Disclaimer: Anything recognizable from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and/or Angel belongs to the creators of the show and not me. I'm using the characters/ideas for fun and not for profit. The title "Somewhere With You" was inspired by the Kenny Chesney song. Lyrics belong to No Angels.

It feels like I'm falling into sun,

Even on stormy days in everyway feel like we're one.

As we watch the years go by, feels like we're still flying high.

Baby you amaze me,

You still knock me off my feet.

And who would've ever guessed it would last through it all,

The reason I believe, can't you see,

You still amaze me.

-No Angels

Cleveland, Ohio

The funny thing about Hellmouths is that just when you've closed one up and think it's gone another one springs up with a vengeance. And boy, did the Cleveland Hellmouth have a vengeance.

Buffy, Angel, Faith and Spike were in Hawaii when it happened. Buffy was finally feeling content for the first time in a very long time. They had just found the slayer they were looking for on the Big Island and after much begging by Buffy and Faith, decided to hang out there for a few days for a break. Buffy loved everything about Hawaii; the food, the people, the shopping, the beaches, everything. She found herself lounging on the beach all day with Faith, drinking fruity drinks and laughing a genuine laugh for the first time in what felt like forever. And her and Angel were in a really good place. They talked about their future together and decided they were in it for the long haul this time around.

Funny how when everything seems to be falling into place all hell seems to break lose.

Buffy was watching the sun set from the lanai connected to her and Angel's hotel room. They had dinner reservations in a few minutes and Buffy was enjoying the evening, killing some time as they waited for the sun to set. When she heard the phone ring inside their room, Buffy's stomach dropped. Over the years she had learned to trust her intuition and tonight was no exception. Things were going so right they were bound to go wrong. She heard Angel mutter a few words to the person on the other end of the phone before poking his head out of the door and handing the phone to Buffy, a grave look on his face.

Buffy sighed and stared at the phone, enjoying her last seconds of peace before the reality of her world came crashing down around her. She took the phone and held it to her ear. "Giles?" she asked quietly.

"Buffy," Giles responded. He sounded tense. "You need to get to Cleveland."

It turns out what little demonic creatures were left over from the Sunnydale Hellmouth closing and Angel's battle with the Circle of the Black Thorn had naturally gravitated towards the other Hellmouth in Cleveland, Ohio. When they all got there, they teamed up and were determined to open this Hellmouth using whatever forces necessary. And they succeeded. Buffy, Angel, Faith, and Spike got on a red-eye out of Hawaii, but since it was such a long flight by the time they got to Cleveland it seemed too late. The Hellmouth was open.

For the rest of Buffy's life she would always recall what happened in the hours following her flight from Hawaii to be a little fuzzy. Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline, or her survival instincts repressing the memory. Or maybe it was the Slayer taking over. All she knew was that she fought. All of them; Angel, Spike, Faith, Giles, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Andrew, Gunn, all the slayers, even Illyria. Buffy would remember fighting for hours, slayers and demons falling all around her. But she didn't stop until it was done.

The first thing Buffy registered upon waking was an annoying beeping that seemed to go along to the same rhythm as the pounding in her head. She stirred and groaned a little, confused as to why she was in a comfortable bed.

"Buffy?" came a familiar voice from somewhere to her right. She knew that voice…why was it taking so long for her to figure out who it was? She felt like her mind was molasses. The person to her right leaned forward and pressed a small button on the side of her bed.

Buffy finally opened her eyes wide enough to look at him. "Giles…" she said groggily.

He smiled at her, a relieved look on his face. "You're awake," he said.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

Giles was about to answer but a voice cut him off. "You were very lucky, that's what happened."

A middle aged doctor walking into her room holding a clipboard with a few papers attached to it. "Explosion from a gas leak at the hotel you were staying in," the doctor told her. "Or that's what I'm told," he added, giving Giles a look. "We did some surgery to repair internal bleeding and close up a few nasty wounds. You'll be sore for a few days, but you're going to be fine."

Buffy just nodded at him. A beeper on the doctor's belt went off and he glanced down at it. "I'm sorry but I need to run. Let one of the nurses know if you need anything."

After the doctor left Buffy turned to Giles and said, "What really happened?"

Giles let out a tired sigh but smiled nonetheless. "We did it Buffy. The Hellmouth is closed. And this one and the one in Sunnydale were the only two on the planet."

"What does that mean…" Buffy asked.

"It means," Giles started. "Well it means that no more demons or evil forces can enter our world again. Without a Hellmouth, they have no energy source. The numbers of the ones here now will begin to decrease until they are no longer."

Buffy was silent for a moment before saying, "Oh." She felt her brain couldn't really process all this right now. "Is everyone okay? Where's Dawn? And Willow and Xander…"

"They're all right," Giles said, cutting her off. "Everyone's okay. We lost a few slayers though."

"Well where is everyone?" Buffy asked, getting impatient now.

"Xander and Willow finally felt well enough to take Dawn down to the cafeteria. We've all been here a few days recovering," Giles said.

"What about Angel and Faith and Spike," Buffy asked.

Giles sighed, looking uncomfortable. "Spike and Faith left a few hours ago. I think they were feeling cooped up."

"Where's Angel?" Buffy asked, feeling slightly panicked that she had to ask so many times.

Giles sighed and took too long to answer for Buffy's liking. "He's… here."

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in the hospital bed. "Giles I need to get out of this room. Just walk around or something."

Giles hesitated before nodding. He knew by now not to argue with her. He placed a pair of folded up sweatpants and a t-shirt that had been on the chair next to him on her bed. He then got up and left the room to give her some privacy.

After some difficulty, Buffy changed out of her hospital gown and into the pants and t-shirt. She walked slowly out of the room to find Giles waiting for her in the hallway. They were about to head towards the lobby when a nurse emerged from the room next to Buffy's and stopped Giles.

"Excuse me sir?" she called to him.

"Yes?" Giles asked. Buffy was fidgeting with the tape on her arm left over from an IV.

"You're part of the same group as Angel Gallagher, correct?" the nurse asked.

Buffy's eyes snapped to the nurse when she heard Angel's name. His real name. "Yes," Giles responded.

"I just came from his room and I thought I would let you know. The surgery went fine. We finally got his heart rate under control and he's awake-"

"What?" Buffy asked the nurse sharply when she heard the words "heart rate". She looked to Giles and then back at the nurse. After a beat she ran into the room that the nurse had just exited.

"Excuse me, miss!" the nurse called after Buffy. She went to go after her but Giles stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright," he said with a small smile. The nurse gave Giles an annoyed look before walking the other way down the hallway. Giles chuckled and walked towards the cafeteria. Maybe he would join Dawn, Willow, and Xander for a snack.

Buffy raced through the door to Angel's room as fast as her painful injuries would allow her, nearly colliding with another nurse who was exiting. She held her breath at what she saw.

The image of Angel in a hospital bed was strange enough, but what was really keeping Buffy's attention was the quiet steady beeping coming from the heart monitor next to his bed.

Buffy let out a sigh that sounded more like a gasp. She slowly approached the bed and dropped to her knees by Angel's side. She reached out with a shaky hand and laid her palm on Angel's chest, which was bare since there were so many bandages on it. Through the thin material of the bandage she could feel the steady thump-thump of a strong heartbeat.

Angel, who had only been resting his eyes, opened them slowly at Buffy's touch. He saw her staring in awe at her hand over his heart.

"Hey," he whispered.

Buffy looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. She felt like she couldn't speak. What does one even say in a situation like this?

"Is this a dream?" she whispered. Buffy realized how silly that sounded after she said it. The stabbing pain in her side and in every limb of her body told her that no, this was not a dream.

Angel shifted a bit and winced, clearly sharing some of Buffy's pain. "Sure doesn't feel like one," he said.

"Angel…" Buffy trailed off, hoping he would understand.

Angel smirked and said, "I know."

Buffy let out a breath of laughter as she realized all of the possibilities for her and Angel were opening up.

Angel smiled at her again and said, "Come here."

Buffy's tears were threating to fall as she placed her hand gently on his cheek before pressing her forehead against his. She gave him a gentle kiss. He managed to shift to the side of the narrow hospital bed and Buffy took the invitation. She slowly laid next to Angel, being careful not to aggravate any of their injuries.

As Buffy laid next to Angel, letting his new heartbeat fill her senses, she thought about what was possible for them. Things that other couples took for granted like going to the movies on Saturday night, or going out to Sunday brunch, or take a cooking class together. Buffy began to lose track of everything she wanted to do with Angel.

As she lay in the hospital, one of her most hated places, Buffy fell into the most peaceful sleep that she had ever had in nearly a decade.