Angel opened his eyes. He felt terrible, like he’d had too much to drink the night
before. He lifted his head from the soft pillow and looked around the room. The
clock showed him that it was the wrong end of the day to be awake... Sunrise was
an hour away, but apart from that nothing had moved.  Everything was the same as
it had been when he’d crawled into bed the morning before.  

He shook his head in an attempt to clear the fuzzy feeling that was clouding his
brain.  It didn’t work, so he got out of bed and reached for his clothes.

He wandered down the stairs to the lobby of the old hotel. It was quiet... too
quiet... there wasn’t a sound. No arguing, no name calling. For a moment he hoped
that maybe Cordelia and Wesley were working too hard to talk, but with a quiet
chuckle he dismissed that idea. It’ll never happen. They thrived on the bickering!

He reached the reception desk. It was empty.  Cordy’s lap top lay open, but it was
switched off. There were no coffee cups. In fact, there wasn’t even a pot of coffee
on.  *This is very strange  * he mused.  He walked behind the desk and started to
look for some sort of clue as to everyone’s whereabouts, or a jar of instant coffee
which ever came first.

He heard the main door swing open, and then close. He looked up expecting to see
Wesley or Cordy, but found himself looking into the face of the one thing he
constantly dreamed about... –Buffy-. 

"H.. Hello..." he managed.

"Hi sweetie," Buffy smiled.

"Huh...long time no see." he replied, not quite understanding her casual greeting.

"Hasn’t been that long lover.... Have you missed me?"

"Missed you?.... I ...don’t understand." Angel began to feel very uncomfortable.  
He walked round the desk towards Buffy. She moved towards him, taking him in a
tight embrace. He tried to protest, but she silenced him with a rough, passionate
kiss.  He tried to pull away, but he couldn’t, he wanted more. He returned her
embrace, returning her kiss.  He began to feel his passion stir and came to earth
with a jolt. He pulled away unbalancing her as he did.

"Don’t...we can’t..." he stuttered.

"Why not? Everyone’s out. They won’t be back for hours." Buffy retorted with a
pout. 

Angel frowned.  What the hell was going on?  He turned to voice his question, to
find Buffy taking her shirt off.

"Buffy? What do you think you’re doing?"

"Taking what’s mine to have of course." she replied, prowling towards him with
intent...

Angel found himself pushed roughly against a door, shirt ripped open.  Buffy’s
hands roaming everywhere.  And, he was powerless to fight her. 
 
*When did she become stronger than me?*.. he wondered.  He realised that he
didn’t really want her to stop, and found he was returning her searing kisses.  He
wanted to feel her, inside and out. She opened the door behind him and he
stumbled backwards into what used to be a lounge area. Still kissing they fell
backwards onto a dusty sofa, her hands itching to undo his trousers.  Their kisses
became more passionate when Angel realised the touch of her bare flesh was
driving him crazy.  He wanted to take control, but she wouldn’t let him.  They made
love like the first time. Hot and passionate. It left him gasping for more.

Afterwards, Angel lay next to a contented Buffy. He was glowing with pleasure.  He
looked at the way her blonde hair swirled across the arm of the dusty couch and
thought how happy she made him. And then, with horror, realised his soul was in
jeopardy.  He got up quickly, making Buffy slide off the couch unceremoniously.

"Hey..." she muttered.

"Buffy!  Get out of here!  We shouldn’t have done that. You know what’s gonna
happen now?... Just GO!" he said to her, the desperation clear in his voice.

"What are you talking about silly? Get back here now, or I’ll give you trouble!" she
giggled at his panic. 

He didn’t understand.  His head hurt with the confusion of it all.  His heart was
racing... *hang on... how can my heart be racing? I’m dead - my heart doesn’t
beat...*  He put his fingers to his wrist and took his own pulse.  After a minute he
looked at her and smiled. "I’m alive...but how? And how did you know?" he
questioned her.

"Of course you’re alive, you’ve always been alive. What’s got into you?" she
frowned.

He didn’t understand what was going on but something wasn’t right here. And it
wasn’t the first time.  He had been a vampire for 247 years.  Had he been
redeemed without realising it? He highly doubted it. He pulled his trousers on and
walked to the door.

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

He kept walking, out into the lobby, through the main doors and into the sunrise. 
He braced himself just in case, but nothing happened.  He waited for Buffy to join
him, but she didn’t come, so he walked back inside to get some answers to the
questions plaguing his already aching head.   

Buffy was no longer in the lounge area, so he climbed the stairs to find her.  She
had fallen asleep in his bed. He didn’t want to wake her, so he just watched as she
slept.  With a sudden panic, he realised she wasn’t breathing; he rushed to the bed
taking her in his arms.

"Buffy..." he shook her hard, and then almost dropped her when she opened her
eyes and growled at him.  

"What is it? What’s the matter with you? Put me down." 

"My god...what are you? Who did this to you? Who did this to me? I don’t
understand...." 

His mind was racing at a million miles a second. He laid her back on the bed and
slowly stepped away.  Buffy sat up.  She frowned at him waiting for him to talk. 
She seemed just as confused as he was. 

"You’re a vampire.... Since when?... I thought I was the vampire and you were the
human, now we’ve switched places.  But how?  Why?" He looked at her waiting for
her reaction.

"What are you talking about? I’ve always been like this. Ever since I came to find
you in Sunnydale... helping you with your slayer duties. We’re a team, we dust the
bad guys remember?" she answered. But not the answer he was expecting. 

"I came to Sunnydale looking for you. You’re the slayer not me. I’m the vampire
with a soul... you sent me to hell when I lost it. And I came back to you.  You dust
the vamps, you’re the vampire slayer...I’m your lover.... That’s how I remember it."
he trailed off.  That’s how it went... he was sure...  Wasn’t he?

"Me?...the slayer?!! What are you talking about?" she laughed softly. "I’m a girl,
there’s never been a female slayer...ever."  

If I’m the slayer then who’s my watcher?" Angel asked...mostly to himself but Buffy
answered.  

"Cordelia, of course. You’re beginning to scare me. Now what the hell has happened
to you?"  

"I don’t know..." he mumbled, and wandered out of the room.

Buffy shrugged her shoulders yawned and decided that she would sort this out
when she woke later but for now sleep was calling her.

TBC