TITLE: Forever
E-MAIL: Drus1lla@hotmail.com 
RATING: PG I guess. 
DISCLAIMER: I'd love to own them, but they're not mine. They belong to the genius that 
is Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, FOX, and all those people. I'm just using them, they'll 
be returned. Actually most of them, I might keep Angel. 
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the first fanfic I ever wrote. Please accept that as my 
excuse.  Feedback is nice, if you get time for it. 
SUMMARY: Angel and Cordelia are in town for a visit, when he and the Scooby Gang 
get a visitor from his past. 



The vampire stood outside the building known as the Bronze, the soft thud of the music 
echoing through the night. She watched as the Slayer exited the front door arm in arm 
with a small group of people. She was one of the strongest Slayers that had ever existed. 
She walked through the streets with an air of confidence. The vampire turned her gaze 
from the group of teenagers and made her way towards the cemetery...... 

Buffy stopped suddenly in mid-stride, turning quickly to look behind her. 

"Buffy?" Angel asked, concerned. 

"Nothing," she muttered. "I just, felt like." 

"You sure you're okay?" Willow questioned. 

Buffy turned up to Angel. "You mind if we make a sweep through Restfield before you 
walk me home?" 

"You already patrolled tonight," Xander piped up. "Now is about the having of fun!" 

"Sorry, guys, I just, let's just say I got a major wiggins." 

The group turned at the corner and made their way towards one of the twelve cemeteries 
within Sunnydale's city limits. The sounds of a battle reached their ears before they even 
made it through the front gates. The six people stopped short when they saw an 
unfamiliar person fighting two vampires at once. She looked to be slightly taller than 
Buffy, with extremely long, black hair. She wore black leather pants, black boots, and a 
black T-shirt, all covered by a black duster. 

The male vampire went down with a roundhouse kick to the face, and the stranger turned 
her attention to the female vampire. They couldn't see her face but the expression on the 
demon's visage let them know she was toying with them. The vampire lunged for the 
girl, and received a stake to the heart. 

The remaining vampire leapt up, lunging for the girl they had attacked. "That was fun," 
she mocked him. "I wonder if you'll explode in quite the same way." 

"Did something happen to Faith that we don't know about," Cordelia chimed in.
 
Angel's brow furrowed in memory, he tried to get a better look at the face of the 
obviously new Slayer. There was something about the way she moved that seemed 
almost familiar to him. 

Buffy could tell that she was just toying with the vampire, she was obviously much 
stronger than her opponent. She punched the vampire in the face, and as he staggered 
backward she thrust the stake into his chest. She sighed, dusting herself off, then turned 
towards the group of people staring at her. 

"And you are?" Xander queried. 

"Daniella?" Angel whispered. 

Buffy and the Scooby Gang all turned to look from the girl to Angel. 

"Angelus," she breathed. They stared at each other for a few moments before the girl 
named Daniella turned and ran. 

"I'm thinking you're not strangers," Oz pointed out in his quiet fashion. 

"Angel?" 

Angel turned his gaze from Daniella's retreating back, down to Buffy's questioning gaze. 

"It's impossible," he whispered. 

"Care to share," Xander pressed. 

"She died, two hundred and forty...." he trailed off. 

"Is this another one of your little vampire children? Cuz the last one you made, you kinda 
made her crazy and I'm just thinking we'd like to know what we're up against," Xander 
blurted out. 

Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia all turned to glare at him, before returning their attention to 
Angel. 

"I have to go," Angel said quickly, before turning and disappearing into the night. 

"Buffy, there's a lot about Angel that you don't know. This is just another one of those 
things." Willow stammered. "But, you know, I'm thinking we should mention this to 
Giles, cuz for somebody who's been dead as long as she has...." 

"You're right, Will. I'm going to the library. I'll catch you guys later." 

Buffy made her way through the dark streets, lost in thought on who this new person was.  
The UC Sunnydale campus loomed before her and she made her way towards the back 
entrance of the library where Giles' personal collection was kept. 

"I didn't make her a vampire." 

Buffy quickly turned around at the sound of Angel's voice. 

"But you know her?" 

"I'm going to tell you something that's going to be hard for you to hear." 

"I can deal. It's not like I haven't had to before." 

"I knew Daniella when I was human." Buffy's eyes went wide at that statement, but she 
stayed silent waiting for Angel to continue. "I loved her." 

"Being around as long as you have, what did I expect? I mean, I'd like to think I'm the 
only person you've ever loved. Reality though." 

"Buffy, when I was human I loved her. Since I became a vampire, and then was cursed 
with my soul, you're the only person I've loved." 

"Did you?" 

"I had set out to kill her like I had my own family," he whispered. "She was already dead, 
or at least I was told she was." 

"Oh. Do you still feel anything for her?" 

"She's been dead to me, the only person I care about is you." 

He reached his hand out and caressed her cheek, pulling her closer to him. She wrapped 
her arms around his waist, and closed her eyes as his mouth captured hers. 


The blinds in the library were drawn, blocking out the sun. Angel, Buffy, and the Scooby 
Gang were sitting around the table recounting to Giles the events of the previous night. 

"It is q-quite possible that she was killed by a vampire and turned, just as you were 
Angel." 

"But, Giles, she was fighting them." 

"As far as I know I'm the only vampire with a soul." 

"Yes, well, I will have to look through the Watchers' Diaries, see if there is any mention 
of her." 

Daniella stayed within the darkness of the stacks, listening to the Slayer and her Watcher 
as they tried to figure out what she was. She listened for a while, while they speculated 
whether or not she had been human when Angel had known her. Finally, she closed her 
eyes and opened her mouth to speak.. 

"You won't find anything about me," a voice came out of the darkness. 

Buffy, Angel, and Giles all turned in the direction of the stacks. Daniella stepped from 
the shadows and saw as the Slayer immediately moved to protect her friends.  Buffy 
grabbed a stake from the table, holding it at the ready. 

Daniella could not help but laugh as the Slayer grabbed her weapon. "You don't really 
think you're going to kill me with that do you?" 

"If you're a vampire, it'll do the job." 

"I would've thought so too. You're welcome to try, but this is one of my favorite shirts 
and I'm not going to be very pleased by the hole it'll leave behind. I've got a better idea. 
Got a crucifix, it'll burn me right? Oh better yet, the sun," she said as she walked over to 
one of the windows. She lifted the shade, putting her hand into the light. "No that doesn't 
work, but something will get me, right?" 

Everybody remained speechless as she let the shade fall back into place. "But you don't 
really know that I'm a vampire yet, so I guess I've got to prove that." She growled and 
morphed into her game face. 

Buffy quickly assumed a fighting stance. 

Willow quickly piped up, wanting to know why the vampire was there. "That thing with 
the sun, how'd you do that?" 

Daniella's face quickly returned to normal as she approached the table. "It's strange 
really," she began. "From the moment I was made, I couldn't be killed. Not for want of 
trying, of course." 

"Who made you a vampire?" Angel asked. 

"I was a vampire long before I ever knew you," she whispered. 

Everyone looked from Angel to Daniella, then to Buffy. "Why," she asked. "Why are 
there no references to you in the Watchers' Diaries?" 

"Because my Watcher promised me he would not write about it, and I have told no one 
who I was." 

Everyone in the room was silent. Buffy stared at the young woman before her, who at one 
point had been so much like her. "Why speak of it now when you haven't before?" 

"I was told to come here, by a rather persuasive demon. He told me I could be of help to 
the Slayer, but not who else would be here. I think he knew," she said as she looked to 
Angel. 

"You've met Whistler," Buffy answered. 

"Who's Whistler?" Giles asked. 

"You don't want to know," Angel, Buffy, and Daniella all replied at the same time. 

"How are you supposed to help me?" 

Daniella looked at Angel as she spoke, "I'm supposed to make a vampire with a soul 
human again." 

The entire room turned to look at Angel. 

Cordelia looked perplexed, "But I thought there was no cure for that?" 

"I really should go now," she got up from her seat and walked towards the library doors. 

"How?" Buffy asked. 

"I'm not sure yet. All I know is that's the reason I'm here." She turned and walked 
through the swinging doors. 

"So, I have a small question then," Xander broke the silence. "If Buffy's made a vampire 
does that mean she'll be like that too?" 

"It's a r-rather appropriate question. I don't recall reading in the Watchers' Diaries of a 
Slayer who's been made a vampire. I'll have to look further back, Willow perhaps you 
and that contraption of yours can be of some assistance." 

"We're on it," Oz said as he and Willow walked over to the computer.. 

"I'm gonna go see how Faith's doing, if there's any change," Buffy said as she got up 
from her perch on the table. 

"I'll just wait for the sun to set," Angel said as he walked into Giles' office. 


Daniella stood on the hillside outside the mansion, looking over the city. 

"I knew I'd find you here. You always went for the highest place you could find, where 
you could see everything." 

"I didn't know that you were the one who'd been cursed with a soul." 

"But you knew I'd become a vampire?" 

"It's my fault." 

"What do you mean?" 

She turned to face him. "They thought I was the Slayer, you were a punishment." 

Daniella turned from the shocked look on Angel's face. "What do you mean by that?" 

"I've fought vampires since I was turned. They thought I was the Slayer and set out to 
kill me. Two nights before our wedding, they took me hostage in a sense. There were 
more of them than I could fight." 

"I went out and got drunk when I couldn't find you." 

"Yes, and that night Darla made you a vampire while I was being held not a few feet 
away and made to watch. I saw you become the one thing I hated most in this world, but I 
couldn't kill you. I knew it was the demon and not you, but I still couldn't." She stared 
out at the city as she continued, the tears welling in her eyes. "The lives of all the people 
that you killed and tortured, are on my conscience." 

"Daniella, I..." 

"You couldn't help what you had become," she said as the crimson tears spilled down her 
cheeks. 

He turned her so that she was facing him, then wiped the tears from her face with his 
thumb. "None of it is your fault." 

She looked up at him, carefully choosing her words. "I can stop it from happening again." 

"I could easily stop it myself by walking into the sunlight, but there's a part of me that 
just can't do it." 

"You love her, don't you?" 

"Very much. But the two of us can't be together. I can't be around her, I'll lose my soul 
and become the monster I used to be. I'm just here now visiting in a way. Usually I'm in 
Los Angeles, I moved there." 

"What if I told you that the two of you could be together?" 

"It's not possible." 

"It is. I know a way." 

"How?" 

"If it happened, would you stay?" 

"If there was a way for us to be together, nothing could keep me away from her." 

"I need to talk to her Watcher, and to her." 

"He's not really her Watcher anymore, he was once. He was fired. She quit the Council 
about a year ago." 

"Why did you leave? Never mind, when I've made my decision, you will go through with 
it, won't you?" 

"What exactly do I have to do?" 

"I'll let you know exactly what it is, but you have to give me your word that you will do 
whatever I ask you to in order to make this happen." 

"I promise," he told her. 

"And I'll hold you to it." She turned and walked away from Angel, down to the street 
below. 


"It took Willow and Oz forever just to find m-mention of a vampire that was reported to 
walk in the day. There are a few sketchy accounts, but nothing concrete to prove such a 
creature exists." 

"According to her she was a Slayer once. Giles, there has to be something in those diaries 
somewhere." 

"Buffy, they searched four centuries of volumes, there's nothing so far. We have to look 
further back is all." 

A knock sounded on the door and Giles moved to answer it. "That'll probably be 
Willow." Giles opened the door, Daniella stood on the other side of the threshold. 

"I hope I'm not disturbing you." 

"N-no, it's all right. We were just..." 

"Talking about me. Haven't found anything, have you?" 

"Actually, no," Buffy said as she came up behind her former Watcher. 

"Uh, I suppose I should...uh..." Giles stammered. 

"No," she said as she stepped into Giles' apartment. Giles and Buffy looked a bit pale at 
the fact that she didn't have to be invited in. "Same rules don't apply to me for some 
reason. No crosses, holy water, garlic, stakes, sunlight, invitations." 

"Why haven't we found anything?" Buffy blurted. 

"You're not looking far back enough. You've stumbled upon the Master and Kakistos, of 
course." 

"Killed 'em both. If you're older than them, then how come you don't look like they 
did?" 

"Distorted features and all that?" Daniella asked, as she waved her hands in front of her 
face. 

Buffy nodded in answer. 

"Blood of the Slayer, I guess. I don't know all the answers. I suppose it has to do with the 
fact that I was the Slayer, and the vampire that made me." 

"When exactly was that?" Giles queried. 

"You know the origins of vampires, and of the Slayer?" 

"Demon fed off a human, mixed their blood, vampire. Then comes the Slayer," Buffy 
quipped. 

"The first vampire was the most powerful vampire that ever existed. No matter how 
many of his kind he made, his strength never diminished. No matter how old any of those 
vampires would become, he would always be more powerful." 

"And this brings you here to me why?" 

"You were called because I failed. Because he killed me before I killed him," she 
whispered as she stared at the floor. 

Giles straightened from his leaning position against the wall. He walked towards the two 
girls who stood across from each other. "The first Slayer, that was you." 

Daniella looked up at the Slayer and the Watcher, and nodded her head. "So if I were to 
be made a vampire, I wouldn't be like you." 

"Another Slayer was made a vampire once. She was like the rest of them, and so I..." she 
finished. 

"We understand," Giles interjected. 

"You spoke about Angel earlier, making him human," Buffy began. "How?" 

"When I was made what I am, the vampire drank my blood and then fed me from 
himself.  Mixing my blood with his own. That is why I am this way. The blood of the 
first Slayer, and the most powerful vampire. I have been alive for thousands of years, and 
finally I have discovered how I might find peace." 

She looked up at Giles and Buffy, who sat next to each other listening to her intently.  
"He tortured you first," Buffy added. 

"May you never have to endure what I did. I was sixteen years old when I died, I never 
knew that kind of pain could exist. 

The first Chosen One, one girl in all the world. They left my body where my Watcher 
would find me.. When I rose that night, he was ready. He couldn't kill me though, and I 
couldn't bring myself to attack him. So I returned to Dragos' lair. He thought I was 
another of his children, and wasn't prepared for the stake through his heart.  The next 
morning I walked out to meet the sunlight, I couldn't stand being one of the things that I 
had tried to wipe from existence. Nothing happened. I tried every means I could, still 
nothing." 

"I still don't understand how Angel and I fit into all this," Buffy replied. 

"Angel knows that I might be able to make him human again. If I'm going to die I'd at 
least like to know that the two of you are still together." 

"I don't understand," Giles interrupted. 

"If I do this, he will stay." Daniella noted the look of hope on Buffy's face that the man 
she loved could be with her again. "I thought you couldn't die." 

"My blood will kill the demon inside of Angel, and he will be human again. He will live 
his mortal life as he should have. I have to give that back to him." 

"You didn't make him what he is," Buffy said, trying to comfort her.

"But it's my fault. Darla made him to punish me. She thought I was the Slayer and that 
by making him what I hated it would destroy me. It did in a way, but they didn't get the 
chance to kill me. I was the cause, and now I can give Angel his life back." 

"And you will die," Giles finished. 

Daniella nodded, "I think so, or at least I hope so." 

"Has Angel agreed to this?" Buffy questioned. 

"I haven't told him what he'll have to do." 

"He won't do it," Buffy told her. 

"How do you know?" 

Buffy looked up at Giles, then put her hand to the scar at her neck as she turned away 
from them. 

"Daniella," Giles began. "When Angel left here, we had just stopped the Mayor from 
achieving Ascension. Prior to that day Faith had poisoned Angel to keep us out of the 
Mayor's way." 

"I thought Faith was the other Slayer?" 

"She is, she's still in a coma, it doesn't look like she'll make it through. She's been 
getting steadily worse. A-aside from that, the cure for the poison was to drain the blood 
of the Slayer." 

"And with Faith out of the picture you made him drink your blood, didn't you?" 

"It was the only way to save him, I couldn't let him die. Nobody understood at first, they 
thought he had, they didn't think it was my choice." 

"I understand." 

"Somehow when people say they understand what you're going through, you know they 
never do. For the first time I feel like somebody does." 

"If he won't do it willingly, I'll have to make him. I can't live like this anymore.  For 
centuries I have watched the people around me grow old and die. After a while I tried not 
to let anybody get close to me, the pain was too great." 

"I just can't understand how Angel could be made to do this," Giles said as he took his 
glasses off to clean the lenses. 

"He has to drain my blood, then he will live and I will die." 

"I don't think he'll do it," Buffy told her seriously. 

"He promised me that he would do anything that it took to be with you. He loves you 
Buffy." 

"He'll stay?" 

"Maybe if you told him what he had to do, it might be easier." 

"I think you're the only one who can tell him that." 

Daniella stood up and walked to the door. "It was nice to have met you, I hope this 
works." She opened the door and walked out into the daylight. 


Angel sat in the mansion, a book open before him. A knock on the door made him lift his 
eyes from the pages. He set the book down, walked over to the door, making sure to keep 
it between himself and the remaining sunlight. Joyce Summers walked in, very 
reminiscent of the last time she had come to see him. 

"Hello, Angel." 

"Mrs. Summers, how are you?" 

"I've been better. I'll just get right to the point. I thought you were out of Buffy's life?" 

"I'm not staying. Doyle informed me that a powerful vampire would be coming to 
Sunnydale and that I needed to be here. I'm just here to help." 

"Well it's a relief to see that you still possess some sense even if Buffy doesn't.  She's 
been going on that you might be staying here." 

Daniella walked down the street, making her way towards the mansion. She stopped 
when she felt someone following her. "Oh come on, it's just barely after sunset.  You 
can't be out already." 

"I actually come out before the sun sets," Buffy answered. 

"Sorry, mostly when I'm being followed it's by something like me." 

"It's okay. Usually that's how it is with me too, except they're not like me." 

"Did you want to talk to me about something?" 

"Actually, I think I'm going to the same place you are." 

"Going to see Angel?" 

Buffy smiled and nodded. The two of them continued to walk in silence towards the 
mansion. Daniella suddenly stopped and turned to look behind her again. 

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked. Suddenly she could sense it too. They were being 
followed. "How many of them are there?" 

"Not too many, although I'm just getting a major sense of deja vu." 

"I guess this kind of thing happening to you twice in your existence isn't a fun 
experience." 

"No, I can't say that it is," she said as they continued on their way. 

"So, you and Angel," Buffy began. 

"You want to know about the two of us?" 

"I've tried not to be curious but I can't help it. I'm still in love with him." 

"Don't worry about it, I'm not. And he loves you so much. I can also tell you that he 
never loved me as much as he loves you. He told me that if there were a way for the two 
of you to be together, he would never leave. He would stay with you forever." 

"Not now," Buffy said as the vampire that had been following them leapt out from the 
bushes. She quickly shoved a stake through his heart as the two of them kept walking. 

"So before you said that if Angel wouldn't agree to it that you would make him, how 
precisely?" 

"Got any chains?" 

Buffy stifled a laugh, "There are some in the mansion. Don't ask." 

"Hadn't really planned to at this point. But if push comes to shove I figure I'm stronger. 
I'll chain him until sunrise, then he'll have nowhere to go. I will need one thing from 
you." 

"What's that?" 

"No matter what I do, don't interfere. If Angel and I are fighting I don't want to have to 
worry that the next blow I receive will come from you." 

Buffy broke her stride for a moment and stared at Daniella. Then she lowered her eyes 
and nodded her head. As they walked up in front of the mansion, Buffy frowned when 
she saw her mother's car. "What's my mom doing here?" 

"Probably being the protective mother," Daniella answered as she followed Buffy inside. 

"I thought I made it quite clear to you last time that you being in Buffy's life isn't good 
for either of you," Joyce told Angel. 

Angel looked up and saw Buffy and Daniella enter the room. Joyce turned and saw her 
daughter and another girl. The look on Buffy's face made it clear she had heard what her 
mother said. 

Daniella looked from the Slayer to her mother, neither of them saying anything. She 
started to say something, then decided against it. 

"What did you mean by that?" Buffy asked her mother. "Angel? What's going on?  
That's why you left me? Because my mother...." 

"I think I'll go somewhere else," Daniella murmured. 

Buffy turned to Daniella, "Please stay." 

"Buffy I just was trying to do what was best for you. The two of you have no real future 
together. Angel's a vampire, you're very young. There was no other way." 

"There is now," Daniella said. Buffy looked up at Daniella hopefully, the unshed tears 
glistening in her eyes. "Yeah, well, it's obvious I was going to go through with it anyway. 
Angel, I need to talk to you." 

"We can go in the other room," he said to her. She followed him, leaving Buffy and her 
mom alone. 

"What is it?" he asked her. 

She removed her coat, draping it over a chair. "The way for you to be human again," she 
approached him running her hands through her hair, pulling it away from her neck. 

"What?" 

"Drink." 

Angel backed away from her. It was too reminiscent for him. He remembered how Buffy 
looked after he had fed off her, lying unconscious on the floor. He remembered the 
incredulous looks of her friends at the hospital, Xander's accusations. He remembered the 
taste of her blood. He stared at her and shook his head, "No." 

"Buffy told me what happened," she said as she advanced on him. "Drink my blood. The 
demon within you will die, and the man will be left. You can be with her. You can take 
her out into the daylight, you can give her children." 

He shook his head again, "No." He quickly made his way into the other room. 

Buffy looked up as Angel rushed in, followed by Daniella. 

"What's going on?" Joyce asked. 

"It's the only way," she yelled at him. 

"Angel," Buffy began. 

"You know what she's asking me to do?" Buffy nodded. "Then you know why I can't." 

"You don't have a choice here," Daniella said as she came up behind him. "You gave me 
your word and I'm holding you to it!" 

"No." 

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," Daniella said as she turned away from him.  
Suddenly she spun around and backhanded Angel across the face. He staggered up, but 
she had assumed a fighting stance and hit him again. 

"Buffy, do something!" her mother yelled. 

"No, this is the way it has to be." 

Daniella hit him three more times before Angel went down. She took the chains from the 
wall nearby, securing them to Angel's wrists then she chained him to the fireplace. 

"Buffy what is going on?" 

Buffy spun around to face her mother. "Angel's sticking around, and this time you had 
better not interfere! He broke my heart because of you. Because you always think you 
know what's best for me. No, he couldn't give me a normal life before, not that I 
would've had one anyways!" Then she turned to face Daniella, "Is there anything I can 
do to help?" 

"I'll keep him here til sunrise, then he can't get away from me. I'll let you know if there's 
any, actually if you come back tomorrow at sunset I guess you'll know." 

"Know what?" Joyce demanded. 

"Long story short," Buffy began. "Daniella was the first Slayer, she's a vampire now. Her 
blood will make Angel human again." 

"Is that possible?" 

Both girls rolled their eyes. Buffy grabbed her mother's arm and led her to the front door. 
"I'll be back later." Daniella nodded, then turned back to Angel's inert form. She brushed 
her hair back from her face and walked outside into the garden. She sat by the fountain, 
staring up the sky, remembering the life she had lived. She turned as she heard Angel 
begin to stir, the chains rattling as he struggled to get up. 

She walked inside, the heels of her shoes clicking on the floor, echoing throughout the 
room. She sat down next to him, as he rubbed his head. 

"In all the years I've been alive, well if you can call this life, I've watched too many 
people suffer. I've seen promising young lives cut short, I've seen innocent people hurt, 
and I feel somehow responsible for it." 

Angel looked at her, then lowered his head and continued to listen. 

"I can't help but think that if I hadn't failed, or if someone stronger had been called 
before me, that none of this would've happened. Maybe your life would've continued 
when it should have, maybe Buffy and the people she's close to wouldn't know what's 
really out there in the dark." 

"You can't think that way." 

"I've had a long time to think about it. Longer than most. And then I've come to think 
that maybe my purpose is to bring you and Buffy together. Fate has brought us all to this 
point for one specific reason. She'll never have a normal life, she's the Slayer. A 
'normal' life is virtually impossible for anybody, but more so for her. She won't have 
anything outside of demons and darkness, and the only person she wants is you. And the 
only person you want is her." 

"I can't." 

She turned and knelt in front of him, lifting his gaze up to meet hers. "Listen to me, and 
really listen. I don't want to go on. I don't want to continue like this. You can help the 
both of us, and all you have to do is drink." She tore the chains from the wall, removing 
them from his wrists. "The sun is rising, and when it does you can go out and feel its 
warmth on your face. You can see her in the sunlight." 

Angel swallowed, and meekly nodded his head. Daniella brushed her hair from her neck 
as she moved closer to him, exposing her throat. She closed her eyes as Angel took her in 
his arms. She gasped in shock, her eyes flying open as Angel's fangs pierced the soft 
flesh of her neck. 

A thousand images flooded her mind as Daniella's blood flowed into Angel's mouth, it 
was almost as if she had been there. Angel and Buffy, the first time they met. The first 
time they kissed, the night they made love, and the tragedy that had ensued.  Angel's 
return from hell, the Christmas he had tried to kill himself, and Buffy's heartbreak when 
he had left her. Angel was thinking about his true love as he drained Daniella, and she 
could see his thoughts. She felt her body growing weaker as he continued to drink. She 
closed her eyes, and surrendered to the death she had waited so long for. 

Angel broke away from Daniella's neck, her powerful blood coursing through his veins.  
She lay still in his arms, her eyes closed, her body showing no signs of life. He didn't 
know what to expect, maybe that she would burst into ash, but she didn't. He laid her 
gently on the floor, wondering what to do now. He looked over at the heavy curtains that 
hung in the doorway, blocking out the light. He strode over to the black draperies, and 
shoved them aside, praying that the sun would burn him. The sun shone brightly in the 
early morning sky, the rays filtering into the room. For the first time in over two hundred 
years Angel felt its warmth again. Angel took a deep breath, air filling his lungs. He 
turned from the doorway, he had to find Buffy. 


Buffy sat in the library with Giles and Willow, waiting. 

"Did she say she'd call?" 

"No, I'm supposed to go back at sunset, see what happened." 

"Buffy, I'm sure that Daniella was able to convince Angel," Giles began. "Well, 
perhaps." 

"What'll happen to her?" Willow asked," Will she, well what I mean is, will there be a 
body or a pile of ashes?" 

Both girls looked to Giles who was cleaning his glasses. "I don't know. She wasn't even 
sure that Angel draining her blood would kill her. She was quite certain though, that her 
blood would kill the demon within Angel." 

Xander and Oz walked into the library, joining the others. "You guys sure look happy," 
Xander commented. 

"We're waiting," Willow replied. 

"Waiting, don't we usually not wait? Wait, what're we waiting for?" Xander asked. 

"Hey, whoa," Oz spoke up. 

Xander looked up and stared. "Hey whoa is right." 

Buffy, Willow, and Giles all turned to see what they were staring at. "Angel," Buffy 
whispered. 

He opened his arms slightly and Buffy quickly ran to his embrace. He held her tightly, 
letting the scent of her wash over him. She looked up at him as he held her, and then their 
lips met. 

The people remaining in the room all stared in shock at the two lovers holding each other. 
Xander was the first to break the silence, "Is anybody else noticing that the sun is shining 
in and Dead Boy's not going poof?" 

"I'm thinking it's probably because he's not dead," Oz answered. 

"And Daniella?" Giles asked. 

"She," Angel began. "She's..." 

"Don't worry about it," Buffy whispered as she kissed him. 


Lightning flashed in the gray clouds overhead, the rain poured down on the seven people 
who stood around the fresh grave. Buffy crouched down, placing a single white rose atop 
the dirt. "Thank you," she whispered. Suddenly Angel knelt beside her, placing a similar 
rose next to hers. They stood up and smiled appreciatively at Giles and the Scooby Gang 
for being with them at Daniella's grave. 

"I wish we knew more about her so we could say some nice words," Willow spoke up. 

"Well we do know this much," Giles began. "She was brave and selfless, and very 
giving." 

"Yes she was," Angel agreed. "She was one of the kindest people I've ever met." 

"She can rest now," Buffy chimed in. 


Angel pulled his car into the parking lot, the tires screeching as he took the turn too 
quickly. Cordelia braced herself in the passenger seat, praying
he wouldn't hit anyone. He found an available space and the two of them quickly exited 
the black convertible. They ran through the corridors of the hospital, searching for 
Willow. 

"There she is," Cordelia shouted as she spotted the redhead pacing frantically.  Oz sat in 
one of the plastic chairs, waiting calmly, watching his girlfriend with amusement. 

"Where is she? Is she okay? What happened?" Angel blurted out. 

"I don't know, nobody's told me anything yet. Xander was with her, but I haven't even 
seen him or heard from him since he called me," she answered. 

"What about her mom?" Cordelia asked. "Or Giles?" 

"They haven't gotten here yet," Oz replied. 

"Miss Rosenberg?" A doctor asked as he came down the hallway. 

"How is she?!" Angel asked. 

"Buffy is just fine, I'm afraid all of you can't go in at once though. Only one person can 
go in right now." 

"Angel, you go, we'll wait here for her mom and Giles," Willow replied. 

"Come with me," the doctor said as he led Angel down the hall to Buffy's room.  "Go on 
in." 

Angel walked into the white hospital room, so different than the last time he and Buffy 
had been there. Then he spotted her in the bed, she looked so small. 

"Angel," she breathed, she looked so exhausted. 

"Hey," he whispered as he walked up to his wife. "Where's Xander, why didn't he tell us 
what was going on?" 

"The big baby fainted. He's getting stitches right now. Would you like to meet your 
daughter?" 

Angel nodded, holding out his arms to take his child. He gazed down at the tiny little girl, 
his daughter. He couldn't believe he had a daughter. She yawned and waved her tiny 
arms as her father held her. "What should we name her?" 

"If it's all right, I already gave them the name for her birth certificate. There was really 
only one choice." 

Angel looked at her, raising his eyebrows in question. "What's that?" 

"Daniella, because of her we're a family. Because of her, we have forever." 

"I can't argue with that," he said as he leaned over and kissed her tenderly. She smiled at 
her husband, glad he approved of her choice. "Hello, Daniella," Angel whispered as he 
placed a soft kiss atop the baby's head. 


The End