-Buffy spent the next three days desperately trying not to look like she was waiting for Angel to show up, but seriously, who was she kidding. Every time the phone rang, she was jumping to her feet, every time she heard the doorbell, she was practically sprinting to the door, but he didn't show.

-She hung up on her friends seven times and slammed the door in their faces four times, but still, no Angel. She still hoped though.

-The doorbell rang once again and against her better judgment, she flew to the door.

-"Oh!"

-"I was hoping for something a little bit better than 'Oh'." Steven laughed.

-"I wasn't expecting you." She apologized, not really knowing what to say. She had almost completely forgot that he even existed.

-"But you were expecting someone." She didn't say anything. "Exactly what I guy likes to hear when he hasn't seen or heard anything from his girlfriend in over a week."

-"Oh!"

-"Buffy, I think that we need to talk." Steven started as he moved passed her and into the apartment.

-"Yeah, probably." She answered less than thrilled.

-"Are you actually going to utter more than a few words to me?"

-"Hum sorry."

-"Buffy, look I know that you were upset but I think that we need to talk about what happened."

-"What happened?" She played dumb. She didn't feel like getting into that right now.

-"Buffy!" He sighed exasperated.

-"It's complicated okay. Look Steven I like you, really I did, but we can't do this anymore. I'm sorry."

-"You're breaking up with me?" He asked completely in shock.

-"I'm sorry." She repeated, truly meaning it.

-"Why?" He couldn't believe it.

-Buffy stood there, not knowing what to say and then settled for the truth. Lies had caused her enough trouble as it was.

-"There's someone else." She started. "I didn't cheat on you." She clarified when she saw his expression. "I thought that he wasn't an option anymore and I tried to move on but now…"

-"Liam."

-"What?" she could practically hear her heartbeat in her ears. He couldn't know, there was no way she was that transparent.

-"Liam McAllister, my client, that's him isn't it?" Apparently she was. He looked at her, realization dawning on him, while she stood there completely in shock at how he could have figured it all out.

-"I'm not that stupid you know. I saw the way you were looking at him and I saw how pissed off he was when you took off. You don't get angry like that with someone you don't know. It's him right?"

-She didn't know what to say, so she simply nodded.

-"I'm sorry." She added a couple seconds afterwards.

-"Look, if it means anything, nothing's going to happen, he hates me now."

-"It doesn't." And with that he was gone.

-Buffy spent the next few hours after her unprompted break-up doing the stuff that she had been doing for over a week now, she cleaned around the house. She was pretty sure that her apartment had never been this clean before.

-She was admiring her work when she was interrupted by the doorbell once again. She sighed and moved to the door.

-She found herself face-to face with the last person that she was expecting to see.

-"Angel." She breathed.

-The two of them stood there in her doorway silently scrutinizing each other. Buffy couldn't believe that he was here. She had almost abandoned all hope, yet here he was.

-"So hum, I got punched today." He started looking as nervous as she was.

-"Huh what?" Her mind was a complete fog. It was completely blank. All that she knew for sure was that he was here, the rest was completely lost on her.

-"Your boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend apparently, he punched me during our meeting this afternoon."

-"Oh! Sorry!" She was completely speechless, what was she suppose to say anyway.

-"Huh no! That's not why I'm here. He punched me because he said that the way I had acted with you the other day, it was wrong. Said I had treated you badly."

-"I, look I…" Her brain was still trying desperately to catch on to what was going on.

-"He was right."

-"What?" She was right back at confused.

-"Can we talk?" He asked shyly.

-"Huh, yeah sure. Come on in." She awkwardly allowed him entrance into her apartment and led him into the living room.

-"I'm sorry about the way I acted before, It was wrong."

-"Angel, you don't ha…"

-"Buffy! Just hear me out. Please." She nodded.

-"I've been angry. I've been so angry, for so long. It's almost all I know how to feel anymore, anger and pain."

-"I blamed you Buffy. I put all faults on you without ever giving you the opportunity to explain."

-"Angel, you don't…"

-"I was just so upset and angry. You know, it took so much from me to even pick up the phone and call you in the first place. Learning that you didn't trust me anymore, it hurt, it really did. You know, no matter what our relationship went through, I was so sure that we'd always have this trust in each other. Knowing that we didn't have that anymore, I was so scared that you were not going to believe me, but in the end I was still convinced that you wouldn't let me down, that you would eventually come through, if not for me, for those people that we were meant to protect. I never expected you to just come out and say no without even explaining it to me yourself. I felt betrayed."

-"Angel, I'm sorry."

-"When it was all over and I looked around me and saw all those bodies, all those people that I was suppose to protect, dead, killed by those creatures, I just lost it. I was completely overtaken by grief and pain." He paused and took a deep breath.

-"When I got the gift as the called it, I didn't want it. I didn't know what I was suppose to do with it. I mean, the only reason I ever wanted to be human was so that you and I could finally be together, but after…" He breathed again.

-"I know that I should have went and confronted you right away, but I…I just couldn't bring myself to. I was just so angry, I never wanted to see or hear anything from you ever again."

-Angel saw the hurt expression on Buffy's face and corrected himself.

-"I was angry Buffy. I was angry and I was blaming you for all those deaths. I guess that it was easier to put it all on you than to admit that it was as much my fault that it was yours. I should have never started the fight when I knew that we were most likely to loose and all those people to get killed, but I was conceited. I thought that I could handle it, that I was strong enough, but I wasn't and they all died."

-"Angel." She tried to speak but he interrupted her once again.

-"It was much easier to put it all on you than to admit that it was my fault, so I did. But then I ran into you and all the anger washed out of me. I wanted you to feel as much pain and guilt as I did, I wanted revenge. I never expected, never even thought that maybe it wasn't what it looked like."

-He looked up into her eyes.

-"I'm sorry Buffy. I'm so sorry."

-She couldn't hold in the tears anymore, he was her angel again, she could see it in his eyes.

-"You don't owe me any apology Angel. I deserve for you to be angry with me. You counted on me and I let you down."

-"Buffy…"

-"No! Now it's my turn. Just hear me out okay, I need to do this." He nodded and she continued.

-"Andrew's a dumbass."

-Angel smiled.

-"I never said that I didn't trust you. I said that I didn't trust the people you were working for and that I couldn't understand how you could work in the middle of all this evil. I never meant for things to get misunderstood, and for you to get hurt. I trust you with my life, always have. I need you to believe that."

-He sighed and looked at his shoes and Buffy bit her bottom lip.

-"I know that this might take some time. I don't expect things to fix themselves, I know it's going to take awhile."

-He looked up at her again and she continued.

-"My friends, or whatever they are now, they were… The council, it's my responsibility. I should have made sure that I knew exactly what was going on, what they were doing. I trusted them, I relied on them. It's my fault. I'm sorry Angel."

-"Why?" He asked it so quietly, she doubted that he had really spoken.

-"What?"

-"Why did they do it? What did I do for them to do that to me?" There was so much pain in his voice that if she wasn't crying already, she would have been in tears.

-"I'm sorry Angel. I'm not clear on everything. All I know is that they got your call and decided that it wasn't worth the risk. They didn't tell me anything about it because they assumed that if they told me, I would have blindly forced them all with me and could have gotten them killed. They thought that I wouldn't event think things through, that all you had to do was call and I would have just run off to help you. They weren't ready to risk their lives or allow me to risk mine, even if it was none of their businesses."

-"Would you?"

-"What?"

-"If you would have known, would you have come?"

-Her head sprang up.

-"Of course Angel. I meant what I said, I trust you. If I had known that you needed my help, I wouldn't have hesitated one second. Angel, you risked your life so often for me, there was no way I would have just turned you down."

-"I believe you."

-"What?" She couldn't believe that he had just said that.

-"I believe you Buffy. I guess part of me always knew that it wasn't something that you would do, it was just easier to believe what I was being told, what I felt, then to really try and find out the truth. I don't want to take the easy way out anymore."

-"What are you saying Angel?"

-"I'm saying that I want to fix things Buffy. I want to be happy, I'm done being miserable."

-"Do you mean that you…"

-"Do you love me Buffy?"

-She was stunned into silence. She knew what she wanted to say, what she felt, she had always known, she just couldn't speak. She had never expected him to even care about her feelings for him anymore.

-He took her silence for a refusal and got up, backing away from her.

-"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that. I assumed that maybe you still felt like this, but I was wrong. Obviously you're not cookie yet, or maybe you moved on, I mean last I know you were in love with Spike. I'm going to go."

-Seeing him start to walk away, she sprang into action. She jumped to her feet and grabbed his arm quickly.

-"I do Angel."

-He turned to face her.

-"I love you Angel, I always have."

-"But you and Spike…"

-"Were nothing but friends. He was there for me when I needed someone the most and he stood by me through everything, but I was never in love with him. I've always been in love with you Angel."

-"But the cookie thing?"

-"I plead temporary insanity due to apocalypse on that one. Look I was scared about the future, I thought that I was going to die for sure, but I didn't and now I'm here and I want this, I really do. If you do that is." She looked up at him nervously.

-He smiled down at her.

-"How about we take things slow?"

-"What do you mean?" She didn't want to get her hopes up too much. She didn't think that she would be able to handle it if it wasn't what she thought and he wanted to be friends or something.

-"Date. You know, go out, get to know each other again. See how things go from there. So, what do you say?"

-She smiled her biggest smile in years.

-"I'm so in. Anytime you want."