A/N: Aw, guys! You are SO fantabulous! Thank you, thank you for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter! I'm glad all of you liked the fluff! I'm always a little iffy on fluff because I don't want to overdo it! Anywho, thank you all again for the reviews! Made me smile!

Now, I'm a little depressed today. It's my first day back at school and like any self-respecting teen I'm not too thrilled to be going back into the dark depths of the hormone rampant, insufferable institution known as high school. BUT I find solace in FF and my readers! So, thanks for being awesome.

Okay, moving forward to this chapter! I enjoyed this chapter. Particularly the very end. You'll see why. Just a warning, it might prompt joyous squeals of delight (at least I hope so, otherwise it's an epic fail). :D

Random Disclaimer: (I don't own Buffy).

Buffy: Alright, what's goin' on in this chapter?

Me: Well, I, you know what? I'm not telling.

Buffy: Excuse me? I don't even get a little hint?

Me: Um...no.

Angel: That's not really fair.

Me: Life's not fair hot stuff.

Buffy: Did you just call him 'hot stuff'?

Me: Well yeah. Seriously, look at him. Don't you agree?

Buffy: (looks Angel up and down) Mmm...

Me: (smiles dreamily) Yeah. I know.

Heartthrob Part Two

"So much for not inviting everyone," Gunn murmured as he picked up a flyer from the bloodstained floor.

"Angel, tell me some of them are still alive," Buffy pleaded quietly as she looked at all the motionless bodies that lay scattered across the floor.

"Some of them are still alive," Angel assured her, and Buffy relaxed a little bit.

Wesley pulled out his phone and called 911. "There's been an accident," he said vaguely to the operator. "We need two, maybe three ambulances," Wesley elaborated further as Buffy and Angel began to move around the room.

"…Wilson College, Bonner Hall, room 918. Please, hurry." Wesley promptly hung up and returned the phone to his pocket.

"They're heading east on Sixth Street," Angel told them. "Take the car."

"What are you going to do?" Gunn asked curiously.

Angel turned back to face them, wearing what Buffy had so long ago dubbed his 'game-face.'

"Oh," Gunn answered his own question as Angel jumped out the window and leapt onto the roof.

Buffy smirked, tempted to follow Angel, but decided she'd better accompany Wesley and Gunn. "Let's go kiddos," she said as they ran for the car.

Gunn slid into the driver's seat and for once Wesley didn't argue, dutifully taking the passenger's side as Buffy climbed into the back.

"Punch it Gunn," Buffy ordered and Gunn allowed himself a small, indulgent quirk of his lips as he gave the Plymouth some gas, causing the engine to roar as they shot forward.

They drove for a minute or so before they turned on Sixth Street, and all of them kept an eye out for anything suspicious. "Anyone see anything?"

"Negative," Wesley replied as he scanned the night.

"How do we know we're even headed in the right direction?" Gunn asked as he passed a car going far too slow.

"We are," Buffy said surely. "Angel's around here somewhere."

"How do ya know?"

"I just know, Gunn," Buffy replied before she saw a car ahead of them and her Slayer senses began to tingle. "That's them," she said confidently just as a figure jumped onto the hood of the car and punched the driver.

"Well, we found Angel," Wesley observed as Gunn slammed the brakes and the Plymouth screeched to a halt.

Buffy was out of the car before it'd stopped moving, immediately attacking a vamp who'd tried to sneak up on Angel and stake him in the back as he was pulling the hostages from the car. Buffy grabbed the vamp's shoulders and threw him away from Angel. Behind her, she heard Angel tell the hostages to run.

Growling, the vamp charged at her, but Buffy held her ground. Once he was within arm's reach, Buffy grabed his arm, violently twisting it behind his back. She let his momentum propel him forward into the side door of the car, his head making a neat dent in the metal. Too dazed by the hit, the vamp didn't even have time to defend himself before Buffy staked him through the back.

Gunn and Wesley joined the party then, and they all divvied up opponents. Wesley was fighting a female vampire who looked like she was no more than eighteen, and Gunn was fighting a seemingly skinny wimp of a vampire, but Buffy could tell that he was fast.

Angel had his hands full with the driver of the car and a blonde, female vamp who kept hitting him from behind. Buffy decided that this was not only completely unfair, but a personal insult.

"Hey, bitch with the fangs!" Buffy called as she grabbed the vamp's shoulder and spun her around. "You can look, but don't touch!" she said before punching the blonde vampire in the face.

The vamp touched her split lip in outrage, shrieking before launching herself at Buffy. She sent a flurry of punches and kicks at the Slayer, all of which were neatly avoided. Seeing that a direct, technical approach wasn't in her favor, the vamp lunged at Buffy, tackling her to the ground.

Buffy rolled so that she was on top and punched the vampire in the face twice, but then she was being flipped through the air. Buffy landed on the pavement hard and saw black spots in her vision from the impact. She saw the blurry form of the vamp raise a stake and her eyes widened.

Then Angel was there, grabbing the vamp's arm and throwing her into the car. Buffy relaxed slightly, blinked furiously so she wouldn't see double, and then rolled to her feet, clutching her head as a wave of dizziness hit her.

Fighting the sensation, Buffy looked over at Angel just in time to see him stake the blonde vampire.

"Angelus?" the vampire asked confused before she exploded into dust.

Buffy approached Angel slowly, cautiously laying a hand on his forearm. "Did you know her?" she asked curiously, looking down at the locket he now clutched in his hand.

Angel looked at the locket, recognizing it and the memories that it brought forth, before he looked up at Buffy. "Yeah…her name was Elizabeth."

"Anyone mind telling me why I'm here?" Cordelia griped half-heartedly as she plopped down on the couch in the lobby. "Cause I was getting along really well with Relaxation…I mean I had a hot bath and bubbles and Denis was taking care of me and…"

"Sorry Cordy, but it's story time," Buffy apologized with a slight smile at Cordelia's little rant. "Angel knew the blonde."

"What is it with you and blondes?" Cordelia asked Angel who was leaning against the reception desk.

"What's wrong with blondes?" Buffy interrupted before Angel could answer.

"Oh, you're fine Buffy. I mean, you aren't evil or soulless," Cordelia said quickly, before looking at Angel. "I mean seriously…Darla…Elizabeth…any other blondes we don't know about?"

"Don't answer that," Buffy told Angel, causing Wes to shake his head wryly, and Gunn to chuckle. This was just another day at the office.

"Elizabeth and I were never together," Angel told Cordelia, though the statement was directed to the whole AI crew.

Wesley leaned against the reception desk beside Angel, and Gunn turned a chair around backwards and sat down, resting his arms on the back. Cordelia sat up on the couch and waited with a mask of patience for the story to begin, while Buffy jumped up to sit on top of the reception desk on Angel's other side.

Angel looked around him, taking in all of his friend's curious stares. If someone had told him a few years ago that he'd be regaling his friends with stories of his past, and that said friends would actually see it more like a campfire story than a horror story, Angel would have laughed in their face. But here he was, about to tell them a story of his past…knowing that they wouldn't think anything different of him.

"What's the timeline?" Buffy asked as she laid a hand on his shoulder.

Angel thought for a moment. "I was young…it was 1767 Marseilles," he decided. "Darla and I were running from Holtz. He'd found us, again, because of Elizabeth and James."

"James?" Gunn questioned curiously.

"Elizabeth's lover," Angel answered before sighing. "Though they were as close to in love as you can get being soulless…not obsessive like Spike and Dru were, but really in love…they truly cared about each other. They were possessive of course, but all vampire relationships are like that. James and Elizabeth just seemed to go beyond that. They'd do anything for each other, but Darla and I didn't think anything of it. I only gave them a century, Darla gave them even less."

"Anyway, they'd killed the Count de Leon, and burnt down his villa, which was stupid," Angel couldn't help but add with irritation as he shook his head. "It was a big neon sign to Holtz, and we were running from him—trying to get to the docks and hop a ship to Morocco."

"What about the locket?" Wesley asked, unable to keep his curiosity in check any longer.

"I was getting there," Angel scolded half-heartedly. He was used to these interruptions. "We were on our way to the docks when Elizabeth saw it in a store window. She mentioned it, and of course, James wouldn't deny her anything so he stole it for her."

"Ah, the romance," Cordelia muttered with a small smirk from her place on the couch.

"That's what Darla and I thought," Angel nodded. "We just didn't understand them or their relationship, but anyway, after James had stolen it, the cops came, and James sent Elizabeth with Darla to the docks while James and I stayed behind to deal with the cops. I wasn't too thrilled."

"So James and I are waiting for the cops to come, but then they all start to scatter. James thinks we just scared them off by standing up to them, but I didn't think so. Not five seconds later Holtz and his men had us surrounded…" Angel trailed off, absorbed in memories, and Buffy recognized the faraway look in his eye. Trying to snap him out of it, Buffy squeezed his shoulder, but Angel didn't respond.

"Then what?" Gunn interrupted, enraptured with the tale.

Buffy squeezed Angel's shoulder a little bit harder. "Huh?" Angel asked distantly, memories of Holtz slowly fading away as reality came back into focus.

"What happened with Holtz?" Gunn pursued curiously.

Angel shook his head, not wanting to talk about Holtz any longer. Those were the memories that haunted Angel the most, second only to killing Kathy.

"Oh, that's another story," Angel diverted and he absentmindedly reached up to grab Buffy's hand that still rested on his shoulder.

Angel might not have noticed his action, but Buffy did and her 'Angel sense' told her that Holtz was a really sore subject. Buffy hopped down from the reception desk, and leaned into him, offering him some silent comfort. Angel's arm immediately wound around her waist to keep her close to him, and Buffy doubted he was conscious of the action.

"We got time," Gunn argued, anxious to hear more of the story.

"I'm not so sure we do," Wesley interjected, thinking back to the story, specifically the relationship between James and Elizabeth that Angel had described.

Cordelia and Buffy shared a comprehending look. "No, 'cause James and Elizabeth had the big forever kind of love. If he's still around and he finds out who killed her…" Cordelia trailed off and looked at Angel pointedly.

"He's going to want revenge," Wesley finished for Cordelia, picking up where she'd left off.

"If he's still around, and if they're still in love," Angel argued, playing devil's advocate. "It was a long time ago."

"She's still wearing that locket after two hundred plus years," Buffy pointed out as Wesley pushed himself away from the reception desk.

"Gunn and I'll head out and see what our sources can tell us," he said as Gunn nodded and rose to follow.

"See?" Cordelia said proudly. "We have sources now."

"Wow," Angel retorted dryly. "You're almost like real detectives."

"Hey," Gunn frowned slightly, looking mildly insulted, though it was mostly for show.

"Angel's just trying to be funny," Buffy said with a small smile.

"I can be funny," Angel pouted slightly.

Buffy patted his chest. "I know you can, honey."

Angel shook his head, and rolled his eyes before looking back at Gunn and Wes who were almost out the door. "You should probably check it out," he said seriously.

Angel looked down at the locket he still held in his hand. "James really lived for that girl," he said to himself as an uneasy feeling settled within him.

This case was hitting just a little close to home.

Buffy looked up from her Cosmo to look at Angel. He hadn't said much since Wes and Gunn had left. Cordelia had left not long after, after Buffy's insistence. Buffy had cornered the Seer and demanded to know what was going on. She hadn't forgotten about the extra pain that Cordelia had been in after her vision. She'd warned the Seer that they'd talk later, and she'd kept her promise.

"I thought you'd forgotten," Cordelia muttered. "Hoped. This is what I get for hoping."

"Cordy, what's wrong?" Buffy asked softly. "I know that something's wrong…the vision's are getting worse, aren't they?" she assumed.

Cordelia bit her lip, but sighing in defeat. "Yeah…it's getting worse every time."

"We have to tell Angel," Buffy decided immediately and Cordelia shook her head, panicking.

"No!" she argued, though it was more of a plea. "He'll try to take the visions away in a noble, yet annoying attempt to help me! I need these visions Buffy. It gives me a-a purpose and I need that!"

Nullified for a moment, an understanding smile pulled at Buffy's lips. "I know, Cordy. Believe me, I know how you feel. But if these keep getting worse we're going to have to tell Angel. I'm going to have to tell Angel. I don't like keeping secrets from him…"

"Please Buffy," Cordelia begged. "I'm pulling a best friend card here."

"Okay."

Buffy frowned. She hated keeping things from Angel, but Cordelia had pulled the best friend card, and Buffy couldn't ignore that. Although, if it ended up that telling Angel was for Cordelia's own good, Buffy wouldn't hesitate.

So, aside from Cordy's visions, Buffy also had to worry about Angel.

He'd been quiet, which really wasn't all that unusual. But there was a difference between Angel's normal quiet and this quiet. Normal quiet was filled with lots and lots of loving looks and the occasional slap on the butt as Buffy walked by (the first time Buffy had nearly jumped through the ceiling in surprise). Normal Angel quiet was usually filled with a little bit of playfulness.

This quiet was simply...quiet. It was broody, and Buffy didn't like the tension it created in the air.

Buffy glanced at Angel again who was sitting in his office, his feet propped up on his desk as he held the locket in his hands. He hadn't put it down once. With a sigh, Buffy got up from the couch and swayed a little bit as another wave of dizziness hit her. Attributing it to getting up too quickly, Buffy waited for it to pass and then went to Angel's office.

He didn't look up as she entered, or when she sat on the arm of his chair and let her hands slide around his shoulders, placing a loving kiss on his neck. Buffy frowned and made a noise of discontent.

"You're doing wonders for my confidence here," Buffy said dryly.

At that Angel turned in the chair and hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her into his lap and kissing her soundly on the lips. "Hmm…never mind," Buffy murmured when he pulled away.

Buffy stared into his eyes for a moment, and Angel fought he urge to look away. He hated it when she did that. He couldn't hide anything from her when she looked at him that way.

"Go ahead and say it," Angel sighed.

"Say what?" Buffy asked raising her eyebrows.

"Whatever it is you're going to say," he elaborated.

Buffy frowned. "How do you know I was going say something?"

"Because I know you."

Buffy smiled softly, and kissed him tenderly. "Yeah, you do," she agreed when she pulled away. "Now…do you feel guilty for her death?"

"No," Angel shook his head. "I didn't even know who she was when I killed her. All I knew was that she was trying to hurt you…"

Buffy's eyes narrowed slightly. Something in her gut told her that this had a lot more to do with her, than Elizabeth. "Do you feel guilty for my death?" she asked, causing Angel to look at her sharply before immediately tearing his gaze away to look at the locket again.

That was all the answer Buffy needed.

"Angel," Buffy said gently. "Look at me," she ordered softly, but Angel studiously kept his gaze from hers. "Please?" Buffy added, though it was more of a plea, and Angel couldn't deny her what she wanted, so he met her gaze. Buffy's heart broke at the guilt there, but even more so at the understanding in his eyes.

"You know how he feels," Buffy guessed. "James…you know what it's like."

"It's not the same, exactly," Angel told her quietly. "I was there…I helped you fight…but I couldn't save you—like James couldn't save Elizabeth."

"We both knew what had to happen," Buffy said softly as she caressed his face.

"I wanted to die with you, you know," Angel told her. "I didn't want to live without you."

"I know," Buffy said quietly, feeling tears pool in her eyes as she remembered their tearful goodbye atop the platform. "Why do you think I asked you to live? I made you promise because I knew you wouldn't break it."

"Even then you still played dirty," Angel said with a slight quirk of his lips.

"Duh," Buffy smiled playfully, trying to shake away the serious tension their reminiscing had brought on.

"I love you," Angel said softly as he ran a hand through her hair and pulled her face to his for a kiss.

Buffy smiled into the kiss and when Angel pulled away, Buffy left a trail of kisses along his jaw, stopping at the sensitive spot behind his ear as she let her hands slide down his chest, causing an appreciative growl to build in Angel's throat.

Then, a growl that was definitely not Angel's sounded from behind them. Angel moved so fast that Buffy didn't even know how she went from being in his lap to sitting in his office chair by herself as Angel stood in front of her, effectively blocking her from view.

"Why'd you do it?" James asked quietly, standing in the entryway of the office.

Angel didn't answer, merely moving around the desk slowly, holding Buffy's hand and being sure to keep her behind him.

"Why'd you do it, Angelus?" James repeated, his eyes burning with the fires of revenge.

Angel saw James leap towards him, and pushed Buffy out from behind him the second before he and James crashed into the wall. James recovered first and punched Angel in the face twice, but on the third swing, Angel caught his wrist and flung him out of the office.

"Is it because I had something you could never have?" James yelled furiously as he picked himself up off the floor and launched himself at Angel again.

Buffy shook her head as she pulled herself off the floor, hearing a ringing in her ears. Thinking she'd hit her head harder than she thought, she ignored it. Finally, the ringing ceased and Buffy became more aware of her surroundings. The sounds of a very violent fight in the lobby, and Angel shouting at Fred to stay in her room caused Buffy to dart forward.

Then the ringing started again, and that's when Buffy realized it was her phone.

"I can't believe this," Buffy muttered as she flipped open the cell phone and put it to her ear as she headed out into the lobby to help Angel.

"Buffy, why didn't you pick up?" Wesley asked as Buffy saw Angel pin James to the wall by his throat. "Did I interrupt something?" he continued and Buffy heard Gunn snickering in the background.

"No, James did that just fine," Buffy snapped back. "Mind out of the gutter, Wes."

"Oh my," Wesley said immediately serious. "We were calling to tell you that James is still alive."

"Yeah, me and Angel kinda figured that out," Buffy said as she snatched a fire extinguisher from the wall and hit James over the head with it. Buffy snapped the phone shut, cutting off whatever Wesley had been saying and rushed to the weapon's cabinet.

Angel pushed James off of him, and they squared off once more. Angel broke the stalemate first, and punched James in the face before spinning and delivering a roundhouse kick to his jaw, causing James to fall to the floor.

"Angel!" Buffy called as she threw a stake towards him.

And just as Angel was about to close his fingers around the stake, James leapt up and grabbed it from him, tackling Angel to the ground in the process. James raised the stake to plant it in Angel's chest, but Angel's hands shot out and caught the other vampire's wrists.

"You never loved anyone…or anything," James growled as he fought to shove the stake into Angel's chest. "Go to hell."

Suddenly, a hand was on James shoulder and Buffy spun him around, punching him in the face. Angel swept his legs out from under the already off balanced vampire, grabbed the stake James had dropped, and stuck it in his chest.

Not sparing James another look, he went over to Buffy and immediately started to look her over, knowing he hadn't been too gentle when he'd thrown her to the ground to get her out of the way of a charging James.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned. "It's over."

But Buffy's eyes weren't on him. Instead, her gaze was glued over Angel's shoulder. "Uh, over in what sense?" Buffy asked causing Angel to turn around just in time to see James pull the stake from his chest and see the wound close up as if nothing that happened.

James charged at Angel again, and once again Angel pushed Buffy out of the way, much to Buffy's chagrin. She was the Slayer after all. Seriously? Killing vamps was kind of her thing.

Buffy scowled, determined to do something about James, only to see that Angel apparently had everything under control. Angel punched James in the face and then kicked him in the chest, sending James flying back through the door and through the railing that led out into the courtyard.

James landed in a patch of sunlight and Buffy waited to see him catch fire…except he didn't.

"Shouldn't he be on fire?" Buffy asked shocked as she came up to Angel's side.

"Let's get out of here," Angel said as he grabbed her hand and led her down to the basement where they could get to the sewers.

Quickly descending the ladder, Buffy hopped down to where Angel was waiting. He grabbed her hand and then together they ran down the tunnel. They kept running until they reached a fork, and Angel pushed her in the direction of the right-hand fork.

"Go that way," Angel told her, but Buffy stubbornly folded her arms over her chest.

"You know, this whole pushy thing is getting out of hand," Buffy said with narrowed eyes. "Don't make me go Slayer on your ass."

"Just trust me, Buffy," Angel said as he ran his hand along the sharp rock wall. "You can kick my ass later."

"I'm not leaving you," Buffy argued, shaking her head firmly.

Angel huffed in exasperation before hissing in pain as his palm was cut on the rock wall. However, he to drag his hand along the wall, splattering his blood on the sharp surface. Deciding that he'd done enough, Angel ran back towards the right-hand fork, grabbing Buffy's hand along the way.

They continued to run down the tunnel until Angel spotted a side door. "Buffy, here," he said as he pulled them to a halt and threw the door open, ushering Buffy inside first before following her inside and slamming the door shut.

This tunnel was better lit than the previous and had real walls. Buffy decided that they were far enough ahead of James to risk speaking. "You know, you could have just told me you were laying a false trail," Buffy told him grumpily.

"Didn't want to waste time."

"No, you just wanted me out of danger."

"There's that, too."

"I thought you'd broken that habit," Buffy practically whined, causing Angel to chuckle.

Sighing, knowing that some things would never change, Buffy switched subjects to something more important. "Okay, now, I've been doing this for a while. Don't sunlight and stakes dust vamps?"

"He seems to have become…" Angel trailed off, disbelieving.

"Invincible," Buffy finished for him.

"Let's not exaggerate," Angel shook his head as they continued down the tunnel.

"Was there more than one Ring of Amarra?" Buffy asked, searching her brain for explanations.

"No."

"Did the Amarra people make cufflinks or belt buckles?"

Angel couldn't resist the smile that pulled at his lips. Sometimes, Buffy was just too adorable. "No."

"Damn," Buffy muttered.

"'Kay, now be quiet," Angel said as he strained to listen to anything out of the ordinary. "I think he took the bait."

Suddenly, a loud rumbling filled the air and the ground began to shake, causing Buffy to yelp and throw her arms around Angel. "Earthquake!"

Angel rolled his eyes as the shaking stopped and looked down at Buffy amusedly. "Subway."

"Oh…" Buffy looked around before shrugging and resting her head on his chest with a sigh. "I knew that…just wanted an excuse to hug you."

Angel chuckled and kissed her hair, before gently pulling her away from him. "Come on, we have to keep moving," he said as he took her hand once more and led them through the tunnel.

They walked in silence, and just as both of them began to relax, Buffy's phone rang, causing them both to jump.

"Jeez," Angel muttered as his muscles relaxed, no longer needing to be tensed and ready for a fight.

"Sorry," Buffy apologized before answering the phone.

"Buffy? Is that you? Can you hear me?" Wesley asked and Buffy could barely hear him over the noise of Caritas in the background.

"Huh? Say that again, Wes," Buffy said as she put her free hand over her ear to try and tune out everything.

"There's something you need to know about James," Wesley continued, and Buffy listened in rapt attention.

"Oh, he's invincible, is he?" Buffy asked, looking pointedly at Angel, who rolled his eyes. "He went to what?" Buffy asked frowning as she processed Wesley's words. "A slog demon? Some doctor demon that collects rare organs. Ew! They cut out his heart," Buffy shivered before looking at Angel, relaying the information Wesley was giving her. "Absolutely cannot be killed…wait, what?" Buffy asked as Wesley continued. "How long? Six what?" Buffy cursed as the phone dropped the call. "Crap."

"Okay, so he's invincible for so long until he dies, right?" Angel asked as he put all the information together.

"Right, except we don't know how long 'so long' is," Buffy replied frowning beginning to walk further down the tunnel, trying to get a signal. "I really hate technology sometimes," she muttered to herself.

"It's still good news…all we have to do is wait him out," Angel said as he caught up to her.

Which, of course, was exactly when James came barreling through the wall.

This time it was Buffy who grabbed Angel's hand and led them back the way they came, slamming the door shut behind them, and hurrying onto a subway platform. Buffy and Angel pushed their way through the hoards of people that seemed to be everywhere. Angel leapt onto a train, and pulled Buffy on behind him just as the doors shut.

James slammed his hand furiously against the closed doors, and Buffy just barely resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

"Phew," Buffy took a deep breath before resting her forehead against Angel's chest, soaking up the feeling of safety that he always provided.

"Do you want to double back?" she asked after a few seconds. "He won't be expecting that. What do you—"

"Ssh," Angel interrupted, looking up at the ceiling of the train.

Buffy followed his gaze. "You've got to be kidding."

Suddenly, Angel pushed Buffy aside just as James came crashing through the roof, causing the train car's passengers to erupt into screams of shock and fear. Angel immediately planted himself between Buffy and the rest of the passengers.

"Get back," Angel told Buffy, knowing that she would try to help him. The space was simply too confined for all three of them to fight and keep everyone safe.

James watched the exchange curiously and quickly surfed through his memory of the past few hours and realized that this entire time Angel had been protecting the blonde. "Well this is a new twist in an old snake," he observed. "Is it possible you care about someone who isn't you?"

Angel couldn't stop himself from glancing back at Buffy. "Don't worry about her."

"But if you've changed…if you're not the same man who screwed Darla and couldn't care less what happened to her…" James trailed off, seeming to size Angel up.

"He has changed," Buffy spoke up, coming up to stand just beside Angel. "He has a soul. He cares about people."

James looked to Angel. "So you might feel something when I snap her neck?"

Angel growled sharply, and Buffy glared at James. "You could try," Buffy offered lowly.

"Lucky me," James smirked looking at Angel. "Now I can kill the woman you love."

"No you can't," Angel shook his head. "I won't let you."

James looked at Angel skeptically. "You really love her?" he asked dubiously. "With all your heart?"

"Yeah," Angel answered softly, and Buffy couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face.

"Well, then what would you do if she died?" James asked as he slowly advanced on Angel. "How would you feel if she died…or if some bastard killed her? Would you die too?"

"Thought about it, but I didn't," Angel answered truthfully.

Now, James looked confused.

"I've died twice," Buffy offered helpfully.

"Oh, well, third time's the charm, right?" James said as he ripped a subway seat out of the wall and swung it at Angel.

Angel raised his arm to block, but it really didn't do too much good as the sheer force of the blow sent Angel to the floor. Angel tried to get to his feet, but James hit him with the seat again, sending him sprawling on his back.

James lifted the seat for another hit and Angel looked behind him to see a guy with crutches right by his head. "Catch him," Angel told Buffy, who looked at him confused.

"Catch who?" she asked as Angel yanked the crutches away from the boy, who clutched the handrail to keep himself upright, and Buffy wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him.

Using his new weapons, Angel blocked James' next blow with the seat with one crutch while he used the other to sweep James' feet out from under him. Angel flipped up to his feet, clutching his crutches, one under each arm. "Come on!" he taunted.

James lunged at him and Angel caught one of his arms in one of the crutches and twisted it around, causing the bone to snap as Angel slammed James face first into the window of the subway. "How's that feel, invincible boy?"

"This your idea of love, James?" Angel asked. "It isn't real unless it kills you?"

"Yeah, what's yours?" James shot back, pale, sweaty, and in pain. "It's fun as long as it doesn't cost me anything? You don't know what love is!"

"Yeah, I do," Angel replied. "Love is living, honoring her memory."

"You didn't live," James shook his head as Angel released him. "You just existed," he argued casting one glance at Buffy before he exploded into dust.

Later that night, after explaining to Fred that she really could come downstairs and that when he'd told her to stay in her room he'd only said it to protect her; Fred had nodded, smiled and then promptly gone into her room. Angel thought she might come back out within the next decade. After that, Angel had immediately gone to his own room, showered, and fell onto the bed. It'd been one hell of a day.

He felt Buffy climb into the bed behind him, but he didn't turn to face her.

Buffy frowned at the utter lack of acknowledgement and decided to do something about it. Diving childishly under the covers, Buffy tunneled her way to the end of the bed before making her way back up. When her head emerged from the under the covers, now on Angel's side of the bed, she was met with a pair of tired, yet amused, chocolate brown eyes.

"How old are you, two?" Angel asked raising his eyebrows.

"Please, I did this until I was at least twelve," Buffy scoffed with a smile before scooting further up the bed so she was sharing his pillow. "What are you thinking about?"

Angel sighed as he placed a hand on her hip. "Holtz…James…everyone."

"That's a lot."

"Yeah."

"You shouldn't think so much…"

"Can't help it."

"I could distract you," Buffy offered with a wicked smile. "I'm very good at distracting you."

Angel couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, you are. Too good."

"There's no such thing," Buffy shook her head before kissing his lips softly. "Now tell me what's on your mind," she said when she pulled away. "Don't spare me the details."

Angel sighed. "After Elizabeth and Darla had left, James and I dealt with Holtz. I offered up Elizabeth and Darla to Holtz, told him that they were at the docks, knowing that James would start a fight. He did and it provided the distraction I'd known it would. We were able to escape. I took two arrows though, hurt like hell. Then, of course, James pushed me off the horse for offering up Elizabeth to save myself. Left me there…took me an hour to walk to the docks…" Angel muttered, causing Buffy's lips to quirk up in a small smile.

"What's the story with Holtz?" Buffy asked quietly, knowing that it was important. "I get the whole vampire hunter thing…and I get why he'd want to hunt down you and Darla…but chasing you around Europe? That's some major dedication…"

Angel grew quiet, and a younger Buffy would have thought he wasn't going to answer her question and would have gotten angry and left. But Buffy had learned that Angel just needed time. Eventually, he'd answer. She just had to be patient.

So, Buffy waited.

"We killed his family," Angel answered in a whisper and Buffy could tell by the faraway look in his eye that he was relieving it in his mind. "His wife…his kids…they were so little…I doubt the oldest was five…"

"Oh," Buffy said quietly and they were both silent for a moment.

"I turned the little girl," Angel continued pained. "He had to stake her."

Finally, Buffy spoke. "That wasn't you," she consoled. "And it was a long time ago. What matters is that you're here, with me."

Angel forced a small smile. "That is a better alternative," he admitted.

Buffy let her mind drift for a moment, thinking over the events of the day. She thought of James and what he'd said before he'd died. "I'm proud of you. You know that, right?" she asked seriously.

Angel stared at her, confusion clouding his features.

"When I was dead, you kept on living like I'd asked," Buffy explained softly. "You didn't have to, but you did. And this stuff with Holtz, all those bad memories…you don't let them weigh you down so much anymore. You're strong, Angel, and I'm proud of you."

Angel smiled slightly and Buffy kissed him softly for a moment, before hooking a leg over his hip. Angel rolled over on his back so that she was straddling him and Buffy smiled before leaning down to kiss him again. "I had the weirdest dream last night," Buffy told him when she came up for air.

"Hmm?" Angel questioned noncommittally as he began to kiss his way down her neck.

"I was pregnant."

Angel froze and looked at her, his face completely blank. "And?"

"It was a boy," Buffy told him softly, with a small, wistful smile. "And you were so far into panic mode, it was priceless."

"Buffy—," Angel began, but Buffy put a finger to his lips to halt what she knew he would say.

"It was just a dream," Buffy told him seriously. "It's not real. You're real, and that's all I want."

"I don't want you making sacrifices to be with me," Angel replied sadly.

"Angel, nothing about you is a sacrifice," Buffy argued before kissing him tenderly. Angel kissed her back and Buffy smiled into the kiss as his hands began to roam. "Besides," she joked. "One Angel is enough for me to deal with. I don't think the world is ready for a mini-you."

Oh, snap, did I do that? Did I possibly foreshadow a baby? Hmm...

I love you. Truly. I do. I swear.

Next two chapters cover the episode, "That Vision Thing." And just a head's up, there's definitely more to that episode now that I rewrote it! ;D

Reviews will make my first day back at school suck less,

ArthursCamelot