DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters folks.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am ending this story here. I figured it needed some kind of completion. I lost my muse and cant seem to get it back. I am very sorry. I just don't have the time and don't have the inspiration to continue my stories. I cannot promise to come back, but I do know that if I do return ... I will make sure to complete the stories before posting them. This is me thanking all of you.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

LOCATION: WASHINGTON D.C. - APPROXIMATELY 3 YEARS AFTER EPISODE NOT FADE AWAY

Both Angel and Buffy had lived in a panic on when Buffy and their baby would be ripped from his grasp again. It seemed like every time a version of himself had gotten close to her, she was ripped away. Doyle had promised her true happiness with Angel and something or someone always interfered. There seemed to be no real place in history for them.

Years had passed by since Buffy had been brought back into Angel's life. The dragon was slain together and they faced the End of Days. Angel found redemption in the swell of Buffy's stomach and happiness with the birth of their child. Doyle had promised them peace and that his original promise would finally ring true. They deserved a break and according to Doyle - the Powers That Be were willing to grant them that break ... if only for a little while.

Everything changed for Angel the moment Buffy had entered his life again. He could not imagine how different things would change for them both with the birth of their child. He had been reminded of his first born son when the baby entered the world. Angel knew then he had made the right decision with Connor. Just like he knew that any decision made with his second born in mind would be right as well.

Staring out the window, Angel watched his youngest son and wife play with a puppy they had rescued from the pound. Los Angeles had been destroyed during the war so the family of three moved across the country. They needed a new start. Washington D.C. was the perfect choice for them. It had just felt right.

Ignoring the nagging feeling in his gut, Angel continued getting dressed for work. He had taken a new identity since being rewarded with his humanity. Sliding his gun into it's holster, Angel put on his jacket and tie. He kept telling himself that all would be okay. Doyle promised. That was good enough for him. Staring at the man reflecting back at him, Angel smiled to himself. He was worried about nothing. Buffy had given birth to their son and their little family continued to progress further into normalcy. Their life felt safe.

Since the End of Days, all the slayers around the world were activated. They didn't need Buffy anymore. Everyone had eventually learned of her return to the living, but to the demonic world, the slayer had passed away years before. She was finally free to be just Angel's wife and their son's mother.

Plucking a gray hair, Angel remembered when Buffy had discovered the first one. She had sworn if he plucked it, three more would grow in it's place. He hadn't listened and plucked it anyway. Staring at his hair, he realized maybe she had been right. Three had certainly grown in it's place... maybe even a few more. Chuckling to himself, Angel tried not to worry about things he told himself he shouldn't be worrying about. If they wanted his family, they would have taken them already. If they wanted him to have the promotion at work, he'd get the promotion.

Shaking off the bad feeling, Angel left the master bedroom he shared with his wife and headed downstairs. Grabbing his sunglasses, his coffee, and his keys, Angel headed out the door to the family that waited for him.

"You have a something face..." Buffy didn't even bother looking up at her husband. She could feel what he was feeling. Before Angel could object, she grinned, finally meeting eye contact.

"You will get the promotion." His life as an agent scared her, but she could not erase the need for redemption within Angel. New identity or not, Angel needed to help the helpless. He needed to make amends.

"Have you two picked out a name yet?" Angel leaned down and scratched the pup behind the ears. His son grinned at his mother and she grinned back like the name was a secret between the two of them.

Squeezing Angel's arm, Buffy smiled at him reassuringly, allowing the topic to change without argument. "It's going to be, Dog, Doggie, or Pickles." It was said with a straight face. Their son had picked the three names and it was serious business.

"I like the name ... Pickles." Angel stole a look at his son, Mason, to see if he approved.

At Mason's excited, 'yay,' Angel laughed wholeheartedly. What was he doing worrying about so much when he had two people so full of life that loved him dearly.

"Alright, Mommy, Mason, and Pickles. I'll see you three tonight." Rising to stand, Angel kissed Mason and Buffy bye before driving away in his SUV.

What was he so worried about anyway...

Stealing one last lingering glance at his family, Angel felt like he was on top of the world. Maybe he would get the promotion at work. Maybe he wouldn't. Either way, his family loved him and that was all he needed.

Watching Buffy, Mason, and their rescued pup disappear in the distance, he smiled. He was finally truly happy.

Seeing Angel disappear down the street of their subdivision, Buffy reached down to pick up their son Mason. They had only a day to play the surprise party for Angel. It had been three years since he turned human and Buffy had assigned the day as his birthday. She needed to get the party into motion.

"Alright, Mas, let's go blow up some balloons."

Before Buffy could make her way down the pathway, her thoughts and actions were halted by the screeching of tires across the pavement. Whipping around, Buffy screamed until it felt like her throat had gone raw. Running with Mason in her arms, Pickles chased after Buffy as she ran down the street.

The SUV stood no chance against the bus that Angel had pulled out in front of. Sirens blared as help rushed to the scene, but what Buffy needed was answers. She needed to see Angel. Buffy handed her son over to a neighbor that had also ran toward the crash. They needed no explanation. The scene before them all seemed so surreal.

Dropping to the pavement, Buffy tried to crawl through the wreckage to her husband. A firetruck and police cars arrived on the scene, immediately rushing over and trying to close off traffic and respond to the accident. The police interfered, trying to drag her away to safety, but Buffy's slayer strength was too much for them to hold back. Shoving them away, Buffy screamed, "Go help them." The slayer within her wanted to respond and help as many people on the bus she could. She knew it was what Angel would do, but her heart told her to save Angel.

Stretching her arm as far as it would extend, Buffy cried out Angel's name repeatedly. "Wake up, Angel, please wake up. Grab my hand! ANGEL!" No one knew him by that name but her. It was just another aspect of starting over. Angel was her term of endearment to him. Surrounded by all the wreckage, the people on the bus, emergency responders, and neighbors, Buffy drowned all of it out and plead with her husband. She could smell the gas and hear the sound of her son's crying, but still she stayed.

"I need something to cut him loose." She would drag his body to safety. Crawling out of the crushed SUV, Buffy demanded a knife to cut him free. Ignoring ever protest, Buffy turned back to the SUV, hearing her husband begin to cough.

Brown eyes found emerald green eyes when Buffy turned toward the SUV. "Angel" It was breathed as a sigh of relief, fortunate he was alive.

"Baby, can you get loose?"

Tasting blood, Angel closed his eyes momentarily, fighting for the strength to open them again. "I love you, Buffy."

"I love you too, let's get you out of here." Buffy plead with him, finally discovering that his legs were pinned beneath the dash. "Can you move?"

"I've always loved you, in every life, and even in the next one, I will always and have always loved you." Angel felt it, the time had finally come. She and Mason were being taken away from him again.

"Don't say that. We have time for that later. I have a surprise for you." Buffy felt tears burn her cheeks.

Angel smiled weakly. He knew about the surprise party she had been planning for weeks. She wasn't as discreet as she thought and it was just one of the many things he loved above her.

"Tell Mason -"

Buffy immediately cut him off, "No. You tell him yourself. We're going to get you out of here." Crawling back out of the car, Buffy had cut every seatbelt she could that would possibly restrain him in any way.

Closing his eyes, Angel could feel Buffy nearing his side of the SUV. He opened them again, trying to remember every single detail about her. She was determined. He could see it all over her tear stained face.

"Buffy please, tell Mason that I -"

Angry at Angel for giving up so easily, she dropped down to her knees beside the SUV, ready to fuss him out and cut him off again. He needed to fight. Her knees barely had a chance to make contact with the asphalt when the blast knocked her backward. Air knocked out of her, Buffy felt like she had been the one hit by the bus. Coughing, she rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up. Realizing what happened, she flew to her feet and ran toward the blaze of fire screaming. "ANGEL!"

The same screams tore through her throat when she found herself at his graveside only days later. It couldn't be real. None of it. She had to be in hell. When she jumped off the tower, it had to have landed her in hell somehow. It was the only way to explain everything. It felt like hell. She had to be in hell. Looking down at the fresh dirt, Buffy decided then ... yes, she was most certainly in hell. She had never been anywhere else but hell.

Stepping out of the shadows, he took his place at her side. Death was most certainly her gift. The echo of the slow clap went up her spine and left her feeling dead inside. If it was only the beginning, just how much more painful could it get? Surely she had experienced hell and survived right? Swallowing, she closed her eyes and let the darkness engulf her.

"You know, Lover, I never thought I'd see you here." The chuckle only reassured her biggest fear. Maybe she wouldn't survive hell after all.

"But since you're here ..." Angelus smiled, sliding his fingers into hers, as the guise of Angel's grave faded away just as all the other illusions had before. "We might as well continue our little game..."

Before Buffy opened her eyes to discover whatever hell Angelus could cojure up for her, Buffy wondered if Angel had suffered the same fate when she had sent him to hell years before.

"Let's see ... where in the world is ..." Angelus pretended like he didn't have the next place in mind. With her friends believing Buffy died and went to Heaven, Angelus discovered that torture could be a lot more rewarding than he remembered.

Running his fingers in her hair, Buffy tried not to cringe at his touch. She didn't need to provoke anything that would only worsen the torture. "Just kill me."

Angelus brushed his lips on the back of her neck. "I would, but you're already dead." Shrugging, Angelus signaled and expressed his a-ha moment after coming to stand in front of Buffy.

"None of this real ... Mason ... Liam ... you... nothing..." Buffy couldn't even at grasp on any of it. It felt as if she had lived so many different life times and not one she could ever find peace with Angel in. Laughing, Buffy felt tears stream down her cheeks. "I feel like I should have whiplash from this ..." She could still feel the dirt underneath her fingernails from digging herself out of her grave, could taste the whiskey from Liam's lips, and could still feel the pain of losing Angel over and over again.

Rubbing her temples, she wondered why Angelus was unusually silent. Then it hit her.

"A twist in time, a place where you may never find her." Her brows knitted together and she gave him an accusing glare. "That was you. You ripped me away from Angel every single time."

The deep throaty chuckle caused hairs to raise on Buffy's arms. "If it wasn't real ..." The singsong tune made Buffy want to lash out and rip his face off.

Instead, Buffy just gave into the one question she had been waiting to ask since standing beside Angel's grave. "Am I in hell?"

Her only answer was a smile.

THE END.