Somehow Buffy managed to save Angel. While Xander and Cordelia were dealing with the bug assassin and Giles and Willow were dealing with the police lady assassin, Buffy and Kendra had been dealing with the vampires. One of Drusilla's minions had been conducting the ritual. Buffy dusted him and freed Angel. Drusilla, still recovering from the ritual, would have been an easy mark. Instead, Buffy ignored her and helped Angel. Kendra was dealing with too many vampires to go after her, herself. She managed to slip out, safely. Giles was annoyed, Kendra felt Buffy was betraying her Calling, Cordelia was resigned, Willow was delighted and Xander was pissed. What would it take for her to finally see what she was risking pursuing a relationship with Angel? Xander was very much afraid the answers would include blood and bodies.
"Buffy, what were you thinking? You let Drusilla, an insane vampire and seer escape! Do you have any idea what you have done? Her preference has always been young children!" Giles ranted.
"Giles, chill. I've got this. I'll dust her crazy ass, in the meantime, Angel is safe. I got him back to his apartment before sunrise. He'll recover."
"You still don't get it do you, Buffy? People, children will die before you get around to dusting the skanky bitch, all because you put what you want ahead of everyone else."
"Can you contemplate getting over yourself, Xander? Your jealousy of him is really annoying me."
"As I have explained to you before, Buffy; there's nothing worth being jealous of where he's concerned."
"Not even the fact that he has me and you don't? That I love him and not you?"
"I've told you before, Buffy; I got over my crush on you the moment I understood, you prefer cuddling up to dead bodies, it twists my gut with disgust. Every objection I have is a valid one and none are based on jealousy. What will it take for you understand what you're risking in your determination to live out this ridiculous fantasy of yours? Dead bodies? Because if that curse breaks, that's what we're going to be dealing with. Giles told you, since suffering is the point of the curse, lessening the suffering or reducing it to nothing, may end it altogether. And he's not suffering being in a relationship with you. And you might ask yourself just what it is he's getting out of a relationship with an underage, way too young for him, girl with a fetish for dead bodies. Because I'm damn sure love has nothing to do with it. If he loved you I wouldn't have had to force him at weapons point to help me save you from the Master. And don't forget, human Angel was a womanizer and Angelus' preference was young girls. Read the chronicles for yourself, Buffy. See just what it is you're risking letting loose on the world. There was a reason Angelus was known as the Scourge of Europe. You can only ignore it for so long and then it's going to come back to bite us all in the ass. And it'll be your fault."
Of course, she didn't listen to them, Buffy was determined to believe everything was going to work out just fine. Willow was too. Neither seemed able to see beyond the fantasy. They were too focused on believing this 'true love' would win against all the odds.
Over the next couple of weeks, prior to Buffy's seventeenth birthday, they dealt with her jealousy of her mother dating again. Then Buffy discovered Ted, her mother's boyfriend, going thru her stuff and reading her diary. When he attacked her, she defended herself and he died or seemed to. The police got involved and no one seemed to believe Buffy hadn't just killed him. Then it was discovered the food he'd made them had been drugged. It was decided, searching his house might be a good idea. They needed to know why he'd been drugging them. Finding out he was a serial killer was definitely scary. An anonymous call to the police led to them finding the four dead bodies in his basement. Then they returned to Buffy's home to find Ted was up and around and kidnapping Joyce. It seemed, he wanted to add her to his collection. In the process of dealing with him, they found out he was a robot. Xander gleefully crushed another robot's remains at the junk yard.
The week after that, they all got controlled by a parasite that attached itself to their spines. They'd been handed out in class as eggs, for a lesson on taking care of a child. The only ones not affected were Xander and Buffy. Xander because he cooked his and Buffy because she was attacked by hers and killed it. They followed a group of controlled people down to the basement and found the momma and boy was she an ugly bitch. Xander wondered who had been digging in the basement and why. Maybe momma had managed to slip one of her babies out and since she had a connection to them, use it to get herself dug up. Buffy hacked it up with a pickaxe and Giles told everyone that was affected, there'd been a gas leak.
Giles, Willow and Cordelia were definitely wigged at having been mind controlled by a parasite. Xander comforted Cordelia with a makeout session in the janitor's closet. She was definitely feeling better afterward.
And then came Buffy's seventeenth birthday. Giles arranged a surprise party for her. Willow invited a new friend, Oz. Xander and Cordelia sort of attended together. Cordelia wasn't quite ready to admit they were doing anything more then making out together. Then while Ms. Calender was driving Buffy to the party, the two discovered vampires up to no good and after dusting some and driving others off, they found a box one had left behind. It had an arm in it that attacked Buffy. Angel realized it was part of the Judge, a demon who couldn't be killed. The last time he'd been loose, an army had managed to cut him into pieces and bury the pieces around the world. It was decided Angel should take the piece they had and bury it somewhere far away. Buffy was in shock at the idea of not seeing him for months. She delayed his departure just long enough for Drusilla's minions to attack and reclaim the box. She and Angel ended up back at his apartment.
Where the curse was finally broken.