Willow looked up as the bell over the door tinkled. A tiny frown marred her brow as she watched the tall, impeccably-dressed brunette walk in. After Giles' phone call late last night, explaining what had transpired and asking if she would open Angelica's for a hospitalized Buffy, Willow had been half expecting her former classmate to visit.

Now, that she was here, Willow was pretty sure she had nothing good to say to her.

Cordelia glanced around the quaint little shop, wrinkling her nose as her eyes took in the various occult supplies and spell ingredients. She had yet to notice Willow, standing behind a glass case. The apprentice Watcher stepped from behind the case and silently moved nearer the designer.

"Hello, Cordelia."

"Ahh! God, Willow, you scared me!" Cordelia cried as she turned around to face the redhead. She shifted nervously from one foot to the other, a bright, insincere smile on her face. "So. I didn't expect to see you here."

"I opened the shop for Buffy today."

To her credit, Cordelia looked concerned. "How is she? She looked really bad last night when An. . . when I saw her."

Willow let the near mention of Angel slide. "Giles and Joyce took her to the hospital. She had food poisoning."

"Oh. Oh! I ate there last night too!" Cordelia said, putting a hand against her stomach as if expecting illness to strike at any moment.

"She'll be fine, thanks for asking," Willow said dryly.

Cordelia looked back up at Willow as the other woman's sarcasm became obvious. "I was getting to it. Actually, I came here to see if she was okay. She left. . .she was upset last night."

"I don't doubt. There you sat with the man who ran away from her seven years ago. I'd be upset too."

"It wasn't like that. It's not like that! I'm here doing some work for Angel."

Willow turned towards the counter, nervously straightening a jewelry display. "I know why you're here, Cordelia, I'm not stupid."

Cordelia winced at the sharp tone of Willow's voice. The witch's blatant hostility surprised her; she thought she and Willow Rosenberg had parted on good terms after graduation. "Willow, I never said you were. Angel bought the Bronze, he's refurbishing it. I'm here as his decorator."

"Is that so? And, why is he here? Except to turn Buffy's life upside down again?"

"He's not. He still loves her. . . besides, if you knew he was here, why didn't you warn her ahead of time? Save her the trauma of being surprised by his presence," Cordelia said sharply, easily falling back into her old persona.

Willow spun around, her hazel eyes glimmering dangerously. She opened her mouth to reply, but the truth of Cordelia's words sank in. She shook her head. "I. . . I wanted to. I tried to, but she was so caught up in wedding plans, the opportunity didn't present itself. Besides, she's only been back in town for a few days."

"You mean you were scared."

If the words had been spoken with anything other than gentle reproach, Willow might've been furious, but the sympathy in Cordelia's eyes softened the comment. "Yeah, I guess I was. She's never gotten over him, Cordy. She lives a fictional life and it's all that keeps her from falling to pieces without him."

"He wants her back, Willow. Angel loves her and he's desperate for her to love him again."

Willow sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache behind her eyes. Rubbing her temples in distraction, she shook her head. "Cordy, she never stopped loving him, but she's getting married in less than two months. He's too late."

Cordelia lay her purse on the counter and leaned back against it. "That's what she said last night. But, Willow, I can guarantee you, Angel will stop at nothing to get her back. I mean, now that they can be together again." She paused, wondering if she had given away too much. "If you know what I mean."

Willow stared at her in shock. "The curse? How? Is it permanent?"

The other woman shrugged lightly. "He hasn't tested it, not for my lack of trying, but Whistler said it was."

"Whistler? The demon that first showed Buffy to Angel? The same one that helped her with Acathla and Angelus?"

"One and the same. Seems he's in the know when it comes to the forces of good and evil. Actually, the curse has always been permanent, ever since the Christmas of our senior year." Cordelia said as Willow paled in shock. "Something to do with making amends for his previous evil. The power of love and his willingness to let Buffy go. I don't understand it all."

"Oh, my God. . . seven years. . . Cordelia, they wasted seven whole years! Why didn't Angel come back as soon as he found out about the curse? Why did he wait until he lost her before doing something about it?" Willow cried.

Cordelia shook her dark head. "She had sent him away, Willow. She had forced him to tell her that he no longer loved her. She broke his heart."

"She broke his heart! That's absurd! They both were doing what they thought was best for Buffy and Angel. How long has he known?"

"I'm not sure. . . a couple of years. Not longer than that."

Willow couldn't believe what was happening. After years of mourning for her lost love, Buffy had finally taken the steps she needed to heal. Now, after seven long, heartbroken years, Angel was back.

"With Ben, she has the opportunity to live a normal life. Marriage. Children. The chance to see her husband in the daylight. She can't lose that, Cordy. She needs it."

"Willow, this isn't my decision to make. I'm here to decorate the Bronze. If Angel wants to try and win Buffy back, it's not for me to stop him."

"But, you can."

Cordelia glared at the smaller girl. "No, I can't. I won't. I'll never betray my friendship with Angel. I can't believe you'd be so willing to betray yours with Buffy."

Willow stepped back, shock and fury written across her face. "Get out," she hissed.

Snatching her purse off of the counter, Cordelia stalked over to the door. "If she finds out you're willing to sacrifice her happiness, she'll hate you forever." She jerked the door open, making the little bell jingle wildly. "Give Xander a kiss for me."

Willow stared at the door for a long time after Cordelia left, tears streaking silently down her face.

Giles and Joyce took Buffy home later that morning. After taking a cool bath, Buffy crawled into bed and promptly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. When she finally awoke, feeling much better and even a little hungry, it was close to midnight. She threw the covers back and stood up, wincing as a wave of dizziness stole her breath for a moment. But, it cleared and she felt stronger. Slipping on the terrycloth robe her mother had laid out for her, Buffy went downstairs.

The house was dark, save for the glow of light coming from the kitchen. Buffy wasn't surprised to find Giles sitting at the breakfast bar, sipping tea and reading a book. "Hey."

He looked up, startled at her sudden appearance. "Buffy! How are you feeling?"

Smiling wanly, she sat down on the other barstool. "Much better, but still achy and dizzy."

Giles lay the back of his hand against her cheek, finding her skin blessedly cool. "Your fever's gone."

"Yay."

"Can I fix you anything? A piece of toast?"

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "No. . . "

Giles got up and walked over to the cabinet. "How about some soup, then? I believe we have some chicken noodle up here."

He proceeded to fix the meal while Buffy poured herself a mug of tea from the pot on the counter. The warmth of the beverage went a long way towards soothing her cramped stomach. "I've changed my mind."

Giles glanced over at her, confused. "About the soup?"

"No. Ben. I'm going to go through with it."

The pained resignation in her voice made Giles wince. "Buffy, I think you should give this some thought. You've had a terrible shock and I. . . "

"I've already thought about it, Giles. What else can I do?"

Walking over to the young woman, Giles took both of her hands in his, catching her gaze. "Buffy, I beg you, make very, very sure that this is what you want. If things between you and Ben are bad now, later they will only get worse."

"They aren't." She sighed when she saw his disbelieving stare. "Really, they aren't. It's just Gloria. . . "

"Who will be your mother-in-law. Buffy, she's making you miserable now, what do you think she'll be like later?"

Buffy pulled her hands free and glared at him. "It doesn't matter! Giles, I'm just not giving it a chance! She means well, she really does. She's just. . . just. . . "

"Psychotic?" he offered dryly.

"Overprotective. She adores Ben and he is her only child. You know how Mom was with me. . . "

Giles came around the corner of the bar and Buffy slipped from her seat, backing away from him. "If you're worried about recrimination. . . "

"No! I'm worried about Angel!" Buffy cried, tears beginning to streak her face. "He's turned it all upside down and I don't know what to do!"

Giles stared at the stricken girl and realized that, after all this time, the wounds that Angel had left on her soul were still bruised and bleeding. All hope that she had moved on flew out the window.

Buffy Summers was still inextricably linked to Angel and it was a bond that would likely be there until one of them died. Marrying Ben would not only be a mistake, but grossly unfair to the young man. Giles placed his hands on Buffy's trembling shoulders and gazed down into her lovely face. "You cannot go through with this wedding, Buffy. To do so will only compound your problems."

"So, what am I supposed to do? Tell Gloria Davidson that I'm calling off a half a million dollar wedding because my vampire ex-lover is in town?" Buffy asked tearfully. "Tell Ben that I don't love him, that I never loved him because I'm still hung up on one night of sex that happened ten years ago!"

"First of all, young lady, you needn't worry about Mrs. Davidson. Your mother and I will do the honors of telling her highness that she can take her half million dollar garden party and shove it up her arse!"

Through her tears, Buffy giggled at the picture that formed in her mind at the idea.

"And, furthermore, although I have issues with Angel and his past, ahem, behavior, I hardly think that the love you shared was based on 'one night of sex'. "

Buffy smiled tremulously. "He's all I ever wanted. The sex, it never mattered to me."

"I can't deny that I regret that you'll be giving up a normal life, but you need to think of your happiness and Ben's as well." Giles let her go and walked back to the stove where the chicken soup bubbled merrily in its pan. Getting a bowl from the cabinet, he poured the soup and set it on the bar. Buffy, drawn by the delicious smell, sat down and started to eat. Surprisingly, the warm broth soothed her rebellious stomach.

"Good?"

She nodded and spooned in another mouthful. Giles sat back down and picked up his cold tea. "Well, do you want me to call Mrs. Davidson tomorrow?"

"I'd better talk to Ben first. He's going to be upset, to say the least," Buffy said. "I feel horrible."

"Don't. Just relax and take it all one day at a time."

Buffy smiled and finished her soup.