Angel Davenport walked right into "The Watcher’s Investigation," the building he worked in. Last night he came to the conclusion that his life was good. Everything had been perfect. He had a great job. He was one of the best PIs in Sunnydale. He had a great partner. He had just been given a raise. He was making good money. He had a nice apartment. Yep, life was good.

His partner was Charles Gunn. They were like brothers, although they didn’t get along much. But they worked together, and got through any case that met them along the way. Just a few days ago, Gunn was put on the disabled list after a gunshot to the leg.

The office was busy; there were a lot of cases to handle and a lot of criminals to put away. With everything so busy, Angel was sure he was going to get a new partner. "Please, please don’t let him be a jerk!"

"Yo! Angel! Your new partner’s here," Spike grinned like a fool. Angel hated Spike. They were long time friends, but Spike acted like a jackass sometimes. He was one of the PIs there. He didn't trust him and hated the fact that he and Cordelia, his cousin, were seriously dating. "I suggest you go take a look."

"Show me where he’s at," Angel looked around the big room of the office building. There was no way he could tell who his partner would be. A lot of people had been hired on account of the upbeat of crimes in Sunnydale, California. "So?"

"First off, Peaches, ‘he’ is really a ‘she,’" Spike continued and grinned at the look on Angel’s face, "and she is right over there."

Angel followed Spike’s finger over to a girl on a black leather chair. She had a bag of peanut M&M’s in her hand. She took a piece out of the bag and through it up into the air, attempting to catch it with her mouth. Instead of it landing in her mouth, it dropped on an elderly man’s head, just a few feet away. "Ooh! Sorry!" she yelled at the man. She began to blush, then started to rotate in her leather chair.

"You have got to be kidding me," Angel groaned while putting his hand through his spiky hair.

"Nope, that’s her. Boss said she’s his niece. She’s supposed to be very handy with a gun. Born, bred and trained in LA. Boss said that she was supposedly better than you, Peaches."

"No one is better than me. No one. Especially not her." Just when life was turning out all right it plunged and burned in hell.

"Yeah, whatever. Boss says that you’d better be nice," Spike said matter-of-factly.

"And what’s he gonna do if I’m not? Kill me?" Angel muttered in exhaustion. Rupert Giles, his boss, was never the one to fight. He was behind all the fighting scenes; he was the brain.

Spike chuckled and Angel glared at him. "Boss knew you’d say that. He didn’t say that he was gonna kill you, he said that she was gonna kill you," Spike said as he nodded his face to the blonde rotating in her chair. "Good luck, Nancy Boy."

"Yeah, thanks." He took a few steps closer to her desk. He finally introduced himself. "Hey, I’m Angel."

She rotated in her chair and seconds later she was standing, holding her hand out to him. "Name’s Buffy Summers. Nice to finally meet you; Giles had mentioned a lot about you."

‘She seems nice,’ he thought. ‘But there is no way she can beat ME up.’ He looked at the unusual pool of emerald green in her eyes, lost in the exploration of them.

"So, what do we have to do today, Angie?" she asked, giving him a nickname.

"The name’s Angel," he confirmed.

"Yeah, okay" she said. "What do we have planned? Can’t wait to kick some fang ass!"

"Fang?" he asked in confusion.

"Yeah, sorry. Just a habit of calling criminals that ever since this sissy bit me. The dumb ass thought it would actually hurt."

"Oh."

"So can we go?"

"Go where," he asked. He was lost.

"G-d! Pay attention! I want to go kick some ass."

"Oh. Well, first I want to see how good your ability to fight is, so we’ll head down to the gym in a few minutes."

"Fine by me. See you downstairs in about five. I got to go change. Bye Angie," she said with a smirk. She already knew the name was driving him nuts, that’s why she used it in the first place.

Angel turned around and put his fingers to the side of his head, rotating them to hopefully stop the incoming headache. "I’m in deep shit."

*_-_*

Angel waited impatiently in the gym for Buffy to arrive. He couldn’t wait to show all the guys around the gym that he wasn’t going to lose to some weak little girl. After he’d be done with her, she’d be crying. He crossed his arms over his white T-shirt and looked towards the door, spotting Buffy walk through.

She was wearing a tight sleeveless shirt and very tight shorts. The sight of her made Angel slightly aroused, but he wouldn’t let it bother him. He had to keep concentrated.

"Hey," she said while strolling over to him. "Sorry I’m late. Fred, the computer technician, needed some information to put in my file."

"It’s okay, let’s just get started. We have a lot of things to do."

"Okay, no problem. So which one of these men will I be fighting," she asked while cracking her knuckles. She couldn’t wait to show off some of her skills. Some of the men thought it was a joke that she was known to be stronger than anyone in the company. She just needed to prove it.

"You’ll be fighting with yours truly."

"You? Why?"

"I just think as your partner I should know how you fight, if you can fight well," he lied. This fight was to put all the rumors in their places. Buffy Summers was not stronger than Angel Davenport.

Buffy looked into his eyes and immediately knew he was lying. "This is because of all the rumors, isn’t it?"

"No, not at all. Are you saying they aren’t true?"

"Rumors can be true."

"Well then, we’ll just have to see," Angel whispered while he put up his fists and put on his fighting stance. This is going to be fun.

"Can you hold on a sec? I got to stretch, you know," Buffy said while raising her arms over her head, stretching her back. Her breasts lifted and it made Angel slightly more aroused.

He snickered. She had to stretch? He didn’t stretch and he always fought fine. He turned around to his audience. "Do you hear that, ladies and gentlemen? Buffy Summers, supposedly the ‘strongest person,’" he said, his fingers making two quotes, "has to stretch before…" Some one had tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and felt Buffy’s fist connect with his jaw in a right hook.

Angel was surprised at the force and stumbled back. He quickly put up his fists after he had rubbed the side of his face with his palm.

Buffy right jabbed and he blocked, left jab, blocked, and then she kneed him in the groin. The distraction of pain gave her enough time to take Angel’s hand and swing it behind his back, slightly lifting it higher which made it hurt more. She forced him onto his back, stabbing her knee down on his spine. She lifted Angel’s arm again and a small whimper escaped his lips. Only she could hear it though, the rest of the room was applauding and cheering. "I don’t think I like your attitude, Mr. Davenport," she said so that everyone in the room was able to hear. The audience quieted down now, waiting for the next move. "I’m thinking of asking my Uncle for a new partner," she said while putting pressure on his spine.

"Why did he stick you with me in the first place," he asked, groaning from the pain of his back. She was caught up in the distraction of the question and he retaliated. He pulled his free arm out from under him and reached for her neck. Once he was in the right place, he flipped her over him. She landed on her back. He got up and stood over her; she quickly stood, too.

"He told me you that were the best. And since I’m the best from LA, he thought we’d be a great team," she said while punching him in the gut.

"Well, I guess two rights make a wrong," he muttered, punching her in the mouth. Her head snapped back and she looked away from him.

He got worried, that was a hard punch. Then she looked back at him, her lip bleeding from the force of the punch. Her eyes got watery.

‘No one punches me like that and gets away with it,’ she thought. The punch hurt her face. Or maybe it was the realization that he despised her that hurt so much. The first time Fred pointed him out to her, she was amazed by how his eyes held so much darkness in them. All she wanted was for him to get along with her. She was about to cry, but she didn’t allow herself to.

"Shit, I’m sorry," he said in a rush. He lowered his fists slightly.

Buffy looked at him, emerald facing brown and started punching in full force. Angel blocked, but never got the upper hand. He started to become tired and it went from an equal match, to Buffy having the upper hand. She spun with a round house kick to the head, spun with a full force left hook and swept his legs out from under him, making him fly and land on his back. She came over to him quickly and straddled him. She looked into his eyes and then lowered her head to his ear.

"Don’t fuck with me, Davenport," she purred. She lifted her head up to see his confused face. "You got that?"

He nodded very slowly.

"Good," she said simply. She placed her hand over the bruise of his cheek where she hit him. She smoothed her hand over the wound and the slight unshaven face. She slowly lowered her mouth to his. When she was an inch away from his lips she swung her head to the side. She got off of him, walked to her towel and put it over her shoulder. She left to the women’s locker room, swaying her hip the whole way.

All the men who were there were now rolling on the benches and steps, laughing their asses off. He grew red with embarrassment. He didn’t think that was funny; that was not funny! He growled and tried to sit up, but the pain in his lower back prevented him.

"Spike!" he called to the bleached blonde man sitting on the lowest bench.

Spike got up from where he was sitting, still laughing as the scenes replayed in his mind. "I wish (laugh) – I wish Gunn was here to see that (laugh). She kicked your ass, mate," he said panting between laughs.

Angel glared at him and Spike shut up.

"What’s wrong?"

"I blew out my back."

"Correction, mate. She blew out your back," he stated with a slight giggle to his words.

"Why didn’t her back blow out? I flipped her."

Now Spike was laughing again as he held out a helping hand to Angel. "It’s something called ‘stretching.’ You know, the thing that she did and the thing that you didn’t do and instead made fun of her for doing. She really pounded you to the ground."

"I let her beat me. I was scared that she was gonna tell ‘Uncle Giles.’"

"I’ve seen when you fight, Angel. I know when you fight at full force. You looked to have been in full force. But her full force is way better then yours. Face it, Angel. She’s better than you."

Angel casually turned away from him and the rest of the laughing idiots. He walked as if nothing happened, but every step he took made him bite his lip. He was not going to admit that Buffy Summers, a girl, beat him and aroused him at the same time.

*_-_*

"I want to change partners; assign her to someone else," he rushed out as he burst through Rupert Giles’ office door. Wesley Wyndam-Price, The Investigation’s Vice President, was in his office with him. Both did not look up in response to the sudden outburst.

"Yes, we heard you put on quite a show," Wesley said with a smirk on his face.

"I cannot work with her," he said calmly, dodging the bullet Mr. Wyndam-Price shot.

"You can and will work with her," Giles said while standing up and taking off his glasses. He glared at Angel.

"There are so many others she can work with. Her and I don’t get along."

Giles looked over and glanced at Wesley. "Should we tell him?" Wesley nodded.

"Mr. Davenport, please have a seat," Giles whispered, motioning toward the empty chair.

"This past month, crime has arose to the unthinkable. Our jail cells are getting full but the amount of criminals isn’t getting less. I called Buffy from LA because she’s the best PI there. I put you two as partners because I know that no other two can handle what will come next."

"What will come next," Angel asked curiously. He moved up on his seat.

"There have been threats," he said with a sigh. "Plenty of bomb threats from some people who call themselves ‘The Masters.’ There have been threats on the Bronze and the School, even this building has been threatened."

"So we put our strongest PIs on the job; we’re hoping that you’ll be able to stop it," Wesley finished for Giles.

"Bomb," Angel stated. "How big?"

"Big."

"Okay. Does she know about this?" he asked.

"Well, no. I told her that we needed help because of the increase in crime, but never told her she would be handling explosives. We were hoping you could tell her. Can I trust you two to get along now?" Giles asked, hoping the answer would be yes.

"Well, it’ll be a giant leap. But if it’s about saving lives, then yes, we’ll get along."

Giles looked over to Wesley and he nodded for Giles to fess up.

"Angel, there’s something else we would like to talk to you about."

"Okay, what’s up?"

"Because you and Buffy will be working a lot together, we have added a roommate to the apartment that we’ve been providing you. Buffy will be living with you from now until the end of this case. We hope that’s fine with you; we’ve already set the records."

"What! No, no, first she is my partner and now she’s my ROOMIE! Are you kidding me? You’re meddling with my life here. You can’t do that kind of shit to me."

"We will do it, and she WILL live with you. We provide for you a nice apartment because you are one of the best PIs we have. But DO NOT abuse your fortune. We’ve given enough to you, now it’s time for you to retaliate and give back," Wesley said half talking, half screaming.

"She will be by tonight, with all of her things. I suggest you get home as soon as possible and clean things up. Angel, I know that you don’t think this is such a great idea, but you have to understand that this is for your own good. You and Buffy need to get to know each other; you need to know each other’s every move and every thought. Being roommates will lead you two to starting to get along and starting to depend on one another. Do you understand?" Giles had a calmer voice than Wesley did and it brought the tension down in the room.

"I get it. Thanks," he said, totally saddened by the defeat of the argument. The Watcher’s Investigations controlled everything in his life. His money, apartment, office, it was all because of them. No point in getting fired.

"You have the rest of the day off, Mr. Davenport. She’ll be by at about nine with her things. Please help her." Giles said.

Angel walked out of the office fuming with anger. "She’s ruining my life."

Buffy emerged from the women’s locker room, wet hair pulled back into a pony. "Who’s ruining your life?"

Angel glared at her and would do anything to let the anger out on her. "You know whom," he said simply. He turned away from her and walked down the hall.

Buffy called after him, "then I guess I’ll be seeing you at nine, Angie," she said with a giggle.

"Yeah, whatever, Buff," he said, glancing at her turn away.

When she heard the nickname ‘Buff’ she turned away. She hated the nickname. It gave her major Wiggins and sent chills down her back. "I guess I have to start calling him ‘Angel’ now. Wow, I’ve never met a guy that doesn’t josh around sometimes."

*_-_*

By 8:50 she packed everything that she had brought from LA to Sunnydale. Giles said that there would already be a bed at Angel’s for her to sleep in. She was anything but excited for this experience. Overlooking the past day, she just knew that the next few would be hell.

She gathered all of her stuff by the door and put on her coat. She walked over to her window and checked to see if there was a green Toyota there. It was there all right.

At the office, Buffy asked Fred if she would be able to drive her to Angel’s apartment. Fred nodded with a cheery smile. "Xander and I can pick you up and drop you off. We’re going to a party anyway."

Buffy and her had known each other for only a day, but got to know each other well. Fred was a genius; she was a computer technician, and the head of the research department. She was so nice to Buffy that they became friends instantly. She got to meet Xander, her boyfriend, at the construction sight where he worked when it was lunch break. He was a funny guy, and Fred and him cracked jokes all the time. It was nice to be around the both of them.

Buffy got all her bags down to the lobby and ran outside to the car to call Xander to open up the trunk. She got to the green Toyota and stopped at the sight of the musty and blurred windows. She put her hands and face up to the window to see what was going on. She quickly turned away from the sight and ran back to the lobby, red face and all.

Xander and Fred had been at a hot spot when Buffy peeked in the window. They were both topless, holding each other there and relishing in the feel of their mate’s skin. They kissed hot, passionate kisses filled with love, lust and want. They moved around on each other. They touched each other through their clothing, both begging for release from the clothes. But they knew it would be time to stop, Buffy would be there any minute. They were gonna have to do it in record time then. He unzipped her jeans while she unzipped his. He slid her panties down her thighs and plunged into her. He didn’t waist time and sheathed his length into her. He pumped in an out of her, making her scream loudly. She met up to his thrusts desperately needing more from him. They both rocked until each was overcome by the waves of ecstasy rolling through their bodies. When the climaxes ended, they quickly put their clothes back on and pretended like nothing happened. They both waited.

"Xander?" she asked.

"Yeah, honey?" he answered.

"I love you."

"I love you even more"

She smiled.

*_-_*

Back at the lobby, Buffy rummaged through her coat pocket, looking for Fred’s cell phone number that she had written for her. She found it and dialed.

Fred answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Fred," Buffy said, slightly blushing at the images.

"Buffy, you ready to go?"

"I’m ready. I’m in the lobby, I just needed Xander to open up the trunk."

"Okay, he’s opening it. Do you need help?"

"No, I can handle everything. Remember? I’m the strongest in the company."

Fred giggled, "Yeah, boy do I remember. We’ll be waiting for you. See you."

"Bye."

Buffy loaded her bags into the trunk with great ease. Then, they were off to Angel Davenport’s apartment. "I hope he’s not THAT much of a pig."

*_-_*

Angel was watching a hockey game when the doorbell rang. He put down his beer on the glass table and braced himself for the worst.

He walked to the front door of his apartment and opened it. He looked at her frowning face and realized that he was frowning, too. Neither of them wanted to do this. But still.

He didn’t say a word. He left her at the door, keeping it open. He went back to his hockey game and his icy cold beer. He put up his legs and sat back and relaxed.

"That was rude," Buffy commented under her breath. She hauled the four bags she had with her into the apartment and closed the door. She looked around in exploration. When you walked in, you were in the living room, which was attached to the dining room. Behind the living room/dining room was a small eat-in kitchen. To the right of the dining room was the TV room and bedroom (they shared a wall). To the left side of the living room was a bedroom. Near the entrance of the apartment there was a closet and full bathroom. Buffy put her coat away in the closet and set out to find out which room was hers. There was no point of asking the asshole that drank the beer and watched hockey when his new roommate was here. Oh yeah, he’s REAL classy.

She went to the bigger bedroom by the living room side and was invited by Angel’s musk. It smelled nice. She looked around his room. Unlit scented candles filled the room and surrounded the silk clad bed. He had silky red sheets, and when you touched them you couldn’t help but gliding your hand over them. He had a few pictures around his room. A picture of him and an African American guy at a baseball game (little did she know that it was his PI partner, Gunn.) He also had a picture of him, Uncle Giles, and Wesley working at the office. It looked as if they had millions of pieces of paper on their desks. She saw a kid in a photo, his looks resembling Angel’s. Next to him was a brunette, looking to be clad in expensive clothing. His room was nice, but it seemed a little dark and sad.

She made her way to the kitchen and immediately saw the stack of dishes that were piled up in the sink. She then saw a dishwasher and grew furious.

"You have a dishwasher, use it," she muttered. She felt it was her responsibility to load the dishwasher so she did. She put the soap in and turned it on.

She looked around the living room, sitting on the cushioned couches. ‘Comfy,’ she thought. ‘But the styles all wrong.’

She glanced towards the dining room and walked towards it. She loved the mahogany table and the four chairs. She imagined what it would be like to have dinner with Angel in the candlelight. She looked over to where Angel was lying in the den and heard a burp escape his mouth. ‘Yeah like that romantic dinner will ever happen,’ she thought.

She rolled her eyes and commented about the burping. She walked into the TV room and stood in front of the TV, turning it off. He glanced up at her.

"What the fuck is your problem," he said calmly.

"Let me state the problems I have that turn out to be your fault…One, the first time we meet you act all smug to me. Two, you disrespect me in front of the other employees at the office. Three, you gave me a bloody lip and now I think I need some stitches or at least ice. Four, after the fight, you’re mad at me just because of the fact that I can beat you up and you can’t admit it. Five, you don’t say hello when I come here; you don’t help with my bags, you don’t show me around, nothing. Six, you leave a fricken stack of dishes in the sink when you are fortunate enough to have a dishwasher. Seven, you burp loudly as if it were to my face and your don’t even say ‘excuse me.’ So don’t ask me what the fuck MY problem is. Ask your fuckin’ self that question. And when you stop being the asshole you appear to be, you can properly give me the grand tour. Got it? I’ll be in my room." She walked from the room and to where her bags were. She picked all of them up at the same time with great ease and walked to her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She was so angry with him; she wanted to pull her hair out from the frustration.

She heard him scream. "I never should have become a PI, I never should have worked at the Watcher’s. My life was so fucking perfect before YOU came into it." She heard him growl, then stomp to his room and slam the door behind him.

Buffy looked around the room; it was white and plain. She had a queen-sized bed, a cabinet and a dresser in the room. She walked over toward the mirror that sat on top of the dresser. She looked at her reflection and looked deeply into her emerald pools that began to water. She could feel the tears build up in her eyes and felt the weird feeling your nose got when you were about to cry. She felt her mouth water up and closed her eyes, tears squeezing through her lids. "Nope," she whispered, "that didn’t hurt one bit." She unloaded her tank top and shorts from the suitcase and changed. She was tired, so she got into bed. She quietly sobbed to herself, finally falling asleep.

*_-_*

Buffy awoke suddenly from the blasting sound of thunder that vibrated in her room. She hated thunderstorms and nearly jumped out of the bed when the flash of light blinded her eyes. She hid under the covers and started counting "one-one thousand, two-one thousand…" she stopped at the shriek of thunder, which made her whimper. It sounded as if someone was ripping through the sky and destroying heaven. The windows clattered with the sound of heavy raindrops falling. They sounded as if they were pebbles falling on tin. She started counting again, the thunder sounded like a gunshot, and she started to sob. Just her luck…

Angel awoke at the sudden sound, too. He wasn’t afraid of thunderstorms; he actually enjoyed them. He listened closely to the sound of the raindrops; to him it was soothing and nice. He listened closer and could hear a sob from the other side of the apartment. He immediately knew that it was her who was crying. Just his luck… He swung his covers over his legs and got out of his room. He passed the living room and dining room and opened her door. She was lying there, tears streaming down her face and hands over her ears. He couldn’t believe it – Buffy was afraid of thunderstorms.

She looked up at the figure that appeared to be at the door and assumed it was Angel. She removed her hands from her ears and she wiped the tears off her cheek. "So are you going to make fun of me because I’m afraid of thunder?" she asked. She really didn’t want to see his face, let alone hear his answer.

"No."

She looked up in surprise. "So what are you here for?"

"I was just making sure you were okay. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Nothing you can do. I’m just scared. Can you just leave me alone right now? I’d like to be by myself," she said while turning over and looking away with him.

He looked at her form and turned away from the room, leaving the door opened. "G-d, why does she always have to be so bitchy?"

When he made it to the living room, Buffy called back "You’re such a jackass."

He turned back to her and glared. "Oh, yeah, Buff?"

"What’s up, Angie?"

He bit his bottom lip. "I’m expecting a rematch tomorrow. I know I can beat a girl who’s afraid of thunder. See you around, and have a nice night," he said with a snicker.

"You’re such a peace of shit," she called after him, expecting him to comment. But he just waltzed right into his room, nearly slamming the door behind him.

Buffy just looked to his bedroom door in surprise. Her thoughts were interrupted again by the shriek of thunder, and she ended up hiding under the covers again.

*_-_*

"Yo! Get up, we have to get to work," Angel screamed to Buffy from the entrance of her room.

Buffy didn’t seem to be effected by the loud screaming and just turned to one side.

"Buffy. What the hell does a man got to do to wake you up," he screeched. Finally, he turned away and went straight to the kitchen. He took out a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the sink. He took a big gulp, making the full glass of water into half. He leaned his hands on the sink as if he was holding himself back from doing something. She was on his shit list. He looked at the glass in his hand and a light bulb appeared above his head. ‘Naughty, Angel…this could get you killed,’ he thought. ‘But it’ll all be worth it.’ He filled his glass up again. He trudged towards her room.

"Hey, Buff," he screamed into her ear.

She awoke with a start and was greeted by a glass of water splashing at her face.

Angel was laughing like a fool, the empty glass in his hand.

"You fucking asshole! I’m going to rip your scrawny throat out!" she screamed. Waking a person up with a loud scream to the ear and a glass of water to the face was rude.

He grew serious. "You’re gonna rip my throat out? What did I do?"

"Hello! The water and scream. You are such a…such a…"

"Ooh, good one, Buff. Got any more good puns?"

Her fist connected to his jaw, the same exact place it had when they first fought. "You wanted a fight, Angie. Come on, kick my ass."

Angel didn’t wait a second he grabbed her arm and flipped her over to her back. She quickly got up, fist up and protecting her face. He punched and she blocked, neither one of them gaining the upper hand. He punched her in the face and she stumbled back. He didn’t waist any time. He grabbed her arm again and twisted it, making her cry out. He held two of her small arms in his big and strong hand. He pinned her to the wall, her two hands held by one of his above her head. He raised his free hand to where he punched her in the face. It was growing black and blue. He smoothed his hand over her silky cheek, bringing his mouth to her. She slightly moved her face forward, expecting to feel his lips. His nose was touching hers, their lips not connected just yet. But at the last second he pulled away with a snicker and let go of her hands. He turned and walked towards his bedroom, smiling the whole way.

"What was that," she called after him.

He turned and grinned one of those half grins, "Get dressed and make your self some breakfast. I need to stop by at the hospital to check on a friend. And to answer your question, what I just did is something that’s called ‘sweet revenge.’

*_-_*

Buffy and Angel got out of the black convertible and walked through the hospital’s parking lot. Neither of them had said a word to each other during their car ride. Both were pissed off at one another.

"So, who are we visiting?" Buffy asked in wonder.

"My old partner, Charles Gunn. He got shot in the side and he’s supposed to be out of surgery by now" he said, remembering the moment when Angel dodged the bullet and it shot Gunn in the side instead.

"Did you like him as your partner?"

"Well, compared to you and me, we were like brothers. Yep, those were the good old days."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Excuse me, I have to go heave."

They made their way to room 23D. Angel opened the door further and peeked into the room. Buffy stayed outside.

"Gunn, my man! How you feeling?"

"He’s not feeling so well, he can barely speak. When he tries to his side starts to ache," a woman said in a Jamaican accent.

Buffy looked up from the floor when she heard the accent. It was all too familiar for her. She peeked around the door and saw Kendra.

"Oh my G-d," Buffy screeched, bringing her hands up to her mouth. "Kendra?" she asked.

The girl turned around and smiled. "Buffy?" She jumped up from where she was sitting and ran over to her. They both jumped into each other’s embrace. They both giggled; Buffy even started to cry. "I missed you so much."

It took Gunn a great effort to speak; "Okay, did we miss something here," he asked pointing at himself and Angel.

"Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Buffy Summers. I’m Angel’s new partner. Kendra was my first PI partner. She was disabled because she broke her arm, and we never saw each other again." Buffy smiled. "I never thought I would see you."

"Me, too" she said, "I moved to Sunnydale after I was taken off the disabled list and moved here. I started working for the Watcher’s Investigations. Gunn and I met there and now we’re together," she said in her Jamaican accent as she smiled. "After Gunn is off the disabled list, we’ll become partners."

Angel walked to the empty chair and sat down. He was in shock; Gunn wasn’t going to be his partner anymore. "What luck! And what a small world we have," Angel said groaning.

Gunn smirked. "Angel, Spike just called before you came. He said that you got your ass kicked by a girl. She the girl?"

Angel put his hand to his head. "Yes."

"You beat HIM?" Kendra asked. "You go girl!"

Angel went over to Buffy and pointed to the bruise swelling on the side of her face. "But do you see this bruise? Yeah, that’s right. I called for a rematch. I came, conquered and won."

"My man!" Gunn said while holding up his hand for Angel to slap.

Both of the girls rolled their eyes. "I can’t believe you actually gloat about beating me. I didn’t gloat."

"Yeah, whatever."

Gunn whimpered and put his hand to his side.

"Kendra, can you get the doctor to prescribe me some medicine for this pain. She said that she would be in the room across the hallway."

"Oh, I’ll get her" Buffy said. "Sit down, Kendra."

Buffy went to the room across the hall and opened the door. She blushed as she saw a redheaded girl and a brown-headed boy in a passionate lip lock. They weren’t in a room; it was actually a broom closet. Buffy cleared her throat and they broke a part.

"Hi. Buffy Summers," she said pointing to herself. "Are you Gunn’s doctor?"

"Yes, um…I’m Dr. Willow Rosenberg and this is Ben, my assistant. Sorry about that."

"Perfectly fine. Gunn just wanted you to prescribe him some medicine."

"I better go check on him. See you at the Bronze tonight?" she asked Ben.

"Yeah, see you." He gave her a quick peck on the lips and walked away.

Buffy and Willow walked to the room. Willow prescribed Gunn some medicine. They talked a little while longer. Buffy and Angel said their good byes and headed to the office.

*_-_*

"So, what do we have today," Buffy asked Angel. Buffy was more than ready to take on a case. "Any cases we have to take car of?"

"No, no cases. We’re just going to train," Angel said.

Buffy looked at him in surprise and then looked around the office. It seemed like it was hectic. There were papers everywhere, people running around. There was no way that there wasn’t a case to be handled.

"Are you keeping something from me?" she asked suspiciously.

Angel lied; Giles had told him that they wouldn’t be working on any cases, just training for what is to come. "Why would I do that?"

*_-_*

They trained all day at the gym; they even ended up having a contest on who could do the most pushups. Spike made a pool and everyone that had seen Angel and Buffy fight bet their money on Buffy. The spectators that didn’t join the others for their first fight bet on Angel.

Angel was amazed that Buffy won at 232, Angel stopped when he was at 200. Again, he was met with by laughing idiots that couldn’t believe that a girl beat him once again. He saw the minority of the group hand over money to the majority. He glared at Spike who was handling all the money. Spike glanced at Angel and just shrugged.

Angel got up and walked away from her.

"Angel…" she groaned.

He put up his hand as he moved away, "don’t talk to me."

*_-_*

Buffy decided to go clubbing that night. Fred and Xander invited her to the Bronze with their friends Anya and Wesley. They sat at the round table near the stage. Each was propped up on a high stool.

"So, Buffy. I heard that you and Angel are partners now. Tell us, have you partaken in any sexual activity yet?"

"Excuse me?" Buffy questioned.

"Sorry, Buffy. Anya is tactless and is known for asking a lot of unneeded questions." Fred whispered.

"No, I haven’t and don’t plan to."

"That’s a shame. Ooh, my favorite song! Wesley, we need to dance. Let’s dance," Anya rushed as Wesley was pulled out of his comfortable seat. They started slow dancing and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Buffy saw Fred and Xander looking at the dancing couple and just knew that they wanted to dance, too. They didn’t want to leave Buffy by her lonesome. "Guys, I’m gonna go get a drink. Go on and dance."

She went over to the bar. "Diet coke, please." She took her drink, turned and bumped into Willow. Thankfully, neither drink spilled.

"Willow, right?"

"Yeah, you’re Buffy. So what brings you here?"

"I just came with some friends. I’m new in Sunnydale so they showed me the nightlife."

"Really? Where you from?"

"LA" she said taking a drink.

"Oh, well welcome. If you want, in the next few days I’m off of work. I can show you around. You know, to all the cool places to shop." she said with a smile. Willow was a very busy surgeon at the hospital, but whenever she had time off she never had friends to spend time with. This could be her shot…

"Yeah, that’d be great. I never knew where to shop here. Here’s my number," Buffy said while taking out her card and giving it to Willow. Willow gave Buffy her card.

"Okay, I’ll call you so we can arrange. I got to go get back to Ben. See you."

"See you." Ah, finally she had made friends with someone that didn’t have to do with the Watcher’s Investigations. She pulled herself into the gyrating throng of people and started dancing.

*_-_*

She came home not too long after. She told her friends that she was too tired to go on any longer. She opened the door and was immediately invited by the scent of beer and a trail of clothing. A coat, shirt and two socks were left on the floor. She walked to the TV room, knowing he’d be there. She saw three cans of beer on the glass table, but no Angel. "Uh-oh…"

She ran to his room and opened the door. He was lying there shirtless, hand over the side of the bed.

"Angel?"

He groaned.

"You okay?"

"I told you not to talk to me, Woman!" he yelled.

"My name is not ‘Woman,’ it’s Buffy," she said. "And I can talk to you whenever I want, it’s your decision if you want to listen to me or not. So don’t talk to me like I’m a piece of garbage because I deserve better than that!"

"What is your problem?"

"Do I have to go over that again? Let me mention a few things that peeved me off, just by walking through the door…"

"Are you going to count for me like you did yesterday? I was surprised you knew how to."

She waited a second then said every word clearly, "Don’t think that I am weak just because I look to be. Don’t think that I’m dumb because I’m blonde. And don’t disrespect me just because of the "vibes" you feel coming off of me. Don’t judge a book by its cover, Angel. It’ll surprise you in the end. I admit that I judged you before I met you. I thought that you’d be nice because you looked like a well put together person. But that turned out to be loads of bullshit. You’re a lame drunk that I couldn’t care less about."

By then, Angel was up. He pushed her out of his bedroom and slammed the door in her face without a word. She turned around with a sigh and set out to clean up the mess her roommate had left for her. She threw away the cans of beer, hung up his coat and put his clothes by his door. She went into her room, changed and didn’t have to wait long until she fell asleep.

*_-_*

"Get out of the damn shower," Angel yelled. He was waiting by the bathroom door for at least 15 minutes. He had his towel thrown over his shoulder and was more than ready to take a nice long shower to wake himself up.

She came out in her shower robe, drops of water still clinging to her skin. She had her towel in her hand and dried her hair with it. She walked casually away.

"Did you leave enough hot water?"

"Yep."

"Good." He walked into the steamy bathroom and groaned.

She got dressed and headed for the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. She took out a bowl and poured cereal. When she was ready to eat she heard singing. LOUD singing. LOUD and TERRIBLE singing. She closed her mouth tightly as if she was holding herself from screaming. Then he really hit a note wrong and Buffy wondered if the mirrors were going to bust.

"Would you shut UP!?! Please!" She screamed loud enough so that he could hear. He wouldn’t stop, he just kept on singing. She looked over to the sink and an evil grin spread across her face. She walked over to the sink and turned the faucet on, waiting for the loud response she would get. "Three, two, one…"

"Aha!" he shrieked. "You bitch, turn off the faucet!"

She turned it off and cleaned her hands. She walked to her room. "Heh, heh, heh…knew that one would work." She closed the door behind her and gathered her things.

*_-_*

"Oh, come on! There has to be a case to work on today. Look at all these people," she said, putting her hands out and motioning toward the people who were running around.

He looked away.

She put her hands up to his desk and leaned on it. "Davenport, I know you’re keeping me away from something. I’ve been at work for nearly four days now and I never know about any cases. Fess up!"

He sighed and told her to have a seat. "Giles doesn’t need your help on these puny cases. He put you and me together because something big is happening. There have been bomb threats around Sunnydale and they thought that we were the ones who could stop them. As we speak, the researchers are doing everything they can to track these lowlifes down. Giles and Wes suggested that we train and work out. That’s why we aren’t handling any cases at the moment."

"And no one bothered to tell me this, why?" she asked, a little pissed off.

"Giles didn’t want to scare you with all the explosive talk. He said that it was going to be big, a lot of lives will be at risk. He just didn’t know if you could handle the pressure just yet."

"Handle the pressure," Buffy pffted, "You have got to be kidding me. Buffy Summers can deal with any situation that meets her."

Angel stared at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

*_-_*

"Mr. Davenport, Ms. Summers, meet one of our newest members of the Watcher’s Investigation – Faith," Wesley said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you," Angel said, holding out his hand, which Faith took hold of.

"Hey, my name’s Buffy. I’ve heard a lot about you," she said, also putting out her hand.

"I hope it’s good things."

"Yeah, it has been – So what do you specialize in?" Buffy asked curiously. She was beginning to like the girl.

"All of the work that I do is mostly undercover. So instead of working at the office, which I could never do, I’m gonna be spending time behind bars."

"Excuse me," Buffy questioned. ‘Behind bars.’

"Sorry, that was a funny choice of words. I’m going to be working as a bartender at the Bronze. It’s been threatened the most, and the researchers say that the ‘Masters’ are very likely to hit there soon," Faith said calmly.

"I can’t believe that Lorne actually agreed with that." Lorne was the owner of the Bronze. He and his wife, Drusilla took care of the bar and had fun doing so. But they never felt comfortable with the PIs working in the Bronze. They thought that wherever the PIs were, trouble was lurking not too far behind.

"I’m an experienced bartender, so I know the ropes. He went easy on me," Faith responded.

"Cool." The room was silent; everyone had said what they wanted.

"So I’ll see you guys at the Bronze tonight? We need to check things out. They aren’t hitting tonight, but it’s better to know the perimeter before you fight," Faith said matter-of-factly.

"You know it; we’ll hopefully see you tonight."

*_-_*

Buffy leaned against Angel’s doorway. He was standing there, shirtless, fixing his hair. He looked in the mirror and saw her reflection.

"Do you mind?"

She ignored his attitude and walked right in to his bedroom. She looked around, and took hold of the picture. She wanted to know who these people were and who they were to Angel. It was a picture of a teen that looked like Angel and a woman in the expensive clothing.

"Who’s this," she asked pointing to the two figures in the picture.

Angel walked towards her and looked at the picture. He smiled.

"They’re my cousins. His name is Connor, and she's Cordelia," he said. "You met Spike, right?"

"You mean that sicko with a brain the size of a pea?"

"Yep, he’s the one. Cordelia is dating him; I think she wants to get married."

"Woah."

"Yeah, I know. But I love her like a sister and I love Connor like a brother, and I support any of the decisions they make. They are the only family I have left," he said while frowning.

Buffy looked at the photo, then at Angel. "I’m sorry."

"Yeah, well don’t be. I don’t need your pity," he muttered while fitting a sweatshirt over his skin.

She got up, and walked out of the room, only whispering one word, "asshole."

"Bitch."

*_-_*

They walked into the Bronze, immediately taking in the scent of smoke and beer. It was hot in there, mainly because of the hundreds of people dancing and jumping up and down on the dance floor.

They walked throughout the Bronze, checking for possible exits, checking the catwalk and the skylights. They had to mark down advantages and disadvantages in their minds.

Faith was tending the bars, just like she said she would. Buffy glanced at her with a knowing look; Faith returned it and looked around. The band started to play a slow song.

Lorne was leaning against the bar, just taking in the amount of people who were dancing. ‘I’m good,’ he thought. His bar was a total success. Drusilla came into his view and he immediately smiled.

"Hey honey buns. What can I do for you?"

"Lorne," she whimpered, "I’m cold."

"Aww," he took his overcoat off and wrapped it around her shoulders, "that’s my girl."

She started to purr into his shoulder and looked up at him, with fire in her eyes. It was a sign of pure want. "Let’s dance."

Still looking in her eyes, Lorne took the keys from his pocket and slammed it down on the bar. "Faith, you’re in charge for the next hour."

"No problem, Boss," Faith said smiling. "Go have your fun."

Lorne whispered into Dru’s ear and an evil smile spread across her face. They scurried towards Lorne’s private office.

*_-_*

Meanwhile, Angel and Buffy were looking around on the dance floor. They looked at the kind of people who were at the bar. The size of the dance floor. They went back stage while the band was playing and looked around. Buffy thought it was useless, they’d been around the Bronze a couple of times already. She knew every inch of the place.

She turned around and headed for the bar; Angel followed her. She sat up on the stool and slammed down a twenty. "Gin-a-tonic."

Angel looked at her in shock. He grabbed hold of her arm. "We’re here to work, not to get drunk and party." He was squeezing her arm.

"First of all, we’ve been through everything. I know this place as if it were the back of my hand. Speaking of hands, why don’t you lay yours off of me?" She looked at where he was squeezing her upper arm.

"You want to fool around when we’re supposed to be working, fine! But I’m not the one who will be to blame for you slacking off. I’m checking the back alleyway. I’ll be back soon."

He took off and she started drinking. The past few days HAD been hell, just like she’d expected. She drank the liquid and it was smooth and warm as it went down her throat. Her life was a mess. She came to Sunnydale because of her Uncle. Later, she finds out that she might be dealing with explosives, the one thing she hadn’t perfected in her years of training. She was away from her friends in LA, and got stuck with a moronic hypocrite. She just wanted to forget, forget all that has happened to her. She ordered another drink and swallowed fast.

Angel was lurking in the alleyway, looking for anything useful. Garbage cans, rats, pools of water and litter was all that he saw. He looked closer, to the top of a cardboard box that was in the middle of the alleyway. There was something sticking out of it. He looked closer, and there was a six-inched knife sticking through the box.

Angel looked to the left and right, checking if there was any figure to be found. Then he looked at the knife, put on his gloves and slipped it into a plastic bag. He quickly got back inside.

*_-_*

"Jonathan," a woman’s voice called out, "get me some orange juice and then come back in here and message my feet."

"Yes, Darla."

"Jonathan, where’d you put my knife?"

"What knife?"

"The one that my father gave to me. Where did you put it?"

Jonathan looked as if he was about to run. When he finally sprang, Darla jumped up and pulled him over by the hair. She was inches away from his face. "Where, did you put. The knife."

"I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I had it in my hand in the alleyway. Then I tripped; I think I dropped it. Please don’t hurt me, please."

"You dropped it. You fucking dropped the knife. By now that undercover PI probably has it and is doing tests on it already." Darla yelled. ‘The only reason why I’m keeping this waist of skin alive is because he knows about the bombs and of course there’s always the need to have a sexual boy toy. All I give a shit about is killing innocent people,’ she thought. When she had first arrived to this community, she had been shooed away. They thought that she was white trash just because of the way she looked. ‘But it’ll bite them in the ass in the end, they’ll see.’

*_-_*

Angel looked around for Buffy in the throng of sweaty people. "Where the hell is she?"

Buffy was swaying her hips to the soft sound of the music. She was dancing up against a guy and appeared to be very drunk. She moved in closer to him, lifted her hands above her head and swayed. She dropped her hands around his neck and he started to dance with her.

He looked into her eyes. "You want to go take a ride, baby?"

Buffy still clung to him and smiled a tipsy smile. "Sure, what kind of car do you have. And what’s your name?"

The guy chuckled. ‘This girl is soooo drunk; just my lucky night.’ "My name’s Riley. And let’s go," he said while putting out his hand for her to take. She took it and he turned around. Angel blocked him, his two arms crossed over his chest.

"You better go take a walk, boy."

"And who are you?"

"A friend," he said simply. He grabbed Buffy’s arm, "let’s go."

Buffy wriggled her arm free and slapped him across the face. "Maybe I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with Riley. He said he wanted to go take a ride."

Angel looked at her in shock. He waited only a second before he rushed Riley, his hand punching his nose. Immediately, blood started to poor. Angel grabbed Riley by his collar, spitting every word out to him.

"You knew that she was drunk and you made a pass at her! You damn sicko!" he punched him in the gut and Riley cried out. He sat back on the floor, cringing to a corner. Angel looked as if he was going to kill him; he was. He started punching him left and right, cutting his lips, bruising his eyes, blood spilling everywhere. He pulled his fist back, attempting to swing at him in the face. His fist lunged, but was caught by a hand. Angel looked up at Faith.

"Calm down," she whispered through gritted teeth. She dropped his hand and walked away.

Angel pulled him by the collar once more. "If I hear that you’ve taken advantage of anyone, especially her," he said pointing towards Buffy, "I’m coming after you."

He dropped his collar. Angel sat up and went over to the furious girl. He pushed her in front of him. "Come on."

"Lay your hand off of me."

"Don’t make me do this…"

"Make you do what?"

"You leave me no other choice." He grabbed her body and swung her over his shoulders.

"You moron! Put me down," she screamed, making an embarrassment out of herself. She punched him in the back, making him bite his lip. She kicked and screamed and he wouldn’t let go. When he got into the parking lot he set her down and opened the convertible door for her. She made a run for it, but he quickly took her by the arm and cuffed one of her hands. He pulled the other cuff towards the car seat and cuffed her other hand between the bars. He seated her in the back.

"I hate you. You don’t know what’s good and what's bad for me. Don’t expect to act all macho on me cause I’m not going to take it." She kicked the seat it.

"I knew that guy. He looks forward to seeing drunk girls so he can take advantage of them," he said calmly, not caring for the car seat at the moment.

When they got to the apartment he let her out of the seat, her hands still cuffed.

"Uncuff me."

"No."

She put her two hands together and backhanded him. He stumbled back.

"That’s it, your going up again," he said while lifting her on his shoulders. He carried her all the way up the flight of stairs, with her punching his back so hard that he thought he was going to collapse. When they got to their door she gave him one last hit to his lower back. He threw her on the floor, his eyes flaming with anger. He unlocked the apartment and dragged her in by the middle of her cuffs.

"You don’t get it, do you? I did you a favor and all you do is tell me I’m a moron? I can’t take it anymore; I can’t look at your face and I can’t stand your Joan Collins ‘tude any longer. You’re gonna pack tonight and get the hell out of my apartment," he screamed at her while dragging her across the floor.

"Angel…" she cried.

"No, listen to me. You are to never, ever see me again. You are not to talk to me, not to look at me, not to even breathe or stand in the same room as me."

"Angel…" she cried even louder.

He wasn’t looking at her, just dragging her by the cuffs to her room. "I told you not to talk to me. You never listen to me and you assume that you’re better than everyone. You don’t give a damn about what other people say. You’re always bitchy and…"

"Angel!" she screamed.

"What the fuck is the matter with you, I’m trying to talk and you’re interrupting me like you’re some kind of higher being?" He finally saw her and gasped at the sight. She was crying there, looking down at her wrists. They were bloody, mainly because Angel had dragged her across the whole apartment. There was a trail of blood from the living room all the way to her bedroom.

"Oh my G-d."

"Look what you did to me," she half screamed, half cried. She held her wrists up for him to see. She stood up and glared at him. She was crying so hard and she attempted to smack him, but being drunk, she missed him. She did, however, pound her fists on his chest so hard that he thought his heart might break, either from the pounding or from her crying.

"Look what you did to me, you asshole! Look!"

His eyes were watery now. He didn’t know what to do. He was acting like an animal. He made the girl bleed from her wrists!

"You don’t say anything? You’re the one! You’re the one that doesn’t give a damn about anyone and you’re the one that never listens! I’ve tried to be nice to you, but it’s as if you love to hate me. You love to drive me nuts and abuse me, and yet you never ever wondered how I was feeling. You’re always…" she broke down and lay on the floor, sobbing.

He got down on the floor and lifted her head onto his lap, rocking her. "I’m so sorry, I never meant to do anything like that. Please, please don’t cry," he said pleadingly, about to cry himself.

She didn’t stop and it sounded like she was having a panic attack, she was panting so hard from the tears and her heart was racing.

He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to make her stop crying; he thought she would die because she was breathing so heavily and so fast. He lifted her chin to him and looked into her eyes, "please don’t cry, baby. Please. I’m so sorry that I hurt you," he purred. She calmed down a little, streams of tears still making their way down her face. He kissed her cheek lovingly, wiping her tears away. Then he moved away from her cheek, moving closer to her mouth. It was like in slow motion to her. It was like a movie that she had seen. She’d been waiting, her heart aching, but she hated to love him. She didn’t allow herself to until the kiss came…He got closer and closer, their noses touching, making them both grin. He finally captured her mouth. It was one of those kisses that made your heart ache and made you want to cry. It was so gentle, so calming, so slow and loving. He swallowed her sobs and tasted the salty tears in her mouth. He moved away from her mouth and started kissing down her neck, hugging her close to him. She let out a deep sigh of relief and stopped crying.

He pulled away from her, slightly nuzzling her neck before looking into her eyes. "I think I should fix your wrists up, okay?"

She nodded and he kissed her again. He felt his heart jump and smiled. He picked her up from her floor and set her down on the living room couch. He went to the bathroom and brought out the first aid kit.

"I’m sorry I got all crazy when I was crying; it just brought back bad memories from my past," she said with a sniffle. He was cleaning her cuts with gauze and alcohol.

"Want to talk about it?"

She sighed and started talking, "when I was little I was always curious about a lot of things. So, when I went into my father’s office I started playing with all sorts of cool pens, writing everywhere. On the walls, on his checks on his furniture. When my dad found me he dragged me by my arms to my room and tied me to my bedpost with a rope. I tried getting out of his knots but every time I struggled, they got tighter. And I started to bleed and…" her words trailed off.

‘G-d, I am an animal,’ Angel thought. He didn’t even think about what he had been doing to her; he was just ranting about how bitchy she was. She wasn’t bitchy.

"Where’s your father now?"

"He passed away a few years ago."

‘Lucky bastard,’ he thought. Angel would have hung him for what he did to the girl.

"There, all done. I’ll make you some coffee, you should go take a shower," he said while getting up from the couch. He made his way towards the kitchen.

*_-_*

Buffy walked into the bathroom, purposely leaving the door opened just enough. She could hear the sound of the kettle, but it seemed like miles away. Her head was aching and throbbing. She needed a long shower…

Angel went over to the kettle and shut the gas off. He poured the burning liquid in a mug filled with ground coffee beans. He didn’t know how she wanted her coffee. He decided to ask.

He walked to the entrance of the kitchen, not looking towards the bathroom door just yet. When he had his cool glass of Coca-Cola in his hand, he took a drink of it and looked towards the door.

He choked on the drink in his mouth and nearly dropped the glass that he’d been holding. He couldn’t believe the sight he was seeing. He placed the glass on the table, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked intently at the show she was giving him.

Buffy pulled her black tank top above her head, doing it slowly. She slid it off of her arms and dropped the silk material at the side of her legs. He slowly made a step forward. She took a hold of her button and zipper of the tight leather pants that she had worn. She crunched down and slid the smooth material off of her legs, leaving her with bikini panties. She stepped out of the pants and kicked them to the side. Angel sub-consciously took another step forward towards the bathroom. Her slightly tanned skin mesmerized him. Now she was left only with her bra and panties on, her hair still pinned and toppled on the top of her head.

She reached her hand behind her back and unclasped the lacey bra that she had worn. She smoothly took it off each shoulder, then dropped it by her other clothes. Angel took a few steps forward. Her back faced him.

She reached to the top of her hair and unclasped the pin that was holding her hairdo together. Her golden locks slithered onto her back and shoulders, and she shook her head slightly, bouncing the curls around her face.

By then, Angel was already at the bathroom door. He was in shock. He had never known to realize the beauty that was right under his nose. He needed to feel her skin, to know if this was real or just a really good dream.

His hand slowly wandered to trace her shoulder and back. Her skin felt like velvet, so smooth across his hands.

She was a little surprised at his encounter at first, but then she leaned back into his warm and roaming hands.

He needed to feel more skin. He needed to. He got closer and wrapped his big and strong arms around her waist. She leaned back onto him, feeling his hard erection. He nuzzled her neck and kissed the smooth skin lovingly.

Then he remembered… ‘What the hell am I doing! I’m being a hypocrite and taking advantage of her when she’s drunk! Stupid, stupid, stupid!’ He abruptly pulled away from her and stumbled back. She had a questioning look in her eye as if it meant, ‘what the fuck?’ She looked into his chocolate pools and saw his eyes pleading with her for forgiveness. "I’m sorry, I never should have done that…" He looked at her for the last time and closed the bathroom door. He made his way towards his room and closed the door behind it, locking it, too. He took off his shirt and pants, leaving himself with only his boxers on. He lay on his bed, hands above his head and looked up at the ceiling, deep in the thought of how perverted he had just been. He stopped the brooding finally, and slept.

Buffy had taken her shower and changed. She lay in her bed, hugging her cut wrists to her chest. She, too, fell peacefully asleep.

*_-_*

Angel placed the plastic bag in front of the curious eyes of Rupert Giles. Giles picked the bag up, looking at the knife.

"We found this in the back alleyway of the Bronze." He acted casually when he said the word ‘we.’ He didn’t want to get Buffy in trouble. It was as if they had a truce now. That morning Buffy woke up with a big hangover and Angel was there every second while she was puking her inner organs out. He held her hair out of the way the whole time.

"Good work. I’ll send it over to the lab soon. I have some news," he told them. They both sat. "Fred has went over the reports millions of times; she said that all the evidence and all the threats have been leading to one place…The Hyperion Hotel. A quarter of the community will be there for a charity service and dinner. So, I suggest you two go out and get yourselves some clothes to get dressed up for a night on the town; you’ve just been invited. The party’s in two days and you’ll be undercover. Come to the office by tomorrow and we’ll give you microphones and earpieces. But right now all the work is up to the technicians and researchers; you two go out and get yourself some fancy clothes, you have today off. I expect to see you at nine, tomorrow morning. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

*_-_*

Buffy went back home and rummaged through her dresser drawer. She finally found the card she was looking for. She picked up the phone and dialed.

"Willow? Hey, it’s Buffy. I’m not sure if you remember me but…yep, that’s me. So, ummm…I was wondering if we could go shopping…"

*_-_*

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," the teenager on the bed said. He was looking through a magazine and wasn’t interested anymore. He needed something to do.

"Connor, hey," Angel said smiling.

"Hey Angel, what’s up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping for some tuxes. You need one for the prom."

"What’s the point anyway? No one asked me yet…"

"Have you ever thought about asking?"

"No. You mean girls don’t ask the guys out?"

"Well sometimes they do, sometimes they leave it up to the guys. So are you going to ask?"

"Everyone that I’ve wanted to ask already has a date," he said frowning.

"Let’s go shopping anyway," he said. Someone was bound to be his date.

"Whatever." He got up and they went shopping.

*_-_*

The redhead and the blonde made their way into "Strawberries," a local little shop filled with tons of clothes.

"This is where I usually go shopping. This place has everything," Willow announced.

Buffy looked down the huge aisles. She had no idea where to start. There were so many things she wanted to buy.

"Hey, is there anything that I can help you with," the brunette at the side of them said.

Buffy looked up. "You’re Cordelia."

"Yeah. Hey, how’d you know that?"

"Your cousin and I are PI partners and I saw your picture in his room. Nice to meet you, I’m Buffy."

"What a dork. He actually has a picture of me in his room?" she started giggling. "Anyway, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah, I was actually looking for something dressy for a fancy dinner. Any suggestions?"

"Hmmm…." She looked at Buffy and the kind of clothes she was wearing, then she peered around the store. She picked up a blue dress and showed it to her. It had little frilly stuff hanging out from the side of it. Willow and Buffy looked at each other.

"How about this. It would look good on you, considering your body type."

Buffy scrunched her nose, "not my kind of style."

Buffy peered down the aisles. ‘Too long, too short, to revealing, not revealing enough…"

Then she came to the dress at the end of the row. It just hung there waiting for someone to fall in love with it. She gasped then held it up so Willow could see. "Will, look at this!"

"Oh my Lord, you have to buy it!" The dress was absolutely stunning, a little bit too revealing but it was perfect.

"I think this is the one I want, Cordelia," she said while holding up the dress so Cordy could see.

"Woah! That’s a hell of a dress! You can go over there and try it on," she pointed to the dressing room.

She went in, got dressed and came out. The gasps and the squeals made her smile.

‘Angel’s gonna lose it!’

*_-_*

The two partners were lying on the couch eating popcorn and watching a movie. They didn’t seem interested.

"So what did you do today," he asked curiously.

"I went shopping with my new friend, Willow – You know, Gunn’s doctor?"

"Oh yeah."

"And we went to ‘Strawberries,’ where I found out your cousin works. She’s nice," she said grinning.

"You saw Cordy? That’s cool. So what did you buy?"

"Uh-uh, I’m not gonna let you see until the dinner, which might happen to be the last night of my life," she said sadly.

"Don’t say that."

"Whatever, let’s just get off the subject. What did you do?"

"Went shopping for tuxes with Connor. I feel bad for the kid."

"Why?"

"He doesn’t have a date to his senior prom…wish there was something I could do."

Buffy frowned, and seconds later she was smiling. "Maybe there is."

He was confused and looked at Buffy dialing the phone. "Hello, may I please to Dawn? Hey cuz! I was wondering if you remember the favor you owe me?"

*_-_*

It was the night of the senior prom, coincidentally, the night of the charity dinner party where Buffy and Angel would be risking their lives to save thousands of others. That day they went over procedures with Giles, checked their microphones and their headphones, trained a little, and worked on stopping fake TNT.

But now they were relaxing on the living room couch, amused by watching the teenager in front of them pace around and wait impatiently for his date.

The doorbell rang, suddenly moving Connor out of his dream world and into reality.

He scurried around moving left and right. He had no idea what to do. "What should I do," Connor asked hurriedly, looking at both of them for the answer.

"How about answering the door?" Buffy said smiling.

"Right."

"Good luck," they each whispered to the kid. He grinned and went to the door.

"Uh, hi." He was in love.

Dawn stood back in her pink dress, her hands behind her back. "Hey."

"Um, uh – w – w – we – do you want to go?"

She laughed and then smacked him playfully on the arm. "Come on, relax! I’m not gonna bite. Let’s just have ourselves some fun."

He smiled at her and she put her hand through his arm. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

"Goodnight you two lovebirds!"

*_-_*

Immediately after Connor and Dawn had left, Buffy and Angel were getting dressed, placing their equipment on themselves. Buffy attached her gun to her upper thigh and sighed when she slid the silky material of the dress over her head.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"You ready?"

"Almost." She pulled her earpiece on and hid the microphone in the corner of her dress. She sprayed some of her perfume on, attached the diamond necklace around her neck and put her black high-heeled sandals on. She walked out of the room in her silky dress. She smiled at the look of his face.

He gasped at the sight of her and forgot how to breathe. The sight of her was breath taking. He looked at the front of her dress. It had a plunge v-neck front. A slit ran up and down her leg. She turned around for him revealing her low-cut halter dress and the jewel detailing in the lower back. It reminded him of his encounter in the bathroom, which he blamed himself for. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. Her smile turned to a frown as she went over to him. He was turning blue.

"Okay, breathe. Breathe in…breathe out," she said while showing him how.

He finally got himself together and spoke. "I-I-y-y-you look so beautiful."

She smiled at him and cleaned off the lint on his tux. "You don’t look so bad, yourself there."

He grinned. "Let’s go."

*_-_*

Once Buffy had stepped into the Hyperion Hotel, her heart started racing. She could feel the trouble, she could feel it. "Angel, something’s gonna happen. I feel it."

He looked over at her; "I feel it, too."

They gave each other a nod and split up. They looked around.

Buffy started to talk to random people who looked suspicious. But nothing came up, everyone seemed to be sane and they were just here for the party.

Angel did the same; he looked around and talked.

"Mr. Davenport!" a guy in glasses said. "How lovely to see you again," he said loudly shaking his wrists roughly.

"Hi, nice to see you." He walked away, meeting other random people. He didn’t want to have a conversation with the man. He dealt with one of his cases and wanted nothing to have to do with the man anymore. He looked over the other people in the area.

Little did he know that Darla was standing in the far corner of the building just looking at the thousands of people she’d be killing. She stood there in her diamond blue dress, sipped her drink, then turned away.

"Angel," Angel heard Buffy’s voice whisper into the microphone.

"What is it, did you see anyone?"

"Yeah, I’m going over there now."

"You’ll need backup, let me come with you."

"No, I can handle it. Just stay down there. I’m not even sure if I have something."

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly.

*_-_*

Jonathan was preparing the bomb on the secluded balcony of the Hyperion. It was like he was sitting in a theater. The balcony resembled the seats where the rich had sat. He was close to the amount of people below, but would be unseen to anyone. He uncovered a small box with a red button. ‘Don’t touch it yet, Jon. Don’t touch it.’

Buffy glanced up towards the balcony where she saw a figure move. "No one’s partying up there, how come there’s someone there then?"

She made her way up the stairs, unnoticed by any of the guests of the party. She opened the door quietly and peeked in. She saw the small bomb and grew scared. ‘This is it Summers. It’s do or die.’ She opened the door fully and the figure that Buffy had seen turned around.

She was shocked. "Jonathan Levinson?"

"Buffy…Summers?"

She waited there and looked toward the bomb. He noticed and grabbed the box with the button.

"No! Stay back. Get away from me!" He pointed a gun at her.

"Okay Jonathan, you want to point that somewhere else?" He put the gun down slightly, but still held his guard.

"Don’t try and stop me," he yelled. He was sweating like a maniac.

"No, no stopping. Just here for the view, hey there’s the mayor!"

"Go away," he shrieked.

"Not gonna happen," she said calmly.

"What, you don’t think I’ll use this," he raised the box slightly and lowered the gun, finally dropping it to the ground.

"I don’t know, Jonathan, I just…"

"Stop! Stop doing that; stop saying my name like we’re friends. No one is my friend. The only friend I have is my partner. I got out of LA because everyone looked down to me; no one listened to me, no one cared for me, all because of how I looked. And when I came to this town, it was all the same. Everyone was beautiful, and tall and handsome. And everyone was picking on dorky little Jonathan. They thought they knew me. They didn’t, all they saw was me and they assumed that I was dorky and nerdy because I was short. But it’s time to teach the world a lesson. Looks mean nothing; I’ll just have to prove it." He raised the box higher.

"You think you’re the only one that has problems Jonathan? G-d, I can’t even imagine what it would be anyone but me. All of them, they all worry about what other people assume. They all are worried about being pretty. I’m speaking from experience when I say that people can surprise you. Not everyone judges you by your looks, and if I do say so myself, you’re lookin’ spiffy tonight," she smiled at him and he grinned. Then he started screaming again.

"No, no! I won’t let you trick me. I’m gonna show them, show all of them what kind of pain I’ve been through." He reached for the button, but stumbled back on the chair and landed against the edge of the balcony. The box was like soap in his hands; he tried to keep a hold of it but it just kept slipping in the air. The distraction was more than enough time for Buffy to pull out her gun and shoot Jonathan in the stomach. The box dropped on the floor. Jonathan slowly put a hand over his stomach, blood spilling onto the floor. "I’m sorry," he said. He fell over the edge of the balcony.

The people who had heard the gun started moving towards the door, not wanting to get shot. Buffy grabbed the box and the explosive itself and headed downstairs.

"Buffy! Buffy!"

"Angel, I’m right here," she said exasperated, while running down the stairs.

"Bomb?’

"Right here," she said lifting her hand. "I’ll get it to Giles in the car, you have to go find his partner."

"He had a partner?"

"Yeah. Go find him and hurry," she made her way down the steps, into the street and into Giles’ car, where she gave him the box and the explosive.

Meanwhile, Angel looked at the crowd that was getting out of the hotel. He glanced at the people. Then he saw a blonde staring at him and made eye contact. She turned away and ran outside to the alley. He ran after her.

When he came out the door, he was the only one there. He looked to the left and right, in front of him and back, but no one was in sight. He turned around to the sudden sound of someone cocking a gun. He turned around and she was there, her gun pointed to his head.

"Darla," he announced.

"That’s right Angel. Long time no see. Haven’t you missed me," she asked innocently.

"Put the gun down," he said calmly.

"No can do, Angel. See, you and your partner got in our way and I just have to make it up to you," she said getting closer. "You’ve got a beautiful bitch, there Angel."

"Why are you doing this?"

"This town is fucked up. I come here for a new life and they shoo me away like I’m some kind of dumb dog. I couldn’t take their attitudes anymore. I had to teach them a lesson. But you got in my way. And now I’m gonna have to teach you a lesson." She slowly put pressure on the trigger.

"No!" someone screamed. Darla turned around and pulled the trigger.

A single gunshot was heard. To Angel it was in slow motion. He blinked as if it had taken a half a minute. The shot was ringing in his ears, vibrating his brain, his thoughts. He still heard it. She collapsed onto the floor.

"No. No, this can’t be happening." He slid onto the floor, looking over her body.

Even though only one shot was heard, two shots were made at the same time. One to Darla’s heart, and one to Buffy’s side.

She was bleeding profusely and he was looming over, putting pressure on the wound.

"No, please don’t die, please don’t baby," he sniffed and took a breath, "I need you to live, the world needs you to live. Don’t die, I can’t live without you. I love you," he said, holding her head in his lap. He was crying and she held up her hand to wipe the tears.

"Don’t cry," she whispered. "I love you."

He kissed her; everything that had meaning to him went into that kiss. Love, passion, want, desire, anger, trust, devotion, desperation had all gone into a single kiss, which Angel had hoped to keep her alive.

"Angel," she said looking up at the stars, "I see a light."

"No baby, don’t say that, please don’t say that," he cried as if he was pleading.

Her eyes closed.

"No, no. You can’t leave me here! Who’s gonna call me an asshole now? And who’s gonna complain about me not doing the dishes. Who’s gonna kick my ass and who’s gonna knock some sense into me! Who’s gonna love me! Please, G-d. Please don’t die, please!" He looked up at her peaceful form, his cheeks red and teary. He sat there, just looking at her, and in the distance away he could hear the blaring horns of an ambulance.

*_-_*

Buffy Anne Summers did not die that night. With all of the commotion and loss of tons of blood, she had blacked out.

Angel was there at least 12 hours of the day, just holding her hand when she slept and kissing her when she woke up in the morning. He was so thankful that he didn’t lose her. Every one of the friends she had made crowded around her bed, and she woke up to the sounds of their voices. She was touched to see them their; they were just happy that she was alive.

*_-_* ONE WEEK LATER*_-_*

The door kicked open and in came Angel, with Buffy peacefully leaning against his chest.

"Okay, I think I can stand now," she said monotonously, as if she had said it to him millions of times before.

He set her gently on her feet, and gave her a small peck on the lips. She just stood there and watched him going over to the kitchen, taking out a beer, going into the TV room and starting to watch hockey. She rolled her eyes. She went over to her room. Ahh, finally she got to be in her own room, with her own bed and choices of her own clothes. She changed into her sweatpants and T-shirt, making a simple pony tail.

She went into Angel’s room and saw the amount of clothes piling up on his bed. She moved towards the kitchen. The stacks of dishes loomed over her head. She looked at all of them and tried to keep herself from screaming. She looked over at Angel and he burped.

"Angel!!!"

He ran there as fast as he could, expecting the worst. "What, what happened?"

"Let me list the things that pissed me off, just by getting out of my room…One, your room looks as if pigs just moved out of there. Two, you leave all these fucking dishes here," she said motioning to the ones that were piling over her. "And three, you burp as if it were to my…"

He cut her off and pulled her mouth to his. His kiss was desperate as he smoothed his hand over her cheek. He turned his face slightly, deepening the kiss. She swung her hands around his neck, playing with the soft skin. She pulled him to her so they were flush against each other. He picked her up, still holding onto her lips. He moved to his bedroom and kicked the door open. He looked at his mess and broke the kiss.

"My room," she said.

He rushed to her room, resuming the kiss that had been broken. When they got to the bed, he threw her onto it. She giggled and he loomed over her, claiming her mouth with his.

He took off his shirt while she took off her T-shirt and sweatpants. Angel is shocked to see her in her bra and panties. BLACK bra and panties. Angel gulped in desire and grew semi-hard. He needed to feel her skin, to cherish it. He felt that if he did, his mind would be at rest and relaxed. He resumed the kiss, kissing her gently, moving away once in a while. She has enough with the gentle peck and she deepens the kiss, passion rising in both of them. He moved away from her mouth and kissed across her gentle cheek and down her neck, sucking at it slightly. Her neck is wet with the moisture and he kept sucking on the skin behind her ear. She started to pant. He licked her collarbone and started kissing the top of her breasts. Her bra got in the way and he growled. He unclasped it and slid it off her arms, her breast bouncing free. He grinned before taking the first peak into his mouth, lapping at the sensitive skin. She moans at the sudden feel of pleasure and pushed his head forward onto her chest. She screamed when he bit down on her nipple and he lapped it with his tongue, cherishing it. He did the same procedure with her other breast. When he finished, he kissed between the valley of her breast and made his way to her stomach. His tongue circled her belly button; she moaned when she felt him dip in. He moved lower to her hips. Angel ran his hand up and down her thigh making her moan. He rubbed his hands on the back of her thighs, making her squeal with pleasure. He tugged her panties down in a rush, looking over her. Buffy yelped as Angel licked his fingers and slid one in. Buffy's eyes rolled in ecstasy. As Angel added 2 more fingers, Buffy was rolling in happiness. No one had made her feel like this before. He kept at it before sliding his fingers out and lapping at the juice that was spilling before him. She screamed as he bit on her clit. She was about to come. He moved away from her, licking her juice from his fingers. He was on top of her again, devouring her mouth. His tongue stayed at the entranceway of her mouth, as if he was asking for permission. She opened her mouth wider and their tongues tussled, as if they were having a fight. Angel pulled away and smiled at her panting. He looked down at the beautiful woman, his girl. ‘His girl,’ he asked himself. ‘Could I actually call her that?’

As if reading his mind she whispered, "I’m your girl."

He was dragged out of his thoughts by a tugging at his jeans. Her little hands were asking him to release his clothes and to give them both pleasures that they wanted and needed.

He complied and quickly had both his jeans and boxers off of him. His tip was at her entrance. She nodded and suddenly felt herself being filled. He went in half way then came out, asking for permission again. She looked into his eyes; he knew what she wanted. He slid his length into her, waiting for her to adjust to his size. He started pumping into her, directly hitting her clit. She screamed out as she was starting to reach her peak. He grabbed onto her back and rolled over so she could lead. She rose all the way out of him and dropped onto him with maximum pressure. He moaned and gritted his teeth, holding onto the covers beside them. She rocked on him till they both were about to come. He reached in between them and pinched her clit. She screamed out his name, he screamed out hers and Buffy rocked once more until both were sheathed in the waves of pleasure. She felt the glow on her face and rolled to the side of him. "I love you," she whispered. "When I first met you, I couldn’t admit that I loved you. I hated to love you because you were being mean to me."

"I’m sorry for what I did to you," he said while playing with her hair and tracing her back with his finger. "I loved you the first time I saw you, but I thought nothing would ever happen. And when I almost lost you, I cut the crap and admitted it. My heart belongs to you till the end of time."

"And mine belongs to you."

He sighed.

"Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don’t you ever use your dishwasher?"

"I never knew how to."

"Oh. I’ll leave about a minute at the end of the day tomorrow to teach you how damn easy it is to load the dishes, put in a soap tablet, close the door and turn it on. I love you," she quietly said.

"You can never judge a book by its cover. Thanks for teaching that to me, baby. I love you, too. Goodnight."

The night was cold, and it was about to thunderstorm (you KNOW what that means), but both were in a bed covered by the warmth of their love…

The phone rang. They both groaned.

"Hello," he growled.

"We have a problem," said an English accent.

"Giles? What’s up?" Buffy sat up.

"You’re such a gullible Wanker, get back to bed," Spike laugh.

"You better wait till tomorrow, Spike. Me AND Buffy are coming after you."

"Oh, shut your gob and get back to your shagging."

Buffy took the phone from Angel, "goodnight Spike."

"Goodnight, cutie."

She hung up the phone.

They both looked up at the ceiling, "asshole."

Challenge:

Alternate Universe. All human. No Slayers, No Vampires, No Demons, No Witches

Buffy and Angel will not know each other before the story begins. He will be in some sort of danger or risk and she will be the one that helps or saves him. It does not have to be a physical danger but it can be. Other than Buffy and Angel, you must use ten other characters from Buffy and ten from Angel. Five males and five females per show. Any character that has appeared on the shows can be used. Now for the big challenge. All other romantic pairings can not be from cannon. Neither actual or implied. No couples that occurred or no couples where one hoped it would occur. Meaning no Xander/Willow, Cordy/Wes, Cordy/Doyle. I think you know what I mean. Now I do want NC-17 content. The big challenge will be if you can include activity between other couples but I will not make that part of the challenge although I thought about it.

How I fulfilled:

Cast from Angel (m):

1.Angel

2.Gunn

3.Wesley

4.Connor

5.Lorne

Cast from Angel (f):

1.Darla

2.Cordelia

3.Fred

4.Faith

5.Drusilla

Cast from Buffy (f):

1.Buffy

2.Willow

3.Anya

4.Kendra

5.Dawn

Cast from Buffy (m):

1.Giles

2.Xander

3.Spike

4.Riley

5.Jonathan

6.Ben

Weird couples:

Gunn/Kendra

Willow/Ben

Anya/Wes

Spike/Cordy

Fred/Xander ----->NC-17 other relationship

Dru/Lorne ----->Thanks to Cheri's last parts of her fic

Darla/Jonathan

Connor/Dawn