*I should be happy I have Slayer grace…* Buffy was thanking her lucky Slayage stars for balance as she ran up the stairs and into the hospital. Any other girl probably would not be able to stay standing, running in her six inch boot heels. Pushing the button for the elevator impatiently, she mulled over that night’s events. *Mom sick, Cordy hurt, man, what a night.*

As the doors opened on the Intensive Care floor, Buffy rushed out, her blonde hair flying. She followed the signs, taking turns and curves quickly to get to the waiting room. But as she emerged from the hallway, her feet came to a dead stop. *huh?* In the waiting room stood her friends, talking in low voices.

Her eyes fell on Angel, looking upset and nervous. She wasn’t used to that look. Gone was the inner self confidence and power that she had come to expect from her vampire boyfriend. The man before her was someone she had never seen before. But what was even more confusing was the tall, dark haired person standing beside him. Her pale skin and haunted eyes disturbed Buffy; the Slayer sense that had come in handy so many times before was tingling non stop.

Before she could contemplate this any further, Angel looked up. The sadness in his dark eyes lifted a little as he spotted the tiny Slayer. "Buffy!"

The crowd’s heads turned. As Buffy approached, she noted the upset residing on the faces of her friends. But looking at Giles, she saw something more. The librarian looked upset de to the accident, this much was certain. But underneath… she recognized that look. That "the world is about to end look."

Walking over to the group, she spoke hurriedly. "Hey guys… how is she?"

"Unconscious, but they expect her to recover," Giles replied, his voice tired. He looked levelly at Buffy.

"So I assume this is the great Slayer I’ve heard so much about?" The dark haired girl interrupted, her voice cutting with sarcasm. Buffy turned, her temper waking up.

"Yes, I am the Slayer," she retorted, throwing emphasis on that last word. "And you are…?"

"Kathryne. I suppose you want to know what’s going on."

Glaring at the girl, Buffy’s eyes lit up with anger. "That would be nice. Giles, what’s going on?"

As he related Kathryne’s story of the Blood Star and Robius, Buffy felt her body shift into battle mode. She could tell that the next few nights would be filled with fighting and violence. *Good.* It had been a while since she had been able to distract herself with some fighting. She was looking forward to kicking some evil guy butt.

Smiling to herself some, Buffy looked up, gazing at her boyfriend. "Angel, could I talk to you for a minute?"

The vampire nodded, accepting her hand and walking towards the elevator.

*****

"That was the Slayer? What kind of a name is Buffy, anyways?"

"Now you listen to me, Kathryne. Buffy is a very capable Slayer. One of the best I’ve seen…" Giles’ voice trailed off as he saw the mirth in her face.

"And her boyfriend is a vampire?? Jeez, you Watchers sure know how to keep an eye on them." She laughed, throwing her head back with glee. Giles glanced at Willow and Xander. The red head was talking to her friend, bathing him with the concern in her eyes. *Maybe Xander thinks the accident was his fault…* But it was apparent they weren’t listening to the ranting girl beside him.

"Ahem, well…" Giles stuttered out.

"Don’t try and talk about it. I am perfectly all right. If Miss Blondie here wants to suck face with the un-dead, that’s her choice." Kathryne’s dark eyes glinted with fire. "As long as she helps me beat Robius, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about her screwed up social life."

Giles didn’t know what to say. Anger was welling up within him at these insults to his Slayer, but he wasn’t sure whether or not to retort. *She does have a point, no matter how badly stated…* But yet he still was growing quite upset with the young woman and her harsh words.

*****

Walking out into the cool night air, her boyfriend on her arm, Buffy felt secure. *Kind of ironic, considering everything…* No matter what, when she was with him, she felt safe. He was one of her anchors in the stormy sea that was her life. Looking up at his chiseled brow, she smiled slightly. But that smile was tinted with concern… he looked quite upset.

As they sat on the steps of the hospital, she covered his cold hands with her own. At this point his vampire coolness failed to faze her. She was used to it.

"Angel? What’s wrong?"

He stared off into the night, his eyes skimming the mostly deserted parking lot, the far off trees, the few twinkling stars.

"Buffy…" But he didn’t continue, only resumed his staring.

The Slayer reached up, brushed his cheek with her hand. She tried to convey all of her love and caring in that glance at him, in hopes of bringing him back to her. "Angel, whatever it is, I still love you."

He looked at her quickly, his eyes filled with pain. "Would you? After hearing about how I tortured her? How I raped her? How I tried to rip any hope from her body forcibly, enjoying myself the whole time?" He stood up, walking down the stairs. As he turned around, Buffy could feel his gaze on her.

"Buffy, I… I was a monster. But until now that monster had been living in my memories."

Buffy was silent. She couldn’t deny what he was, no matter how much she tried. *But I don’t care that he’s a vampire! He knows this!*

"Now SHE is here. Reminding me of how horrible I was… of the things I did." He ran a hand through his hair, looking at the ground. "My past is here, Buffy… and I can’t live with it."

She didn’t say a word; only stood, walking down the stairs. Buffy approached him, sliding her hands around his neck. Meeting his lips with hers, she enveloped the cold mouth in a tender kiss. Her tongue touched his lips gently, as she felt his arms surround her. Pulling off of his mouth slightly, she looked into his eyes.

"Angel, I…"

But before she could finish, he was knocked out of her arms by a dark shape. Buffy jumped back, staring at the slathering, snarling creature that was a top of Angel. *A mutant…*

Launching herself at it, she grabbed it’s *shoulders??* and pulled it forcibly off of her boyfriend. Releasing a series of quick punches and jabs into it’s lower midsection, she heard Angel get off of the ground with a grunt. Throwing another punch, she hit it between it’s glowing red eyes. But then it caught her, kicking her legs out from under her. She saw stars as her head collided with the pavement. Before she knew it, the mutant was on top of her, breathing heavily into her face.

"Ever hear of Tic-Tacs?" she spat out, trying to get out from under it. Glancing at Angel quickly, she saw that he would be of no help. The vampire was grappling with a mutant of his own, this one letting out strained howls of mirth. Trying vainly to free her arms, Buffy had an idea. *I don’t know if this’ll work… what the hell.* She kicked her knee upwards, connecting squarely between it’s legs. The mutant howled, tumbling off of her. Grinning, Buffy leaped to her feet.

"Gotta love the Monster Squad. It teaches you that just about anything has nards."

At the same time, Angel grabbed his own mutant’s head, twisting it sharply. The creature’s neck broke with an audible crack. As it’s body slumped to the ground, the other mutant disappeared into the night. Buffy looked up triumphantly, a wide smile on her face.

But the grin died quickly as she saw the thin shape in the shadows. Staring hard at it, her eyes couldn’t delve that deep into the darkness. But she could swear she saw a man.

A man, laughing.

And then he was gone.