"Yes, Cordelia, everything is fine. No, I don't know anything about the new fashion trends." Giles rolled his eyes and sighed deeply into the phone. "Cordelia, its been nice chatting with you for the past hour and a half, but I really must speak with Angel. Is he there?"

"Yeah he is, but Buffy ran out for something. I thought you were calling for her."

Giles froze. "She's there already?" he asked.

"Yeah...uh oh, she didn't tell you?" Cordelia asked.

"No, Cordelia listen to me. Get Angel on the phone, right this very minute. Its urgent."

"Okay okay. God why didn't you just say so in the beginning?" she muttered. "ANGEL! Pick up the phone, its Giles!" she yelled down to him.

"Giles? What's going on? Is everything okay?" Angel asked.

"Angel, I can't explain this all to you right now...honestly because I don't know how its happened, but somehow...."

"Hey," Giles heard Buffy's voice over the phone, "who you talkin' to?"

"Angel, don't tell her its me." he said, quickly.

"What's going on?" Angel asked. He looked up at Buffy as Giles spoke.

"That's not Buffy," Giles said, slowly and calmly. "Faith somehow managed to switch her body with Buffy's. She's is the one who is with you now." Angel looked up at her in silence. He had known something was off the minute he saw her, but he'd never imagined anything like this. Giles continued when he heard no response from Angel. "We don't know what her plans are..."

"Yes we do." Buffy said, walking through the door. "Is that Angel?" she asked nervously, quickly crossing the room and standing by Giles. He nodded and she motioned for him to give her the phone.

"Angel?" she felt her tears beginning to fall.

"Yeah." he said softly. He heard the fear and sadness in her voice, Faith's voice...Buffy's soul. There was an ache inside of him as he looked up at the figure of the woman he loved so much. He wanted to kill her, right then, for doing this to his beloved. How can I hurt her? He thought to himself, how could I ever hurt Buffy's body?

"Hey," Faith said, gently shoving Angel's shoulder. "Who is it?"

Angel covered the phone with his hand. "Its Wesley. He has some info on a case we're working on. Give me just a minute?"

She smiled and headed back up the stairs.

"Hey," he said, holding the phone up to his mouth again. "Are you okay?"

Buffy sniffled. "I'm as good as I can be." she said, sadly. "But you're not safe, you have to get away from her."

Angel shook his head. "If she suspects anything's going wrong, it'll just make it worse." he said.

"Angel, she's crazy. You don't know what she's done here. And its going to get worse. Have you ever heard of some kind of Azayzel gem or key or something?" she asked.

Upon hearing this, Giles quickly left the room and returned with a very old, and very large book.

"The Key of Azayzel, yeah, she tried to talk to me about it. Why?"

"Faith has the key. She needs the gem to make it work, and she knows where to find it. The Mayor supposedly came to her in a dream or something and told her how to get it. She's going to use it to bring him back You need to stop her. I'm going to be there as soon as I can."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked.

"I have to stop her. I have make sure that you...that everyone is safe." Buffy said.

"Okay, I'll see you soon." he answered.

"Be careful." Buffy said, softly.

"I will. I promise." There was a long silence. "I love you." he whispered.

It was barely a whisper, but Buffy heard him. She smiled as her tears stained her cheeks. "I love you, too." she said.

Angel reluctantly hung up the phone and walked across his bedroom and pulled a small marble box out of his closet. He held it in his hands for a moment and then sat down on the bed. He took a deep breath, opened the box, removed a small black velvet bag and emptied its contents into his hand. Angel rolled it around in the palm of his hand for a moment before holding the Gem of Azayzel up to the light.

"The Council knows about the Initiative?" Giles asked, shocked after Buffy had told him about Maggie's confession.

Buffy nodded. "Giles, I hate to interrupt the 'How could they not have told me?' moment, but Watcher's council, NOT the most important thing right now. What do you know about this Key of Azayzel thing?"

"I'm afraid its not very good, Buffy."

"Wow, that's a shocker. What will happen if Faith finds the gem?"

"Well, if she knows how to use the key, which I assume she does...it'll be the worst possible thing that could happen. Buffy, those Oracles you told us about before, they are part of a different dimension...a higher world. Nothing bad can ever happen to them as long as the worlds are kept apart." he explained. "This key, when combined with the gem and the proper spell...it would allow all the slain demons to rise again...including the Mayor. They would have their run of the earth. The higher beings would be the first to be killed. There would be no more protection for them...and they could no longer protect us."

"Don't I protect us?" Buffy answered, "I mean, no offense to 'higher powers' and all, but they really didn't seem like the protection type."

"Well, it may seem that they don't help, but they do...though I can't explain how." Giles said, his eyebrows creasing in thought. "So, it does seem that the Oracles did have ulterior motives behind the offer they presented to you."

"I have to get to LA, now." she said.

"Buffy, I think I should come with you. You may need..."

"No, Giles, you have to stay here. Keep researching the Key, find out where the Gem might be and how I can stop Faith if she finds it. Don't tell Willow and Xander that I went. I don't want them to worry."

"Ok." he nodded and Buffy hurried out the door. "Buffy." he called out to her.

She turned to him. "Hmm?"

"Be careful."

She smiled. "I will."

Buffy hurried back onto the campus and into Riley's dorm. She banged on his door as hard as she could.

"Alright! Alright!" Riley yelled sleepily from the other side of the door.

The door swung open. "Faith? Is everything okay."

"No." Buffy said, angrily. "Its Mag...mom. She's in the hospital."

"What?" Riley answered, upset. "What happened?"

"It was Buffy. She attacked her." she forced herself to look sad. "Riley, it doesn't look good."

He quickly pulled on a shirt and followed Buffy out the door.

Various members of the Initiative crowded the door of Maggie's hospital room.

Forest was the first to notice Riley and Buffy's arrival. "Hey man," he said, making room for them to come through the crowd. He hugged Riley and looked over at Buffy. "Faith," he said, his tone was hard. "Its a good thing you found her when you did."

Buffy nodded and followed Riley into the room. They stood side by side next to Maggie's bed. She was awake, but she didn't look good. The doctors had patched up the wound on her stomach.

Maggie reached out for Riley's hand. "I'm glad you're here." she whispered, as he sat down in a chair next to the bed. Buffy stood behind him.

"What have the doctors told you?" he asked, concerned.

Maggie shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. Riley, do you love me?"

"Of course I do. You're my mother, how can you doubt that I love you?" he asked.

Maggie smiled. "You know who did this to me?" she asked, looking at Buffy and then back to Riley.

"Faith told me it was Buffy. I promise you, I'll find her. I'll bring her to justice."

Maggie shook her head. "She said..." it was getting hard for her to speak. "She said she was going to Los Angeles. Visiting someone. Faith will know where to look. Won't you, Faith?"

Buffy nodded. "Of course."

"You need to rest." Riley said, rising from his seat. He kissed Maggie's forehead. "We'll find her and bring her back."

As they left the room, Maggie called out to him. "Riley?"

He turned back around. "Yeah mom?"

"When you find Buffy Summers...kill her for me." she said.

Buffy looked at Riley, searching for some kind of negative reaction to Maggie's request, but there was nothing. He was silent for a moment before answering.

"I will...I promise."

Maggie glanced at Buffy again. It was an odd gaze, leaving Buffy with an uncomfortable feeling as she and Riley walked side by side down the hospital corridor.

Maggie stared at the ceiling, smiling at the thought of her last wish. Yes, she thought, everything will work out exactly as planned. She closed her eyes. The machines hooked up to her body beeped madly as the doctors came rushing into the room, they tried everything they could to wake her, but she was gone.

"Hey," Riley said, tapping one of the other agents on the shoulder. "Have you seen Forest? They told us he was called away from the hospital."

"Yeah," the agent answered. "I think he's down with the hostiles. The guys were taking shifts so we could visit Dr. Walsh."

Riley nodded and motioned for Buffy to follow him. "Just a warning cause I know you've never been down to the holding cells," he said, as they stood in the elevator. "They can get a little rowdy down here. Try not to get to close to the cell windows."

Buffy nodded as the doors open. She was stunned at the size of the long line of cells. Riley walked down the aisle quickly, but Buffy took her time, looking from side to side at all the captive demons and vampires. She was about halfway through when one of the captives caught her eye. She walked over to the window and put her hands on the glass.

He was crouched up in a little ball in the corner of the cell. Head buried in his knees, hands clasped over it. There was a tray of untouched food at the very front of the cell. Buffy looked up to see if Riley was looking, but he was to preoccupied with finding Forest and was already nearing the next room of cell blocks. Buffy gently tapped the window with her finger nail.

Oz raised his head and took a moment to let his eyes focus. They widened when he saw her. His brow creased as he observed her with his usual indifference. "Faith? Now that was unexpected." he said. He rose to his feet and, at her beckoning, slowly approached the window.

"Oz, can you hear me?" she whispered, glancing around for video cameras.

"The camera is right there." Oz said, nodding towards a small camera in the front corner of his cell. He suddenly backed away from the window.

Buffy turned when Riley tapped her on the shoulder. "What are you doing?" he asked.

She thought for a moment, glancing from Oz to Riley. "I know this one." she said, "He's one of Buffy's friends."

"Yeah, he looked familiar. He's a werewolf. I caught him a few months ago." Riley said, with a proud smile.

Buffy thought of all the pain Willow had been in when Oz had left her. All that time praying that he would come back to her and he had been trapped here the whole time.

"They used to lock him up whenever he'd change...he would do it voluntarily, actually." Buffy told him.

"He's the only werewolf we've got. Mom was pretty happy when I brought him back." he looked at his watch. "Hey, we really should get going. I have to put some stuff together before we go."

Buffy looked at Oz, who had silently observed the conversation with inquisitive eyes.

"Riley," she said, trying to muster up some Faith-like playfulness. "Can I play with him while you get ready?" she asked.

Riley looked at her strangely. "Play with him? What do you mean?"

Buffy pouted. "He was one of them. He hated me...I want him to know what it felt like. He won't escape. Don't you have some kind of private testing room or something?"

"We have the operating rooms."

"Ooh." Buffy smiled, "Do they have doctor's instruments?"

Riley smiled and laughed. "Yeah," he looked at the happy and eager look on her face and just couldn't refuse her. "Oh okay, but don't tell anyone."

Buffy smiled. Riley looked up to see if anyone was watching them and then pulled out a card and slid it through the security lock. Oz eyed Faith curiously and didn't struggle as Riley grabbed his arm and walked him down the hall. Buffy followed behind them.

Riley unlocked a small room in the next hallway and shoved Oz inside, then backed away and motioned for Buffy to go inside. "It locks from the inside. I would say be careful, but he's pretty easy to deal with."

"Thanks man." Oz said, speaking aloud for the first time since Riley had returned.

Buffy turned and looked at him and then back to Riley. "You'd better hurry up. Just come and get me when you're ready."

Riley nodded and left. Buffy locked the door behind him. She turned to face Oz again. "Hey." she said, softly. She took off her jacket and tossed it in an empty chair.

"Faith." he nodded, "Nice to see you're still crazy."

"Oz," Buffy said, rubbing her head and walking towards him. He took a step back as she approached. "Ugh! I hate you guys being afraid of me." she complained.

"Interesting." Oz said.

Buffy looked around the room. "Are there cameras in here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice low.

Oz looked around. "No."

"Are you sure?"

He looked around again. "No."

Buffy sighed. "Fine...whatever. Oz, its me...Buffy."

His face remained expressionless. "Really, now THAT was unexpected." he answered finally.

"Look, I don't know how it happened, but Giles is trying to figure it out. Somehow Faith switched our bodies. She's got this whole big plan that I can't begin to explain right now, but I am going to get you out of here and back to Willow because..."

"Willow....how is she?" he asked, a hint of sadness touching his voice.

"She misses you." Buffy said, softly. "For awhile there, I didn't know if she would make it. She needs you, Oz."

He nodded. "So you are Buffy then?"

Her eyes widened. "You believe me? That's it? No, 'Prove it to me'? No 'Tell us something only Buffy would know'?"

He shrugged, "Nah, I don't need it."

"Well, that was easy. Now," she unlocked the door and opened it just a crack. "How am I going to get you out of here?"

Oz peeked out of the door as Buffy stepped into the hall. There was no one around, so she waved for him to follow her. Oz cautiously walked out of the room and followed Buffy's lead as they made their way to the elevator.

"There are gonna be cameras in there, too." she said, rethinking her plan. Just then, something caught her eye. "There." Buffy said, pointing to a small window just past the room they had been in.

Oz looked at it skeptically. Buffy noticed this look and looked him up and down with her eyes. Oz noticed this and did the same. He nodded, realizing he was small enough to fit.

"We have to get you up there." Buffy said, looking around for something Oz could stand on.

She headed back into the room and came back out rolling a gurney. She pushed it under window and motioned for Oz to climb onto it. Buffy stood up on the gurney and, with all her strength, broke the metal lock that bolted the window shut. Oz climbed out the small window and turned, kneeling on the ground to talk to Buffy.

He gave her an appreciative smile. "Thanks, I should be okay from here, I can see your dorm building."

Buffy shook her head. "Don't go there, go to Giles. You'll be much safer with him."

Oz nodded. "Ok, be careful."

"I will."

Once he was gone, Buffy pushed the gurney back into the room and grabbed a piece of the broken lock. She squeezed her eyes closed and dragged the jagged edge of the metal across her upper arm. Buffy winced as the blood poured out of the wound. She did it a few more times, until she was satisfied that the marks resembled claws.

She grabbed her jacket and hurried out of the room. Riley was heading towards the elevator when the doors open and he saw her standing there. Her arm was covered in blood.

"Oh My God!" he cried, dropping his bag and running towards her. "Faith, what happened?"

"What do you think happened? He wolfed out, Riley. God what do you feed those things?" she asked, trying to keep her tone Faith-like. "He broke out of a window. I tried to stop him, but..."

"How is that possible? Its not a full moon." Riley said, angrily.

Buffy shrugged. "Do you give them some kinds of drugs?"

Riley shook his head, "Just some sedatives as far as I know."

"Well, something's up with that, cause he just turned wolf on me." Buffy said, trying to convince him.

"I'll get a team assembled. We have to recover him before its too late."

"No Riley, we have to go! Remember? We have to find Buffy. We don't have time for this now. Besides," she said, thinking quickly, and hoping it was convincing, "He was normal again when he ran away."

Riley thought for a moment. His eyes narrowed when he looked at her, but then quickly softened. "You're right. I guess it can wait. I'll have some guys go track him." He looked down at her still bleeding arm. "We should bandage that up first though."

Buffy shook her head, "I heal fast. Lets go."

Riley nodded and they headed out.

"Hey," Faith said, leaning seductively against the door frame of Angel's bedroom. "are you asleep?"

Angel had been laying on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling...and thinking about Buffy. He propped himself up and looked at her. Pain wrenched his heart every time he thought about it. This wasn't Buffy. Buffy was trapped inside the body of her mortal enemy. She was scared and alone and hurting...and he had to pretend to love this hateful creature now standing in front of him, her loathsome face was masked by the face of the one person in the world that he truly loved.

"Angel?" Buffy's voice called him again, when there was no answer.

"Yeah." he finally answered, sitting up on the bed and rubbing his eyes.

Faith slowly walked towards the bed. Angel watched her as she crawled onto the foot of the bed. She sat on her knees beside him and softly traced his arm with the tip of her finger. Angel shook her off and stood up.

Faith looked at him. Anger was burning inside her. She thought of their earlier discussion about the gem of Azayzel and how he had brushed off her questions about it just like he was brushing her off now. He knows, she thought, maybe not that I'm Faith, but definitely that something is wrong.

"Buffy," he said, breaking her thoughts. "I don't think its a good idea for you to stay here tonight."

"But, what about Faith? She could be here already, looking for me." Faith looked him in the eyes, searching for some sign of doubt, but she saw nothing. His eyes were empty pools staring back at her.

"I'm just afraid to get carried away. With you so close..." he paused. "I'm sure you'll be safe at the hotel. Its not far. I'm just a phone call away."

Faith nodded. She knew that's what Buffy would do. She breathed a soft sigh of relief. "I saw a hotel around the corner earlier. I'll call and see if they have any rooms available."

Angel nodded as Faith reluctantly picked up the phone and pretended to call the hotel.

Angel sat in a chair in the kitchen, patiently waiting for her to gather her things. She walked into the room, packed and ready to go. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Its raining," he said quietly. "I'll drive you." he offered.

Faith shook her head, objecting. "No, its okay. I want to walk. "

Angel followed her up the stairs and watched in silence as she walked out the door once again.

Cordelia stared at him for a moment before speaking. "Well, I guess this means you'll be a great big ball of sunshine this week. Will you two never learn?"

"That's not Buffy." Angel said.

"Um, hello? Did you just see the same person I did? The same person who's been here all day? Just incase you forgot...that's Buffy...BUH-FY. Remember?"

"Cordelia...Faith and Buffy switched bodies. That was Faith, but she doesn't know that I know she's Faith, so you can't say anything to her."

"WHAT?" Cordelia's eyes bulged. "Ok, you totally lost me. How did they switch bodies? And why is Faith here?"

"We don't know anything for sure yet. Buffy is on her way here. Don't be alarmed by her if you see her. I don't want to upset her."

"Ugh, this is too much for me. I'm going home to take a nice long bubble bath. I just hope Dennis is asleep." she muttered, thinking about her ghost roommate as she walked past Angel, "That back rub thing was just too weird."

Angel turned to go back downstairs. "Just lock the door when you go." he called out as he pulled the door to the stairs closed behind him.

"Uh huh." Cordelia answered. She grabbed her bag and jacket and walked out the door, letting it slam behind her. I feel like I forgot something she thought, staring at the office door, through the rain on the taxi window. She shrugged. Oh well, I'll just get it tomorrow.

Faith walked quickly through the cold rain. She finally reached the hotel a few blocks away and ran inside. She waved her room card at the same clerk who had been sitting there when she'd checked in. The clerk waved back as Faith hopped into the elevator.

She tossed her bag on the bed and got out of Buffy's clothes which were drenched with rain. She tried to relax as she leaned back into the warm bath, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Angel knows about the gem. The Mayor told me he knew about it, she thought. I'm Buffy. He trusts me. Why didn't he tell me? "Relax Faith." she told herself. "Just clear your mind. You need to be thinking straight." She closed her eyes and rested her head against the tub.

Her body had just begun to relax when she heard a soft knock on the door. "Ugh. What now?" Faith muttered as she got out of the tub and pulled on a robe. She sauntered over to the door and yanked it open.

"What took you so damn long?" she asked, getting annoyed all over again.

"Never mind that." Riley said, walking into the room and pushing the door shut behind him. He grabbed her face and pressed his lips against hers so hard, she felt like they would bruise. Faith responded eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck and roughly winding her fingers into his hair. "I missed you so much." he said, breathlessly.

"Shut up." she said, gasping as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Faith moaned as Riley threw her down on the bed. "How do I know you're not just doing this to see what its like with Buffy?" she said, with a smirk.

"You don't." he answered and he tore off his shirt and let himself fall on top of her.

Faith laughed as he sucked her bottom lip. "What's funny?" he asked, still nibbling at her.

She rolled him over and straddled him, pinning his arms down. He moaned as she grinded against him. Faith leaned down and let her lips touch his as she spoke, "This is one thing..." she whispered, against his mouth as he panted, "that she can never do as good as me."

Riley smiled rolled over so that she was under him again. "I just can't wait to see her face when she finds out."

Faith laughed wickedly and pulled his face down to hers.

Buffy waited about an hour before she approached Riley's door. She tapped on it lightly, thinking of what she would say if he was still awake. She breathed a sigh of relief when there was no answer, and headed out of the hotel.

She realized, once she reached the street, that she had no money on her for a taxi and would have to walk to Angel's place in the rain. She hurried through the dark streets. The rain beat down on her as she ran.

Buffy was relieved, and also alarmed to find the office door unlocked. She entered the dark room with caution, quietly pushing the door closed behind her. The only sliver of light in the room came from a streetlamp outside the window of the office building. Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness and she spotted the door to Angel's downstairs apartment, her heart began to flutter and she could feel him everywhere. She headed towards the door, but suddenly two strong arms grabbed her from behind.

Buffy yelped in pain as Angel's hand pressed against the wound on her upper arm. He quickly let go, fearing he'd done something wrong. Buffy whirled around.

"Angel." she whispered. She collapsed back into his arms and cried.

He was quick to hold her again, gently stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head. "Shh...Buffy, its okay. Its going to be okay." he kissed her head one more time. She shook uncontrollably in his embrace. Her shoulders rising and falling with each sob. Angel scooped her up into his arms and carried her down to his bedroom.

Her tears slowly subsided as Angel gently patted her face and hair with a towel. He hesitantly began to remove her jacket, but pulled back when she winced in pain.

"What is it?" he asked, memories of the night when they had first made love drifted through his mind.

Buffy carefully took off her jacket, revealing the bloody mess she had made of Faith's arm.

Angel's face blanched with anger. "Did she do this to you?" he asked.

Buffy shook her head, "No, I did it to myself."

He looked at her, confused, but didn't question her. He went into the next room and came back carrying and damp washcloth and some bandages. He sat down beside her again, and began to clean up the wound. Buffy didn't move or speak as he bandaged the wound. She just sat there, staring blankly at the floor. So many thoughts raced through her head, it was making her dizzy.

Angel finished wrapping her arm and softly turned her face to his. "Buffy, it IS going to be okay."

She bit her lip to try to keep from crying, but it was no use. Angel withdrew his hand as she quickly rose from the bed. Buffy paced across the floor, her arms up over her face, fingers curled into her hair. She had to fight off the urge to tear all Faith's hair out of her head.

Angel stood up and walked over to her. He tried to put his arms around her, to make her still, but she put her hands up to protest. "Don't touch me." she said, more harshly than she'd intended. She could see the hurt in his face as he backed away, and immediately regretted her words. "Angel, its not you. Its me... I mean...its not me...I'm not me." she said, her words jumbled, as she cried.

"Buffy, I know its you. I would always know its you, it doesn't matter what body you're in. I can see your soul. I can see YOU."

Buffy stopped pacing and faced him. "When she came here, when you first saw her...did you know?" she asked, softly.

Angel nodded. "I knew something was off. I didn't know what it was. She was cold...I thought...because the last time we saw each other..." he trailed off, knowing he couldn't tell her about that day. It was too hard for him to think about it, and he didn't want to anger her. Not now.

"What...what about it?" Buffy asked, taking a step closer, not letting him avert her stare. She wanted to hear it from him, wanted him to break down and tell her everything about that day and what it had meant to him, but she knew he couldn't do it. It hurt him too much that she couldn't share it with him, she saw it all in his sad, dark eyes.

"You just seemed...so angry with me...I just thought you were still...I mean..." he finally broke their stare. She felt his pain all through her body.

Her bottom lip began to quiver as she spoke. "Angel, I'm so sorry..."

He looked back at her. "Buffy, none of this is your fault, you haven't done anything that you need to apologize for..."

She could barely see through the tears filling her eyes. "I promised...I promised you I'd never forget...and I did..." she paused, trying to control her sobs, but she just lost it. "How can you ever forgive me for that?" she cried.

His eyes again met hers. He felt lightheaded all of the sudden. "What?" he thought of her, clinging to him, sobbing...'I'll never forget'.

"Angel...I remember." she said, softly. "Everything that happened that day. That day that never was. I remembered it all."

Angel felt like he might collapse. He quickly lowered himself onto his bed. He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. "How...you were never supposed to..."

Buffy knelt down at his knees. "Doyle showed me."

Angel looked at her, more confused now that ever. "Doyle? How...I mean, he's dead. How could he have..."

Buffy shook her head. "The Oracles sent him to me. He showed me everything." she placed her hand on his chest, just like she had done that day. "I remember feeling your heartbeat, feeling your breath against my skin," she softly touched his cheek with the back of her hand. "Your body, warm against mine."

Angel didn't know what to do, what to say, what to think. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Buffy," he choked, in a hoarse whisper. "I wanted to tell you...I just couldn't hurt you that way. The pain...remembering it...and knowing it can never be...I couldn't do that to you."

She shook her head. "I understand." she said, tearfully. "Angel, listen to me. The Oracles told me that if we can overcome this challenge, we can be together again. You can be human..."

"Buffy, it can't work like that...you know we can't..."

She pressed her finger to his lips to silence him. "Let me finish," she said, moving her hand back to his cheek. "You would be human, but you would retain your strength. You wouldn't have to worry about not being able to protect me, or anyone else."

His eyes widened in hope. If he'd relied on breath, he would have past out from lack of it. Without thinking, he grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her. Buffy rose off of her knees as he lifted her towards him and they fell back onto the bed. "I love you." he whispered, breaking away from her.

Her tears dropped onto Angel's face as they kissed. She smiled and kissed him again. Finally, a moment of peace amongst all this horror. He cradled her body against his and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

"What the hell are you doing in there?" Riley yelled, still lying in bed, entangled in the sheets. "Faith? You've been in the bathroom for 20 minutes now. Are you okay?"

"I'll be out in a minute." she yelled back. Faith turned on the faucet as she unzipped her bag. She rummaged around inside, looking for the gun she had tucked away before she'd left. She finally felt the handle at the bottom of the bag and removed the weapon. She dropped the bag back onto the floor and looked up, catching her reflection on the bathroom mirror. "I have to get out of this body." she muttered. She turned away angrily and moved far from the door to keep Riley from hearing the gun click as she reloaded it. She tucked the gun into the back of the pajama pants she'd thrown on, turned the water off and opened the bathroom door.

Riley looked up as she appeared in the doorway. "Hey, come here. I missed you." he said, with a smile.

Faith was quiet for a moment. She looked at him, she could kill him now and he wouldn't even have a chance to run. She reached behind her, pulled out the gun and placed in on the counter behind the door. I may still need him, she thought, as she pulled the door closed and hurried to the bed. She slid down next to him and smiled. "Did you really miss me?"

He propped up on his side and traced her ear with his tongue. "Of course."

"You didn't miss me." she muttered, rolling onto her back. "You only want me for sex."

Riley shrugged, "Well, what do you want me for?"

Faith thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you have a point." she laughed.

Riley rolled onto his back and placed his hands behind his head. "Hey," he said, sounding annoyed. "You killed my mom today."

Faith playfully whacked him with the back of her hand. "Oh shut up, Riley. She wasn't even your real mom. If you wanna get really technical, SHE actually killed your mom."

"Oh yeah...I forgot about that. She did raise me though." he shrugged, "Oh well. I'll get over it."

Faith laughed. "You're a psychopath."

"Takes one to know one." he smiled. "Hey, you wanna go kill sleeping beauty now? You can switch back and kill her. She has no clue what's going on. I'm actually kinda proud of myself. I pulled that Iowa boy thing off pretty well."

"Yeah, I have to admit, I didn't think you would be able to."

"Thanks for the confidence."

"I don't want to kill her now. Its too easy. Not painful enough. She needs to pay...really pay. The more pain, the better. Besides, I'm sure she ran to Angel as soon as she thought you were asleep." Faith smiled. "I should head back to his place, though. He's probably gonna come looking for me soon. Buffy will be alone."

"How do you know she went there? She may be sleeping her room."

"She's there. Trust me."

Riley nodded. "I'll stay here. I don't want to risk her seeing us together. What about the gem?"

Faith thought for a moment. "He's not gonna give it to me, obviously. I'm just gonna have to kill them both and then worry about finding it."

"Well, at least you've got your priorities in order." Riley said.

Faith smiled at him and went back into the bathroom and changed back into Buffy's clothes. She opened the door again to see Riley tucking in his shirt. He watched as she took the gun from the counter and tucked it back into her pants. She waved at him and left.

Buffy awoke to the sound of Angel moving around the room. He was strapping on different weapons. He tucked stakes into each of his sleeves and closed the cabinet where the weapons were stored.

"Hey," Buffy said, groggily. "What's up?"

"Giles called." he said, sitting beside her on the bed. "He said he figured out a away to switch you back, but I have to get Faith here. Wesley is working on the spell."

"Wesley?" Buffy asked. "As in 'wimpy pathetic watcher Wesley'?"

Angel smiled, "He's not really that bad once you get to know him. Listen, I'm gonna go try to bring her back here. She wants that gem...and I'm pretty sure she knows I have it."

"You have it? Angel isn't that thing supposed to be incredibly dangerous?"

He nodded. "Don't worry, I hid it earlier, when she first asked me about it. She won't find it."

"How did you get it?"

"I...when I was Angelus...I..." he looked down in shame, not wanting to think about how he'd gotten the gem of Azayzel away from the priests who used to guard it.

"Angel, you're not him." Buffy corrected him. "And when this is over, you'll never have to worry about him again."

Angel gave her a small smile. He kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep, you need your rest. I'll be back soon."

Buffy rested her head back onto the pillow and watched him leave the room. Soon her eyelids grew heavy again and she drifted back to sleep.

"Do you have a 'Buffy Summers' registered here?" Angel asked the hotel clerk.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't give out that kind of information." the clerk answered.

Angel pulled a picture of Buffy and a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet and slid them onto the counter. The clerk eyed the bill greedily. "She's here...but uh..."

"What?" Angel asked.

"If she's your girl, you're not gonna be happy."

"What are you talking about?" Angel asked, annoyed.

The man slid the bill away from Angel's hand. "She's staying with a guy. Tall, blonde. He checked in under the name Finn. Riley Finn. Thing is, HE came in with a brunette and got two rooms with her, then went in with the blonde girl. They got a freaky arrangement goin' on there, man. Boy would I like to be a fly on that wall."

"What's her room number?"

"207, go down this hall and make a left, you'll see the elevators." the clerk said, pointing towards the corridor.

Angel stuck Buffy's picture back into his wallet walked away. He found Faith's room and knocked on the door. There was no answer, but he could hear water running inside. He jiggled the door knob and forced the door open, pulling it shut as he walked into the room.

"Faith? That you?" Riley called from the bathroom. He turned off the faucet and walked into the main room.

"Hello, Riley." Angel said, casually.

"You must be Angel." Riley said, trying to sound innocent. "I've heard a lot about you. Buffy talks about..."

"Where's Faith?" Angel asked, impatiently.

"Faith?"

Angel moved so quickly that Riley didn't even see him as he flew forward and wrapped his hand around Riley's throat. "Don't play games with me." Angel hissed. "Where is she?"

Riley smiled at the situation. Angel tightened his grip and lifted Riley's body off the ground. Riley could feel his air supply cutting off.

"Okay, okay." he coughed out.

Angel let go and Riley dropped to the floor. He massaged his neck and laughed again. "You're too late." he said, smiling as he rose to his feet. "Faith is on her way to your place right now. You probably passed her on your way." he said. "Buffy will be dead by the time you get there."

Riley pulled a small crossbow from his bag as Angel turned and ran towards the door. He fired one shot, striking Angel in shoulder.

Angel growled and turned back to Riley in full game face. Riley quickly reloaded the weapon and lifted it to fire again, but Angel attacked before he could shoot. He swung out at Riley and sent him flying into the wall, smashing the cheap hotel paintings as he fell. He was stunned at the shear forced of Angel's punch, but quickly sprung to his feet and lunged at the angered vampire. He broke a leg off a chair and tackled Angel onto the bed. Riley raised the chair leg, ready to stake him, but Angel kicked out with both legs, directly connecting with Riley's chest, sending him flying into the wall again.

Riley struggled to get off the ground. He once again picked up the chair leg and ran at Angel. Just as he was about to turn Angel to dust, a gunshot rang out in the room. Riley fell to the floor, yelling in pain and clutching his arm where the bullet had struck him. Angel shook off his game face and turned around to see a police officer standing in the door, still poised and ready to fire. Upon seeing Angel turn, the man lowered his weapon.

"Are you okay sir?"

Angel nodded. Another cop and a few paramedics hurried into the room and tended to Riley.

Angel quietly walked out of the room, unnoticed.

Buffy awoke to the sound of a door slamming shut upstairs in the office. "Angel?" she called out, "Is that you?" She slowly rolled out of the bed and made her way up the stairs. The rain was pounding hard against the windows and she could hear the sound of the soft thunder rolling.

The office was dark when she reached the top of the stairs. "Angel?" No answer. Buffy fumbled for the light switch, but realized it was on the far wall.

She started to walk towards it, but a flash of lightening suddenly lit up the room. Buffy froze in horror at the site of her very own body standing before her, but she quickly regained her composure, realizing that this was going to be a fight to the death.

Faith reached over and flicked the light switch. She smiled wickedly when she saw the shocked look Buffy was trying so hard to hide. Faith let out a short chuckle. "You know B, fear really doesn't become me."

"Well, insanity isn't my favorite look either, but hey, whadda ya gonna do?"

Faith's smile faded and she walked towards Buffy until they were standing inches apart.

"So, we're gonna settle this with a staring contest then?" Buffy quipped. She was about to continue, but Faith suddenly drove her fist into Buffy's stomach, so hard that all the breath flew out of her.

Buffy stepped back to regain her strength. Faith just stood there, waiting until Buffy was standing upright. "Well, come on B, aren't you gonna hit me?" Her eyes fixed on the large bandage around Buffy's arm. "What the hell did you do to my arm?" She yelled angrily. She threw another punch at Buffy's face, but this time Buffy evaded her and threw Faith into the wall. "Now that's more like it." Faith said.

Buffy charged at her and began to throw punches left and right, each one harder than the next. She slammed Faith's head into the wall and then flipped her over onto her back on the desk. Something is wrong, Buffy realized as she prepared to attack again.

Faith wasn't fighting back. She began to pull herself up off the desk. Her body was already beginning to bruise, and blood poured out of the gash on the side of her head. MY body, MY head, Buffy thought. Faith smiled as Buffy realized what she was trying to do. She stood up and faced Buffy again. Buffy tried to step back, but Faith grabbed her by the throat and spun her around, so that Buffy's back was against her.

Buffy wanted desperately to not be afraid, but she was, she couldn't fight it. Faith sensed it. She stroked Buffy's cheek with the back of her hand. "Aww, come on B, did you really think I was gonna let you die and take MY body with you?"

"Faith, stop this. You've proven your point, you've got your revenge. Please..."

"Oh, girlfriend, you haven't got the slightest idea." Faith held a syringe up in front of Buffy's face. She squirted some of the dark liquid out and then stuck it into Buffy's neck. "My revenge is going to be MUCH sweeter than you ever imagined." she whispered as Buffy fell to the floor.

She looked up and saw Faith inject herself with the fluid. She knelt down and grabbed Buffy by the chin, holding her face close to hers and staring into her eyes, Faith began to chant something in Latin. Buffy tried to understand, but it was all too fast. She wished she had paid more attention to Willow's spells or Giles' books. There was a sudden wave of pain going through her. Buffy curled up on the floor and cringed through the pain. The room was spinning. She didn't know which way she was facing any more. She tried to focus, to see what Faith was doing, but all she saw was a blurry figure on the floor across from her. She closed her eyes to stop the spinning and waited for the pain to subside.

When Buffy woke, she was alone. The office was a wreck and the rain was still pounding on the windows. Buffy rolled onto her side and winced with pain as she tried to sit up. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she was back in her own body, but was nervous to see that Faith was no longer lying on the floor where she had been before Buffy had blacked out.

She laid still for a few minutes, allowing herself time to re-think what had happened. She didn't feel as weak as she had when they had first switched. Probably because Maggie had used a sedative along with whatever Faith had used to switch our bodies, Buffy thought. She moved to try to get off the floor and sensed something moving in the room. Just as she turned her head to see what it was, a searing pain shot through her stomach as Faith kicked her. Buffy went flying across the room.

"WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!" Faith screamed. Her eyes were wide with fury.

The attack had caught her off guard, but Buffy quickly got to her feet and prepared to fight. She spun towards Faith and caught her in the side of the head with a roundhouse kick. Buffy ducked to evade Faith's punches, and grabbed her by the ankles, knocking her to the ground, but Faith sprung back to her feet instantly. She reached behind her and revealed the gun that had been tucked into her pants. Without hesitation, Buffy swung out and knocked the gun out of her grasp.

They continued to swing at each other. Buffy could feel her body getting weaker. Faith must have sensed it, because she drew a stake from her jacket and moved in for the kill.

"I think I'm just gonna do this the old fashioned way." Faith declared. "Okay with you?"

"Whatever floats your boat." Buffy said, trying to catch her breath and stay focused.

As much as Buffy hated the thought of taking a human life, she realized that she was going to have to go through with it, or die trying. Faith raised her arm to drive the stake into Buffy's chest, but Buffy grabbed her wrist and flipped Faith onto the ground, throwing herself down on top of her. She wrenched the stake out of Faith's fist and threw it out of reach. She grabbed Faith by the throat and began to choke her.

Faith kicked and struggled, trying to loosen Buffy's grip, but she didn't let up. Buffy noticed Faith's eyes dart to the side and looked up just in time to see Angel before he ripped her off of Faith and heaved her across the room. Faith held onto her throat, trying to catch her breath. She pushed herself over to the wall and leaned against it.

Angel stroked her hair. "Buffy, are you okay?" He asked Faith.

She nodded and tried to speak, but couldn't get a word out yet. She saw Buffy get off the ground and head towards them again. Her eyes widened, "Angel..." Faith said, her voice was a horse whisper. She picked up the stake and handed it to him. "you have to kill her...or she's gonna kill me."

"Angel," Buffy said, trying to stay calm. "Listen to me, you have to believe me. I'm Buffy, she injected me with something while you were gone. She switched us back."

Angel looked back at Faith and then down at the stake in his hands. His brow creased as he looked up at Buffy again. "Buffy?"

Tears of relief ran down her cheeks. She nodded her head and Angel began to walk towards her, forgetting about the stake still clutched in his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Faith jump to her feet. Buffy quickly tried to move Angel out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough. With all her strength, Faith hurled Angel into Buffy.

At first she didn't feel the pain of the stake as it pierced her body. It was more of a shock than anything else. It even took her a moment to realize what had happened. Angel held her away from him and looked down in horror. Buffy didn't want to see, didn't want to know that it had actually happened, but the agony in Angel's eyes told her that it was true. She looked down at her stomach. The stake was sticking out of her. Her clothes were already soaked through with blood.

Angel looked at her with tears in his eyes. He cradled her face in his hands. "Buffy..." he whispered.

Her breath came in short gasps. Blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth. "Angel," a pain, like she had never known before, suddenly overwhelmed her and she cried out.

Angel held her as they both collapsed to the ground. Buffy reached up and touched his cheek. "I love you." she whispered.

"Buffy, don't...don't close your eyes. You're going to be okay. Just stay with me." He pleaded, holding her tighter.

Buffy tried to pull the stake out of her stomach, but Angel gently moved her hands away. "You shouldn't." he whispered.

"Angel, please. I..." more pain, she drew in a deep breath and more tears streamed down her face.

"Shhh...ok, its ok." he wrapped his hand around the stake and looked at Buffy, his eyes telling her to try to be calm. He quickly pulled it out of her stomach. Buffy's back arched and she screamed in agony, but Angel held her closer and his embrace calmed her. He rocked her gently and Buffy soon began to feel her eyelids getting heavy. "Buffy," Angel whispered. "Stay with me. Don't close your eyes. Don't leave me..."

His voice was drifting away. Buffy opened her eyes and took one last look at her beloved.

"I told you..." Faith said, walking around and facing Angel, "You would be the one to kill her." Faith smiled and let out a horrible laugh of pure insanity.

Angel felt the anger rise up in him. Before she could dive out of the way, Angel charged at Faith and took her through the office window. Glass fell around them as they scrambled to their feet. The black sky and pouring rain made it hard to see, but Faith managed to land a kick to Angel's jaw. He swung out at her blindly, but with each attempt, his grief was consuming him more and more. Faith kept hitting him until his back was against the brick wall of the building. Then she relented and stepped back.

She looked at Angel with disgust as he sank to the ground. He knew it would be daylight soon, he could feel it coming and it was weakening him even more, but he didn't care. The glass crunched beneath him and little pieces of it tore into his hands. Images of Buffy's lifeless, battered body flashed through his mind.

"Look at you," Faith said, annoyed. She kicked him in the stomach. "PATHETIC!" she screamed out, her teeth were clenched.

Angel winced and tried to stand up, but Faith knocked his feet out from under him and he hit the ground again.

"You think you can kill me?" She hissed, she picked up a large, pointed piece of glass and held it up, ready to drive it through his heart. "YOU CAN'T KILL ME!"

"No...but I can."

Faith froze when she felt the barrel of the gun against the back of her head. Her grip on the glass tightened and began to slice into her hand.

Angel looked up. He'd heard her voice, but thought he was hallucinating. He quickly wiped away the rain that fell into his eyes. "Buffy?"

She didn't answer him. She kept the gun steady as Faith lowered the glass and slowly turned to face her. Buffy held the gun to Faith's forehead. Faith looked down at the bloody hole in Buffy's stomach. She was clutching a towel to it, but the blood was still coming through. Faith smiled.

"You don't have it in you." she said, calmly, looking past the steel barrel and into Buffy's eyes.

"You'd be surprised at what a little motivation can do." Buffy said, trying to keep her voice from shaking, trying to hide the agony she was in.

"What motivation? Look at you..." Faith said, still calm, "incase you haven't noticed, your boyfriend put a stake through you...you're gonna die, B. Ironic isn't it? Angel kills YOU with a stake?" she laughed.

Buffy moved her fingers around the trigger, and cocked the gun. "If I'm gonna die...I'm taking you with me."

Faith's smile faded. She kept her eyes locked on Buffy's, "What are you waiting for?" Faith turned and looked back at Angel, who was back on his feet, just a few steps behind her.

Buffy followed Faith's gaze and for a split second, she let her guard down...and Faith made her move.

She hit Buffy's arm, sending the gun spinning onto the ground. Angel moved to stop her but Faith threw him back against the wall with a strength he'd never known she had. Buffy was so unprepared, she didn't have time to block Faith's fist as it plunged into her stomach, connecting with the still gushing stab wound. Buffy gasped and fell to the ground, Faith followed, throwing her body on top of Buffy's and slamming her fists into Buffy's face. Buffy thought she would pass out, and hadn't the strength to fight her off anymore.

Faith finally rose back to her feet, leaving Buffy quivering in pain on the cold, wet pavement. Picking up the stake-shaped piece of glass, she turned her attentions back to Angel, who was struggling to get back onto his feet. She walked over to him and grabbed him by the back of his hair, pulling his head back so that she could look in his eyes.

"Where's the gem?" she growled.

Angel didn't answer, he struggled to break away, he saw Buffy moving slowly out of the corner of his eye. Faith held him steady. "You'll have to kill me." he said.

Buffy rolled onto her stomach and slid on the ground, reaching for the gun which was lying a few feet away from her. She finally touched the handle with her fingertips and was able to pull it to her. She rolled over in time to see Faith raise the glass above Angel's chest.

Angel saw the glass coming towards him and closed his eyes, awaiting the torture of hell to devour him again. He blocked everything out of his mind. The only thing he saw was Buffy, standing on the pier in the sunlight, kissing him.

Angel didn't hear the shot ring out, he didn't even notice that his body had been dropped back to the pavement. He opened his eyes and saw Faith's body slumped on the ground beside him. The rain was washing away the stream of blood pouring from the small hole her head.

He saw Buffy on the ground across the way. She was trying to push herself up, but the kickback from the gun and sent a shock through her. Her arms were too weak to support her body and she dropped back down. Angel quickly rose and went to her. The sound of a siren was slowly approaching them. He could see the lights flashing far down the road.

"Buffy...try not to move." he said, stroking her rain soaked hair.

"Angel..." she said, struggling to get the words out. She moaned and clutched her stomach.

"Shh...don't talk, save your strength."

The police car came to a screeching halt before them. The doors flew open and Giles flew out of the car. Two officers ran towards them and the paramedics followed.

"Buffy!" he called out.

Buffy turned her head in the direction it had come from. "Giles?"

"Oh my God." he whispered, upon seeing her. He knelt down on the side opposite Angel and took her hand in his. His face looked ghostly when he saw the wound in her stomach and the horrifying amount of blood that had stained her clothes "Faith is responsible for this? Where is she?" he asked, his voice trembled.

Angel nodded in the direction of Faith's body. Giles turned to look at her and then back to Angel and to the gun lying beside Buffy. Angel nodded again, letting him know that it was Buffy who had shot Faith.

"How did you get here?" Buffy asked, weakly.

"Its not important now. Buffy, we must get you to the hospital." Giles answered.

The paramedics rolled a gurney over and ushered Giles and Angel out of the way as they carefully lifted Buffy's fragile frame onto the small white bed. Angel followed them back to the ambulance and sat on the bench beside the gurney as they loaded the rest of the equipment.

Buffy took Angel's hand in hers. "You need to get inside." she whispered. "It'll be light soon."

"I'm afraid she's right, Angel." Giles said, getting into the truck and looking at his watch. "You only have about an hour left."

Angel shook his head. He remembered leaving the hospital the time he'd fed on Buffy. He couldn't do it again. "I won't leave you alone." he said, stroking Buffy's hair. "I'll never leave you again...never."

"Angel..." she started.

"Buffy, I'm going with you. I'll be okay, I won't be in direct sunlight in the hospital. I'll be fine."

The paramedics hopped into the truck and the siren sounded as they pulled away. Angel held Buffy's hand up to his mouth and kissed it softly. Buffy let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

It had been two days since she'd closed her eyes in the ambulance, 47 hours since they'd rolled her into surgery, 45 since she'd come out...44 hours and 53 minutes since she'd slipped into the coma.

She'd asked for him in that seven minutes she'd been awake. The doctors said she had called out for an Angel...they'd thought she was delirious. He wanted to kill them for costing him that precious time.

Angel sat beside her bed. He hadn't moved since the minute they'd let him in, except to give Joyce some time alone with her daughter, and even then, he'd remained in the doorway, watching, waiting...praying. The steady beeping of her heart monitor was the only thing keeping him sane.

Giles had instructed the staff to keep the draperies closed whenever the sun was up. They were curious as to why, but they followed his orders without question. The Scooby Gang sat outside her door. They held hands, prayed, cried...their heart rates rising in anticipation every time a doctor came near, only to hear that there had been no change, Buffy was still in a coma and they could not be certain whether or not she would come out of it.

Willow walked over to Giles, who was peering through the window shades at the comatose slayer and her vampire guardian. She peaked into the room and then turned her face back to Giles.

"Do you think we should try talking to him?" she asked.

"I don't know if it would do much good, Willow. He hasn't spoken to anyone since he entered that room."

"But, he must be tired, right? Do vampires get tired? Maybe he could use some words of comfort...or something." Willow said, hopefully.

"You're intentions are good, but I don't think anything we say is going to comfort Angel now. Only Buffy can do that." He looked back into the window. "If she would just open her eyes." he said, softly.

Willow slowly walked away and sank back down beside Oz on the sofa and cuddled against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her as close as he could. They'd talked about the time he'd been away, and how she'd thought he would never come back to her. He'd explained everything about his imprisonment inside the Initiative to her, and how Buffy had helped him escape. Oz assured Willow that he loved her and that he'd never wanted to hurt her. He thanked God that Willow had forgiven him and took him back unconditionally. They both knew that no matter how much pain their time apart had caused them, nothing could compare to what Angel and Buffy had been through together...and what Angel was going through now.

"Hey," Cordelia said, wearily as she drudged back into the waiting room. "I brought you guys some food." she said, dropping a McDonald's bag on the small table in front of them.

"McDonald's?" Xander said looking at Cordy in surprise.

She shrugged. "Comfort food. I didn't think the ice cream would make it all the way here. French fries are next in line after that." she plopped down between Xander and Wesley.

Anya, who had been sleeping against Xander, awoke to the sound of the paper bag rustling. "French fries?" she asked.

Willow nodded, pulling out one of the little cartons for she and Oz to share.

"Has there been any change with Buffy?" Anya asked, taking one for herself.

Willow shook her head. "No...nothing new. Joyce is in with the doctors now trying to get some more info."

Wesley passed on the french fries and accompanied Giles by the window. He reached into his pocket and produced the small red gem of Azayzel. "Rupert," he said, holding the gem out to him. Giles turned to face him. "Angel asked me to hold onto this for him before all of this happened."

Giles took the gem out of Wesley's hand and examined it. "The gem of Azayzel." he muttered. "This is what started this whole mess...well, this and Faith being a vengeful, raving lunatic." he reached into his pocket and pulled out the key, which he had pilfered from Faith's body before they had taken her away. "Thank you, Wesley."

Wesley nodded. "After what you've told me about Buffy and her meeting with the Oracles...well, she may need it...when she wakes up."

Giles gave him the most appreciative smile he could muster and patted Wesley's shoulder as he returned to his seat. Giles stared at the key in his hand, contemplating whether or not to approach Angel with it now. He finally decided it was best and quietly entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Angel turned his head slightly, at the sound of the door, but immediately, his eyes were back on Buffy. Giles cautiously approached the bed. He touched Buffy's cheek with the back of his hand, fighting the overwhelming urge to drop to his knees and cry for his fallen slayer.

"Angel," he began, moving his hand away from Buffy's face. "I think you should have this." he said, almost shocked at what he was doing. He never dreamed he would one day turn one of the most dangerous weapons in the universe over to a vampire.

Angel took the gem and the key from Giles' hand and stared at it. He thought of how happy Buffy had been when she'd told him what the Oracles had promised her. "If we can overcome this challenge, we can be together again.", she had said. A lot of good the damn key would do him now.

Angel gently snapped the gem into its place on the key. A red light glimmered from inside the small stone. He looked up at Giles. "Thank you." he said, speaking for the first time in days.

Giles nodded and slowly turned to head out of the room. Angel slid the key into Buffy's hand and placed his hand over hers. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the side of the bed. A strange feeling suddenly came over him. His head shot up and he saw the red light illuminating between Buffy's hand and his. He tried to move his hand away, to pull the key out of her grasp, but his fingers, as well as hers, were locked around it. He got a sudden head rush.

"Giles!" he yelled out, in an odd, harsh tone.

Giles spun around, hearing the disturbing tone of Angel's voice and the sudden loud scream of Buffy's heart monitor. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the now empty bed and empty chair beside it.

"So what happens now?" Buffy asked softly, clutching Angel's cold hand in hers.

"I don't know." he said, looking down at her. "Is this real?" he gazed around the white room.

Buffy looked down at the hospital gown she was wearing and placed her hand over where the wound in her stomach had been. "Its gone." she said, feeling no pain as she pressed against it.

Angel pulled her closer to his side and the two slowly walked further into the room.

"Is this the key?" Buffy asked, holding out her other hand to show Angel the mysterious object.

He nodded. "They must have brought us here." he said, recognizing his surroundings now.

"Yes, we have." the female Oracle said, appearing in the opening before them.

The male appeared beside her and took a step forward. "Congratulations." he said.

"For what?" Buffy asked, still holding onto Angel's hand.

The female walked closer to them. "You have succeeded. You've defeated Faith, and you've recovered the key of Azayzel. You've survived the challenge."

Buffy felt a sudden force, pulling the key out of her grasp. She resisted it, holding the key firmly in her fist.

The force lifted and the female Oracle looked at her in confusion. "Is there a problem?" she asked, annoyed. "Do you no longer wish to be with Angel?"

Angel looked at Buffy, he felt panic all of the sudden. She blames me for this, he thought.

Buffy shook her head. "That wasn't the deal." she said, firmly.

Angel looked at her confused, as did the two Oracles.

"What do you mean?" the male asked.

"We defeated Faith, AND we brought you the key." Buffy said, as she looked back and forth between the two of them. "Well, that would be two challenges, wouldn't it?"

"What is your point?" the female asked, getting more agitated.

"Two challenges merits two rewards." Buffy said.

"Nonsense." the female answered. "We are rewarding you enough by giving Angel his humanity back, not to mention restoring your life."

The force came again, tugging at the key in Buffy's hand. "You won't get it." she said sternly, still resisting the pull.

"What do you want?" the male asked, stepping forward.

Buffy looked at the worried Angel and squeezed his hand in hers, letting him know that everything between them was okay. She turned back to the Oracles.

"Doyle." she said, "I want you to bring Doyle back."

Giles pulled the heart monitor plug out of the wall and ran to the window, yanking the shades closed so none of the staff could see into the room. He paced breathlessly, pausing to look up at the bed every few seconds. "What the hell is going on?" he muttered.

"Giles?" Willow's voice called through the door. She knocked and then opened the door and peeked into the room. "Is everything..." she gasped when she saw that Angel and Buffy were gone. "Where are they? What happened?" she asked, her eyes widened with fear.

Giles shook his head in confusion as the rest of the gang rushed into the room. Giles quickly shoved the door closed behind them. "We cannot allow anyone to know what's going on." he said, collecting himself.

"What IS going on?" Wesley asked.

"I don't know. I-I-I...I gave Angel the key," he began to retrace what had occurred. "he put the gem back in its place, I turned to leave. Then Angel called out to me, his voice sounded odd, like he was in some kind of pain or discomfort. I heard Buffy's heart monitor flat line, and when I turned around, they were gone." he said, hearing the words aloud baffled him even more.

"How could they be gone?" Willow cried.

"Well," Xander started, "them actually being gone, would accomplish the...being... gone... part." he said, not being able to think of the funny punchline he'd wanted.

"Well great, the two star crossed lovers put the world in jeopardy again." Cordelia quipped.

"What do you mean?" Anya asked. "How is the world suddenly in jeopardy?"

"Well, isn't that key like totally dangerous? And don't Angel and Buffy have it now?"

"Yes, Cordelia, they do, but I don't think either of them having the key poses a threat to us right now. This must have something to do with the Oracles." Giles said, resuming his pacing.

"What do we do?" Willow asked.

"Well, perhaps we should all remain outside in the waiting area. I'll guard the door...and we'll hope they return before any of the hospital staff notices they're gone. They're already suspicious enough, what with the council whisking away Faith's body and that whole bloody mess with Riley and the Initiative. We can't have them poking their noses into this also. The council has gone to great lengths to get this all covered up quickly."

"Sounds like a plan." Xander said, opening the door for them to exit. Giles took one last nervous look around the room before pulling the door behind him.

"Impossible." the male Oracle said, firmly. "We have already been asked for this and refused. There is no reason to bring Doyle back. He died a hero and the purpose he served has been restored to someone else."

"He wants to come back. He has unfinished business." Buffy argued. "He has someone..." she looked at Angel and smiled. "He has people who love him and who miss him. There is a woman who loves him...he deserves the chance to know that."

The Oracles looked at each other and then back to the couple standing before them. The female finally let out a sigh and shook her head. "What choice do we have?" she asked her partner.

She turned to Buffy and Angel. "Very well, we will grant you your request. But you shall not come to us again. We will no longer be able to assist you after this."

Angel shook his head. "We understand. Thank you for all you've done."

The female nodded and walked close to the couple. She gently reached out and removed the key from Buffy's hand. She handed it back to the male and turned back to Buffy. She lifted Buffy's hand and placed it over Angel's heart. Buffy and Angel closed their eyes.

A surge went through them, Buffy felt her body weaken and she slumped against Angel. Jolts of memory were hitting them both like lightening flashes. Buffy wrapped her other arm around Angel's waist and he held her tightly against his body. In a matter of seconds, their entire relationship, right up until those final words flashed through them like an electrical current.

"I'll never forget...." Buffy's voice rang out in an echo as the room disappeared around them.

Buffy's eyes shot open as she awoke with a sharp gasp. She sat up and immediately turned to Angel, who shared the shocked expression on her face. They both looked at each other in silence for a few seconds, breathing heavily, minds racing.

Then Buffy threw the blanket off her body and leaped up onto her knees. She tore at Angel's shirt as he rose out of the chair. They lifted his shirt up over his chest and Buffy pressed her ear against his heart. Her hand shook as she brought it over to that precious spot.

"Angel," she whispered, in a soft, excited cry. "I feel your heart...I feel it...you're...its beating." her eyes were suddenly waterfalls of tears. She kissed his chest and then lifted her head to look into his eyes. "You're alive."

Angel grabbed her and kissed her as hard as he could. Their tears merged together as they continued to kiss.

"I'll get the doctor." Wesley said, as he rushed off.

The gang all jumped to their feet as Giles pushed the door open and stared wide eyed at Buffy and Angel, who had slammed into the wall during their sudden passionate outburst.

"BUFFY!" Giles yelled, relieved to see her awake, yet shocked, as were the rest of the gang, at what was going on in the room.

Buffy and Angel reluctantly pulled apart, both breathless and smiling from ear to ear. Buffy tried to look towards the stunned group that had just rushed into the room, but she couldn't peel her eyes away from Angel.

She followed his gaze towards the window, where the curtains were drawn, blocking all rays of sunlight out of the dreary hospital room. Buffy looked back at Angel, who met her gaze with a look that told her exactly what to do. She left his arms and walked across the room, taking the thin curtain cord in her hand. She looked back at Angel one more time, silently asking if he was ready.

Angel took a deep breath as Buffy yanked down on the cord. The curtains flew up and the sunlight filled every corner of the room. Buffy looked back at Angel. Tears filled her eyes again as she beheld his beautiful form enveloped in the rays of the sun. She ran across the room, leaping over her hospital bed, not wanting to waste a second out of his arms.

Willow let tears fall freely down her cheeks as she watched her best friend, finally happy in the arms of the man she loved. She snuggled closer to Oz. They all smiled as they watched the couple try to pry away from each other.

Buffy finally whirled around. She smiled brightly, tears of happiness stained her cheeks. "Angel's alive! He's human...he..." she turned and touched his heart again. "He has a heartbeat." she looked back at them, her eyes wide with joy. "Do you want to feel it? His heart? Oh, I feel crazy." she said, rubbing her head. "Dizzy..."

"Woah," Angel caught her as she began to faint. "Buffy, are you okay?" he asked, holding her against his body.

She shook her head. "Yeah, I'm just so...ecstatic....and hungry...but, everything is perfect. Angel, we're free. We can be together...and everything we've ever wanted...its just so..."

"Perfect." he finished, smiling. He kissed her forehead. "We have to get you something to eat." he said, seeing that she was still a little lightheaded.

"Wesley went to get the doctor, I'll go see what's taking so long." Giles said, smiling. He walked up to Angel and extended his hand. "Congratulations, Angel. I'm genuinely happy - for both of you."

Angel shook Giles hand. "Thank you, Giles. It means a lot to hear that coming from you."

Giles nodded and his eyes moved to Buffy. She walked forward and hugged him. Giles worried that he might crush her in his embrace. "Buffy," he said as he cried, not caring who saw it. "I was so afraid that..."

Buffy smiled, looking up into his eyes. "Yeah I know, losing another slayer. Burden of training a new one." she joked.

"Buffy, if anything happened to you...I just don't know how I would survive it." he said, looking into her eyes. He wiped away a tear that ran down his cheek. "You know, I've lost...so much in these past few years. I've lost my love...my job, both my jobs actually...I even lost myself once or twice...but you, you have always been there." another tear crept down his cheek. "You've been a student, a friend...and a daughter. I love you more than anything."

Buffy bit her lip as the tears streamed down. She reached up and pulled him down to hug her. "I love you, Giles." she whispered.

They pulled apart and smiled at each other before Giles excused himself and went in search of Buffy's doctor.

The rest of the gang crowded around Buffy & Angel, exchanging hugs and handshakes.

"Wow," Willow exclaimed, after hugging Angel, "this is just so amazing. I mean, it was amazing when Buffy told us about the last time you were human, but its just so...wow. So you guys can be together all the time now!" she said, happily. "You get to watch the sunrises and sunsets and..."

"And the moon." Xander said with a smirk.

Buffy reached behind her and realized that in all the excitement, the back of her hospital gown had come undone. "Xander!" she gasped as her face turned red. She looked back at Angel, who had been standing behind her the whole time. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was enjoying the view." he teased, taking the strings from her hands and tying the gown closed again.

"Oh, are we gonna have to watch you two be all mushy all the time now?" Xander groaned.

"Oh, right, cause you and Anya are NEVER all horny and mushy in front of us." Buffy said, grinning.

"Speaking of which," Anya said, running her hand over Xander's chest.

"Oooookay..." Xander started. "Hey, you guys are gonna be okay, right? Its okay for us to go..."

"Yes, Xander...its okay for you to go and do...whatever it is you two do all day." Buffy said.

"Great." Anya said, walking towards Buffy. "I really am glad everything worked out for you guys." she said, giving Buffy a hug. She waved at Angel and moved aside as Xander hugged Buffy and shook Angel's hand.

"Be good to her." Xander warned. "Or I'll..." he thought for a minute. "Well, I probably won't be able to do a lot to you, but Willow here is a witch and..."

"Xander!" Willow said, gently hitting his arm.

"I promise, I'll treat her like a queen." Angel said reassuringly, looking down at Buffy.

Buffy smiled and leaned in to kiss him as Anya dragged Xander from the room.

"Buffy, I think Oz and I are going to head out also...we haven't seen each other in a while and...we're feelin kinda...you know." Willow said, smiling back at Oz.

He stepped up towards Buffy. "I just want to thank you again, for what you did. You really took a chance getting me out of there. I'm in your debt." he said.

Buffy smiled. "Just seeing you two together and happy is all the thanks I need."

Oz and Willow bid there good byes to the couple and headed out, leaving only Cordelia behind.

She walked towards Angel and stared at him. "Well, I guess this means I'm out of a job, huh?" she asked, Angel thought she sounded angry, but she suddenly lunged herself into his arms and cried. "I'm so happy for you."

He returned her embrace and slowly moved her away. "Thank you, Cordelia."

"I just wish Doyle could be here to see this." she cried, softly. The crew had filled her in on everything while Buffy was in the coma. They told her that some guy named Doyle had shown Buffy everything in a dream she'd had. Her heart had skipped a beat when they'd said the name. For a moment, she'd thought he was back, but once they explained the rest, she knew it was just wishful thinking. She wanted so badly to ask Buffy what had happened. To know every detail...did he ask about me? She thought, did he mention me at all? Was he okay?

Buffy's brow creased as Angel looked over at her.

"What?" Cordelia asked. "What's going on?"

Buffy shook her head, "Nothing." she said sadly, not wanting to get Cordelia's hopes up if the Oracles weren't really going to follow through.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna head home. You too should have your privacy." Cordy said, smiling. She hugged Buffy and fought away her tears.

Just then, Giles, Wesley and Joyce returned to the room, followed by the doctor. Cordelia said her good byes to them and left.

She was so happy for Angel and Buffy and yet, so sad at the same time.

Why can't I have that chance that they've been given? She thought, what have I done that is so bad? What did Doyle do that the Powers that Be or whatever those damn Oracle things are can't send him back to this world...to me?

Her shoulders rose and fell as she sobbed into her hands.

There was a light tap on her shoulder. Cordelia looked up a bit and took the handkerchief out of the person's hand. "Thank you." she said, trying to stop her tears.

"No problem," he said. "I hate to see a pretty lady cry."

Cordy's head shot up. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "D...Doyle?" she whispered. "Oh my GOD! DOYLE!" she cried, as she jumped up and threw herself into his open arms.

"Oh, I missed you so much." he whispered as he buried his face in her hair.

"Doyle," she said, tearfully as she pulled away and looked into his eyes. "I don't care what you are, half demon, full demon, gooey, slimy, or prickly faced or...whatever." she held his face in her hands. "I love you...for you."

Doyle caressed her face before pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Cordelia giggled as they pulled apart, leaning in so their foreheads touched. Doyle grinned as he brought his fingers to her lips, so happy to see that smile again. "How did you get back anyway?" she asked.

"Buffy." he said. "The Oracles had made this deal with her..."

"I know about that, but they never mentioned you in that deal." she said, shaking her head. "Why didn't they tell me?"

"I wasn't part of it originally, but Buffy put up a good argument. She refused to give in until they let me come back. She brought me back to you." he said, kissing her forehead.

She smiled. "Oh God." she gasped. "I have to thank her! We have to thank her!" she grabbing Doyle's hand and dragging him back towards Buffy's hospital room.

Doyle yanked her hand back and she went flying into his arms. Cordelia giggled as he kissed her again. "Okay, we can thank them later." she whispered, as he gently pulled her out of the building.

"Buffy, you were in a coma for 2 days, I just want to make sure..."

"The doctors said I'm fine. They wouldn't have discharged me if anything was wrong." she assured him as she climbed into his bed.

He smiled and tossed her the small blanket he'd found tucked away in the closet. "Humor me." he said, grinning. He looked around the room again. "Are you hungry? Do you want anything?"

Buffy shook her head. "Just you." she smiled, patting the empty space beside her.

She snuggled up to Angel's chest as he slid beside her into his bed.

"Are you sure you want to stay here?" he asked, nervously. "Not that I don't want you to, but your mom wasn't thrilled with the idea. I don't want to cause any trouble between you two."

"There won't be any trouble. Trust me, no matter how she feels about you, she wants me to be happy."

"Are you?" he asked softly, averting her eyes. "Happy?"

She propped herself up and rested her body against his chest, looking down into his eyes. "Angel, there is nothing that could make me happier than being here with you." she thought for a moment. "Well...maybe one thing." she said with a devilish grin.

Angel returned her smile and pulled her down into a kiss. Buffy's body tingled as his warm hands slid under shirt and caressed her. He was about to lift her shirt over her head, when they were interrupted by the phone ringing.

"Oh no." Buffy muttered against his lips. They both shared a laugh as Angel kissed her again and sat up to grab the receiver.

"Hello?"

Buffy rose to her knees behind Angel, who sat on the edge of the bed, and pressed her chest to his back. Angel smiled as she slid her hands into his shirt, her fingers softly traced his body from his back around to his chest.

She tickled him softly and giggled when she felt his body move as he tried not to laugh into the phone. He had to fight it even harder when she began nibbling his ears and then kissing his neck. Buffy smiled, realizing from the stream of "Okay's" and "Uh huh's", that Angel had stopped listening to the caller.

Buffy gently swung her leg around and moved herself onto his lap to face him. He wrapped his free hand around her waist and kissed her as she slowly moved her body against his.

"Um..." he muttered into the phone, between kisses. "I'm gonna..." more kisses, "Have to call you back."

Buffy nodded and took the phone from his hand, placing it back into the cradle. "Who was that?" she asked breathlessly. She could feel their body heat rising as she steadily grinded against him.

Angel didn't answer, focusing his attention on removing her shirt instead.

"Its okay," Buffy panted as he tossed her shirt across the room. " I didn't really wanna know anyway."

Angel smiled and rolled her back onto the bed.

Buffy awoke hours later to find herself alone in the bed. She felt panic rise inside her for a moment and then heard a low clatter come from the kitchen. She breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out across the soft sheets.

"What are you doin' in there?" she called out.

"Don't get up!" Angel answered quickly, "I'll be right there. Just stay where you are."

She smiled and sat up, holding the sheets up to cover her chest as Angel walked into the room with his hands behind his back. "Hey," she said, pouting. "You're all dressed."

He smiled. "I had to run out to get something."

"So, who WAS on the phone before anyway?" she asked as he sat down beside her.

"Cordelia." he said smiling.

"And?" Buffy asked, her eyes wide. "Doyle?"

Angel nodded. "He's back. You did it, Buffy. You got the Oracles to come through."

Buffy smiled gleefully.

"Giles called while you were sleeping. He just wanted to see how you were feeling and to let you know that the council is going to take care of everything."

"What exactly are they taking care of?" she asked.

"He didn't really get into it, but I got the impression that the Initiative has been disassembled. He said that Riley was taken to England for some kind of deprogramming, along with the rest of the agents."

Buffy let out a long sigh. "Well, I guess its all for the best."

Angel nodded and smiled playfully at her.

"What?" she asked, craning her neck to peak behind him. "What are you hiding?"

He grinned mischievously. "Well, they were all out of cookie dough fudge mint." he said, revealing a container of ice cream he'd been holding behind his back. "But, did you know they made peanut butter and chocolate ice cream?"

Buffy laughed at his excitement. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her. They slowly pulled apart and Angel reached behind his back again and handed her a red velveteen covered box.

Buffy flashed him a surprised smile. She gently lifted the box cover and removed the delicate gold chain. A thin gold heart dangled from the chain as she held it up. "Oh, Angel." she breathed as she turned the heart shaped pendant over in her hand. "Its beautiful."

"Read the inscription." he whispered.

Buffy turned the heart over again and traced the tiny engraved words with the tip of her finger before reading it:

"No matter what we face, my love
Together or apart
Just promise to remember me
And keep with you my heart"

A tear trickled down her cheek as she looked up into Angel's eyes and smiled. "Would you help me put it on?" she asked, handing the necklace to him.

She turned her back towards him and held her hair out of the way as Angel fastened it around her neck. He softly kissed her back before she let her hair fall around her shoulders again and turned to face him.

Buffy looked down at the inscription again and then back into her lover's eyes. "I'll never forget, Angel. Never again." she said, softly touching his cheek.

He smiled, his eyes also rimmed with tears as he crushed her against him. "I love you so much." he whispered as he stroked her hair.

They kissed again as he gently lowered her back down onto the bed.

"The ice cream's going to melt." Buffy laughed softly. Her lips curved in a sweet smile as he gently covered her face and neck with kisses.

"Its okay," Angel said, smiling back at her. "there's always tomorrow."

Buffy closed her eyes and kissed him again. "Tomorrow."

Hours later, all passion spent, the couple finally drifted off to sleep. They lay together, their limbs entwined, hands clasped, each safe in the others warm embrace. Wistful smiles played about their lips as they dreamed of all the tomorrows they would have together. A normal girl, in the arms of her normal boyfriend.

END.