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Angel watched the scene play out with a mixture of anger and sorrow. Had be been free, he would have killed Cordelia for what she did to Buffy alone. But when he saw her do the same to Stefanie, his rage began to boil over. What cooled it somewhat was seeing Cordelia fall away from his friend and begin writhing on the floor. She let loose an inhuman scream, and Angel suspected briefly she may be dying, impossible as that prospect seemed. But he didn't have long to wonder.
After a while, Cordelia lay still, as if not trusting herself to move. Finally, she slowly got up, looking around with wide, frightened brown eyes. And her gaze finally came to rest on him, an almost doubtful air about her. "Angel?" she asked, as if seeking some sort of confirmation from him.
He stared at her suspiciously a moment, then said, "If this is some kind of trick..."
Cordelia shook her head, throwing quick, shameful glances at the two slayers. "It's gone," she said, so softly that Angel had to strain to hear her. In a louder tone, she added, "The demon that possessed me. It's gone!"
Angel wouldn't have believed her but that she did seem different somehow. It didn't take him long to piece together what had happened. "A slayer who was mortal wouldn't have had any affect on us, but Stefanie was one who had become a vampire," he said.
Cordelia nodded, following his line of thought. "Her blood had the opposite effect. It killed the demon inside me," she said in awe. Then, remembering she had placed Buffy's life in danger, Cordelia went to her, checking for a pulse.
"She's still alive but barely," Cordelia told him. "Angel, what do we do? She'll die if we don't think of something soon!"
Angel paused, considering this for a long while. He took a moment to weigh his options, then moved to take off his leather jacket. "Bring her over here," he ordered.
Cordelia did so, carrying Buffy in her arms as if afraid she might break. Gently, she set the slayer down inches from the cage, just on the edge of Angel's grasp in case he tried anything. "What are you going to do?" she asked fearfully.
Morphing into his vampire guise, Angel sliced his wrist with one claw. He held his arm out over Buffy's face a moment later, doing his best to ignore the pangs of hunger that seized him. "Help her swallow," he told Cordelia.
Cordelia nodded hesitantly, gently massaging Buffy's throat with one hand. She knew it was their only option; the one way to save Buffy now was to turn her into a vampire.
Once Angel was sure he had provided enough blood to change his girlfriend, he withdrew his arm, staring down at her with a mixture of hope and regret. "It might take a few decades, but maybe she'll eventually understand why it had to be this way," he said in a weary voice. "I hope she'll forgive me when she wakes up and realizes what I've done."
Cordelia reached for his hand. "If Buffy's love for you is genuine, she will instantly," she assured him, her words providing a little comfort. With that, Cordelia went to Stefanie, checking to make sure their other friend was going to be okay.
Cordelia kneeled by Stefanie's side with a sigh of regret, curious as to how she had survived all the hell Lorenzo had put her through without breaking down. Stroking Stefanie's face with one hand, Cordelia said, "You must be so spirited to endure so much, Steffi. I admire you for it."
Just then, Cordelia froze, now noticing the state her friend was in. After a moment, she looked over at Angel in apprehension, naturally putting him on edge. "You're not going to believe this, but... Angel, she's breathing!"
He shrugged his shoulders, signaling that he didn't know why it was such a big deal. Giving a sigh of exasperation, Cordelia said, "I'm serious. And if I'm hearing right, she has a heartbeat... Angel, I'm saying she's alive..."
After Buffy's disappearance from the hospital, Xander had called Giles to inform him of what had happened, asking the Watcher to come pick him and Willow up. The three of them, plus Jenny, were just heading for Giles' car in the lot when they became aware someone was hurrying towards them.
They all froze upon seeing Cordelia of all people approaching them, Stefanie nestled safely in her strong arms. Without a word, Cordelia handed the slayer to Giles. "She needs medical attention," she told him. "And since I only have an hour until the sun rises, you're going to have to see that she's admitted."
Finding her voice, Willow said, "Where's Buffy? What did you do with her?"
Cordelia lowered her eyes, hurt by the distrust in her shy friend's tone. "I deserve that, I guess... But Buffy's fine. You have to believe that, because you won't be able to see her for the next fourteen hours or so... That's all I can say. There's something else I need to take care of before dawn. But I promise that everything will be explained in time." With that, Cordelia turned, hurrying away before they could stop her...
The next few hours seemed to pass in a daze for those who remained in the warehouse. Angel had waited patiently until Cordelia returned with the packs of blood that Buffy had kept in her refrigerator for him at home, then as she went to retrieve the key to his prison. Angel then carried Buffy down into the basement of the factory, laying her down on the plush bed that had been set up there and resting next to her. As he waited for her to awaken, he mused over the fact that he was lucky to have her with him still.
After a long while of watching her sleep, Angel breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Buffy was stirring. Her green eyes flitted open, and she looked around in disorientation a moment before letting her gaze rest on him. "Angel!" she cried, propping herself up to embrace him tightly.
His heart soared at the amount of affection she showed for him, but would it be enough to make her forgive him when she learned the truth? With this in mind, Angel gently loosened her grip, holding her at arm's length.
Buffy seemed to sense something was amiss from the look in his eyes. "It's over, isn't it?" she asked. "Stefanie died trying to save us?"
Angel swallowed back the lump in his throat. "That's not it," he said, trying to decide on the best course of breaking the news. Finally, he said, "What's the last thing you remember?"
Buffy thought a moment. "Tessa and Venus ambushed us. And, they left me to die while they took off with you." After a pause, she added, "And I remember Stefanie coming to my rescue, but that's it... How did I get here? What is this place? And why do I feel so different?"
Angel sighed. "The attack was over forty-eight hours ago, Buffy. Stefanie said you were in a coma in intensive care... And a lot has happened in those two days."
With that, he set about filling her in on nearly all of it (leaving out what Tessa had told him about Ivory), starting with Cordelia's account of her attack on Steffi on that same night he was taken and finishing with how they had wound up here in the warehouse.
Buffy listened in silence, tears rising to her eyes on select parts of the story. It affected her particularly when she heard he too had taken a small amount of Stefanie's blood, effectively doing away with his own demon. But when Angel explained the reason behind her miraculous recovery, Buffy nearly lost it.
"You made me a vampire!" she cried. "Angel, how could you?!? You know how against this I was!"
"I told you a long time ago that I couldn't stand it if I ever lost you. It was either this or be forced to watch you die," he told her quietly. "If our positions were reversed, you'd have done the same for me." With that, Angel reached over, stroking one side of her face lovingly. "Can you forgive me?"
Buffy stared at him in silence a moment, unable to be mad at him because she knew he spoke the truth. At last, she nodded, then said, "But only because I know it isn't permanent... I don't know how Stefanie managed to turn human again, but I know that if it could happen for her, it could occur for us too."
Angel nodded. "We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," he answered. "But as for now, I can't wait for nightfall, for the chance to see our friends and especially Ivory again."
"Me neither," Buffy admitted, leaning over to kiss him passionately. "What shall we do to pass the time?"
Angel cracked a smile, kissing her back. "I'm sure we'll think of something," he teased...