A/N I've only seen one fic, Reason, by texaswookie, a Buffy/Charmed crossover that attempted what I'm attempting in this chapter and that's attach a magical reason for Angel's gifts to Buffy and the effect they had on her. I freely admit I never liked Buffy dating Angel or Spike and I freely admit I consider them both irredeemable assholes. 8-)

You are, of course, free to have your own opinions.

######

Wesley took the seat at the Summers table that Joyce offered him and reluctantly accepted a cup of coffee, he would have much preferred tea.

"Angel gave you three gifts. The number three, in and of itself has significance. In Magic, faith and science. In Magic the Rule of Three or the Threefold Rule, what you put out, comes back on you threefold, is one example. In faith, three is harmony and divine perfection and in science, we live in a three dimensional world. Therefore him having given you three gifts is itself significant and each of those gifts having symbolic meaning is also significant."

"Symbolic meaning?" Buffy asked.

"The cross represents power and protection over evil, it's also a weapon against vampires, your most common foe."

"Three symbolic meanings." Joyce stated. "Possibly more, but at the base, three meanings."

"Exactly." Wesley nodded. "The jacket is leather, leather being a symbol of status. You have status as a Slayer. It protects you from the elements and keeps you warm."

"Another three." Buffy murmured. "Again, possibly more, but at the base, three and the claddagh ring also has three symbols on it. A set of hands holding a heart and the heart having a crown on it. Love, friendship and devotion. He told me if I wore it with the heart pointed toward me it meant I belonged to someone, him. I wore the cross at all times once I started wearing it. I wore it and the jacket when I went to face the Master and he gave me the ring on my seventeenth birthday. The day we had sex and the curse broke."

"The number seventeen has significance on its own." Wesley informed her. "Especially in astrology where it's actually called the angel number. Whether he planned to have sex with you then or not is beside the point. That he gave it to you on that date is the significant part."

"What does all that add up to?" Buffy asked.

"Spells on each item. The Magic is fading, but there is still enough to register. Given the symbolism I think you can see what his intentions were."

"Maybe for me to trust him, to see him as my protector, the one I could count on. The guy I could love." Buffy said sadly. "And I did love and trust him, wholeheartedly. But I didn't love or trust Angelus."

"But you did say you kept seeing Angel every time you saw him and probably every time you thought about him."

Buffy gazed off into the distance for a moment. "I stopped wearing all three after I sent Angel to Hell. The reminder was too painful and then I found the claddagh ring and abruptly remembered him and my feelings came roaring back."

"What did you do with the ring at that time?" Wesley asked curiously.

"I went to the Crawford Street Mansion, where Xander currently lives. It's where Angelus had Acathla and where I sent Angel to Hell. I set the ring on the floor, I tried to say goodbye to him, because I missed him so much. But I was wanting him back and I left. I left the ring there, a week later I found him in the woods, feral. I was chasing a boy who weird scienced himself into a Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde and beat his girlfriend, named Pete. Pete and I fought and Angel jumped him and killed him. Angel seemed less than sane and I figured, tortured in a Hell dimension, of course he was going to be insane."

"He wasn't tortured." Wesley told her. "According to Mr. Giles, he apparently had no scarring. Most likely he was imprisoned and starved and it's doubtful he was there very long as he would have appeared emaciated if he had. Time passes differently in other dimensions but given that he seemed to be in fairly good condition and nearly completely recovered when Mr. Harris discovered his return three weeks later, probably the same amount of time that passed here. As for how he returned, the Hellmouth can warp reality somewhat and have an effect on local physics, the Marcie Ross Effect. You willed his return and he returned."

"And I told him I was seeing someone, he was angry and then we were right back in each other's arms."

"Did you wear either the necklace or the jacket in between?"

"The jacket, it was getting cold."

"The Magic was still at work on it." Wesley concluded.

"If Angel went to all that trouble to bind her to him, why did he leave?" Joyce asked.

"Because the curse binds the soul to the demon." Buffy answered. "And he saw what was waiting for him in Hell as long as the soul is bound to the demon. My wish made him realize neither of us could be objective, he said so. And if the curse breaks again, insane demon on the loose. Angel doesn't want the world to end, so he left me. Maybe he thought I'd never find out he'd magically roofied me. That he forced me to love him. Does he really love me?"

"He might think he does." Joyce commented. "But his actions say obsession and it can take a lot to break an obsession. I'd say Hell qualifies."

"None the less, the Magic exonerates you from any criminal consequences, Miss Summers." Wesley told her. "The Watchers Council will not seek a conviction against you. But we insist on Counseling."

"So am I." Joyce nodded. "And what about Mr. Giles, what are you doing about him?"

"Mr. Giles is a separate matter, but he will not be continuing as your Watcher."