Even though she knew it was impossible Angel looked to Buffy like he had aged substantially since the last time she saw him. She knew she must look just as bad, the stress of Faith's infection and the ever looming danger of the First constantly hanging over her head.

"Angel?" she asked again.

"I found something," he said his voice weary.

"You found something?" Giles asked having come to see who was at the door, "Where did you source your information?"

"What did you find?" Buffy asked ignoring Giles' question.

"I think you better sit down," he said as Buffy ushered him inside, "It's not good."

"What do you mean it's not good?" Buffy asked hating how shrill her voice sounded, "You said you'd found something, so something is better than nothing right?"

"You should sit down," Angel said again watching as she paced frantically in front of him, "It'll be better if you hear it sitting down."

"How did you even find anything? We've been looking forever and we haven't found anything. Can you even be sure whatever you've found is even legit? Can we even trust this guy you got your info from? I swear to God if you tell me to sit..." she said in warning as Angel opened his mouth to speak.

"Buffy maybe if we just let Angel speak we can go from there," Giles suggested kindly, noting his Slayer's agitation, "Angel if you will..."

"Cordelia had a vision, of a demon living in a cave deep in the Nevada desert and she didn't see much in the vision but she said she got a feeling that he knew something so Gunn and I headed out there. Cordelia's vision didn't give us much to go on so it took us awhile to find the cave but when we did, well what we found wasn't pretty," Angel sighed.

"He was dead?" Buffy asked her shoulders slumping as she prepared herself for another dose of bad news.

"He may as well have been, someone had gotten there before us, someone knew that he knew something and they didn't want us to know what it was."

"The First," Buffy sighed finally taking Angel's advice and sitting on the couch.

"Someone who works for him," Angel nodded, "We thought he was dead his injuries were so extensive but as we were about to leave he called out to us. He could hardly speak but he knew stuff, I don't know how because he didn't last long enough to tell us why he knew what he did but he was certain it was legit and unfortunately it sounds cruel enough for me to believe that it is true."

"Cruel enough?" Giles asked.

"The Powers never make anything easy do they" Angel said sadly rubbing his brow.

"Angel, what did he tell you?" Buffy asked.

"There is a cure, something that will reverse the effects of the Turok Han venom, but it's impossible, it can't be done, it's too dangerous," Angel said looking seriously into Buffy's eyes as if willing her to believe him.

"Angel if there's a cure we have to do it," Buffy said incredulously, wondering why he would even consider letting Faith die, "Nothing is more dangerous than Faith dying and turning into one of them."

"I know she wouldn't want it, this cure. I know her and she wouldn't want it even if it meant she died," Angel said.

"Yeah well she's not really up to making any decisions right now is she," Buffy exploded, "In case nobody has noticed she's downstairs and she's in pain and she's becoming something that we were born to destroy, I'm sorry Angel but we were. There is nothing that she would hate more than becoming one of them."

"There is," Angel said softly, "And I would know because I've been there and I hated it."

"Angel what are you talking about?" Buffy asked.

"It's your blood, the cure," he said, "The only thing that will stop the transformation, reverse the effects is to drain the blood of a Slayer."

"Woah déjà vu much," Xander said stepping into the living room.

"You see, that's why it's impossible and that's why she wouldn't want to do it," Angel said, "She loves you Buffy and she would never want to do anything that would hurt you in any way.

"Seeing her die would hurt me, sitting back and knowing I could do something to stop her from hurting would hurt me," Buffy said softly.

"It's too risky," Angel pleaded.

"And it wouldn't be the first time I risked my life to save someone I love," Buffy argued, "In case you don't remember me risking my life is one of the reasons why you're still around."

"Of course I remember!" Angel all but shouted, "And I know how guilty I felt when I had to look at you in that hospital bed and know that I was the one who put you there. Faith couldn't live with herself if she went too far, if she couldn't stop that would be it, she couldn't come back from it. Knowing she had killed you would kill her."

"And seeing her die knowing I could've cured her would kill me," Buffy yelled.

"But of course," Giles said, "It's too perfect."

"What is?" Buffy asked turning away from Angel to look at her Watcher.

"It's the perfect weapon either way. If Faith dies the First has a powerful new ally in her newly vampiric form and the Slayer is devastated and distracted by her death but if she is to cure the other, if you were to let Faith drink from you then there is the gigantic possibility that she could go too far and kill you and then she would be destroyed or the amount that she does drink incapacitates you enough so that you are unable to participate in the battle," Giles said, "Don't you see? Buffy it was planned from the beginning, he wants you both out of the war and this is the way that he is going to go about doing it. You cannot do this. You risk not only your life but the fate of the entire world if you let Faith drink from you."

Buffy looked at him in utter disbelief. Here was the man who just hours before had promised to do everything in his power to see her happy and to save Faith's life was now standing there and telling her to let Faith die.

"I love her," Buffy said, "I love her and you're telling me to just sit back and watch as she becomes...I won't do it, I won't let her die."

"Buffy you have to listen..." Giles called after her as she retreated from the room.

"No you listen!" she whirled around a tear catching the light on her cheek, "I'm sick and tired of losing the people I care about. I'm doing this and you can either support me and make sure that I don't die or you can sit back and do nothing and basically sign both of our death certificates."

With that the blonde Slayer turned and stormed off, the slamming of the basement door making them all jump.

"Seriously, déjà vu much."