Back for Good

"Buffy? Is that you?" Giles asked into his cell phone from the Sunnydale 
High Library.

"Yeah, it's me, Giles. What's up? Is it that important that you felt you 
had to call me at...what is it...three AM?" Buffy groaned and looked at 
her watch.

"Yes, Buffy, it is extremely important. I need you to come here 
immediatly. And bring Angel."

"What? Giles, are you sure it can't wait?"
"Quite, Buffy. Please hurry." 
Buffy agreed and hung up the phone. She grabbed a stake and stuck it in 
her handbag, changed into jeans and a sweater, and called Angel.

"Buffy?! What is it, what's wrong?!" Angel asked worriedly when he heard 
Buffy's voice on the line.

"I don't know. Giles called me and said that both of us need to get down 
to the library right away. I think it's really important. I'll meet you 
at your place?"

"Sure, sure. Be careful, ok?"

Buffy agreed, hung up the phone, slid on her Candies, and hurried out 
the door.

When Angel and Buffy arrived at the library, Giles, Xander, Willow, 
Cordelia, and Oz were already there.

"What is this, a party?" Buffy muttered.

"No, Buffy, but Giles discovered something really important. I think 
you'll be pleased." Willow declared, tapping on her keyboard.

Buffy and Angel squeezed into a chair together and turned to Giles. 
"What is it?"

"Well, as I've already informed the others, I have stumbled upon a spell 
in an old book that I found in the back room. It seems almost too good 
to be true. Angel could have his soul permanently and become human. 
Buffy, you could have a normal lifespan," Giles paused. "And Jenny could 
come back. She's not actually dead, as Angel didn't...didn't...ahem, 
didn't suck her blood. She's trapped between realms, I guess you could 
say."

Buffy and Angel were staring at him wide-eyed, almost too afraid to 
speak. Finally Buffy choked out, "Are you serious?"

"Very, my dear. Are you willing?"

Buffy turned to Angel. "Do you want to?"

Angel nodded vigerously. "What's the deal?"

"Let me show you the spell." Giles grabbed an old, leather-bound book 
off the table, causing dust to fly everywhere. "Read this."

Buffy snatched the book from him and opened it to a marked page. "On 
rare occasions, there are reasons to change fate," she read.

"Read on," Xander suggested.

"If, for a certain reason, a vampire needs to become human and a slayer 
needs a longer life, there is a way." Buffy pondered over the spell to 
herself, with Angel looking over her shoulder. Suddenly he stopped.

"No! I couldn't!" he yelled.

Oz, who had drifted off, jumped up. "What!?"

"It says here that I would have to...to suck her blood. I couldn't do 
that to Buffy."

"Damn right!" Xander yelled. Cordelia grabbed him by the arm and pulled 
him away from Angel.

"Let me explain the mid-boggling spell. Buffy must drink holy water, and 
then Angel must suck her blood for about 30 seconds. Then he must cut 
himself and put some of his blood into her wounds. Normally this would 
create a vampire, but the holy water blocks that. The holy water mixed 
with slayer blood will make Angel human. The holy water and 
vampire-with-a-soul blood will increase Buffy's lifespan. And as Jenny's 
killer has become human and better, she can come back."

"You bite her, you'rE dead!" Xander hissed.

"Well, maybe it's all for the better!" Willow tried, but no one was 
listening.

Buffy was crying against Angel, and he was trying to comfort her. Oz and 
Cordelia were awestruck. Xander was angrily trying not to jump at Angel, 
and Giles was frantically flipping through a huge black book.

Finally Giles looked up. "Well? What do you say?"

Angel looked at Buffy, who nodded. "We're in."

"Great. Now, I want everyone to meet at either Buffy or Angel's house 
tomorrow at midnight."

"Mine," Buffy volunteered. "Mom's in Vegas for a meeting."

"Very well, then. Buffy's at midnight."
* * * 
The next night, Tuesday, everyone was at the Summers' on time. The group 
hurried up to Buffy's room.

"Now, Buffy, Angel, are you two ready? I must warn you, you will be 
extremely tired afterwards. I've already called in for you, Buffy, and 
explained that you won't be in school tomorrow, since your uncle Marvin 
is visiting from Portugal," Giles stated.

"Uncle Marvin from Portugal. Gotcha."

"Good. Now, Buffy. You need to drink 16 ounces of holy water all at 
once." He handed Buffy a tall glass of clear liquid and said a few Latin 
words.

Buffy stared at the glass for a moment. "Bottoms up!" She quickly downed 
the glass and turned to Giles. "I feel a little dreary now."

"Quite normal. Sit down, please." Buffy sat on her bed, shoving a 
history textbook out of the way. Xander, Cordelia, Willow, and Oz sat on 
the floor, while Angel sat next to Buffy, and Giles sat on her desk 
chair.

"Good," Giles said. "Angel, you need to suck her blood for 30 seconds. 
Don't worry about not being able to stop, it'll be hard enough to do 30 
seconds with the holy water. We'll be timing. But first, you need to 
wait about 3 hours for it to circulate into her blood. Buffy, lie down, 
please."

Buffy did without protesting, kissed Angel, and fell asleep.
* * * 
"All right," Giles said at 3 AM. "Angel?"

Angel looked at the sleeping Buffy, kissed her gently, vamped out, and 
sunk her teeth into her neck. The pain her felt was excruciating, and he 
wanted to pull back. Buffy awoke, too, from the pain in her neck.

"Time!" Cordelia shouted.

"Angel, quickly, cut your finger." Giles handed over a pointy knife, and 
Angel put a small slit in her index finger. Giles nodded. "Now, right 
where she was bitten, place your blood there."

Angel nodded and let his blood flow into her neck. She was weak, he 
could see it. He wasn't feeling so well himself.

"Enough!" Willow shouted. "Time." She handed Giles a bandage, which he 
quickly put over Buffy's wound. With bandage tape, he put it into place. 
After Angel pressed a Band-Aid onto his finger, he looked at Giles. 
"Well?"

"Rest. You need much rest, as soon as possible."

Angel nodded and lay down next to Buffy, who was sleeping again. Soon he 
was fast asleep, too.

The others trudged downstairs. "No point in leaving now," Willow said. 
She opened the fridge and pulled out a bag of apples. "Anyone?"

Everyone sat on the couch, munching on red apples and watching paid TV 
announcements, until they fell asleep without meaning to.

"Giles?"

"Hmm? Yes?" Giles woke up and slipped on his glasses. Sun was seeping 
through the windows. He took a better look at the person talking to him 
and nearly passed out. "J-Jenny?"

"Yes, Rupert, it's me. I was trapped in another realm, waiting."

"A-are you back for good?" Giles asked speedily, jumping up. 

"Yes. And so are Angel and Buffy." 

As Jenny Calender said that, Buffy and Angel materialized at the top of 
the steps.

"Come down!" Jenny cried.

They slowly came down, looking very tired.

By then everyone was awake. "Did it work?!"

Jenny nodded. "It did."

"I-I'm human?" Angel asked, almost to himself.

"Dead Boy's alive!" Xander yelled, and Buffy silenced him with a look.

The eight friends sat down and talked for hours, no one making a move to 
leave for Sunnydale High at nine AM. Finally, Angel stood up. He turned 
to Buffy. "Let's go outside."

Buffy and Angel dashed outside, and everyone else had the sense to stay 
in.

"You look beautiful in the sunlight," Angel told Buffy. She turned 
crimson and smiled. "You don't look bad yourself."

"This seems too good to be true. I keep expecting to wake up and find it 
was all a dream," Angel said.

Buffy nodded. "Me too."

"It's perfect," Angel went on, "And I want it to last forever." He got 
down on one knee. "Buffy, you know how much I love you. Will you do me 
the honor of being my wife?"

Buffy began to cry, but she managed to choke out, "Yes. I love you, 
Angel."

Tears streamed down both of their faces as Angel slipped a ring on her 
finger and picked her up and carried her back into the house.

"What's wrong!?" Xander yelled when they entered the kitchen, where 
everyone else was.

Buffy shook her head. "Nothing. Everything is just so right!" She held 
out her hand for everyone to see.

"You're getting married?!" Everyone screamed at once.

Buffy and Angel nodded.

"That's so romantic," Willow said.

Oz slapped Angel on the back in a friendly way and hugged Buffy. 
"Congrats."

"That is so sweet," Cordelia cooed, seriously happy.

Even Xander managed a kiss on the cheek for Buffy and a "Congrats" to 
them both.

Jenny was crying. "It's so beautiful."

"A married slayer. I've never heard of it," Giles said thoughtfully, and 
then smiled. "Best wishes to you both." He turned to Jenny. "While we're 
at it, this is rather spur-of-the-moment, but will you marry me?"

Jenny sobbed more and agreed. Soon the whole kitchen was in a happy 
chaos.

Joyce Summers walked in the front door. "Hello? Anyone home?"

She found everyone crying in the kitchen, and Buffy sitting on Angel's 
lap. "What's wrong?"

Buffy shook her head and held out her hand.

"Oh, Buffy!" Joyce breathed. Buffy braced herself for the worst, but her 
mother smiled. "Congratulations. I received an email from Willow about 
Angel turning human and Buffy living longer, and Ms. Calender returning, 
and I got the first flight home. I think we have some catching up to 
do."

Everyone agreed, and made their way into the living room. "So..." Buffy 
began.

THE END





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