway.

Spike raised an eyebrow at the door Angel just disappeared into and said to Buffy, "Good luck with that one, love."

Buffy sighed and said, "Let's just get this over with. Faith, meet downstairs at 10? We can get breakfast and then find this girl. Hopefully it won't take too long." The time they spent at each location varied from slayer to slayer. Some were all too happy to leave home and answer their calling, while others took days to decide. One slayer in Morocco had taken weeks to decide if she wanted to be trained as a slayer, forcing Buffy, Faith, Angel, and Spike to stay there much longer than anticipated. They never knew how long they were going to stay in any one place.

"Sounds good," Faith said, following Spike into their room. "Night B."

"Goodnight," Buffy said softly before going into her own room.

Angel was already in bed, his back to Buffy. As Buffy slipped into bed next to him after changing, she could tell that he wasn't asleep yet, but didn't say anything. She knew by now when to give him space.

The next morning Buffy and Faith had a nice Irish breakfast at the hotel and then set out to find Colleen Kennedy. They found her home with relative ease since it was on the outskirts of town. Colleen was a bubbly young girl with thick strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes. She had big dreams that did not include living on her parent's dairy farm for the rest of her life. Buffy was glad to see how accepting her family was of everything. Apparently they had known something was up with Colleen when starting a few months ago she could suddenly lift hay bales that even her older brothers couldn't lift. She would need a few days to pack and say her goodbyes, but she was eager to start her training and her parents were proud.

By the time Buffy and Faith returned to the hotel it was dark and Buffy was exhausted. She and Faith had spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the town. They went into quaint bookstores and coffee shops and did some shopping at boutiques. It was damp, but Buffy loved it nonetheless.

Buffy laid down on the bed in her hotel room and turned on the TV to relax. Spike and Angel had gone out and weren't back yet. Buffy was just starting to doze off when she heard the door open and Angel came in. He set a brown paper bag down on a small table by the mini bar, apparently having just returned from the butcher shop with Spike.

"Hey," he said to her. "How'd it go?"

"Fine," Buffy said. As Angel walked over to the bed and laid down next to her she could see a dramatic difference in him from last night. Like there was a weight off his shoulders. "Colleen seems great. We're going back in a few days to pick her up and bring her to the airport."

"Good," Angel said, watching whatever TV program Buffy had settled on.

"You seem better," Buffy said after a few moments.

"Yeah," Angel said to her. "I guess I just needed a day." Buffy nodded and silence descended upon them for a minute or two.

"What are you doing tonight?" Angel finally asked.

Buffy shrugged and said, "I don't have anything planned."

"Good," Angel said before getting up and going to pour himself some dinner. "I want to show you around."

Buffy smiled at him and said, "Okay."

Angel led her to a plaza surrounded by old buildings that now were home to modern stores. They stood in the center of the plaza, hand in hand as Angel pointed out things and Buffy listened. It was nearly midnight so the streets were virtually silent.

"This was my area of town," Angel said. He spoke softly, the way one would speak in a church. "My family's home wasn't too far from here. We had a ton of land. I bet it's all developed now. Probably impossible to find." Buffy was silent and let him continue. Angel looked around the plaza some more and pointed to one of the stores and gave a soft chuckle of laughter. "That CVS used to be a leather shop, if you can believe it. We always got our shoes there." He looked around the plaza and said, "Half these stores used to be pubs."

Buffy gave his hand a squeeze. Angel focused his attention on something in the distance, his face showing disbelief. "I don't believe it," he muttered. Angel pulled Buffy towards the direction he was looking and down a side street.

The narrow street opened up into a small courtyard where a quaint stone church stood in front of them. The stained glass on the outside looked aged, but still flickered brilliant colors from the candles inside.

Angel stared at the church in front of him in awe. Buffy watched him carefully. His face was illuminated by the soft glow emanating from inside the building.

"This was the church my family went to," Angel said finally. "I can't believe it's still here."

Buffy gazed at the church and tried to imagine a young Liam coming here each Sunday with his family. She squeezed his hand again in reassurance and said, "It's beautiful."

Angel hesitantly took a step forward and then another step. Buffy was a few steps behind him as he walked up the stone steps and into the church. Once inside, Angel stopped about a third of the way down the aisle and just stared at the altar in front of him.

Buffy stayed by the door and watched Angel. He seemed unsure about walking further down the aisle, like he wondered if he was even allowed anymore. Buffy realized she was unconsciously holding her breath as she looked around the interior of the church. She was sure it was just as beautiful centuries ago as it was now. She noticed Angel was looking intently at the large stone Celtic cross that was behind the altar. It was a striking and ancient focal point of the church.

Angel seemed to stand perfectly still for the longest time. Then without warning he turned around and exited the church. Buffy turned and left a moment later to find him standing in the darkened street, deep in thought. Buffy pulled her pea coat tighter around her and placed her hand gently on his bicep.

"Let's go back to the hotel," she whispered. Angel just nodded and she took his hand as they walked away from the church.

Hours later, Buffy stirred awake in the middle of the night and could vaguely make out Angel sitting up in bed, his sketchpad propped up on his knees. Wanting to respect his privacy, Buffy closed her eyes, the soft sounds of charcoal against paper lulling her into sleep.

The next day Buffy and Faith walked around the town some more, doing more of the tourist attractions and tours. When they got back to the hotel, Buffy immediately curled up in bed, exhausted. She must have dozed off because hours later she was awoken by Angel pushing her hair out of her face and giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Mmm, what time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Almost eleven," Angel told her.

"Come to bed," Buffy said, sleepily trying to pull him down beside her.

Angel chuckled and said, "I'm getting something and I want you to come with me."

"Where would we be going at this hour?" Buffy asked.

Angel smirked and said, "I know a guy."

Buffy once again walked down the dark streets of Galway letting Angel lead her into what she guessed was the seedier part of town. He stopped in front of one hole-in-the-wall shop and went inside. Buffy looked with confusion at the flickering neon sign that read "TATTOOS" before following Angel inside.

"Angel, what are we doing here?" Buffy asked him once inside the shop.

Angel was at the counter talking to a grungy looking middle aged man. Buffy briefly wondered if he was human. Angel took something out of his pocket and placed it on the counter. Buffy noticed it was the drawing Angel was working on last night. Buffy walked over as Angel unfolded it. It was a beautiful drawing of the Celtic cross they had seen in the church from Angel's childhood last night.

"I want this," Angel told the man.

The tattoo artist nodded and said gruffly, "Give me five minutes." He grabbed the drawing and disappeared into a back room.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked Angel.

Angel sighed and said, "I've been thinking about this for a while. Now seemed like the right time." Buffy was silent and let him continue. "This place is who I am, Buffy. I've tried ignoring it for so long, but coming back here made me realize I don't want to ignore it anymore. I want to honor it."

Buffy stared at him in silence. "Isn't it kind of ironic that you're getting a tattoo of a cross…you're a vampire," Buffy said, as if reminding him of that fact.

Angel shrugged and said, "I guess."

"Can you even get a cross tattoo?" Buffy asked. "Won't it burn?"

"It's just a drawing, it can't do any damage," Angel told her. "And it's not blessed by a priest. Trust me, this guy is no priest," Angel added with a nod towards the back door the tattoo artist went into.

A few hours later Angel was laying down in the reclined chair as the tattoo artist added the finishing touches to his work. Angel had decided to get the cross on his left side, on top of his rib cage. Buffy sat on his right, letting him grasp her hand, squeezing it when the pain increased. Buffy knew Angel was putting on a strong front but she could tell it hurt.

"All done," the tattoo artist said, wiping off the remaining ink and cleaning the area. Buffy peered around to Angel's side to get a glimpse. It looked perfect; exactly like the one in Angel's church.

"It looks great," Buffy said with a smile.

Angel smiled back at her and said, "Thank you for coming. It means a lot."

"Of course I'd come," Buffy told him.

Buffy laid curled up next to Angel in their bed back at the hotel. She traced her fingers over Angel's new tattoo. It was already healed and didn't need the bandages anymore; one of the perks of being a vampire.

"It's beautiful," Buffy whispered.

Angel pulled her closer to him and after a moment of silence said, "I really didn't want to come here."

"I know," Buffy said.

"The memories here used to be too painful. I used to try and forget," Angel said. "But coming back made me realize I shouldn't forget. It hurts to remember, but it hurts worse to forget. I'm so glad you got to see all this," Angel added, dropping a kiss to her forehead.

"Me too," Buffy said. She knew coming back here was difficult for him, but significant. Buffy was glad that Angel was able to add the new happy memories of this trip to the past ones of his homeland.