"Mom?" Buffy asked, her voice filled with terror.

"Get inside," Joyce ordered. Buffy obliged.

"You lied to us," Ted said. "You said you were spending the night at Willow's."

"That's where I was," Buffy replied, trying to maintain the façade. "I was just coming home to check in with you."

"We called Mrs. Rosenberg," Joyce said. "She thought Willow was staying over at our house. Not only did you lie to us, but you got your friends to help cover for you while you stayed out all night! And there's no telling how many times you've pulled this stunt before."

It also disturbed Joyce that Sheila hadn't been terribly concerned about this. She knew Sheila wasn't as close to Willow as she was to Buffy, but still…

"Mom…" Buffy started.

"Were you with Angel?" Ted accused. "Is that what you were doing?"

"…yes," Buffy admitted.

"What did you do? Were you doing drugs?"

"No," Buffy shook her head. "We… we slept together."

Oh my God.

Joyce simply stared, trying to take this in. Buffy had said that they hadn't gotten that far yet, but Joyce wasn't sure if she believed her. Had she lied about that? Or had this been Buffy's first time, some sort of romantic birthday present?

Ted kept talking. Joyce was really glad to have him there. He could play the strong father figure.

"Buffy, this is unacceptable. I don't want you seeing him again."

Buffy looked down glumly while Joyce thought about this. It was her first reaction, but Joyce doubted that Buffy would actually listen to her. She was in love with the guy.

And Angel wasn't some football jock. He was an adult, a college graduate. And while Joyce thought he was a little too old for Buffy, that might actually be an advantage now. He could probably be reasoned with.

"No," Joyce said.

"What?" came the reply from both Buffy and Ted.

"Joyce, we can't just let this slide."

"Yes, but I'm not just going to tell Buffy she can't see her boyfriend again."

"So, what are we going to do?"

Joyce turned back to Buffy.

"Buffy, what you did was unacceptable. So you're grounded. Indefinitely."

Buffy's face sank.

"Now, once we're done, I'm going to call Angel, and have him come over. I think he'll understand what kind of behavior is acceptable after we talk to him. He can still tutor you in history, he can come over for dinner, and maybe, once you've regained my trust, you can go out with him again."

Buffy sighed with relief.

"Willow and Xander, on the other hand…"

"What about them?"

"I thought they were good kids, but they've helped you lie to me – and lied to their own parents, no doubt. They're a bad influence on you. I don't want you to see or hang out with them again. Ever."

This was the real punishment. Angel could be part of the solution, but Willow and Xander were clearly part of the problem. And Joyce didn't trust their parents to handle things on their end. Ira and Sheila were too distant, and Xander's parents… well, hearing Xander talk about them was enough.

"Mom, they're my friends. They're my only friends."

"Not anymore."

"But, Mom –"

"Buffy, you lied to me. There are consequences! I am your mother, and so long as you live in this house, you will do as I say!"

"Mom, I can't lose Willow and Xander!" Tears were streaming down her face.

"Buffy, you have to make a choice. It's them or me."

Buffy stopped crying. She looked at Joyce, her face resolute.

"I love you, Mom. I want you to know that."

"Of course you do."

Then Buffy said the worst thing she could have said:

"Goodbye."

Joyce stood there in shock as her daughter turned around and walked out the door.

Xander found Cordelia in the stacks.

"Did you find anything?" he asked as he shelved his book.

"This book mentions the Judge, but nothing useful. Big, scary, no weapon forged can stop him, took an army to take him down. Blah, blah, blah."

"We need some insight, a weak spot."

"Well, we're not gonna find it here." Cordelia shelved her book as Xander came over to her. She turned to face him.

"Sorry I snapped at you before," he said.

"Well, I'm reeling from that new experience," she replied.

"I was crazed. I wasn't thinking."

"I know. You were too busy rushing off to die for your beloved Buffy," she pouted. "You'd never die for me."

Xander leaned in a little closer. "I might die from you, does that get me any points?"

"No."

"Come on, can't we just kiss and make up?"

"I don't want to make up." Xander started to go when Cordelia stopped him. "But I'm okay with the other part," she smiled.

Xander smiled and kissed her. When they pulled apart, Xander saw Willow standing near the stacks. She had a horrible look on her face, a mixture of confusion, anger, sadness, and betrayal.

"Willow!" he called. But she simply ran off. Xander ran after her. Angel got up and tried to stop her, but she simply bowled over him. Xander caught up with her in the hallway.

"Willow, come on!" he said.

Willow turned and confronted him, shaking her finger. "I knew it! I knew it! Well, not 'knew it' in the sense of having the slightest idea, but I knew there was something I didn't know. You two were fighting way too much. It's not natural!"

"I know it's weird," Xander tried to explain.

"Weird? It's against all laws of God and man! It's Cordelia! Remember? The, the 'We Hate Cordelia' club, of which you are the treasurer!"

"Look, I was gonna tell you."

Tears were now streaming down Willow's face. "Gee, what stopped you? Could it be shame?"

"All right, let's overreact, shall we? Willow, we were just kissing. It doesn't mean that much."

Willow composed herself, before she delivered the killing blow.

"No. It just means that you'd rather be with someone you hate than be with me."

She headed back to the library. Xander stood there, wishing the Judge would come and burn him.

He heard footsteps behind him. Could it be? He turned around to face his executioner.

But it wasn't the Judge. It was something worse.

It was Buffy. And the expression on her face made the one Willow was wearing look like a cheery smile. The front of her shirt was stained with tears

Angel was there in a moment. And for once, Xander was grateful for his apparent ability to appear out of nowhere. Buffy needed him.

"Buffy, what happened?" Angel asked. "Did you go home and see your mom?"

Buffy looked at him. Her voice was strained, like she had been crying and crying and crying.

"I don't have a home anymore."

"When I got there, she and Ted were waiting for me," Buffy said.

"They knew that I hadn't spent the night at Willow's – they spoke to your mom," she looked at Willow, who was still recovering from the revelation about Xander and Cordelia. She was still hurt, but that was at best third on their list of priorities, behind stopping the Judge and, most important of all, helping Buffy.

"They figured out that I had spent the night with Angel, that we had –"

Everyone visibly reacted to the unspoken revelation. Willow almost smiled. But nobody said anything. It didn't matter that Buffy and Angel had slept together. What mattered was that Joyce had found out.

"Mom said that I was grounded. She said that I had broken her trust. And then –"

"What?" Willow asked.

"She said that I couldn't see you again. Ever."

"Me?" Angel asked.

"Not you. She was actually going to call you and talk to you. But Willow and Xander – she said she didn't want me to see them again."

"Maybe if you explained…" Cordelia started.

"What? Explained that my boyfriend was a vampire? That the reason I had stayed out all night was so we could stop an invincible demon bent on killing every person on Earth? I'd be lucky if she simply thought I was lying."

"I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen. She said I had to make a choice between her and my friends."

"Buffy," Willow said, "you didn't have to choose us over your mother. I mean, we're your friends and all, but she's your mother."

"How could I not choose you?" Tears continued to stream down Buffy's face as she addressed her friends. "I need you, Willow. I need you too, Xander. And Angel. And Giles. And Jenny. And even Cordelia. Without you, I can't do my job."

"What do you mean?"

"How many times have you saved my life? How many times have you spent hours researching some monster so I could stop it? It wasn't a choice between my mother and my friends. It was a choice between keeping my home and saving the world."

Willow was in awe. She hadn't thought of herself that way. But it was true. They had been helping Buffy from the beginning. And now she had chosen them over her own family.

"What did you do?" Giles finally asked.

"What I came to do." Buffy took a deep breath. "I told her that I loved her. And then I turned around and walked out the door."

She broke down again. Wordless, crying, devastated.

"Come with me," Angel said. He held Buffy by the shoulders, and walked her out of the library. Willow simply looked after her.

Angel led Buffy to a vacant classroom. She needed some time to compose herself, but Angel had no intention of leaving her alone.

"Angel, I don't know what I'm going to do," she sobbed, leaning into him.

He had to help her. But how?

He had to throw her a lifeline. But it had to be more than simply letting her live with him. Buffy had just been rejected by her family. She needed something to replace that. As good as Xander and Willow were to her, they were just friends. Giles had been – and would no doubt continue to be – Buffy's Watcher and father figure, but that wasn't enough.

There was only one thing Angel could do.

He got down on his knees and took Buffy's right hand in his own.

"Buffy, will you marry me?"