Notes: Closure. Mainly, this is just a prologue to Unbidden, so I hope yous don't run off and never return when this story finishes. That would make me sad.

kluu, thank you mucho for that input. Originally, my intention was in hopes that people picked up that he'd developed some sort of immunity to the dosage, but I don't feel that I really struck that home when writing it. I also like that idea of him attacking Kate, it makes me very glad... so I may indeed use it in a rewrite if I end up rewriting. :) I will probably be re-writing certain things too in hopes that the first two chaps don't scare my readers away, I know they suck hah...

I apologize in advance because I have realized that I have confused many people. I SWEAR my next story will NOT be that confusing.

fo'sho- I wanna say thanks. You are the reason I got this up so fast. I was chillin, got the message via email to update and wham, I set to work finishing this! Plus, you also made my day.

Thanks: My wonderful readers, you are amazing. My insane betas (Danielle and sometimes Alice), you are splendifforous. THANK YOU ALL for bearing with me. School's takin a toll on Java's creative abilities. Never fear, you people are not forgotten.

Chicken- Vital Soup for the Soul

"You can't say that," Angel muttered, trying his hardest to counter her negative attitude which was a very difficult feat to tackle when referring to Buffy Summers. "You're not alone and you know it, you have friends-"

"Who don't understand me, Angel," her voice wavered as she cut in to finish his sentence before he had a chance to, "Friends that dragged me out of Heaven, God! To this day, they don't even know they did that. They thought they were saving me from some alternative demon dimension. I have a sister too, one who doesn't quite understand why I'm back," It was clearly getting harder for Buffy to continue, as her voice began to choke up, yet she did so anyway. "She doesn't care, either... just so long as I'm here, alive. She's probably the easiest one to please, at least she doesn't expect me to be Wonder Woman! She wants me to be her sister, someone she can turn to in the darker times- a-a shoulder to lean on or something... But to think... I died for her. I gave up everything I had, my life... just to save her. No hesitating," Buffy closed her eyes, thinking that over to herself. Yes, indeed, she had surrendered it all. All for nothing. Perhaps now she was the one who needed saving? "I'd do it again too, you know. So easily."

"Everything," Angel repeated quietly, allowing his mind to wander now back to earlier... the disturbing- what would he call those? Visions? He could not get over the nagging in the back of his mind over something he was not even able to place his finger on. "But the important thing is, Buffy... you did save her. You didn't fail." He did, though. He failed- he had surrendered it all seemingly for nothing, and it had still left him with a completely blank memory.

"Yeah, I saved her... but I was so selfish..."

"I don't understand how giving up your life for someone else is anything even remotely selfish, Buffy."

"It was. I didn't know how to live in this world anymore... I mean... it was just too difficult. The choices... the pain...Just the thought of death- I wasn't scared of it anymore because I knew it would be closure. It would give me a peaceful ending to the violent life and impossible struggles I'd been put through. All those hurdles I jumped through- everything... gone... Yeah, I did it for her, but I also did it for me. I wanted to make it easier." Buffy shook her head, the tears that had welled up in her eyes began to fall as she did so, "I wanted to die."

"Just because you thought it was the easy way out doesn't make you a bad person. Don't beat yourself up over it, what you did still was extremely noble. You have to have your heart in the right place in order to do something like that-"

"Like what, Angel? Huh? Like what?" Buffy sniffed, glaring at him accusingly.

"To give someone else the gift of life. They... err, Dawn... had to go on with the knowledge that you had sacrificed yourself- everything you had, everything you were... just so that she may survive. Buffy, you're not looking at it from any perspective other than your own."

"Yeah, well right now mine seems to be the only one making any sense," She rolled her eyes, standing up from her position and beginning towards the door. "I've heard enough lies, I know you're just trying to flatter me, Angel, but I'm not worth it anymore. Not when I'd rather be safe six-feet underground and rotting away than then fighting evil deadmen with dental issues."

"You're wrong and you know it. Why can't you just admit defeat, take a bit of deserved credit for once? What you do, isn't easy, I get that. I've been around long enough to realize that. Especially with you, you don't give up."

"What I do isn't easy?" Buffy huffed, whirling back around to stare at him, "What I do isn't easy? I just come back from a celestial experience, being dumped back into this... this... Hell, and the best you can give me is 'what I do isn't easy?' I don't give up, is that it?" Buffy's inner anger seemed to be teetering on the brink of explosion, "Yeah, Angel, I'm a real pursuer. All I've ever done is give up."

"That's not true. You've saved the world what, five... six- or was it seven-"

"Six apocalypses, Angel."

"Okay, six times... You went in to fight the Master knowing you would die, but you drove onward to save humanity- to do your duty. That's not giving up. You've saved my skin more times than I can-"

"-And I also sent you to Hell." Her grim truth sliced the air with an attitude that caused Angel to falter a moment, yet he still managed to whip a retort back her way within a matter of seconds.

"Would you listen to me for just, I don't know, five seconds, Buffy? Just hear me out and actually try to believe the words coming from my mouth?"

"Five... four... three..." Buffy started to mumble, only to catch Angel rolling his eyes in frustration. "Whaat? You said five seconds. Oh, time's up by the way."

"Buffy, what I mean to say is you've always stuck true to your duty," Angel started, disregarding her little press for time that he 'didn't have.' "You rarely fall off-course or off track. You've faced more evils and more dangers than anyone your age and most slayers that I've actually seen in action. It's a wonder you made it this far and still, you haven't fallen apart. I know you'll keep fighting in the end because you have a purpose. You have people that you care about and that makes you stronger than anyone else I know."

"You don't seem to get it, Angel," Buffy started to walk out now, "I have fallen apart. You just weren't around to see it." With that, however, she took off at a run, leaving the abandoned rink and just hurling herself in some random direction, unsure and uncaring as to where she may end up. Tears stung her eyes and she knew leaving like this was going to haunt her, probably for another good couple of months, maybe years- but she had to do it. She could not stand sitting there and listen to Angel try and glorify her existence. She was no saint, she knew that- so why did he continuously try to make her feel better about herself? Besides, with words like that would he even want to follow her? They were harsh, she had to admit- but it was also the truth. He had, in fact, left when she needed him the most. What did he have to say to that? She would never know, because she just had left him behind. "Oof," her muffled whimper resounded as an echo in the abandoned woods. Shaking her head, Buffy stepped back in a fighting stance and prepared to come to terms with the object she had just collided with. Surely there wouldn't be vampires out in the middle of- "Angel?" She cocked her head, narrowing her eyes slightly and staring up at the vampire with slight confusion.

"You better watch yourself," Angel offered her a half-smirk, "You're getting to be pretty predictable."

Curse him! How dare he cut her off like that... and read her mind so easily. Then again, that was one of the traits she still admired in the broody male. He was still able to predict her moves, even after so much time apart. "How did you...?"

"Saw it in your eyes," he replied simply, staring down at her in the silence. "But you know, Buffy... you say I wasn't around to see it. I-I'm sorry, you already knew that... but I still don't think you've ever completely given up. I can't believe that."

"I did, Angel.I really did," Buffy choked, "It was so much easier, just to withdraw inside myself...so I did. I trapped myself in my own thoughts- I wouldn't have to worry anymore, I was safe. A-And when Willow snapped me out of it and brought me back to reality... I just wanted to die. So I did. That, Angel... that is giving up," her voice was cracking and low now, and she was still on the brink of tears. This whole night had been a roller-coaster of emotions. She just threw herself into Angel's arms and sobbed a bit, and he let her do it in silence, knowing that the best he had to offer her now was an open ear and security. "I knew I couldn't win. It hurt so much because... when you know you're fighting a losing battle... it's not worth it anymore. It's... horrible because you don't get to play the hero. You know you've already failed to save the ones you love! Know what Giles wanted? He wanted me to KILL her."

"So how do we stop it?"

"The portal will only close once the blood is stopped ... and the only way for that to happen is, um ...Buffy, the only way is to kill Dawn."

She swallowed, trying hard to regain more of her tough-girl composure, even though Angel knew it was simply a facade from her true emotions. "I was so angry at him. How could he suggest such a thing? I couldn't kill her, Angel... I couldn't. Not even to save the entire world. I somehow... I managed to kill you, but I couldn't... not Dawn..."

"Because she was innocent. She didn't deserve to die," Angel replied without hesitation. To him, the answer seemed simple, and he continued to explain. "My demon... at least it did things to make you hate me. You could justify killing me by making me the enemy, ...You couldn't do that with Dawn. She was never the enemy, she had no hand in evil schemes and had no choice as to what was happening with her. As the Slayer, your sworn duty is to protect people like that, save them from the monsters, the evils, and the apocalypses. That, Buffy, is why you couldn't kill her."

Why did he have to make so much sense? Problem was, Angel was usually right too- though she did not like to admit that to him. He made it sound so clean-cut and simple. Almost noble. "I-I guess... that is right," she said quietly, clinging tighter to his coat and leaning into him for support. Angel offered a light sigh and lifted her up, carrying her back to the car wordlessly. The whole way back, which was not all that far, Buffy felt like one of the happiest beings on the planet, if only for a few moments. No words were spoken, yet she felt like a teenager again, curling up in the arms of her boyfriend. Despite all odds, however, she felt normal- if only just for a moment.

After they were both situated in the car, Angel looked over at her before he put the keys in the ignition.

She caught his glance and bit her lip, almost ready to say something, but held back. She looked over to the side, sliding her finger across the door handle while trying to think of something to say. "Angel..."

"Yeah?"

"Umm the day- The one that never happened... i-if you could umm... if you could do it again-"

"In a heartbeat. No pun intended," Angel said softly, keeping his eyes trained on the road now. Anything to look at besides her pleading face. The one that also reminded him of Kat's... and everything he had surrendered that day.

Buffy did not really like his answer though. If he would do it all again, why give it up in the first place? "Lemme get this straight though... so... You just took a whole 24 hours to weigh the ups and downs of being a regular Joe and decided it was more fun being a superhero?" She looked over at him now, accusingly- unknowingly speaking the same words that she had said to him just before forgetting that day.

That caused him to falter. Angel froze, but then tensed up and slammed on the brakes, screeching just inches away from hitting another car. He pulled off to the side of the road and ran his hand down his face slowly. "Buffy... that's not it at all," he tried to say calmly, although his head was screaming inside. Reminding him that he was, afterall, the one who erased the day in the first place. "You of all people should already know... we can't be together... not if the cost is your life or the lives of others. Don't you understand? There are people we're meant to help and if I'm mortal, I'm just another liability to you."

"I..." Buffy sighed, looking out the window in the opposite direction. "I suppose I'm kinda hurt, you know... it sounds like once again, you made another choice without me. You can't keep deciding what's best for me, Angel. I'm a big girl now, I can make my own choices. To you, I may just a sliver of your age, but you need to realize I'm not in high school anymore. I'm not... young o-or naive, and I don't need you to pretend that I am either. Don't you think just... maybe... that when you left- that was the worst possible thing you could do for me?"

"I was thinking about your future," Angel sighed, defeated.

"Really? Were you, Angel? I think we had it just about as good as it gets. Me- Slayer, you- vampire- together we unite to defeat the forces of evil. Makes for a good comic book," she glanced over at him carefully. "It makes sense though, wouldn't you think? A regular guy can't protect me from the monsters I have to face. A regular guy would never understand who I am- what I stand for... and God knows he'd probably die before me, even, in some ridiculous attempt to draw me into some evil trap. Like you said, human equals liability. What, then, made you think that you weren't meant to be at my side?"

Angel was silent for a good, long time, just staring in front of him. It almost looked like he was entering one of those annoying brooding sessions. "I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back anymore," he finished quietly.

This left Buffy to stare ahead of them as well. The darkness outside seemed so welcoming, and a very nice distraction from the talk they were trying to have. For some reason, however, she stopped accusing Angel. She understood what he meant, and she could feel it as well. He had always been the stronger one- she could always see him cutting things off before they got too intense. How much tension did one have to put up with before they finally exploded. "I... I'm sorry," Buffy apologized with sincerity, "I shouldn't always count on you to do the... the endy-cutoff thing. Maybe if I were stronger-"

"No. You are strong, don't think otherwise."

"I didn't stop to think how hard it must have been. I was only... thinking about my side," she confessed sadly. "I tried to hate you, you know... just to forget. That never worked, it never will. I get that now." When Angel offered her nothing but his stoic silence, she leaned back, letting out a hefty sigh. "Maybe, though... one day... do you think we may finally get a chance to have peace- the two of us... together?" Still, no answer from the broody vampire. "It'd be nice, wouldn't it?" Buffy added quietly, shifting uncomfortably due to his lack of speech. "...Angel?"

"Nice... yeah... it would be nice," he said after long last, snapping out of whatever trance he had happened to be in and glanced back at her. "But right now-"

"Right. We pretend like nothing happened. I'm getting pretty good at that act," she explained simply, while he shifted the car back in gear and got back on the road. For a while, there was nothing left between the two of them to say, but then Buffy finally sprang another unwanted question out in the opening. She could not hold it in much longer, "And about our daughter? D-Do you know what happened with that? Do you remember her? How something-"

"I don't know why, but I don't have much memory of it all. I do know that it had something to do with Giles and me performing a spell for some... odd... reason," Angel said icily. "I don't know what it was for or why, but I do know one thing... If I ever find out, I'll probably only hate myself more. Maybe the whole thing was a fluke... just to throw us both off. Whatever the case may be, it had to have done with a life-or-death situation or I would have never tried such a thing. It had to have been worth it. Your life must have been at stake."

Giles again. Her hatred towards her watcher grew ever so slightly, and Buffy was on the verge of actually bursting. This was getting to be slightly out of hand. She did not feel that she would ever recover from this little session. In fact, the best she could do is pass everything off as a bad dream and pretend that both today and the broken memories that she had been given were nothing more than a mere nightmare gone wrong. "You really think it was worth it?"

Angel offered her a quick glance, a gaze that spoke volumes, "If it saved you from pain... even just for a bit longer... it was more than worth it."

They both knew that what Angel spoke was the truth, and it was a truth that had managed to silence the both of them the rest of the car-ride, until that 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign appeared in clear sight. Funny thing, that sign. It had been knocked down, only to be replaced the following day. Just something about a cheery sign welcoming one to a Hellmouth made her wonder ever-so-slightly what was wrong with the world. Perhaps it should say just that. Welcome to the Hellmouth. Then at least it would be far more accurate.

And then something struck her- Chicken! She would bear the poultry in the midst of her adopted (scooby) family in hopes that they would reaccept her into their clan. The chicken would not only fill their stomachs, but provide a necessary diversion in attempt to ignore addressing any standing issues. Yes, she would use it as a scapegoat. Distract them with the chicken and they will forget. Forget where she was and what she had been dealing with. What a wondrous thing the fowl was.

---

As she held the bucket of fried chicken, with the Doublemeat Palace logo adorning it, above her head, she danced up to the doorstep to put on a show for the vampire of a chauffeur, watching her from a distance to ensure her safe passage from creepy dark stalkery-type creatures of the night that she would otherwise be fighting, had the day been any different.

Yes, the poultry would solve everything. Well, that was what Buffy was thinking, up until she would discover a cold-hard truth. The people she was trying to please... had already eaten!

"Hello?" Buffy peeked her head in the door, only to snap it in the diningroom direction as soon as she heard Willow's voice.

"Buffy?"

"Oh. Yep, it's me, and I brought dinner," Doing her best to keep up the cheerful act, she entered the dining room with a slight grin, "Deep fried chicken parts. Hope you're..." But this is when our dear slayer froze, for she had realized the grave truth. It spelled trouble on the table in front of them. "...hungry... You already ate."

"Ooh- No! Well, uh, yes, obviously," Giles stuttered, trying to defend her heroic attempt.

"Uh, we didn't know when you'd be coming back," Dawn pointed out sheepishly. The poor girl actually did look apologetic. She also looked slightly troublesome, however, as if she were ready to spring upon Buffy for something. Some knowledge in which she wished to acquire. Angel knowledge.

"It's okay," Buffy replied with renewed optimism, trying to shift the mood from awkward into unquestioning. "More for me."

--

The End. (Yes, I know this story needs editing, thanks to all those that provided input- you have been heard and yes, I will try to improve. Thanks!)