Buffy looked up at the name over the cemetery gates she was about to enter.

*Restfield Cemetery, well let's take a look and make sure everything is resting.*

As she walked past the headstones and crypts, she unconsciously searched the names, looking for one in particular. In her world she had wanted to finally die, it seemed in this world she had gotten her wish. It was ironic though, this world's Buffy seemed to have wanted to live but died. She who wanted to die was forced to live in a world not her own.

Suddenly Buffy felt the very familiar presence of a vampire. She quickly slipped behind a crypt and scanned the area. There he was! Standing over a grave, holding something in his hand. Buffy crept closer; she finally got close enough to make out the features of the vampire, it was Angel! Buffy was stunned, she hadn't expected to run into him. He looked different in this world, more...just more. Buffy couldn't explain the difference, physically he looked the same as the other Angel but he radiated something the other one didn't have. Then it came to her.

*Strength of character,* Buffy mused. *This one holds himself proudly.*

If Buffy was being honest with herself, which she wasn't, she would admit that this Angel had her fascinated. Then he started to speak. Buffy jumped a little when she heard her name.

"Buffy, I thought I could do it, I thought I could say goodbye and move on, but I can't. You always were the strong one, if the situation was reversed I know somehow you would get through it, but I never could be half the man you needed me to be. I'm so sorry, but I'm going to let you down again." Angel fell to his knees in front of the grave. He had left his heart behind in the alley, here he would leave his ashes.

It was then that Buffy noticed what he held in his hand. A stake.

"I can't live without you. I won't. I know you wouldn't want this, but I can't..." His voice broke. "I left Giles a note so he would know what happened to me, it's the least I could do. Please understand." He began to lift his right arm, the stake pointed inward toward his heart.

Buffy froze. On one hand she was tempted to let him do it, one less vamp to worry about; on the other, she felt as thought she would be betraying some part of herself. Did she owe the other Buffy anything? She had already watched Angel turn to dust once, could she do it again knowing what she now knew?

She watched Angel close his eyes. "I love you...I'm sorry."

In that instant, a wave of blind panic like she never experienced before swept over her. Angel could not die! She didn't understand the force driving her; all she knew was this man had to live. She launched herself at him just as his hand began its descent.

"What the..." Angel was instantly in defense mode. He didn't know what attacked him, but it ruined his final goodbye to Buffy, so it was going to pay. Not even Angelus could match his temper at this moment.

Angel grabbed the thing that was clinging to his back and flipped it forward. Without even looking, he slammed it into the wall of a nearby crypt. His right hand came up still holding the stake and he drove it forward with all his strength. His eyes met the dazed blue ones of his attacker.

Buffy wasn't prepared for the strength or speed of Angel's attack. The other Angel was weak from being tortured, this one was powerful. As he slammed her into the cement wall and raised the stake, Buffy looked up into his eyes. Her hand came up and caught his wrist.

Angel froze. He couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him.

"Buffy? Are you real?" He dropped the stake. He brought up his left hand, Buffy was holding his other wrist prisoner at the moment, and tentatively touched her face. "Buffy." He stood there staring, he was afraid if he moved or talked she would disappear.

Buffy was rooted to the spot. No one had ever touched her the way he just did, granted his hand was cold but his touch had sent sparks shooting down her spine. And his eyes, she couldn't believe that anyone's eyes could look so worshipfully at her, plain old her, with her scarred lips and ratty hair. She relaxed her hold on his wrist.

"What happened here?" Angel reached up and traced the scar that bisected her full lips. His mind was conveniently forgetting that he held her broken body only 3 short months ago. He'd think later, now he just wanted to feel.

Buffy's mind froze, Angel's fingertips on her lips had her body reacting in ways she never dreamed possible. She saw his lips coming closer, but couldn't make herself protest.

"Does it hurt?" Angel whispered the question a hairsbreadth away from her face.

"No."

"Good."

His lips covered hers and her body exploded. He expertly moved his lips over hers, coaxing them apart. His tongue darted out and eased inside her slightly-parted lips. He moaned in the back of his throat and pressed his body into hers, pinning her against the wall.

Buffy felt his body pressing her against the wall and tentatively reached her arms up around his neck. Her tongue reached out and touched his, he moaned again and she felt herself getting wet. Her breathing escalated and she involuntarily ground her crotch against his hardness. She'd never felt anything so incredible in all her eighteen years. No wonder the other Buffy fell for him!

That thought finally brought her out of her sexual trance. He's groaning for his Buffy, not her! Why would he ever want some battle-scarred girl like her? She wasn't even a real person, just some freak trick nature created. She broke the kiss and landed a solid right hand into his jaw.

Angel wasn't sure of what just happened. One minute he was kissing Buffy, the next he was lying on the ground, pain exploding in his head. His mind did start functioning finally and he realized this girl couldn't possibly be Buffy, his Buffy was dead. He got to his feet.

"Who are you? What do you think you're up to?!" Angel was suddenly furious. How dare this girl look so much like his lost love?

"I think you're the one who's up to something. As for who I am, I'm the one who just saved your pathetic ass from dusting himself. Why I bothered I don't know, but I won't make the same mistake twice. Go ahead and pick up where you left off." With that she kicked the stake over to him and start to march away.

Angel eyed the stake, then eyed the girl.

"Wait." He quickly caught up to her and spun her around.

"Let go! Don't you ever lay your hands on me again. They're cold and gross and I don't like it when you touch me."

Pain slashed Angel's heart. He knew this couldn't be Buffy, but to hear those words in her voice coming from her lips, destroyed him. He quickly let go and stepped back.

"I won't touch you, I promise. Just don't walk away, I just want to talk." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry about before, you look like someone who I once...knew. Actually, you look identical to her and since I know for a fact she didn't have a twin, I think something weird might be going on." He stopped, by her comments he assumed she knew what he was, but just how familiar was she with Sunnydale's Hellmouth? He didn't want to scare her. Though it looked like nothing much scared this girl.

"You might be in some trouble, I know someone who can help you. Let me take you to him." Angel waited for her response.

"Jeez, can you be any vaguer? 'You might be in some trouble...'" Buffy did a mock imitation of Angel's voice.

"Hate to tell you this buddy, but if your someone is British and uptight. Been there done that." Buffy didn't know where all of these flippant comments where coming from, everytime she opened her mouth they just seemed to pop out. She guessed he must bring out the worst in her.

"You've seen Giles? So what's going on? Who are you?"

"My name is Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer."

"I don't know what game you're playing, but Buffy Summers is dead. I saw her dead. If this is some kind of trick, if you're working for the Mayor, I'll kill you myself and it won't be fast or easy." Angel started to turn away, he knew in his heart he could never kill this girl with Buffy's face, but to hear her say that she is Buffy tore him apart.

"Listen you...you...you vampire." Her supply of witticisms had run dry. " I am Buffy. Hey, don't turn your back on me!" She grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"Don't you dare drop something like that on me then walk away!" Buffy felt an eerie sense of déjà vu, she knew somewhere at sometime she had said something very similar to Angel. But did she say it?

Angel froze too, those words were hauntingly familiar. He could see that she was affected also and decided to hear her out.

"So talk. What's going on?"

"It's getting late. Why don't we talk while I walk back to Giles' house."

"You're staying with Giles?" Angel felt inexplicably jealous. He knew Giles and his Buffy had a father/daughter relationship, but what about this Buffy?

"Yah, he's letting me use his spare room." She didn't understand her need to clarify that point.

Angel looked relieved.

Buffy explained everything that had happened to her starting with her first summoning to Sunnydale by the other Giles. She even told him about the other Angel, Cordelia and Giles. She told him more than she had told anyone else, including Giles. It just felt right to unburden herself to him.

"So Giles needs to find whatever power source brought me here."

"You want to go back?" Angel held his breath.

"I...don't know. I keep thinking about what Cordelia said, by the way, is she always like that?"

"Cordelia comes off, uh...abrasive, but she does care. She'll deny it if confronted, but her heart is in the right place. You'll see she kind of grows on you."

"Right." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Anyway she said that a new slayer wasn't called, that maybe I'm the new slayer. If that's the case then it's my duty to stay." Buffy hoped she sounded convincing. She didn't want him to think that she would stay for him. She was not going to be a Buffy substitute, not for him, not for anyone.

"Duty. You would stay for duty." Angel looked at the ground. She didn't love him anymore. What was he thinking, this wasn't his Buffy, of course she wouldn't stay for him!

They arrived in front of Giles' house and turned to face each other. Unbeknownst to Angel and Buffy, Giles had gotten up to check on Buffy earlier and discovered her missing. He had been watching out the window for some time now hoping she would appear. He was unprepared to not only see her approach but Angel's as well. It seemed that the universe insisted on throwing these two together. Leave it to Buffy to not only disobey him, but to stumble across and bring home the one vampire she should stay far away from. Some things never changed. A small smile played across Giles' mouth while he watched the two draw a step closer to each other.

*Yes, indeed some things never change. I must find away to tactfully bring up Angel's curse again. In case she's forgotten the happiness clause.*

"Well, I guess I'm here." Buffy felt stupid standing there, she didn't know how she should end the conversation. It wasn't like a date or anything and she was not ever going to let him kiss her again. So why was she standing there like a moron?

"Yah, we're here. Listen, tell Giles you ran into me, don't keep him in the dark. He's probably the one person you can totally count on, tell him everything." Angel didn't want to see her go, but he knew he had no claim on this Buffy.

"Well, it's not like he's my watcher or anything, but OK, I'll tell him everything. I guess I'll see you around?" Buffy hoped her voice didn't sound as pathetic as she suspected it did.

"Maybe. I don't know, it's kind of...painful to be around you." Angel took a step forward and grabbed her right hand. "If you find this power source think carefully before you go back, you're risking your life going back there, maybe the Fates have something else in mind for you. But if you decide to go back and I don't see you again, it's been my pleasure." Angel raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. He released her and turned away. He was gone in a flash.

"Goodbye, Angel."

*Now I know what she was thinking.* Without realizing what she was doing she held the hand Angel had just kissed close to her heart.