Special thanks to BrandiIndigo, Delia Winters, annekebb4ever, BloodyPasion, SMGbest, ba4ever2524, and angelplusbuffyequals4ever for the reviews! You all make me so happy! Got this chapter done early so I went ahead and posted it but I'm still working on the next one so at the latest it will be up Nov. 4.

Days later Buffy entered her bedroom after another long and difficult day. Everyday she waited for him to reappear like Spike said he would and everyday he didn't she would cry herself to sleep. Tonight though instead of crying she withheld a scream at the sudden appearance of a haggard looking Angel. He stood in the corner of the room bathed in shadow and wouldn't meet her eyes. "I know you don't want me here but I just wanted to see you one last time. I'm so sorry for everything."

Tears pricked at her eyes and she longed to go to him but was scared that he would try to leave again. "I called and prayed for you but you never came."

He shifted and disappeared more into the darkness, "I didn't want to hear what you had to say. I couldn't take it."

"Spike came and talked to us, explained a few things," she said in a quiet tone.

He nodded softly, "I'm sorry I never told you. It's not exactly something I ever talk about, only Father and my dad and Spike know, and now all of you. I never wanted you to find out what I am."

"It's not your fault," she whispered as she cautiously stepped forward, still afraid he would disappear again. "Can we talk about everything? I'm not mad but we really need to talk about things."

He nodded and hesitantly sat down on the edge of her bed and waited for her to do the same. She felt horrible that he was looking so scared and unsure, the dark circles under his red rimmed eyes only adding to her guilt. She walked over and positioned herself on his lap to his surprise and hugged him tightly, feelings of relief blossoming in her instantly.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her small body and kissed the top of her head. "What do you want to know?"

She turned to face him and felt her heart break at the pure pain in his eyes. "I want to know why you love me."

A look of confusion appeared on his handsome face, he had clearly expected a different question. "What?"

"It's a simple question Angel."

His eyes narrowed before he sighed softly. "I love you because you're my mate." He noticed her expression start to fall so he pushed on. "I love you because you're my equal. You're strong and kind, intelligent and beautiful. You're the light to my darkness and have given me more hope and love in the last few weeks than I've ever had on earth and in heaven."

She hastily wiped away a tear that had escaped her eye before kissing him softly, "Now prove to me how much you love me."

"Why?" he whispered.

She tilted her head and pulled away, "Why what?"

"Why forgive me? Why do you love me? I'm a thing Buffy. As much as Spike says I'm not I am. I'm not an angel."

Buffy grabbed his face with her tiny hands and pressed their foreheads together. "You're right, you're not an angel. You're more than that. I forgive you because you never did anything wrong and I love you because you're you. You put things in perspective for me and make me happy. You're not a thing Liam and don't let anyone ever tell you that you are."

His response came in the form of a sigh and even though he never said any words Buffy got the silent, 'Thank you.'

She climbed off his lap and grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted, smiling when he let her remove his shirt. "Wings."

His shoulders twitched slightly as the huge feathered objects appeared but he still never spoke or moved. Black eyes followed her movements as she lifted off her own shirt and stood before him shyly. A smile finally broke across his face and he carefully tugged her closer by her hips and captured her lips with his.

A moan sounded from the back of Buffy's throat when his tongue slid into her mouth and she lifted her feet when she felt her pants pool around her ankles. His lips moved away from hers and began kissing down her body while he slid off her underwear and a few minutes later only the sound of heavy panting and flapping wings could be heard.

A while later Angel gently ran his fingers up and down Buffy's back as she played with the waistband of his boxers. "Something bad is going to happen tomorrow isn't it?" she asked softly.

He paused for a moment before continuing to rub her back. "Yes."

She burrowed deeper into his side, "Tomorrow's the day you choose." It wasn't spoken as a question but as a statement. He still confirmed it though.

"Yes it is."

She bit her lip. "Whatever you choose I'll still love you."

"I know," he whispered with a small smile. "Buffy if I choose hell you won't be able to go to heaven." Seeing her nervous expression he continued, "You'd be in an upper layer with me. No torture or fire and brimstone or anything. I'd be like heaven for you but not quite as…. shiny."

She nodded and was quiet for a few minutes. "If you're there I'll be ok."

"I'll always do everything in my power to make you happy Buffy. Forever."

The minutes ticked by until the slayer spoke again. "Will you have to leave tomorrow?" she asked in a small voice.

He rolled on his side so they were facing each other, their noses centimeters apart. When he parted his lips to answer Buffy's finger appeared on them to quiet him. Silent tears gathered and fell from her eyes when she softly whispered, "Lie to me. Please."

Angel swallowed thickly and tried to offer a smile but couldn't muster it. "I'll stay with you forever," he said quietly, his voice cracking mid sentence.

She choked out a watery laugh, "You're not a very good liar."

He threaded his fingers through hers and kissed her tears away. Knowing they needed to get away from this kind of talk to salvage their last night together he said the first thing that popped into his head. "It was unexpected and difficult to see my dad, I find I was unprepared to actually see and speak with him. I've never spoken to him in person before."

Buffy could sympathize, after all her dad was never around either which made seeing him difficult when he actually stopped by. "How did you find out he was your dad?"

"It was obvious from a young age. Every time I set foot in church it felt like my head was going to explode, I could move things with my mind and easily manipulate others to do what I pleased. I had no moral compass. I behaved exactly like you picture the antichrist would."

She wrapped her arm around him and squeezed to show she wanted him to continue and wasn't scared by his words. "I didn't really have a purpose until Father collected me and tried to steer me away from Hell. It backfired in a way though because he made me more powerful than I was. Instead of just being part demon I was now part demon and part angel, all of the strengths and none of the weaknesses. The worst thing is if Father hadn't changed me into an angel I would still be this purely evil demonic thing."

"Did you have a soul when you were human?"

"Not much of one but yeah. I was born mostly human so I had a human soul but it was like it wasn't switched on. No remorse, no guilt, no nothing. See when Father makes an angel he builds off your human soul but with me there wasn't a lot to build on, so instead he had to build off my demonic essence. Hence the black wings and eyes. Thankfully though I at least gained a conscious, or at least part of one."

"Giles said something today and I want to ask you about it but I don't want to offend you."

He met her eyes and was silent for a few seconds before asking, "The animal thing?" Seeing her nod and feeling her relief that he had read her mind and not made her say it he answered. "He was right. Angels are highly intelligent but demons are more feral in nature, because of what I am I got both. The red eyes, the fangs, growls, and temper come from my dad. I don't like being called an animal but it's actually slightly true."

Buffy frowned suddenly, "Wait. I thought Lucifer was an angel. Why would you be half demon?"

"Being in hell so long made Lucifer loose his angelic qualities. His wings that were once soft and pristine turned to rough leather and bone, his teeth turned into fangs and his feet started to turn into hooves when his tail came in. The only thing he retained from heaven was the ability to speak to other angels but everything else he can do comes from hell."

"So how exactly did you… come to be?"

He shook his head, "No idea but I know Lucifer placed me inside my mother's womb. What's sad is that she was a normal, church going woman. She didn't worship the devil or do anything to deserve me as a child." He laughed bitterly. "She always called me her little angel even though she knew I was the spawn of Satan. She loved me so much."

Buffy lifted her head to kiss his chest, "You were her child, she was supposed to love you no matter what. What were your dad and sister like? Did they know?"

Angel was extremely quiet for a very long time obviously debating whether he wanted to answer the questions. "Kathy didn't ever like me, at all. Mom and her husband never said anything about me but she knew I was different, that I didn't belong there. Where Kathy would just avoid me at all costs mom's husband hated me with a passion. He always tried to force me to read the bible even though I'd get nosebleeds, he made me wear rosaries even though they burned me." He stopped speaking for a moment.

"He tried to kill me one night," he said calmly.

Buffy sat up and looked at him in shock, "What?"

Angel turned his head to look at her and placed his hands behind his head, "He tried to smother me but my mother stopped him. In some ways it's a good thing he didn't succeed and in other ways it's a bad thing."

Buffy shook her head, "Never say that. You've done so much more good than bad Angel. Look at you, you protect heaven from evil things. Who else is as pivotal as you are?"

"Exactly. When I choose it won't affect just me, it'll affect every plane of existence. With a single word I can change the entire future."

She watched him as he spoke before her eyes widened, "You've already chosen haven't you?"

"I've weighed my options carefully. I want to be where I'm appreciated, where I can make decisions without second guessing myself. Where I can accomplish the most. I want to be where I belong."

"And where is that?"

He rolled her small body on top of his and pulled her down to meet his lips, "No more talking. Tonight it's just you and I."