Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Supernatural.

So, we've come to the end of the road. I hope you all enjoyed this little series of mine!

Chloe, Sam, Angelus, Spike Dru....the minions...they had all vanished off of the face of the earth.

The warehouse where they'd been in was empty. The moment Buffy had returned to tell Dean about her confrontation with Angelus and what he'd said, the young man had ran all the way to his home, tried desperately to find his brother, and then gone to the warehouse. But by that time everything had been moved and the only things left behind were Sam's torn, bloody clothes.

Dean had nearly gone insane with agony and grief, the fury emanating from his only rivaling Gabe's when Chloe's father found out.

And that had been weeks ago.

The vampires had been suspiciously absent since the fiasco with the Judge, and no matter how much and where they looked, the Scooby Gang couldn't find their kidnapped friends, or their fanged kidnappers anywhere.

They were getting desperate, realizing that Willy the Snitch was actually telling the truth when he said that he had no idea about what was going on, and that worried them more than anything. Because Willy the Snitch knew everything, it was only a matter of how much you had to beat him up before he spilled. But this time he didn't know anything, anything at all.

Which meant that the vampires were keeping a tight lid on whatever it was that they were doing.

"This is my fault." Dean kicked at the wall, furious. "I left him there home alone! I should have--!"

"You couldn't have known this was going to happen!" Cordelia snapped at him. "Stop blaming yourself!"

"I'm his older brother!" Dean's voice cracked with emotion. "I was supposed to be taking care of him!"

"But what triggered Angelus returning?" Jenny asked for the millionth time. "What could have possibly happened to make the soul go away and the demon return to control?"

"What does it matter?" Dean snapped.

"It matters a lot, actually." Buffy came to Jenny's defense, surprisingly. "If only we knew what brought Angelus to the forefront, we could figure out a way to force him back into the cage."

"At least we were able to find the un-invite spells and do them to everyone's home, so he can't enter them at will." Giles sighed. "One less fear to worry about for now."

"But why aren't they doing anything?" Buffy turned to her Watcher. "Why are they laying low? Why?"

"I believe it is a classic battle strategy to throw one's opponent off his game." Giles announced, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "He's trying to make us anxious, to keep us guessing and worried." His face went grave. "We can be sure that wherever they are, the are at serious work plotting their next move."

"WEEEEEEEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIIIIIIOOOOONS, MY !" Angelus and Spike sang into the microphones up upon the stage, Angelus leaning down on the back of Spike's wheelchair. The blonde vampire still needed it to get around, but he was regaining feeling in his legs and had been able to move them slightly the day before, so they were all out enjoying themselves and celebrating. "AND WEEEEEE'LLLLL KEEP ON FIIIIGHTING TO THE ENNNNNNNNNNND!"

Dru giggled, clapping happily as the two vampires enjoyed themselves upstage to the roar of the audience cheering them on.

From where she sat, Chloe shared a look with Sam, who was healed up better, though he still had dark bruises. The young man was wearing a collar that was firmly attached to a chain-leash Dru kept a hold of.

Apparently Dru had always wanted a puppy.

"NO TIME FOR LOOOOOOOOOOSERS 'CAUSE WE ARE THE CHAMMMMMPPPIIIOOONS----OF THE WORLD!"

"Somehow, when I imagined the favorite past time of the two most bloody and horrific vampires in existence," Sam frowned, looking up at the stage. "Karaoke just never figured."

"My Dark Knight sang the stars to sleep in '70." Drusilla turned to Sam with a giggle. "They gave him a cup of gold and bubbly and cheese from their place upon their knees."

Sam frowned, sending a confused look to Chloe.

"I think..." Chloe tilted her head slightly, in fascination. "I think she just said Spike won a karaoke contest in...Hollywood...in the 1970s."

Dru giggled and nodded, laying down half on top of Chloe on the loveseat-style seating in the demon bar, like a child cuddled up against her mother, arms around her waist, eyes closed contentedly. "Mommy always understands me when no one else does. Not even my Old Mommy understood me. Called Dru the Crazy Girl." She pouted, holding onto Chloe's waist tighter. "I'm so glad we have Mommy and Puppy here. I like my new family."

Sam and Chloe exchanged looks.

Once again things were getting conflicted.

The longer they stayed with Spike, Angelus and Drusilla, the longer things got blurred.

The humans knew what the two fed on when they went out to hunt at night, leaving Sam shackled and taking the key with them...and Chloe left with Spike to feed him.

But it wasn't as if they saw it happening.

And when they did see the vampires...it was like it was a really fucked up and dysfunctional family.

But a family none the less.

And a family Chloe and Sam had, apparently, been included into without their permission.

Dru leaned down, where Sam was sitting on a plushie mat on the ground, petting his head as one would a favored dog. "We'll be together for eternity."

Sam and Chloe exchanged another look at that.

Dru closed her eyes and continued to rest against Chloe, slowly growing heavier as she fell asleep, Spike and Angelus, regaling the cheering audience with another song, this one was S.E.X. by Nickleback.

Things...things were odd.

When Drusilla and Angelus had come back from the failure with the Judge Chloe had been weak from Spike's feeding from her, and Sam had been weak from the beating he was still trying to recover from, so neither had been quite coherent that night, and hadn't noticed the fact that they'd been moved.

Out of the state.

Apparently Angel, Spike and Drusilla had decided that they were bored with Sunnydale and wanted to return to some of their old haunts, and had dragged the new member of the family and their pet along.

Or in other words, Chloe and Sam.

Thus a surreal experience had begun for the two captives.

Sam drank his coke in silence, shaking his head as he looked up at the stage.

Chloe ran her hands over Dru's hair in the way she knew calmed and soothed the vampiress. For some reason, whenever the female creature of the night went into one of her fits, Spike and Angelus would hoist her on Chloe, and the blonde had been forced to find various ways of soothing her, forcing herself to understand Drusilla no matter how crazy the vampiress might sound---because nothing made Drusilla more agitated than when she was trying to tell them something and no one could understand.

"Dean...he must be really worried about me." Sam sighed, gaze lowered onto the coke in his hands. "He must be going crazy imagining me being tortured or used as a living blood bag or something." His blue/green gaze rose to meet Chloe's. "Makes me feel guilty."

"You shouldn't feel guilty, Sam." Chloe whispered. "You should be relieved."

He snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah. Relieved." His gaze returned to the soda can. "Relieved that for some reason vampires who detest humans seem to have forgotten I'm their prisoner, except for the leash of course, and instead treat me like a pet." He made a face. "Dru gets me treats for crying out loud!" His eyes begged for her to understand. "Why are they doing this? Wouldn't it be easier and safer for them to just keep me shackled in some dark dungeon and make you see me once a month to know that I was still alive?"

"Angelus knows that that would make me miserable, and I'd spend the whole time worrying about you, thus annoying him." Chloe whispered, lowering her gaze, feeling guilty once more for her part in Sam's situation. "He doesn't want me upset or unhappy, or worried, thinking about anything else than him. So he keeps you near...and Dru...Dru became fond of you. And Spike, he'd do anything to keep Dru happy, so he accepts you too."

Sam frowned. "But---why did she become fond of me?"

Chloe shrugged.

"I mean, I can somehow understand how they're accepting you. You--" he looked down. "You're Angelus' mate. You're the Master's daughter. Your blood is healing Spike..." Sam sighed. "I know they don't consider me a threat, and given the circumstances it's understandable...but I'm a human, I'm food." He ran a hand through his hair. "And I get it, I'm the pet. But some people treat their pets like shit! And I've seen the other pets of some of these demons in these kinda places. I mean. Look at that one over there."

Chloe followed his movement, gaze falling upon a miserable-looking young man, who was nearly naked, and sitting on the cold hard floor, not upon a plushie pillow like Angelus had had brought for Sam. She sighed and looked away, only able to cope with these things by not looking at them, by pretending that they weren't there and that they weren't happening.

"That should be me. And they should be trying to snack on me from time to time. I've read about pets in the Watchers Journals." Sam surprised her by announcing. "I snuck a couple out of Giles' office some months ago and read a couple of them, so believe me, I know that I'm being treated privileged, and it makes this so much worse!"

"I don't care." Chloe snapped at him, looking away. "I don't care. As long are you're alive and you're unhurt I don't care about your guilt."

He looked at her in shock. "Chloe..."

She turned to look at him, face hard and determined. "I'm going to get you out of here somehow, Sam. But until then I'm going to do all I have to do to make sure that you're treated as humanly as possible...no matter the situation."

On stage, Spike and Angelus had been about to descend, but the crowd had convinced them to sing one more, so they were singing Bad To The Bone. A song which suited them quite well.

"Chloe, I don't---I don't blame you or anything." Sam told her, hesitating a second before placing his hand on hers. "And...and I'm sorry for complaining...I..."

Dru gave a whimper in her sleep and tightened her hold on Chloe's waist.

Chloe gave a little hiss when the grip hurt a bit, her ribs complaining, but then in a second Dru sleepily softened her grip, murmuring in her sleep about fairies and moons and Miss Edith not being a lady.

"Is she hurting you?" Sam asked, a little worried.

"It stopped." She was quick to reassure him.

Sam looked down at the happily sleeping Dru, up to Chloe. "She wouldn't hurt you intentionally, you know. It---I can't understand it. But despite being insane and downright evil, she seems to love you."

"I think love is a strong word." Chloe looked away from him.

"I would have thought it too," Sam admitted, voice determined. "But after staying with these vampires for these last couple of weeks...my...perception...of them has changed slightly."

"How?" She turned her green gaze on him, curious.

"They can love." Sam chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have believed that possible, but in their own way they love. I mean, look at Spike and Drusilla. They get on each other's nerves but they're devoted to each other. And Angelus..." Sam's face darkened as he looked away from her. "He mightn't know what love is, but what he feels for you...that's as close as a creature who doesn't love can get to loving."

Chloe looked down at Drusilla's head as the blonde softly caressed the dark hair, soothing the undead beauty in her sleep.

Sam's words rang in her mind, backing up her own suspicions. For the longest times she had believed that Angelus and Angel weren't two separate entities, as they both liked to believe, but the black and the white of one. And lately...when Angel went away...The dark wasn't as dark as it'd used to be. Sam wasn't the only one who'd stolen Watchers Journals form beneath Giles' nose and read them under the cover of darkness. She knew what Angelus was capable of doing, she knew what he enjoyed doing...and Angelus wasn't doing it.

Oh, he wasn't going vegan any day now...but mass murder and monumental disaster wasn't in his plans.

He ate to survive.

His 'fun' he had like this...or at home.

Chloe knew...she knew that the soul wasn't really gone.

She didn't exactly know what was going on...but there were so many times when she'd feel like Angelus was Angel...just like there'd be moments when she'd felt that Angel was Angelus...

She...she wondered if the soul hadn't disappeared...but had merged...somehow...with the demon.

And that they were in a process of...joining black and white...and making it gray instead.

"You okay?" Sam asked her.

She looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"There can't be no news." Gabe looked a mixture of angry and terrified after Giles and Jenny had performed the un-invite spell in his home. "Do you realize how long its been since she's gone missing?"

Buffy lowered her head in shame.

She was the Slayer, and yet she hadn't been able to save the people who mattered most in her life.

Chloe and Sam were two of her best friends, and not only couldn't she keep them from being kidnapped, and not only couldn't she save them---but she couldn't even find them. Ever since Angelus had come back Giles had had them pouring over the more classified Watchers Journals, the ones that documented Angelus and his reign of terror, and the thought that Chloe and Sam were under that monster's power both terrified and sickened her to the core.

"We're doing all we can." Giles tired to assure Gabe, face determined. "We---we have even discussed the possibility of them having moved."

Buffy sat down.

"Moved?" Gabe looked at the Watcher.

Jenny brought her hand to Gabe's arm.

"Yes, they may have moved while they regroup after we defeated the Judge, and find a safer place to plan their next attack." Giles admitted, sitting down next to Buffy. "The Council has their members on duty on a look out. If anyone, anywhere, gets a whiff of where Angelus or Spike or Drusilla are, they will contact the Council immediately and they'll contact us."

"And I'll kill them." Buffy vowed.

Giles sent her a worried look.

She didn't even notice it.

Her mind was a mess. Her own voice screamed at her in her head, telling her how worthless, and how useless, she was, as a Slayer and as a friend. If it had been Kendra this wouldn't have happened.

Buffy was useless.

"We'll kill them." Dean sneered from where he and Cordelia stood in the corner.

Buffy turned to look at him, both of their hazel eyes dark and cold.

They looked at each other without saying a word, before nodding.

In the bathroom of the club, Chloe washed her face with cold water, taking in a deep breath and looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Her hair was longer, and her skin paler from keeping vampiric hours.

And there were dark circles under her eyes from her lack of sleep.

She needed to find a way to get Sam free, and get him back to Sunnydale.

She needed to find a way to convince Angelus that he didn't need to keep the human anymore to make sure that she behaved.

Her arms trembled, as did her lips, as she closed her eyes to the tears gathering in her eyes.

Dean must be so worried, so terrified, blaming himself...

And her father...

A little whimper escaped her lips.

Her father...

Bringing her hands to her face, Chloe let herself the luxury of a few sobs before wiping at her wet eyes and taking in a deep breath, washing her face once more with the cold water to try and diminish the telltale red blotches and puffy eyes that betrayed the fact that she'd been crying.

Angelus wouldn't be happy if he realized that she'd been crying.

Taking in a deep breath, Chloe looked at her reflection once more.

What else could she do?

She'd even considered trying to call Clark.

But he'd try to be a hero, try to save her, and he'd get himself killed.

And she refused to be the reason why another of her friends was in danger.

Drying her face, Chloe took in another deep breath and exited the bathroom, heading slowly down the dark corridor towards the main building, where the music was playing, some Three Days Grace song blasting now that karaoke hour was over and music was flooding the place.

"Look who it is."

Chloe stopped, hearing the female voice in the shadows around her.

"It's the little bitch who thinks she's good enough to be on the arm of The Scourge of Europe." Another announced.

Still, Chloe watched as around her, from the shadows, emerged four female demons of different types.

All beautiful.

All deadly.

All pissed.

"We don't have to do this." Chloe warned them, not having the patience for this.

"Yes, we do." One of the demonesses in the back announced. "You know how long we've been waiting for Angelus to return, and when he finally does its only to find out that you have your claws in him?"

"It's unacceptable." Yet another declared, taking a menacing step towards Chloe.

Right now Chloe would have liked to have one of her weapons on her, but considering she wasn't allowed a weapon, well...

Her eyes narrowed on the dark place around the, trying to find a make-shift weapon.

As usual, this wasn't a movie and there wasn't any magical weapon just lying down in a convenient spot for the heroine to use to save herself with.

Damn.

With a roar the demoness from behind her surged forwards.

Chloe twisted out of the way, grabbed her head and gave it a sharp jerk...a loud crack resounded in the darkness as the demoness fell to the ground, head twisted all the way around.

The other demonesses shared a look between them.

"We really don't have to do this." Chloe offered once more, though she felt a little better now after having worked off a little of her inner anger.

"You think you're such a tough cookie, don't you, you bitch?" The green one sneered.

"I think I'm getting tired of you." Chloe sneered. "Do you really think that Angelus would have gone to all the trouble of kidnapping me and keeping my friend chained up if I were some docile little girl?"

One of the demonesses looked down at the dead female by Chloe's feet, gulping.

"I don't know what he sees in you." The first one declared, coming towards her, fingernails growing long into claws. "But by the time I'm done with you, all he'll see is---."

Chloe kicked the female in her face before shoving her onto the ground and kicking her in the face again when the demoness tried to get up. "Stay down."

"You conceited bitch!" Mouth bloody, teeth loose, the demoness surged up at her, swiping at her with her claws.

The demoness swung at Chloe, but the blonde ducked and kicked her in the back of the knees, making the demoness fall to her knees on the ground. The blonde quickly followed up with a knee-kick to the back of the demoness' head, causing her to slam face first into the ground, knocking her unconscious.

Chloe turned to the other demonesses, smirking. "Okay. Let's do this."

The two remaining looked at each other before racing away.

She shook her head. "And I'd just started having fun."

"Somehow. When I heard you and my son had been kidnapped. I didn't imagine this."

Chloe turned at the sound of the voice, watching with wide eyes when John Winchester, armed to the teeth, appeared in front of her. "John."

"Chloe." He nodded, gaze going to the dead demoness at Chloe's feet, and the unconscious one bleeding away from the face into the ground.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked, going towards him, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her eyes narrowed on his weapons.

"I've been tracking you ever since you left Sunnydale, but every time I found where you and Sam were, you'd been moved." John Winchester explained, stakes on the hooks of his belt, bottles of what she was sure were holy water there as well.

"You're a Hunter." Chloe whispered, looking up at him, realization dawning on her. She went towards in him awe, before glaring and punching him square in the jaw, the unexpected blow causing his face to swing with the force. "That was for hitting Sam and Dean! And for terrifying Cordelia!" She kicked him in his shin. "When you're a good guy...act like one!!"

"Fuck!" John hissed, falling to his knees on the ground. "Can you really talk to me about acting like a good guy?"

She stopped, sighing, going to her knees next to him. "I don't hurt the ones I love on purpose."

He looked at her. "I don't want to."

The blonde looked at him before placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're here...to rescue Sam."

"You both." He replied, grudgingly accepting her help to stand up.

"I'm not leaving." She let go of his hand and took in a deep breath. "I caused this to happen, and I'm going to find a way to right this...but Sam doesn't have to suffer here for me to do that." She looked behind her. "Those two will cause a scandal. You have to get out of here. There are too many demons here. You don't stand a chance."

"I'm not leaving without my son." John glared at her. "I've done things that keep me up at night to protect those boys, and I will not leave here without him."

"You'll get him. Tonight. Later." Chloe promised. "I'll find a way. Just...you know the old park some streets down?"

He nodded.

"I'll find a way to have us there close to sunrise."

"How do I know you won't set me up?" John hissed at her. "You don't exactly look that much like a kidnapped victim. They let you walk around alone."

Chloe looked up at him, hard. "You're just going to have to trust me, John Winchester. Now get out of here."

He gave her a look before rushing away, blending into the darkness.

Chloe closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

She'd wondered when she'd have to do this.

"You---haven't been here----for a long time." Dean whispered, collapsing into the sofa, not looking at Cordelia as he spoke.

The brunette hugged herself, looking around the place before sighing and sitting down next to him. "Being alone here...it's not good for you. You're going to go mad. If you haven't already."

He chuckled darkly, closing his eyes tightly. "I wonder that sometimes too. If I'm not mad. Sometimes...sometimes I think I prefer that theory, that I'm locked up somewhere with a straightjacket and hyped up on meds...but that Sammy is safe and fine and comes to visit me every sunday even though I'm too hyped up to know he's there...'cause he's a good brother like that."

Cordelia was silent by his side before placing a hand on his back. "Sam's okay. He's going to come back. You---you know that."

"No, I don't." Dean's voice broke with his emotion. "For all I know he's dead. Or he's being tortured. Or he's been turned into one of them." He opened his tear-filled eyes, turning to Cordelia. "I don't know anything."

"Sam is fine." Cordelia urged, hesitating only a second before reaching for him, cupping his jaw with her hand. "Chloe won't let anything happen to him. She'll take care of him...just...just like I'll...take care of you."

Dean's eyes widened as a silent tear made its way down his cheek. "Cor?"

"Shhh." She whispered, leaning in. "Whenever you talk, you ruin everything."

He gave a half-choked chuckle before her lips touched his.

Sam hated Angelus.

He'd disliked Angel, but he hated the demon.

And yet, and yet...yet Sam sometimes felt like he could understand the demon much more than he ever could have understood the soul.

Like why Angelus made Sam sleep, shackled to the wall in his room with Chloe.

In his corner, in the darkness, far away from anything that could be used as a weapon or used to try and pick his shackles, Sam sat on the mattress on the floor, blanket around his midsection, doing nothing to hide his state as his gaze stayed, unwavering, on the bed.

"Oh!" Chloe whimpered, voice deeper and husky and throaty as she sat astride Angelus, hair falling down her naked back, breasts glorious, hips bucking as Angelus groaned in appreciation below. "Gods..."

A whimper escaped Sam's lips as he once again lost the battle with his self will, shackled hands going to his throbbing, painful dick, palming himself over his pants.

He kept his eyes firmly on her, listening to her voice, as he began to move his hand over himself, establishing the rhythm to match the thrusts inside of her.

Sam remembered the first night he'd watched them fuck. The fist night he'd been shackled in their room...and Angelus had demanded physical satisfaction from Chloe. The blonde had been so horrified, so embarrassed, and Sam had been shocked speechless, unable to speak, mouth dry.

"So good..." She gasped.

Sam's young body twitched violently.

He couldn't count how many times now he'd had to watch, unable to do anything, as they fucked in front of him, Angelus sending him sneers now and then.

Telling him with those eyes...Look, what you want is what I have. Look...see what you can't touch.

Sam's pace grew faster, faster.

"Yes...YES!" Chloe cried, head flung back, mouth open, hips bucking erratically as she came.

Angelus snarled, sitting up in a seemingly impossibly fluid movement and grabbing her hair. Pulling it to the side he vamped out, fangs piercing her skin.

The first time Sam had watched that he'd fought his shackles, worried for Chloe.

But now...now he knew how much that drove her crazy.

He'd watched her come undone by that mere act an uncountable amount of times by now.

And he imagined himself in Angelus' position, imagined himself the one with the fangs buried deep in her...

...and he bit down hard on his lips as he came hard and fast, messing his pants.

It was going to be a pain falling asleep now, pants wet and sticky.

Sam slumped down back against the wall, panting softly, as Angelus continued to drink from Chloe before pulling away and licking at her wound, smirking at Sam knowingly, like he did every single time.

Angelus enjoyed this.

He enjoyed this way too much.

Sam glared hatefully at Angelus...which only seemed to amuse the vampire even more.

Yawning, Angelus pulled Chloe down with him, still inside of her, letting her lay on top of his chest as his eyes closed.

Sam watched them.

Like he always did.

Surprisingly soon there was snoring.

Angelus usually didn't fall asleep that quickly.

He usually sneered and tormented Sam a little by offering to let him join in next time or something.

Slowly, hesitantly, Chloe began to wriggle off of Angelus, and then off of the bed, never taking her eyes off of her vampiric lover as she hurriedly looked for her clothes and put them on.

Sam watched her curiously, wondering what was going on.

The blonde finished pulling on her jeans and walked towards the bed, reaching into the darkness and pulling out a key. She looked at Angelus one last time before hurrying towards Sam, surprise causing him to sit ramrod straight as the key entered the lock of the shackles, and with a turn, opened them.

"What are you doing?" He whispered, nearly panicked. "And where did you get the key?"

"Play along." She hissed to him, helping him up and passing him the leash to attach to his collar.

Sam hooked the leash into the collar, completely confused, and let her ease them out of the room, forgetting all about his sticky pants.

Together they slowly made their way out of the house, surprised how none of the minions stationed as guards had caught them.

The sun began to rise, bathing the earth in its rays and chasing away the darkness, as they hurriedly made their way down the streets.

"We're free." Sam whispered, unable to believe it. "How did---? Angelus should have heard us. He---."

"He would have." Chloe nodded. "Spike would have too...and Drusilla...if I hadn't made sure they'd be down and out."

"How?" Sam turned to her as they continued walking hurriedly to only God knew where.

"My blood. I injected it with a hardcore sedative I got off of one of the dealers in the club in New Orleans." Chloe responded. "My body isn't affected by the sedative, but anyone who drinks my blood, or drinks from someone who's drunk from me, like Drusilla and Spike, would get knocked out within minutes of its consumption."

"You've had this since New Orleans?" Sam whispered. "Then why haven't you done it before?"

"Because I didn't have a safe escape before. No way to make sure that was a definite way out of the city and to Sunnydale." Chloe announced as they reached the park.

"And what about the key?" Sam asked.

"I got Drusilla to give it to me tonight without the others knowing, in exchange for a story."

"I can't believe it." Sam exclaimed. "Why tonight? What changed? What gave you the conviction to make the break tonight?"

"I think I might have had something to do with that." A surprisingly familiar voice announced.

Sam turned towards the voice, eyes wide. "Dad?"

"You have to sleep, Buffy." Giles told her as they sat in his car outside her home. "You're going to collapse one night during patrol and give the vampires an easy target."

"Maybe I should let them." Buffy whispered. "Maybe I should just end it and let Kendra come here and take her rightful place as Slayer. I'm obviously no good. I let two of my dearest and best friends get taken right under my nose..."

"Don't you ever say you should be dead!" Giles hissed, eyes narrowed. "You are the Slayer. You are the rightful one. And you are not to blame! No one could have foreseen Angelus' return. No one."

"I should have done something." Buffy whispered, tears falling down her cheeks as she turned to look at him.

"You did. You saved the world from the Judge."

"But while I was doing that my friends were being taken captive!"

"They would have died if you hadn't stopped him, Buffy!" Giles sighed. "We have to have faith, Buffy. Chloe would have told us that if she were here with us."

"But she's not." Buffy whispered, opening the door and getting out.

Giles sighed as he watched her walk towards her room window.

And only after she'd disappeared into her room did he take off his glasses and allow himself to cry.

"What are you doing here?" Sam turned to his father, surprised and wary.

Chloe eyed the extra weapons that'd appeared strapped or concealed on John.

He sure was a cautious one.

"I don't understand you." John told Chloe truthfully.

"Same back at you." The blonde stood her guard, hands on her hips. "You have to move fast. The sedative I gave them would knock out a rhinoceros for a day---but I don't know how long it works for the undead...and from my experience I'd say to expect the worse...so you need to be out of the city by the hour."

John nodded.

"You mean we need to be out of the city by the hour." Sam turned to Chloe, eyes narrowing, growing suspicious.

She turned to him, worrying her bottom lip, knowing that this was going to be difficult. "No. I mean you."

He looked confused for a second, before his eyes went narrowed in understanding. "You're going back."

She nodded.

In one smooth movement he'd stepped in front of her and grabbed hold of her shoulders. "Are you insane?" He gave her a little shake. "When they realize that you've drugged them and helped me escape they'll kill you!"

"Boy has a point." John told her.

"You stay out of this!" Sam snapped at him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"He's a Hunter." Chloe responded, looking from father to son. "I---I came across this group while trying to research John some time ago, but I really hadn't thought---Cordelia was sure he was just some creepy serial killer slash abusive father so I kinda just stuck with the theory."

"Hunter?" Sam asked, slowly.

"Kinda like we do. But instead of sticking to the baddies in our area, he goes all over the country hunting them." Chloe explained. "But I'll let him explain it to you on your way home."

"I'm not letting you go back there." Sam tightened his hold on her shoulders. "I can't."

"Sam..." She whispered, looking up at him, knowing the pain was written on her face and hating herself for making this more difficult. "I'm going to be fine. But you need to go home. Dean needs you."

"I won't leave you." He swore harshly, voice ragged.

"You have to."

"No." His gaze lowered and he shook his head. "I don't." And with that he brought his gaze to her, determined.

And then his hand was cupping the back of her head and his lips touched hers, soft, testing...

...and then he kissed her in earnest.

Butterflies danced in her stomach, and her nerve-ends seem to come alive...and Chloe didn't realize she was kissing him back until she felt silk under her fingertips and realized that her hands were in his hair, her body arched into his, his arms around her tightly, her lips moving against his with as much ferocity as his were.

They pulled away slightly, Sam resting his forehead against hers, Chloe's face a mask of surprise and shock, Sam's one of blissful satisfaction.

"I can't let you go back alone." He whispered.

"You have to." She whispered back, so confused.

"No." He shook his head softly. "I'm coming back with you."

Chloe pulled away slightly, looking up into his eyes in shock. "What?"

Sam opened his mouth, but then his eyes rolled back in his head and he would have collapsed to the ground if John hadn't been right behind him to catch him.

"Sam?" Chloe cried, scared.

"He's okay." John grunted under the weight of his rather tall son. "I just pressed a pressure point to keep him from doing something stupid. He'll hate me even more by the time he wakes up, but we'll be far from here by then."

Chloe nodded, bringing a shaky hand to wipe at the tears forming in her eyes. "Thank you."

He nodded, hoisting his son up higher in his arms, before looking her over, hesitant. "You can still come with us, Chloe. You don't have to go back there. You shouldn't go back there."

"You can't stop me."

He gave a wane smile, shaking his head. "Just like your mother." He looked at his son. "I would have gone with her to hell too."

Chloe looked away, cheeks going red, still unable to process what had just happened between her and Sam. "You two should go now. You're burning daylight."

"I parked a block down. We'll be fine." John hesitated another second. "Take my phone."

"What?" Chloe asked, confused.

"Call your father. Let him know you're okay and that this is your choice." John motioned with his head to the hip pocket that had the phone. "I know what it's like to be a father and not know what's happened to your child."

Another wave of guilt flooded her, but she didn't respond, only going to his and taking the phone from his pocket, bringing it to her heart. "Thank you, John."

He nodded.

"And---and I'm not apologizing for hitting you." She declared a little defiantly. "You kinda deserved that, and more."

He chuckled. "Just like your mother." And with that, he turned and walked away, grunting under Sam's weight.

Chloe watched him go until he was out of sight, and then she looked at the phone, taking in a deep breath, dialing the numbers with shaky fingers, and bringing the phone to her ear, listening as it rung.

"Hello?" Gabe Sullivan's voice was hoarse and tired.

"Daddy?" Chloe brought her hand to her mouth to muffle her sobs as immediately tears filled her eyes at the sound of his voice.

"Chloe?" He sounded so lost. "Chloe! Baby! Where are you? What---?"

"Daddy, I'm---I'm fine." She wiped at her eyes, at the tears making their way down her face. "Daddy, I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too baby. I've been worried sick! Where---?"

"I'm sorry."

"You---you haven't done anything Chloe. You---you have nothing to feel sorry for." His voice was breaking. "You're my baby girl. You---you're not at fault."

"Yes, I am." A little sob escaped her lips as she sniffled, continuing to try and wipe her eyes. "Daddy. I'm fine, okay? They're treating me good, like...like family. So don't worry about me."

"Chlo---."

"And Sam's going home." She quickly stopped him, not sure she could get through this conversation and not break down. "His father was here. I'm actually calling you from his phone. He got Sam, and he's taking him back home."

There was silence. "You're not coming back, are you?"

She closed her eyes tightly. "Daddy, I'm the one to blame for Angel losing his soul, and I need to find a way to right that. If I don't Angel is going to go completely black, and we'll have to kill him...and I can't let that happen. While I'm here...he stays...he stays gray. I can't---I can't do this to him and then abandon him, daddy."

"He's not a child, Chloe. He's a hundred and something! He's responsible for his own acts!"

"If it hadn't been for me Angel would still have his soul and be fighting the good fight." Chloe's voice was firm now. "I love you daddy, I always will, but this is what I have to do. I'm staying here because it's my choice. And...and I just wanted to tell you, so you wouldn't worry so much about me. And---and tell the others not to worry either. I'll be fine."

"Chloe..." His voice was shaky, choked with emotion.

"Daddy." She whispered. "This is hard for me to do, but it's the right choice. I know it in my heart, and nothing you say is going to change my mind." She tightened her shaky hold on the phone. "So, please, just tell me you love me...and that you know I can do this."

There was a moment of silence.

"I love you, baby." Gabe's voice wavered, his tears obvious in his voice. "And I know you can do this."

Chloe collapsed to her knees, crying softly, a pained smile on her face. "Thank you."

You Are Now Leaving Sunnydale...COME BACK SOON!

Buffy barely glanced at the sign as she sped passed it on her way out of the place that had just ruined her life.

Shifting the gears in the car she'd hotwired, the blonde's haze gaze went to the rearview mirror, looking at her bag of clothes and stuff in the back, before her gaze returned to the front, pressing down harder on the accelerator.

She needed to get as far away from Sunnydale as possible.

With her gone, Kendra could be called as Slayer, and they'd get the Slayer they deserved. Someone who took her calling seriously, who had done all the studying necessary, who wasn't so selfish and inadequate.

Buffy should have died a long time ago anyway.

Once again she pressed down harder on the accelerator, until it had gone down as far as it could without breaking.

All Buffy did was disappoint.

And she couldn't do this anymore.

Her phone began to ring on the passenger's seat.

She picked it up, seeing Giles' number flashing, and she wanted to pick up...she hurt with her desire to pick it up.

But she closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and threw the ringing phone out of the car window.

There was silence in the car now.

Buffy wiped at a silent tear making its way down her cheek.

Goodbye.

Hanging up, holding the phone to her heart, Chloe slowly got to her feet and took in a deep breath, wiping at her eyes.

Angelus was going to be so pissed.

She winced at the thought.

"You never fail to entertain me."

Turning at the sound of that voice, Chloe's eyes widened when she noticed a caucasian man sitting on the swing, watching her with amusement. "What?"

"You had the chance to leave your captivity, but you instead chose to stay with the vampire." The man announced, smiling even. "I don't know why I'm surprised, really. Moira would have chosen to stay with her vampire lover instead of John as well." He tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. "You really are like her, despite everything."

"You knew my mother?" Chloe asked, shocked, tightening her grip on the phone. "And what do you mean 'despite everything'? Who are you?"

"You could call me an Entertained Observer." The man announced, pushing himself softly on the swing with little concern. "And you, my dear girl, have provided me with a lot of entertainment these last couple of months."

Her eyes widened. "You've been stalking me?"

"I did say I was an Observer." He chuckled. "I think it should be obviously what I was observing."

She didn't know whether to be scared or annoyed. "What do you want?"

"I've come to realize, that you have a misconception about your...conception." He seemed to find his wording amusing, chuckling even before continuing. "And while I find it somewhat amusing, I also find it nauseating that that vampire tried to claim so much power. He was a mere vampire. And yet he and Moira thought so much about him." He shook his head. "And thanks to him, everyone else now think him possible of such unnatural abilities...like the one to procreate."

Chloe went still.

"He was a vampire. No matter how old he was. He was dead. And the Hellmouth? It wouldn't give him the power to create life if it wouldn't even help him get out of captivity." The newcomer snorted. "The Hellmouth exists for power, and the so-called Master was killed by a sixteen year old blonde." He snorted. "Do you really think the Hellmouth would waste its energy creating something from his obviously deficient lineage?"

"I'm not his daughter?" Chloe whispered, unable to believe it, a slow smile touching her face.

"Made you happy, didn't I?" He chuckled, finally standing up from the swing. "I would be too, learning that that lower being wasn't my father."

That smile grew. "I'm not the Master's daughter." She looked up at the newcomer. "Gabe's my father?"

The stranger sneered in disgust. "Please. Haven't you realized it by now?"

She went still. "You're not my..."

"No, no..." He shook his head. "I won't be like that Attention Seeking Vampire and claim something that isn't mine." He looked her up and down. "Think it over. You're smart. You may have already wondered this yourself, and if you haven't...you will."

"I don't...I don't understand." Chloe took a confused step towards him. "If the Master wasn't my father, Gabe isn't my father, and you aren't my father....who is my father?"

He just smirked. "Now that would be taking half of the fun out of this. And I so enjoy being entertained by you." He turned and began to leave, whistling a jaunty tune, hands in his pockets.

"Where are you going?" She called after him.

"I've got places to go..." He called back. "People to do things to."

She frowned. "At least tell me your real name!"

"My name..." He stopped at that, turning towards her, eyes flashing gold. "Is Azazel."

"Azazel." She whispered.

He smirked, nodded, and turned, leaving as he continued whistling the catchy tune.

Chloe watched him go, confused.

Who was Azazel...and who was she?

Reaching blindly for the ringing phone, Dean brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Dean, this is Gabe Sullivan."

Dean sat up straight in bed, all sleep gone from him. "Mr. Sullivan? What is it? What's wrong? What happened?"

Cordelia, from where she was sleeping next to him, groaned at his voice and placed a pillow over her head to block the sound.

"Dean, I---I just got a call from Chloe."

Dean was out of the bed in seconds, trying to find his pants in the dark. "How is she? Did she say anything about Sam? What---?"

"She said that she was fine. And...and she said that your father was bringing Sam home."

Dean froze in his search. "My father?"

"Ye-yes." Gabe stammered. "She said that your father was going to have to have a serious heart-to-heart with you when he came home. And they'll be here in a couple of days. They're driving. From out of state."

Dean leaned heavily against the wall. "Sammy's coming back home? He's okay?"

"Yes."

"Thank God." Dean slid down to the fall, hand going to his face. "Thank God!"

"I'm---happy---for you, Dean." Gabe stammered, voice thick with emotion.

"And I'm for you." Dean smiled through tears in his eyes. "Chlo---."

"Isn't coming back."

Dean's eyes widened in horror. "What?"

There was a shaky intake of breath. "She's not coming back."

The drug might have had the potency to wipe out a rhino for a whole day, but it didn't have the same affect on vampires at all, unfortunately.

The moment Chloe entered the lair she found ashes...most probably of the minion guards...and the house in a mess.

It was as if some monster had destroyed the whole place in fury.

"Hellfire!" Dru appeared, rushing to her and falling to her knees in front of her, holding onto her waist tightly. "It was so cold without you. So cold. And daddy's so scary. And the stars wouldn't tell me where you were dancing and..."

Chloe hands went around Dru, surprised to feel the vampiress shivering. "Dru--?"

But she didn't get the opportunity to finish, as Spike wheeled into the room, stopping when he saw her, a look of relief crossing his face. "You're here." He turned to call behind him, but Angelus stormed in after him.

Just like Spike before him, Angelus froze when he saw her, the fury in him turning into confusion that was obvious on his demon's face as he just looked at her. "You came back."

"Of course I did." She whispered, looking at his every feature, trying to see Angel there somewhere. The blonde caressed Dru's hair soothingly like second nature as she finally glared at him, not having to be nice and sweet and careful now that Sam wasn't around to use as a bargaining chip. "What is wrong with you? You destroyed this place and scared Dru. And that's that Dru likes violence!"

Spike blinked in surprise at her aggressive stance, before smirking.

Angelus took a step back. "Excuse me?"

"I said, what is wrong with you?" She snapped. "Look at Dru! You have her like this! Why? Because you couldn't keep your temper for one second?"

He snarled, eyes vicious gold as he stormed towards her. "How dare you talk to me like that! I thought you'd left me! I thought you'd taken that human and gone! I thought that---."

A slap resounded in the home.

Spike began to cackle loudly, with gusto. "I seriously love this girl!"

Dru looked up from where she'd been hiding her face in Chloe's mid-section, eyes wide.

But, they couldn't be wider than Angelus', his face already showing the red handprint on his cheek.

"I swore that I'd stay." She glared at him. "And I don't know about you, Angelus, but Angel knew that when I gave my word, I meant it."

Angelus brought a hand to his cheek in near awe, turning to look at her oddly.

"I let Sam go. Because you didn't need to keep him prisoner here to keep me here." She replied, helping Dru up and fixing the slightly taller female's hair as she spoke. "If you want to move now that our lair's been compromised, fine. I've always wanted to go Europe anyway."

Angelus tilted his head slightly as he looked at her, expression still odd.

"But there's going to be some changes around here." She warned him, firm and unafraid despite knowing the monster she had in front of her, despite knowing what he was capable of, what he enjoyed doing. "You want to hunt people? Fine. There's enough criminals out there that the law lets loose. You hunt them. I'll look the other way. Hell, if he's a pedophile or serial killer I'll help you find him. You'll use your brain and your brawn, make the hunt more interesting."

"She has a point." Spike announced. "Stupid bints trying to outrun us in bleedin' stilettos gets kinda old after a while."

Dru giggled and clapped her hands. "Sounds like such fun! A family hunt! We haven't had a family hunt in centuries!"

Chloe turned to look at her and had to smile at the enthusiasm on the vampiress' face, even if it was about a future kill.

Angelus took a slow step towards Chloe. "You...came back."

She turned back towards him, looking up into his face, continuing to try and see Angel.

He wasn't there.

Disappointment and slight hysteria built up in her throat, but she pushed it down stubbornly.

She couldn't let herself doubt.

She couldn't.

Or she'd go insane.

"Of course." Chloe nodded.

Her gaze went down to her finger, to her ring, twisting the metal around her digit. She thought back to the dock when Angel had given her the ring, and her gaze went to Angelus' hand...to the matching ring that he hadn't ever taken off, even after having lost his soul.

That was the image she needed to keep in her mind...the image...the promise...the promise to be one, to belong to each other.

No matter what.

Cold fingers slid up her cheek caressingly. "What part of Europe do you want to see, My Lass?"

She raised her gaze up to his. "How about Italy?"

Dru giggled. "I love the boot!"

Spike wheeled up besides them. "I'll talk to Fatty. He'll arrange everything so we can move by tonight."

The blonde nodded, hugging herself. "Yeah."

Angelus watched her in silence before reaching out his hand to her silently.

Chloe took in a deep breath, hesitating, eyeing the claddagh ring facing towards him, before closing her eyes and taking in another deep breath, placing her much smaller hand in his own, accepting the fate she'd chosen. Her whole life was going to change after this night. It would never be the same again. She was going to change with the experiences she was going to have to encounter, and she could only hope that she would somehow change the vampires as well, if only just a little.

Dru collapsed onto Spike's lap, hugging his neck.

Chloe hesitated a second before letting go of Angelus' hand and leaning towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her cheek again him.

He hesitated a second before his arms went around her too.

Chloe closed her eyes.

Ready or not...

Wow. So we're at the end of Season Two. Wow. This went by fast.

Not sure about Season Three or whether I should leave it at this.

Only time will tell, I guess.

Review?