Okay, so maybe my muse isn't as disenchanted as I thought. Enjoy!

It was a long time before either of them moved. Neither wanted to let go for fear that it would turn out to be a cruel illusion. Eventually, though, Angel stood up again and rested his forehead against Buffy's. He noticed the dark bruises forming on her neck and pulled away a little, averting his gaze in shame. "I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" she asked. He looked pointedly at her throat. She raised a hand to touch it and winced painfully. "Oh. It's okay. We're supposed to be fighting to the death. Now it looks like we did. But we've got to hide you before they come back."

"Who?"

"Giles's Watcher buddies. It's this evil test thing where they take away the Slayer's strength and then sic a vampire on her."

"Giles did that?" he asked, looking shocked and angry.

"No!" said Buffy hastily. "He was part of it at first, but he tried to stop it. I guess he didn't bet on them coming to grab me out of my room, though. Some birthday." She saw the angry red welts on his wrists and took both of his hands in hers. "What happened to you?"

"I've been in the Council's dungeons for the past few months. I guess they were saving me for this." His expression darkened considerably. "God, if I hadn't won that tournament…."

"What tournament?" she asked.

"I wasn't the only one there at first. They had seven other vampires locked up too. Old vampires. A few of them older than me." Buffy's expression was growing more horrified with every word he spoke. "They made us fight until only one was left. I won, and then I found out that I would be used for the Cruciamentum. I didn't know what it meant; I thought it was just going to be some kind of torture for me. But if one of the others had beaten me—," he broke off, shuddering as his mind presented him with horrible images of a defenseless Buffy being brutally mauled by the insatiably blood-thirsty Erebus or being gruesomely tortured by Demetri. But they were dust, he reminded himself, and he was here with Buffy. Everything would be all right.

"And the Council was behind this?" she asked. "As in, the Watchers' Council?" He nodded, and she chuckled angrily. "I knew I didn't like them. What did they do to you?"

"It was bad at first. Starvation rations, physical abuse." He broke off again, snorting. "Compared to Hell, though, it was like a day at the spa." Buffy looked away. "What?" he asked, hooking a finger under her chin and gently tilting her face until she looked back into his eyes.

"I sent you there," she said, her already painful throat tightening as she remembered what the First had said while impersonating him. She closed her eyes, and a few more tears leaked out. "You must hate me so much." When she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to find him looking at her like she had gone insane.

"I could never hate you, Buffy," he said softly, shaking his head. "Never. I love you. You did it to save the world. I can't hold that against you." He almost added "and I deserved it anyway," but knew that it would send them into a circular argument about whether he was innocent of Angelus's crimes or not, and he didn't want to go into that with her like he had done several times with Wesley.

Buffy's heart swelled. After everything he'd been through, after what she'd done to him, he loved her still. "I love you, too, Angel," she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "It hurt so much when you were gone. I tried to move on, but I couldn't do it. And you've been in Hell and then a dungeon all this time." She stopped, frowning. Then her eyes widened and she seized his hands more tightly than before. "Was the dungeon a dark room with crosses on the door?"

"Yeah," he said slowly.

"The dreams were real," she gasped. "I've been seeing you in that cell in my dreams for months, but I could never figure out what it meant."

"Then you were really there," he said. "Sometimes, when I was asleep, you were there with me." She nodded, smiling tearfully. "I thought you'd been coming from Heaven to visit me," he whispered, lifting a hand to touch her face, "because Hell lost its power over me after the first time you came."

Buffy was suddenly overwhelmed again by the reality of his presence after so long—much longer for him—, and she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could with the drugs still sapping her strength. He returned the embrace, pulling her as close to him as she could get. They remained that way for several long moments, before Giles's words from months ago came floating out of Buffy's memory.

"We have to get you out of here," she said, looking up at him urgently.

"Why?" he asked. He was smiling, and she had to beat away a sudden fierce desire to kiss him. Now was not the moment for that. He was in danger.

"If they come back and one of us isn't dead, something bad will happen. Giles never told them that we were together. If they find out, they'll take you away again. Probably kill you."

"Let them try," Angel growled. What wouldn't he give to make those men pay for what they'd done to him and Buffy….

"No!" she said. "If they were powerful enough to capture you and seven other old vampires, how can you be sure you won't just end up back in that cell?"

"Because this time I'll be ready for them," he said, his lip curling. It was too bad Weatherby and Smith weren't here as well.

"I won't risk losing you again," she said firmly. "If we just play this out as if I passed their test, they'll go back to England and you'll be safe." She looked imploringly into his eyes. "Please, Angel."

"Okay," he said reluctantly.

"Good," she said. "Now we just have to find a way to get you out of here without getting you crispy-fried."

"Any sewer access?" he asked.

"No idea. Never been here before."

Together, they walked through the ground floor and basement. The search of the basement yielded nothing, but they found a door in the kitchen and another in the back, both boarded up. Then, while Angel waited inside, Buffy checked all around the rotting old building. Finally, she found a manhole in the weed-ridden alleyway separating the boarding house from another place in equal need of renovation. The boarding house's barricaded kitchen door led to this alleyway, and the other building cast heavy shadows over it. Feeling elated by this discovery, Buffy ran back around the front and disappeared inside again.

"Angel?" she called loudly.

"I'm here," he said, practically materializing beside her. "Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, we just have to get through the door in the kitchen."

Despite how much effort Blair and Hobson had put into them, Angel had the boards down and the door open within minutes. He then made similarly short work of the manhole cover.

"Where will you go?" Buffy asked.

"The apartment," he said. "I own it, and I never went there again after—it should still be the way I left it." He shifted awkwardly, remembering exactly what he had said to her the last time he'd been in that apartment, and her face as he left her there in tears. Thankfully, Buffy chose that moment to save him from the unpleasant recollection.

"I'll meet you there once the guys from the Council are gone," she said. He nodded, but he had only taken one step toward the manhole before he spun back around and pulled her into a heated, passionate kiss. It was lucky that Buffy remembered to breathe through her nose, because it went on for several minutes. Even though it had only been eight months for her, it had been a century for him, and he couldn't have held back if he'd tried.

"I'll see you tonight," he said after they broke apart, and he turned and jumped down the manhole. Buffy remained there in the alleyway long after he had gone, feeling warmer and happier than she had in months—not to mention thoroughly dazed and as if her legs had turned to jelly.

When she finally came back to Earth, she began to make her way into town. She had no idea how she was going to tell the others about this, but Giles would probably find out from the Council guys anyway. She was still horrified at what he had done to her, but in her current euphoric state, it was easier to remember the remorse and self-hatred in his voice when he told her about the test. He was still on her side; she knew it.

[o]

Buffy arrived at the library and immediately saw a short, stocky, gray-haired man talking to an infuriated Giles. She was incensed to see the two men who'd taken her from her room standing there as well. Of the four of them, Giles saw her first.

"Buffy!" he cried, looking relieved beyond words. "Thank God you're all right!" The gray-haired man gave him a "well, of course she is" sort of look, which made Buffy dislike him even more.

"Yeah," she said, flashing Giles a small smile.

"And Angelus?" asked the gray-haired man. Giles looked from him to Buffy in alarm. Buffy shook her head almost imperceptibly at him, and he rearranged his features so that his shock was no longer visible.

"Dust," she lied.

"Then congratulations, you passed. The Council will be very pleased to hear it."

"Do I get a gold star?" she asked, glaring daggers at her abductors.

"I understand that you're upset—," the gray-haired man began.

"You understand nothing," said Buffy with forced calm. "You had them take me from my home and put me in that place with him unconscious and without weapons."

"You think the test was unfair?"

"I think you better leave town before I get my strength back."

"We're not in the business of fair, Miss Summers, we're fighting a war."

"You're waging a war, Quentin," Giles corrected him. "She's fighting it. There is a difference."

"Mr. Giles, if you don't mind," said Quentin, who was obviously growing weary of his insubordination.

"The test is done," said Giles. "We're finished." He turned away.

"Not quite," said Quentin. "She passed. You didn't. The Slayer is not the only one who must perform in this situation. I've recommended to the Council, and they've agreed, that you be relieved of your duties as Watcher immediately. You're fired."

Buffy and Giles both gaped at him, but Giles was the first to recover. "On what grounds?" he demanded.

"Your affection for your charge has rendered you incapable of clear and impartial judgment," said Quentin. "You have a father's love for the child, and that is useless to the cause." Buffy looked at Giles, her eyes softening. "It would be best if you had no further contact with the Slayer." Now she looked at Quentin in horror. He couldn't….

"I'm not going anywhere," said Giles harshly. Buffy wilted slightly in relief.

"No, well, I didn't expect you would adhere to that," said Quentin. "However, if you interfere with the new Watcher, or countermand his authority in any way, you will be dealt with. Are we clear?"

"Oh, we're very clear," said Giles.

Quentin turned back to Buffy and inclined his head. "Congratulations again."

She glared at him in loathing. "Bite me."

"Yes, well, colorful girl," said Quentin. He and the other two men departed without another word.

Giles waited until several minutes after he was sure they were gone before looking at Buffy. "Was he serious?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Buffy. "Angel's back. Soul and all."

Despite her veiled joyful expression, Giles frowned, looking at the angry purple bruising on her neck. "Did he do that to you?"

"He was in Hell for a hundred years and didn't realize it hasn't been that long here. He thought I was dead, so when he saw me today, he thought I was a trick that Quentin guy was using to hurt him. He's been in the Council's dungeon for months. That's what I kept seeing in my dreams, Giles."

Giles was still wary even though all of the pieces fit together so well. "You're quite sure he's back to...his usual self?"

"Yes," she said vehemently.

They looked at each other for a long moment. "Be careful," he said finally.

"I know," she replied with a grateful smile.

The title of this one is about how Buffy thought Angel was in Hell while he thought she was in Heaven. Hence, also, the title of the whole story, "Worlds Apart". Nifty, huh? The only sad (and also rather ironic, actually) thing about Buffy and Angel being together at last is that it means he's going to have to start wearing a shirt again. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some. Also, sorry to disappoint those of you who expected a confrontation with the Council, but no matter how angry with them Buffy and Angel are, they're not stupid enough to pick that fight on purpose.