Buffy jolted awake in bed after a fitful few hours of sleep. Lately, she just hadn't been able to get through the night without having bad dreams. Usually, they remained crazy and disjointed, but she could never remember any of them, save for the unpleasant feeling they gave her. It reverberated through her soul, making her feel cold and weak, leaving her with gasping breaths and shivering fingers… God, maybe she should write this down.

She turned on her lamp and let out a sigh to calm her nerves. She felt something on the horizon, but she couldn't see it clearly yet. Feeling her throat drying out – was she snoring on top of it all? – she took her glass from the nightstand for a drink, but found it nearly empty. She got out of bed to get a refill.

Walking down the hall, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her. She couldn't hear any footsteps or breathing – it was just an uneasy feeling she had. She opened the door to the bathroom…

… and suddenly found herself at the Bronze. She could hear a slow ballad playing, "Take me over, I'm lying down… I'm giving in to you… Take me over, I'm lying down… I'm giving in to you…"

She found Willow sitting at a table with a large cup of cappuccino and an organ grinder's monkey. "L'hippo a pique' ses pantalons," she said to the monkey. Buffy saw a caption appear below her that read: "The hippo stole his pants." The monkey on the table with her squeaked.

Willow smiled at her and waved. Not wanting to be rude, Buffy raised her hand back, but she remained confused about the monkey.

" I cannot describe this feeling… " She continued on and found her mother holding a large cup and saucer. " Now that I've found this love… " Her mother saw her coming, and she turned to face her daughter.

"Do you really think you're ready, Buffy?"

"What?" Buffy asked.

Joyce dropped the saucer. Buffy watched it fall. It shattered on the floor. Uncharacteristically, her mother just turned and slowly walked away. " I'll do anything for you… " Buffy watched her go, then looked around the room again. " Now that I've found this love… "

She walked past Willow again and through the crowd to the stage. It was empty, no band tonight. She turned around and smiled warmly. " I'm a fire, burning like a house aflame… " She could see Angel standing at the pool table. He smiled and started toward her. " I'm a hurricane… " Buffy began to walk toward him. " I cannot move or see you fly… Now that I've found… "

Drusilla suddenly appeared behind Angel – fully vamped out – and thrust a stake into his back and pulled it out. He arched backward in pain. "ANGEL!" Buffy screamed.

" … this love… "

They reached out for each other, but before she could touch him, his hand began to disintegrate. The rings on his fingers fell to the floor. His body didn't explode like most vampires', but just crumbled to dust. Drusilla lowered the stake and took the few remaining steps over to Buffy. "Happy Birthday, Buffy," she hissed.

. . .

Those cruel words echoed in Buffy's brain as she sat up in bed, reeling from her nightmare.

Buffy didn't care what time it was or what her mother would think of her leaving so early. She had to see Angel immediately. Her world could not continue until she knew for certain he was safe. She made it to his apartment and pounded on his door.

She heard him on the other side. "Hold on…" A moment later, the door opened, and there he stood, surprised to see her but otherwise, not a pile of dust. "Hey. Is everything okay?"

"That's what I was gonna ask you. You're okay, right?"

"Sure. I… I'm fine." He let her come in. "What's up?"

She put her bag down once inside, trying to order her thoughts while he grabbed a shirt. "Um… I had this… dream that Drusilla was alive."

Angel pulled on the shirt, immediately concerned. "What happened?"

"She killed you. Right in front of me."

"It was just a dream. It wasn't real."

"But it felt so real."

He put a hand to her cheek in an effort to reassure her. "It wasn't. I'm right here."

Buffy looked into his eyes imploringly, not ready to let go of this yet. "Angel, this happened before. The dreams that I had about the Master, they came true."

"Still, not every dream you have comes true. I mean, what else did you dream last night? Can you remember?"

A little embarrassed now, she looked down sheepishly. "I dreamt… I dreamt that Giles and I opened an office supply warehouse in Vegas."

Angel smiled a little. "See my point?"

She tried letting out a shaky breath to calm herself, but one thought kept ringing in her head. "Yeah, I do, but… what if Drusilla is alive? We never saw her body."

"She's not," Angel reassured her, although he seemed pretty not-assured about it. "But even if she was, we'd deal."

"W-w-what if she is…?" She didn't get to finish because he grabbed and kissed her, and she responded because she couldn't help herself – kissing him always reduced her to a metaphorical puddle of protoplasm. A couple of kisses later, they broke off and looked at each other.

"What if what?" he asked, as if he'd always planned to let her answer, but that had been some task that needed finishing first.

"I'm sorry. Were we talking?" she asked quietly, still gazing into his eyes.

He leaned over to kiss her again, and once again, her brain went on vacation. They put their arms around each other and held each other closely as they kissed.

Buffy suddenly broke off and looked down, her breathing worryingly heavy and that tingly feeling buzzing away like an alarm bell. "I'm sorry. I, um… I-I have to go to school." She turned and quickly headed for the door.

"I know," he replied. He followed her, took her arm, turned her around and kissed her again passionately. They took hold of each other again. They stopped kissing a moment later but kept touching their foreheads.

How could she possibly let this end? "Oh, God, you feel…"

"You have to go to school," he interrupted, guiding her to the door.

"Right. I know. This is me." She backed into the door and shut it. "I'm going." They started kissing again. Forget everything in reality right now – this was so damn romantic, she couldn't resist.

After another round of kissy-kissy, they broke apart again. "You still haven't told me what you wanted for your birthday," he said.

Buffy smiled up at him. God, he was perfect sometimes. Everything was going on in their lives, and he still wanted to get her something. "Surprise me."

He smiled back. "Okay. I will." They kissed.

"This is nice. I like seeing you first thing in the morning."

"It's bedtime for me."

"Well, then I like seeing you at bedtime." Her eyes widened as she thought about that. "Um… Um, heh… You know what I mean."

"I think so. What do you mean?"

"I like seeing you. The part at the end of the night where we say good-bye… It's getting harder."

"Yeah. It is," he said with an equal sense of longing.

Eventually, Buffy did leave Angel's apartment, and the journey to school became much simpler from there. She naturally told Willow all about the romantic encounter as they walked outside the building under some trees.

"'I like you at bedtime?'" her friend repeated, sounding confused. "You actually said that?"

"I know, I know," Buffy sighed. Maybe she didn't have to tell her everything next time.

But Willow still tried to spin it in a positive light, as she always did. "Man, that's like… I dunno, that's moxie or something."

"Totally unplanned. It just… came out."

Willow giggled. "And he was into it? I mean, he wants to see you at bedtime, too?"

Feeling all warm inside at the very thought, Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I… think he does. Well, I mean he's cool about it."

"Well, of course he is. 'Cause he's cool. I mean, he would never… you know…"

"Push."

"Right. H-he's not the type."

Buffy took a breath. God, she had so many conflicting thoughts, but she couldn't ignore this wonderful feeling she got whenever she was around Angel. After almost a year of this back and forth between them, this seemed like the natural course to take. "Will, what am I gonna do?"

"What do you wanna do?" her best friend asked sensibly.

They took a seat on a bench to hammer it out. "I don't know. I mean, 'want' isn't always the right thing to do. To act on want can be wrong."

"True."

"But… to not act on want… What if I never feel this way again?" And she believed it, too. She knew in her heart that Angel was it for her. Even if she lived to be as ancient as forty, she would never love another like she did him.

"Carpe diem," said Willow. "You told me that once."

Buffy frowned. "'Fish of the day'?"

"Not 'carp'. 'Carpe'. It means 'seize the day.'"

With that last little bit of validation, Buffy felt even more sure of her convictions. "Right. I… I think we're going to. Seize it. Once you get to a certain point, then seizing is sort of inevitable." It made total sense.

Willow looked at her all wide-eyed. "Wow…"

"Yeah," Buffy smiled, already imagining it.

"Wow…"

The school bell rang, indicating the start of class and that they couldn't languish in fantasy for now. They got up and headed for the building.

"Wow!" Willow repeated again. "Wow."

Buffy smiled excitedly. She felt incredible right now. The whole world felt new and exciting as she moved around – like the saturation had been cranked all the way up to one hundred. She couldn't wipe this dopey grin off her face.

She looked over to the side and saw a familiar face – Oz sitting at a bench with his guitar. "Hey, speaking of 'wow' potential, there's Oz over there. What are we thinking, any sparkage?"

Willow smiled as she spotted her potential suitor. "He's nice. Hey, I like his hands."

"Mm. A fixation on insignificant detail is a definite crush sign."

As per usual, though, the thought of something nice happening to her made Willow falter. "Oh, I don't know, though. I mean, he is a senior."

Buffy stopped her friend with a scolding look. "You think he's too old 'cause he's a senior? Please. My boyfriend had a bicentennial."

"That's true." She wrung her hands, trying to think of an excuse. "Uh… I guess… I just…"

"You can't spend the rest of your life waiting for Xander to wake up and smell the hottie. Make a move. Do the talking thing."

"Well, what if the talking thing becomes the awkward-silence thing?"

"Well, you won't know until you try." She turned and walked away to leave her friend to figure out for herself.

. . .

Willow continued to wring her hands as she approached Oz at the bench. She hadn't really spoken to him much since he'd been shot in the arm about a month ago by some crazed assassin person looking for Buffy. He'd recovered well, and they'd talked a little, but she couldn't quite bring herself to really connect with him. Not when Xander continued to… well, exist, anyway.

But Oz gave her an interesting new feeling that Xander did not. Whereas Xander gave her the feeling of hope and weariness from the constant case of 'not being noticed', Oz looked at her in a way that no one ever had – like she was beautiful, like she was desirable, like she was the best thing ever.

Taking a deep breath, she walked up to him. "Hey."

Oz looked up and immediately stopped playing his guitar, giving her his full attention. "Hey."

Willow gestured to his instrument. "Do you guys, uh, have a gig tonight?"

"Oh, no. Practice. See, our band's kinda moving towards this new sound where… we suck, so… practice."

Willow smiled. "I think you guys sound good," she said, mostly truthfully.

"Thanks."

She shifted a little as she voiced an unpleasant thought. "I bet you have a lot of groupies."

"It happens," he nodded. "Now, I'm living groupie-free nowadays. I'm clean."

"Oh." She smiled, but then, she began to feel awkward. Stupid pauses. They always made her panic.

Mercifully, Oz resumed speaking. "I'm gonna ask you to go out with me tomorrow night," he said, making her heart leap. "And I'm kinda nervous about it, actually. It's interesting." He actually did look a little unsure of himself. It was cute.

"Well, if it helps at all, I'm gonna say yes."

"Yeah, it helps. It creates a comfort zone." They smiled at each other before he dared ask. "Do you wanna go out with me tomorrow night?"

Tomorrow night … Willow cringed and slapped her hand to her forehead. "Oh! I can't!"

"Well, see, I like that you're unpredictable."

"Oh, it's just that it's Buffy's birthday, and we're throwing her a surprise party."

"It's okay," he said in an understanding tone.

Not wanting to miss out on a date, though, Willow thought fast. "But you could come. If you want to."

"Well, I don't wanna crash."

"No, it's fine! Well, you could be m…," she paused to smother a smile, "my date."

"All right. I'm in," he said with that sweet smile of his. He struck her as someone who didn't emote much, so to see him actually show joy made it feel extra special. Still, she had class to go to, so she tried to signal to him she needed to leave. He simply nodded in understanding, and she headed into the building, still smiling widely. Date!

Xander didn't know why he thought this was a good idea. Trying to ask Cordelia Chase to accompany him to a party felt so strange. Still, they'd been making out regularly for the last few weeks. Maybe it was time to at least try and make something of this. Just so long as Jesse didn't find out…

"So… Buffy's party. Manana," he said as casually as he could.

Cordelia scoffed as she took things out of her locker. "Well, just because she's Miss Save-The-World and everything, you have to make a big deal? I have to cook! And everything."

Xander's eyebrows furrowed together. "You're cooking?"

"Well, I'm 'chips and dips' girl."

He gasped in faux shock. "Horrors! All that opening and stirring."

She nodded indignantly. "And shopping and carrying."

"Well, then you should have a person who does such things for you."

"Well, that's what I've been saying to my father, but does he listen?"

Almost amused, Xander steeled his resolve and attempted to articulate his wants. "Um, so, uh… You're going, and… I'm going. Should… we maybe… go?" He hoped she wouldn't make him include the word 'together'.

She shut her locker and looked at him funny. "Why?"

"I dunno. This… thing with us, despite our better judgment, it keeps happening. Maybe we should just admit that we're dating."

"Groping in a broom closet isn't dating," she said firmly. "You don't call it a date until the guy spends money."

Welcome to the nineties , Xander thought sarcastically. "Fine. I'll spend, then we'll grope. Whatever. I just think it's some kind of whack that we feel we have to hide it from all our friends."

"Hey, guys!"

They both jumped and whirled around to see Jesse walking up, looking curious to see them together, no doubt. "We're not doing anything!" Xander said quickly.

But Jesse tilted his head, pretending to be fascinated. "Really? Because it looks like you're actually having a civil conversation for a change. Glad to see it," he added hastily. "There's more to your dynamic than just hurling vicious insults at each other."

Xander looked nervously at Cordelia, who gave Jesse an equally-nervous smile. "Pfft! Of course it's not! We just… y'know…"

"We take breaks from hating each other occasionally. That's all. I swear." Xander's previous statement that they shouldn't keep their relationship secret felt so foreign right now. Jesse was the last person he wanted to know about this. How would his friend feel if he found out that he, Xander Harris, his best friend, had started making out with Cordelia Chase, the girl Jesse had been hung up on for years while Xander derided her constantly? Betrayal didn't even begin to cover it.

Jesse, for his part, just nodded. "Well, you're both coming to the party tomorrow, right?"

Cordelia nodded "Chips and dips!"

"Cool. So, um," he paused and lowered his voice, "how would you guys feel if Amy came, too?"

"Amy?" Xander repeated, confused.

"It's just that she's helped us out big with Ted the Robot and the weird egg things a couple weeks ago. I just figured it would be nice to invite her. Buffy wouldn't mind, right?"

Xander floundered for a moment. "Uh… I mean… I'm sure that would be fine. We all like Amy."

"We do?" asked Cordelia before he gave her a stern look. "I mean, we do !"

"Great! I'll tell her to be there. See you guys." He gave them both an amused look. "Play nice, okay?" He walked off to his next class, leaving Xander and Cordelia sighing with relief.

"Well!" Xander sighed. "See you tomorrow?"

Cordelia nodded, and he walked off, glad to have that over with. She hadn't said yes, but she hadn't said no, either. He would just play it cool and see what happens.

Giles came walking out of the lounge and spotted Xander approaching from down the hall, looking rather flustered. "Oh, good morning," he said, walking up alongside the young man and lowering his voice. "Is everything in order for the party?"

Xander brightened up. "Absolutely. You ready to get down, you funky party weasel?"

Giles rolled his eyes. He liked Xander, really, but the boy really could be strange sometimes. He himself had not been to a teenager's birthday party since he himself was one, so this felt very odd. Still, what kind of Watcher would he be if he didn't attend. The others assured him she wanted him there.

He looked at the stairs and saw Jenny and Buffy coming down. "Here comes Buffy. Now remember: discretion is the better part of valor."

Xander gave him an annoyed look. "You could've just said, 'shh!' God, are all you Brits such drama queens?" He put on his sunniest smile when they approached. "Buffy, I feel a pre-birthday spanking coming on."

Jenny gave him a stern look. "I'd curb that impulse if I were you, Xander," she said as she and Buffy sat at a table in the lounge.

Xander spoke into his shirt like a secret agent. "Check, cancel spanking."

Giles sat as well. "You alright, Buffy? You seem a little fatigued."

"Rough night," she replied, sounding a bit rough. "I had a dream that Drusilla was alive and she killed Angel. It just really freaked me out."

Remembering her nightmares concerning the Master, Giles furrowed his brow. "You fear it was more of a, a… a portent?"

"See, I don't know. I don't wanna start a big freakout over nothing."

"Still, best to be, uh, on the alert. If Drusilla is alive, it could be a fairly… cataclysmic state of affairs."

Xander tutted. "Again, so many words! Couldn't you just say, 'we'd be in trouble'?"

Giles gave him a weary look. "Go to class, Xander."

"Gone," he said briskly before getting up. Annoyingly, he didn't leave immediately. "Notice the economy of phrasing: 'gone.' Simple. Direct." He pointed at Giles and mercifully departed.

"Maybe I should get 'gone', too," Buffy said, standing up.

Still seeing the agitation in her eyes, Giles stood as well. She really ought to try and enjoy the next few days. There would be plenty more time in her new year on this earth to fret about possible premonitions. "Uh, don't worry unduly, Buffy. I'm sure it's nothing."

"I know. I should keep my Slayer cool, but… it's Angel, which automatically equals maxi-wig."

Giles gave her a smile as she went, glancing over at Jenny thoughtfully. He suspected that if he had such a nightmare wherein someone killed her right in front of him, he'd be 'maxi-wigging' or whatever right now, too.

Deep in the bowels of his warehouse, Spike idly wheeled himself around the main room in a depressed funk. Yes, it was true. Spike, the slayer of Slayers, was in a wheelchair. His injuries had been very substantial after Buffy had brought down an entire building on him. Dumb blonde bitch. He seriously felt she was no longer worth the trouble. At this point, he just wanted to cut his losses and split Sunnydale and wait around a few years for the next Slayer to rise.

And if it weren't for Dru, he would've done that. As it happened, Drusilla had been successfully healed by the ritual last month and had returned to full strength, just in time to wheel him around until he recovered. She insisted they stayed on the Hellmouth to help his healing process. He appreciated the thought, but dammit, he hated being an invalid.

He spotted Dalton, one of his underlings, entering with a large wooden box. "I have your package."

Spike waved him off. "Just put it on the table… near the other gifts." Dalton obliged and put the crate aside. Spike shook his head as Dru pushed the chair along. "Are you dead set on this, pet? Wouldn't you rather have your party in Vienna?"

"But the invitations are sent," Drusilla insisted.

"Yeah. It's just I've had it with this place. Nothing ever comes off like it's supposed to."

Drusilla leaned in and put her hands on his chest. "My gatherings are always perfect. Remember Spain?" She crouched next to him. "Hey… The bulls?" She walked her fingers up his arm.

Spike barely smiled but tried not to be too cross. "I remember, sweet. But Sunnydale's cursed for us. Angel and the Slayer see to that."

"Shhh…," she whispered into his ear. "I've got good games for everyone. You'll see." She gave his cheek a fond lick for good measure. She walked over to the table and inspected the roses and other red flowers that had been woven into the high backs of the chairs. She stepped up to one, her body language going all rigid. "These flowers… are wrong," she said in a tone that worried their decorators. "They're all… wrong!" She let out a moan, and now Spike knew he needed to act quickly to lift her mood. "I can't abide them!" she screamed, ripping at them.

"Let's try something different with the flowers then," Spike said loudly and slowly.

She looked at him and calmed down a bit. Then she eyed the boxes on the table and slowly walked around to them. "Can I open one? Can I?" Relieved, Spike smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Can I? Ooo…"

"Just a peek, love," he nodded. She excitedly reached for the latch on one of them. "They're for the party." He wheeled himself over to her as she lifted the lid, inhaling in wonder with a smile. "Do you like it, baby?"

"It reeks of death." She let out a happy sigh and knelt in front of Spike. "This will be the best party ever."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Because…" She stood back up and leaned toward the box. "It will be the last."

Birthday breakfast had just ended in the Summers household, and Joyce got up from the island to take her plate to the sink. Buffy sat on the other side, working up the nerve to bring up a topic she hadn't broached with her mother in a long time.

"Mall trip for your birthday on Saturday," Joyce reminded her. "Don't forget."

Buffy pretended to be affronted. "Space on a mom-sponsored shopping opportunity? Not likely."

"Hmm. So, does, um, seventeen feel any different than sixteen?"

"It's funny you should ask that. You know, I woke up feeling more responsible, mature and level headed."

"Really? Tch. It's uncanny."

Okay, here goes nothing. "I now possess the qualities one looks for in a… licensed driver."

She tried to look at her mom hopefully, but Joyce still clearly didn't want to discuss this. "Buffy…"

"You said we could talk about it again when I was seventeen!"

Joyce looked at her, plate still in hand. "Do you really think you're ready, Buffy?"

Those words echoed in Buffy's head as she remembered the dream, and she watched in silent horror as her mother dropped the plate. It fell and shattered on the floor. Her desire to drive may have doomed her relationship with Angel.

" … and then my mom broke the plate. It was just like my dream. Every gesture, every word." She looked up at Giles nervously. "It was so creepy."

"Yes, well, I'd… imagine it would be… fairly unnerving," he responded in a tone that sounded equal parts reassuring and uneasy. He really needed to pick a tone and stick with it, for her sake.

The moment was rudely interrupted when the door banged open and Xander, Jesse and Willow – unaware of what had just transpired – came bounding in. "Hey! It's the woman of the hour," said Xander.

"It's Happy Birthday Buffy!" Willow said, jumping over to the table, hugging Buffy's shoulders and giving her a big smile. She let go and came around to the other side of the table, where they could now see that Buffy's expression looked less than thrilled.

"Detecting a lack of 'feliz' on this 'cumpleaños'," said Jesse, his own smile wilting as the mood dropped once again.

Giles cleared his throat. "It's just that, um, part of the nightmare that Buffy had the other night actually transpired."

"Which means Drusilla might still be alive," Buffy said quietly. "Giles, in my dream, I couldn't stop her. She blindsided me. Angel was gone before I knew what happened."

But Giles still tried to be reassuring. "Even if she is alive, uh, we can still protect Angel. Dreams aren't prophecies, Buffy. You dreamt that the Master had risen, but you stopped it from happening."

"You ground his bones to make your bread," Xander reminded her.

"That's true. Except for the bread part. Okay, so, fine. We're one step ahead, but I wanna stay that way."

"Absolutely," Giles agreed, rising to his feet. He offered to read up on Drusilla and see if he could find any particular patterns to her activities they could use. In the meantime, he asked that Buffy simply go to class and try to have an ordinary day. She could only slouch off, disappointed there wasn't something more concrete she could be doing, but there was nothing else to be done.

"Well," Jesse said after a moment of silence, "I guess we're keeping the birthday shenanigans to a minimum."

"So much for our surprise party," said Willow sadly. "I bought little hats and everything. Oh, well. I guess I'll tell Cordelia." She started to leave.

But Giles couldn't stand it. Buffy may be the Slayer, but she was a human being, too, and she deserved to at least have a few hours where she could just have fun with her friends. "No, you won't," he said firmly, stopping the three youths in their tracks. "We're having a party tonight."

Xander looked surprised. "Looks like Mr. Caution Man, but the sound he makes is funny."

"Buffy's surprise party will go ahead as we planned. Except I won't be wearing the little hat," he added hastily.

Willow still looked uncertain. "But Buffy and Angel…"

"May well be in danger… as they have been before, and, I imagine, will be again. One thing I've learned in my tenure here on the Hellmouth is that there is no good time to relax. And Buffy's turning seventeen just this once, and she deserves a party."

"And who says the English don't get emotional?" Jesse said, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

Willow looked enthusiastic again. "And anyway, Angel's coming. So she'll be able to protect him and have cake."

"Precisely," said Giles. He departed for his office while the kids hurried off to class. Yes, he was going to ensure Buffy had a birthday party, even if it killed him.

After having dinner at home that evening, Buffy made up an excuse about meeting the others for studies – technically true, anyway – and returned to the school to start researching Drusilla. Not quite how she wanted to spend her birthday, but needs must and everything. The place was empty, and while Buffy normally didn't mind the empty school, today it felt cold and foreboding. Knowing that Drusilla could be anywhere in the shadows filled her with dread.

She was almost to the library when she heard footsteps approaching. "Buffy."

Letting out a startled gasp, she turned and saw… Jenny Calendar. "Oh, my God, I didn't see you there."

Ms Calendar smiled apologetically, but she seemed a little skittish herself. "Sorry. Um, Giles wanted me to tell you that there's been a change of plans. Uh, he wants to meet you somewhere near his house because he had to run home and get a book or something."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "'Cause heaven knows there aren't enough books in the library."

"Uh, he's… very thorough."

"Oh, which is not to bag. It's kind of manly in an obsessive-compulsive kind of way, don't you think?"

"Um, you know, my car's here. Why don't I drive you?"

"Okay." She started out in the parking lot, and after a moment, she heard Ms Calendar follow. If she hadn't been so preoccupied, she might have thought that was odd.

. . .

Ms Calendar's car was a Beetle. Equal parts cute and tacky – Buffy didn't quite know to reconcile the fact that a computer science teacher practicing witchcraft drove a Beetle. They kept conversation to a minimum as they drove, but to her surprise, they somehow wound up at the Bronze. "Are we goin' to the Bronze?"

"I'm not sure. Giles gave me an address. I'm just following his directions."

They rounded a corner, and Buffy immediately saw something going on. She could see a truck parked in an adjacent loading area, and a man jumped off the truck bed while another walked across the loading dock. "This looks funky. Stop for a sec."

Ms Calendar looked concerned. "No, Buffy, maybe you shouldn't."

"Sorry. Sacred duty, yada yada yada." The car stopped, and she got out to investigate. She heard Ms Calendar sigh disparagingly but ignored her. She got enough of that from Giles. She walked up and stopped by the cab, and right away, she saw that vampire guy that worked for Spike carrying a large wooden crate. "Every time I see you, you're stealing something," she said, earning herself a growl from the vamp. "You really should speak with someone about this klepto issue."

The truck's engine started, and Buffy turned and reached for the door handle. The vampire made a hasty escape as the door swung open before she could reach it, and a vampire kicked out at her, hitting her in the arm, but not hard enough to stop her. She grabbed him and pulled him out of the cab and onto the ground. She could hear the other vampire lifting the box onto the back of the truck.

The second vampire got up from the pavement, and Buffy punched him, knocking him back down again. She backed up toward the truck to get around him, but a third vampire standing in the bed grabbed her by the jacket and lifted her up. He got her in a full Nelson hold, but she pushed him back into a large box, stunning him enough to let go. She snapped her head back and butted him hard. The other vampire climbed onto the truck bed also and came at her. She punched him, turned and punched the one behind her, turned and punched the other one again, then kicked him in the chest, making him fall and roll over a crate. She blocked a swing from the one behind her, grabbed his arm and shoved his head into the crate.

Buffy punched one of the wooden bed retainers and broke off a piece. She jammed it into one of the vampires' chests, and he burst into ashes. The other grabbed her from behind, lifted her up and carried her onto the loading dock. He threw her at a door. She hit it and rolled away.

She attacked again, and the vampire tackled her, sending them smashing through one of the Bronze's windows and hitting the floor. She scrambled to her feet and kicked the vampire as he came for her. He stumbled back a few steps. She grabbed a drumstick from a drum set, spun around with it, thrust it into the vampire's chest and pulled it back out. The vampire explodes into ashes.

She was just considering going back out and attacking the remaining vampire, but her thoughts were interrupted when someone yelled, " Surprise! " She jumped and whirled around, ready for another fight, but then, she saw Cordelia behind the pool table with her arms raised high and a clueless smile, and then, she saw all her friends staring at her with party hats and shocked expressions. Angel, Xander, Willow, Jesse, Giles, Amy… oh, and that Oz guy actually looked like he might have seen her stake that vampire.

Oz glanced at the still-standing Cordelia. "That pretty much sums it up."

Buffy hopped down from the stage as Angel hurried over to her. "Buffy, are you okay?"

"Yes. What happened?" asked Giles.

Buffy pointed vaguely behind her, still taking this all in. "Uh, there were these vamps out… What's going on?"

Giles actually looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, um… A surprise party." He halfheartedly blew on a party favor, which made a cute little trumpet sound.

"Happy Birthday," Cordelia smiled awkwardly, finally registering the weirdness of the situation.

Buffy began to smile. "You guys did all this for me? That is so sweet."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Angel asked.

"Yes, I'm fine."

She glanced around the room at her friends, all hoping for a party and ending up witnessing yet another crazy supernatural incident. Jesse and Giles started to walk up to her, while she could see Oz still staring at the spot where she'd staked the vampire.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked him.

"Yeah," he said, starting to snap out of it. "Hey, did everybody see that guy just turn to dust?"

Everyone turned and looked at him. Yep, no hiding it. One more witness to the strangeness of Sunnydale. Maybe they needed to start a support group.

Willow tried to pretend everything was still normal. "Uh, well, uh… sort of?"

Xander, ever the realist, decided not to bother pretending. "Yep. Vampires are real. A lot of them live in Sunnydale. Willow will fill you in." He walked off to join the others.

"I know it's hard to accept at first…," Willow said, gearing up for a lengthy process of reconciling fantasy with reality.

Oz, however, looked very accepting of the situation. "Actually, it explains a lot !" he said, as if he'd just figured out a very complicated puzzle.

Jesse smiled. "See? I knew he and Willow would go well together." He turned and saw Amy eating a sandwich from the snack table they'd put up. She looked almost embarrassed when he saw her. "You okay?"

She swallowed down her mouthful. "Sorry, high-octane situations leave me hungry afterwards."

"I know the feeling," Xander agreed, looking over the snacks himself.

Ms Calendar entered the room, carrying the box the first vampire had been trying to take. "Hey, can somebody give me a hand here?" she called over. Angel and Giles immediately took it from her and set it on a table. "Those creeps left this behind."

Buffy came over to inspect it. "What is it?"

"I have no idea," said Giles, looking it over. "Can it be opened?"

"Yeah. This looks like a release right here." She worked the latch and opened the box. Inside, joy of joys, they found an arm clad in armor. Briefly looking up in disgust, the arm abruptly raised up, grabbed Buffy by the throat and began choking her. She struggled with it briefly before Angel jumped in and helped her get it off. He stuffed it back into the box while Buffy stepped back and tried to catch her breath. Giles slammed the lid shut while Angel helped her aside.

"Well, clearly the Hellmouth's answer to 'what do you get the Slayer who has everything?'" said Xander, trying to cover his own nerves at what had just happened.

Making sure the crate was properly latched again, Giles looked over. "Good heavens. Buffy, are you all right?"

Buffy managed to nod. "Man, that thing had major grip."

"What just happened?" demanded Jesse. "Because that looked like Thing's buff cousin!"

Angel, however, stared at the crate in shock. "It can't be. She wouldn't."

" Who wouldn't?" asked Amy. "Because it looks like they just did."

Angel ordered his thoughts. "It's a legend…," he explained, "way before my time… of a demon brought forth to rid the Earth of the plague of humanity. Separate the righteous from the wicked… and to burn the righteous down. They call him the Judge."

Giles recognized the name. "The Judge? This is he?"

"Not all of him."

Buffy raised her hand. "Um, still needing backstory here."

Giles took over. "He couldn't be killed, yes? Um, an army was sent against him. Most of them died… but, uh, finally they were able to dismember him, but, uh… not kill him."

Angel nodded. "The pieces were scattered… buried in every corner of the Earth."

"So all these parts are being brought here," said Jenny, looking thoughtful.

"By Drusilla," Buffy realized. "The vamps outside were Spike's men."

Angel nodded. "She's just crazy enough to do it."

"Do what, reassemble the Judge?" asked Willow.

"And bring forth Armageddon."

Cordelia looked unnerved enough that she needed to remove herself from the situation. "Is anybody else gonna have cake?" she asked, escaping to the pool table without waiting for an answer. Amy, looking equally unnerved, followed her.

Giles gestured to the box. "We need to get this out of town."

"Angel," Jenny said abruptly.

Buffy looked between them, confused. "What?"

Jenny ignored her, still looking at the vampire. "You have to do it. You're the only one that can protect this thing."

"What about me?" Buffy asked, almost affronted.

Jenny looked at her this time, but her look was skeptical. "What, you're just gonna skip town for a few months?"

"'Months'?"

Angel looked solemn, which did not bode well for the rest of the party. "She's right. I gotta get this to the remotest region possible."

Buffy's mind reeled. Angel gone? For months? Days, she could understand. A couple weeks – would suck but she could deal. But months ? "But that's not months."

Angel gestured grandly. "I gotta catch a cargo ship to Asia, maybe trek to Nepal…"

"You know, those newfangled flying machines really are much safer than they used to be."

"I can't fly. There's no sure way to guard against the daylight." He looked pained but trying to keep his emotions under control. "I don't like this any more than you do, Buffy. But there's no other choice."

Tears stinging her eyes as the enormity set in on her, she asked the only question she had left. "When?"

"Tonight. As soon as possible."

The disappointment stabbed her heart. "But it's my birthday."

Jenny approached them, her voice low. "I'll drive you to the docks," she offered.

Angel nodded his thanks, but his eyes remained locked with Buffy's. So far, being seventeen sucked so royally.

"You lost it?" Drusilla hissed, her fury bubbling just below the surface. "You… lost my present."

Dalton stood fearfully before her, his head bowed and trying to stay calm. "I know. I'm sorry."

Spike tutted from his wheelchair, observing all this. "It was a bad turn, man. She can't have her fun without the box."

"The Slayer," Dalton said, trying to justify it without leaving the room in an ashtray. "She came out of nowhere. I didn't even see her. She…"

Drusilla cut him off by putting her finger to his lips. She stared into his eyes, lifted off his glasses and dropped them to the floor. She stomped on them and ground them into the concrete. She lifted her head with her eyes closed. "Make a wish."

Dalton looked confused. "What?"

She held two fingers up to his eyes. "I'm going to blow out the candles."

Before she could act, however, Spike's voice carried from across the room. "You might give him a chance to find your lost treasure. He is a wanker, but he's the only one we've got with half a brain. If he fails, you can eat his eyes out of the sockets for all I care." Or at least give the poor bugger a chance to split town, he thought ruefully.

Dalton nodded hopefully. "I'll get it. Please. I swear."

Drusilla thrust both hands at him and pulled them back at the last instant and up into raised fists, and smiled at him evilly. She bent down and picked up his glasses. "Okay," she said calmly. She unfolded them and set them back on his nose. "Hurry back then." She patted him on his head before stepping over to Spike and sitting in his lap.

Dalton breathed a sigh of relief and left to begin his task.

Buffy had never really been to the docks of Sunnydale before. Any other night, she would've thought they were beautiful – smelly but beautiful. Right now, with the love of her life about to embark on a months-long quest to save the world from a disembodied arm, she could appreciate neither the view nor the stench. She understood his reasoning. She respected his willingness to perform the task. She admired his dedication. She just couldn't stand that he would do all this right when she thought their relationship was finally starting to become something real. Yes, she knew it had to be done, but couldn't they just cast a spell that teleported the damn thing to another dimension or something?

Angel had the box on his shoulder. They walked arm in arm, Buffy leaning into him. He kissed her on the head. When they reached the gangplank, he set the box down. "I should go the rest of the way alone."

"Okay," Buffy said simply, her voice rough.

"But I'll be back. I will."

She looked at him, almost petulant. "When? Six months, a year? You don't know how long it's gonna take or if we'll even…" She trailed off, looking down.

"Hey…" He raised her chin. "If we'll even what?"

Dammit, now he could see the tears in her eyes. "Well, if you haven't noticed, someone pretty much always wants us dead."

"Don't say that. We'll be fine."

"We don't know that." She knew the life expectancy of a Slayer. Even if she planned to fight her way to her twenties, she knew anything could happen.

"We can't know, Buffy. Nobody can. That's just the deal." He reached into his pocket. "I have something for you. For your birthday. I… I was gonna give it to you earlier, but…" He showed her a ring with an intricate design.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly.

"My people – before I was changed – they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. It's a claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty… and the heart… Well, you know… Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to somebody. Like this." He showed her his own ring on his finger. She touched his hand, leaned over and kissed the ring. "Put it on."

He took the ring from her and slipped it onto her finger, and that just made her finally break down sobbing. "I don't wanna do this," she whimpered.

"Me either." He looked so pained.

"So don't go."

They kissed. She put her arms around him, and then they kissed a whole lot more. Maybe if she kissed him just enough, she could change his mind.

They finally stopped kissing, and he looked into her eyes. "Buffy… I…"

Bang on cue, two vampires suddenly jumped at them from some cargo netting, completely wrecking the moment. One pulled Buffy off of Angel and threw her back while the other began to fight with Angel.

Buffy rolled to her feet. The vampire swung at her, but missed. She grabbed him and started pummeling his gut. Angel flipped the other one over onto his back. He got up, and Angel swung at him three times, but he blocked all of them. Angel's next punch landed on the vampire's face.

Buffy ducked a swing, lifted herself up on the dock railing and kicked her assailant in the chest with both feet, sending him staggering back into the gangplank. She gave chase and grabbed him by the back of the shirt and hair.

The vampire she knew worked for Spike dropped out of the cargo netting now, too, running over to the box. He grabbed it and started to run. "Angel! The box!" she shouted.

Angel ducked a roundhouse kick, grabbed the vampire's arm and flipped him over onto his back. He ran after the fleeing vampire and tackled him to the deck.

Buffy's attacker shook free of her and shoved her into a stack of crates. He followed up with a roundhouse kick, but she ducked it and he just hit the crates. She made a grab for him, but he punched her in the face. Angel got ready to punch four-eyes but got distracted when the vampire he was fighting before grabbed the box and made a run for it. Her opponent grabbed her by the jacket and roared as he swung her around, over the railing and into the water.

She heard Angel cry out her name, followed by another splash.

Giles rubbed his eyes briefly under his glasses. Once the all-too-brief party had dispersed, Jesse, Xander and Willow had agreed to return with him to the library to try and find out more info on the Judge. It had been hours now, and while they had found plenty of books that brought him up, none of them suggested any methods used to destroy him. Buffy and Jenny had said they would join after they sent Angel on his way. He looked up from his books to peer anxiously at the clock. "They should be back by now."

"Maybe Buffy needed a few minutes to pull herself together," said Willow sadly. "Poor Buffy, on her birthday and everything."

Xander nodded, trying to look philosophical. "Hmm, it's sad, granted. But let's look at the upside for a moment," he said, getting to his feet, a sure sign he was going to talk a lot. "I mean, what kind of a future would she've really had with him?" Willow looked sadly while Jesse just shook his head disparagingly. "She's got two jobs – Denny's waitress by day, Slayer by night - and Angel's always in front of the TV with a big blood belly, and he's dreamin' of the glory days when Buffy still thought this whole creature of the night routine was a big turn on."

"And then you swoop in on a private jet to take her out for prime rib," Jesse said in a very unimpressed tone. "I've heard this particular daydream a few times now, Xan-Man, and frankly, it gets sadder every time."

"You left out the part where she cries and I console her."

"You're like Wile E Coyote with all his Acme blueprints. Dial it down a notch, okay?"

Before Xander could argue further, they heard the door open, and in walked Buffy wearing a different outfit than she had earlier. "What happened?" asked Giles.

"Dru's guys ambushed us. They got the box."

"Where's Jenny?"

"Uh, she took Angel to get clothing. I had some here."

Xander narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And we needed clothes because…?"

"We got wet. Giles, what do we know?"

Giles gestured vaguely at the books surrounding them. "The more I study the Judge, the less I like him. His touch can literally burn the humanity out of you. A true creature of evil can survive the process. No human ever has."

Xander shrugged. "What's the problem?" he asked cheerfully. "We send Cordy to fight this guy, and we go for pizza."

Buffy wisely ignored him. "Can this guy be stopped? Without an army?"

Giles picked up one of the books with the appropriate passage. "'No weapon forged can kill him.' Not very encouraging. If we could only stop them from assembling him."

"We need to find his weak spots, and we need to figure out where they'd be keeping him."

"This could take time."

Willow nodded. "Better do a round robin. Xander, you go first."

"Good call," agreed Buffy as Xander headed for the phone.

Giles looked between them, confused. "Round robin?"

"It means Xander and I are staying at each other's house, and Willow and Buffy are staying at each other's house," said Jesse. "We've decided not to tell our respective parents we're saving the world every other Tuesday. They'd rather we were psyching up for the SATs."

"I mean, we could do that, too!" said Willow eagerly. Everyone's sardonic looks sent her pouting in her chair.

. . .

The research party went long into the night. They went through several of Giles' books – he kindly offered to read the ones not in English – and they occasionally took breaks to eat, stretch or go to the bathroom. Someone always had a book, though, at all times.

Xander came back from taking a break to find another book. He picked one up but frowned at it. "Tsk. I think I read this already."

"I know the feeling. Everything we find on the Judge is the same," Jesse sighed, setting down another book. "I get the feeling Giles needs to update his collection to something from the last decade. A lot of this has gotta be out of date."

Willow, however, had other things on her mind. "I can't get over how cool Oz was about all this."

"Well, he took getting shot in the arm pretty well," said Jesse. "Seeing a vampire get dusted was probably small potatoes after that."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Oz is super chill. Big whoop. Back to work, okay?"

But Willow looked at him smugly. "You're both just jealous 'cause you didn't have a date for the party."

Xander's expression looked shifty. "No, I sure didn't."

"Too bad," said Jesse. "Our group was equal parts male and female. Couldn't have been that hard."

They were interrupted when they heard Giles coming out into the main room. They followed his gaze and saw Angel coming down out of the stacks. "Any luck?" the Watcher asked. As Angel approached, they spotted Buffy sound asleep in the office, her head down on the desk with books around her. "Seems Buffy needed some rest."

"Yeah," agreed Angel. "She hasn't been sleeping well. Tossing and turning." Everyone looked at him. "She told me. Because of her dreams?" he clarified awkwardly.

They all went back to work, deciding to let her sleep for a while.

Buffy entered Spike's warehouse, wondering briefly how she got here and why the place was decorated – it looked like a party would go down. All around, candles on tall sticks had burned way down. She went to the table and walked around it. On the other side, she saw a woman walking the other way. It looked like Ms Calendar. Very odd.

But that confusion was replaced with horror when she saw several boxes sitting on the floor. She started to go over to them.

"Now, now," said a familiar voice. She spun around to see Drusilla on the upper level holding Angel in front of her. "Hands off my presents." She put a sharp blade to Angel's neck.

"No!" Buffy shouted.

. . .

Buffy jolted awake from her nightmare with a start. "Angel!"

"Buffy, it's okay." Startled to hear his voice, she turned and saw him in Giles' office with her. "I'm here," he assured her as she leapt up and hugged him close. "I'm right here."

Spike felt very relieved when Dalton showed up with the missing box. Just goes to show that even one of his morons could do something right now and again. He took the box in his lap and wheeled into the main room.

Drusilla stood at the top of the spiral staircase and clapped her hands. "More music!" she demanded. She bobbed her head to the gothic beat as she descended the steps. She made her way to the head of the table and began to dance there to "Transylvanian Concubine", performed by Rasputina.

As the music raged on, Spike wheeled into the room behind her. "Look what I have for you, ducks!" he called over the song. She looked at him, smiled and stepped over.

"Ahh…," she purred. "The best is saved for last." She took the box from him and handed it to two vampires. They took it over to where the other boxes had been assembled into the shape of a body. They raised the box and set the head in place.

The front of the now-unified boxes opened like a pair of twin gates to allow the Judge to step out. His skin was blue, and he had small horns on his forehead. He opened his eyes.

"He's perfect, my darling," Drusilla whispered. "Just what I wanted." She stepped back to him and took his hand.

The Judge stepped out of his box. He had difficulty keeping his balance. Poor blighter probably hadn't used those muscles in centuries. But then, he pointed at Drusilla. "You!"

Spike rolled over to him in Dru's defense. "Ho, ho, ho. What's that, mate?" he snapped, ready to risk getting out of the wheelchair if he absolutely had to.

But the Judge looked pissed at him, too. "You two stink of humanity. You share affection and jealousy."

"Yeah. What of it?" He tapped the Judge's armor. "Do I have to remind you that we're the ones who brought you here?"

Drusilla smiled, unfazed. "Would you like a party favor?" she asked, gesturing to the other vampires in the room, who suddenly looked very uneasy.

The Judge looked at the party guests. His gaze settled on Dalton. "This one is full of feeling. He reads. Bring him to me."

Another vampire grabbed Dalton and kept him from running away. "What's with the bringing?" Spike frowned. "I thought you could just zap people."

"My full strength will return in time. Until then… I need contact."

The Judge stepped over to Dalton, who struggled to get away. "No. No! NO!" But the Judge puts his hand on Dalton's chest, and he begins to smoke. His hand began to burn into the poor bugger, who quickly combusted, disappearing in a flash of flame and smoke.

Drusilla gasped and clapped gleefully. "Do it again! Do it again!" She smiled down at Spike, delightedly with her gift.

Spike smiled in return, pleased to see her so happy – but also a little wary. The Judge smiled as he felt his power begin to return. How many more times would he need to 'do it again' before they ran out of minions?

Thanks to her latest dream, Buffy believed she finally knew where Spike and Drusilla were located. She had seen the old factory in town, and Angel knew of its location – it had been the old headquarters of the Anointed One before Spike overthrew him. She and Angel would recon and see what progress had been made on assembling the Judge, putting Giles and the gang in charge of checking any places boxes could be coming in – shipping yards, airports, etc.

They managed to sneak into the factory building and snuck quietly along the upper level. They could see all the decorations, they could Spike in a wheelchair, and they could see Drusilla prancing around happily with party favors. Unfortunately, they could also see the Judge looking pretty darn rebuilt.

The Judge stopped where he stood, looked around, and then up at Buffy and Angel. He did not look happy to see them.

"We gotta get outta here," Angel whispered.

They tried to make a run for it, but there were vampires heading them off on both sides, and although they tried to fight them off, there were too many of them, and got themselves captured.

They were brought before the Terrible Trio below. "Well, well," drawled Spike. "Look what we have here. Crashers."

"I'm sure our invitations just got lost in the mail," Buffy sneered.

Drusilla looked very pleased. "It's delicious," she said, licking her fingers. She eyed Angel eagerly. "I only dreamed you'd come. Rrrr."

Angel struggled to get free. "Leave her alone."

"Yeah, that'll work," Spike smiled. "Now say 'pretty please'."

The Judge frowned at Buffy. "The girl."

"Chilling, isn't it?" said Drusilla. "She's so full of good intentions."

Angel tried to get himself between the Judge and Buffy. "Take me!" he pleaded, despite Buffy's protestations. "Take me instead of her!"

Spike raised his hand. "Uh, you're not clear on the concept, pal," he said, seemingly determined to be annoying since he couldn't fight. "There is no 'instead'. Just 'first' and 'second'."

"And if you go first," said Drusilla, "you don't get to watch the Slayer die."

Angel's captors pulled him back. The Judge reached for Buffy. She took a fighting stance, all set to fight him off. Drusilla wrapped her arms around Spike and smiled that unsettling smile of hers. Ignoring it, she went for a kick at the exact instant that Angel yelled the all-important information, "Don't touch him!"

Buffy kicked the Judge in the chest and knocked him back. Angel shook off his captors and lunged for some chains. The Judge came to a stop some distance from her, and Angel released the chains – they'd been holding up several security monitors. They crashed to the floor on top of the Judge, hard enough to knock a hole in the floor.

Buffy struggled free also, and ran to Angel, when she spotted the hole. "This way!" she shouted. They jumped through into the sewers below.

Once underground, they started down the tunnels. She could hear Drusilla shout an order above them and the shuffling sound of feet moving behind them. She and Angel pulled a door closed behind them as their pursuers dropped through the hole and started after them. They hid there for a while, waiting for them to pass. Once confident they had, she opened the door and checked if the coast was clear. Seeing no one, she stepped over to a ladder and started up.

It was pouring rain when they made it to the surface. Soaking wet yet again. Angel took her straight to his apartment. He turned on the light while she closed the door behind them. He took off his heavy coat and laid it aside before he turned and saw she was soaked through to her skin without a coat or jacket. "You're shaking like a leaf," he observed with concern.

"Cold," she replied, too busy shivering to say something wittier.

"Let me get you something." He got some things from his armoire and handed them to her. "Put these on. Get under the covers, just to warm up."

She sat down on his bed, giving him a look. Getting the hint, he faced away to give her privacy, mumbling an apology. She took off her top shirt and winced, inhaling in pain.

"What?" Angel asked, turning his head back slightly.

"Oh, um… It's okay. I just have a cut or something."

"Can I…? Lemme see."

Buffy clutched her shirt to her chest. What was happening right now? "Okay," she whispered.

Angel turned back around and sat down on the bed behind her. He gently touched her back and looked at the cut. "It's already closed. You're fine."

Quietly enjoying being so close to him, she leaned back into him and cuddled her face to his. He put his arms around her. "You almost went away today."

"We both did."

She began to cry again. "Angel…," she sniffled. "I feel like I lost you… You're right, though. We can't be sure of anything."

He attempted to soothe her. "I…"

When he trailed off, she turned around to look at him. "You what?"

"I love you. I try not to, but I can't stop."

"Me… me, too. I can't either."

They started to kiss. Not like their usual kissing – this was something deeper and far more meaningful than she'd ever experienced before.

After a moment, Angel tried to break off. "Buffy, maybe we shouldn't…"

But Buffy cut him off. "Don't. Just kiss me." And he did. In her heart, she believed this was the right thing to do. This was what they'd been building to this whole time. This moment. Being here with him. Forget the past. Forget the future. This moment right here and now was what mattered. And it was going to be amazing.

Later that night, after… y'know… that was over, they were both in bed, asleep, while the storm raged outside.

Angel jolted awake and gasped for air as he sat up. Crying out, he got up from the bed and hurried off. In his panic, he didn't think to wake Buffy or anything – although, somehow, he managed to dress himself in a shirt and pants. He crashed through the door and into the rain. He stumbled over some trash cans and fell to the pavement, crying out in pain and fear.

"Buffy!" he cried. " Buffyyyy !"

. . .

Buffy stirred slightly in her sleep but didn't wake.