Buffy's eyes cracked opened slowly, closing again quickly as a low light hit her. The bedside lamps had remained lit all night long and the room glowed in a gentle orange color.

Buffy was on her back, on a very large king-size bed. She recognized the room she was in, knowing without a doubt that it was Angel's bedroom at the mansion. Fearful and curious, Buffy turned to her right and found the sleeping form of her former lover curled on his side, one hand stretched out and resting on her thigh. Her naked thigh. She jumped slightly, noticing just how close they were and in a bed, no less.

"Angel?"

Her slight movement and calling of his name brought Angel out of his sleep. Blinking in surprise at the sight of Buffy, Angel looked around the room quickly before settling his gaze on the woman who, by all standards of logic and sanity, should not of been inches away from him and seemingly naked.

Angel blinked again at that last realization.

"Angel, what's going on here?" Her eyes watched him for any signs of trouble. Waking up in a bed with Angel was very bad and dangerous. Sex with Angel equaled Angelus and a great deal of badness.

Was he dreaming?

Aware that Buffy was asking him a question, Angel replied, "I... don't know."

She looked at his confused expression, noting how his eyes somehow reassured her that this wasn't Angelus. Not yet, anyway. Buffy pushed herself up into more of a sitting position, but as her hand reached for the blanket covering her, she shrieked, noticing there was more than just the blanket over her breasts.

The arm that had been resting across Buffy's chest retracted and a muffled sound was emitted from the owner.

"Oh god..." Buffy groaned as she looked to her other side, not wanting to admit that her eyes were working properly. Surely she hadn't done something so horrible to deserve wake up in this situation? It was one thing to wake up next to Angel for no good reason, but Spike?!

Spike mumbled another unintelligible noise and Buffy couldn't take another minute of his ability to sleep at a time like this. A sharp elbow plowed into Spike's ribs, successfully waking him from his slumber.

Jolted from sleep, Spike sat up, gripping his side where he'd been hit. "Bloody hell...that hurt." His eyes widened as he looked over and saw the Slayer and his poof of a Grandsire beside him... in bed. "Um...'ello."

"I don't suppose either one of you remembers how the hell we got here," Buffy looked down at her body, now covered only by a blanket for emphasis, "like *this*?"

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation for all of this..." Angel said calmly, despite the effort it required of him.

Spike snorted at Angel's attempt to rationalize. "Yeah, I'm sure our bodies were just possessed by horny ghosts," he said.

Buffy frowned at him, disturbed by his attitude and ability to make bad jokes at a time like this.

A quiet laugh erupted from the bedroom doorway, their attention turning to the little man standing there. Correction, little *demon* man. The three horns protruding from his forehead typically weren't a "human" characteristic. Typically.

"Something funny?" Buffy asked.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me. My name is, well, difficult to say. My friends call me Leroy. The three of you were brought together by my people."

"Why? What did you do?!" Buffy scooted back against the headboard, keeping the blanket held tight to her body. She didn't care that she was dragging it away from both Spike and Angel. Just let them *try* to take any of it back...

"I apologize if this sounds confusing. I really can't explain it very well because there is much you cannot know. You see, my people have a special gift. A sixth sense, if you will. We see elements of the future that pertain specifically to whether the world will actually *have* a future..."

Spike looked as confused as his bedmates. "You what?"

"I'm sure you can tell, I do not explain this often. You see, when great events threaten the living--or unliving as the case may be--we receive visions that alert us to them. We cannot change them, but we have certain powers that allow us to help out in advance...to improve things for all involved."

Buffy tugged at the blanket again, tucking it under her arms as her fists clutched it to her chest. "And we're "involved," how?"

"The three of you are...well, destined. Your beings are tied together and will remain so until your end. You belong together, to exist, to fight… to love. Unfortunately, the three of you would not realize this until far too late. As a reward for all you have done, and all you will do, my people chose to give you the greatest gift one could give any of you."

"A life-time supply of blood?" Spike chuckled. Buffy elbowed him again.

Leroy shook his head at the blond vampire. "Each other."

"You realize how much this sounds like a load of shit?" Angel glared at the short demonic creature. "Buffy and I destined to be, I can understand that, but Spike was never in the equation."

"Of course he was," the little man replied honestly. "Like I said, not one of you realize this truth until your time is nearly ended. For all your sacrifices, you deserve to know happiness."

Buffy became panicked. "What did you do to us?"

"Relax, child. My people did nothing to harm you. Your feelings for each other have always been present within you, all we did was bring those feelings to the surface, allow you to realize what you have so you can take advantage of it for as long as possible. In order to activate those feelings though, we had to use a sort of a lust spell. Those effects have surely worn off by now, though."

"How could you do this without asking us?" Buffy suddenly blurted out. "My god, I can't even say the words to explain how *wrong* that was..." Buffy's voice cracked and her fingers clenched in the sheet held at her chest.

Leroy took a step back, hurt that his words had upset the young Slayer. "Please don't cry, my dear."

Buffy sniffed, then looked accusingly at the little, horned demon. Her earlier thoughts of a returning Angelus reappeared vividly in her mind. "Wait, what about Angel's soul?"

Leroy smiled gently. "It won't be going anywhere. The curse, as complicated as it was, did not prevent others from adding on. When we pulled him from the dimension he was in, we had to use a great deal of magic to restore him to his current state. Binding his soul was easy."

"Oh," Buffy said, not sure how to react to the news. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the small grin appearing on Angel's face.

"I must be going," Leroy began as he retreated for the door. Just before exiting, he turned to the stunned three on the bed. "There is no more I can reveal to you. Just know that you three belong together. Your feelings may be difficult to accept, but they are true. Please don't waste any time. There is so much ahead. Every second counts." Leroy turned and left the bedroom as quickly as he arrived. Silence filled the room for a moment until Buffy suddenly broke down into tears.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Angel said reaching for her. "Don't cry."

"I can't help it," Buffy sobbed. "This is too much." Turning in Angel's arms, Buffy buried her face in his chest, tears streaming down her cheeks and onto his skin.

Buffy reluctantly pulled away from Angel and sniffed. "I have to get home," she said, taking a deep breath. Sacrificing the sheet protecting her body from their eyes, Buffy scrambled off the bed and reached for her clothes. She threw her jeans and T-shirt on and shoved her feet into her boots before dashing across the room to grab her jacket and purse.

"Buffy..."

"Don't," she stressed, rubbing away the tears from her eyes. Her hands fumbled with the buttons on her jacket, covering herself completely from their eyes.

She was so confused, so emotionally hurt. She really needed to get away.

From them.

Without another word, Buffy grabbed her purse from the floor and left the bedroom. Spike and Angel watched in disbelief as she ran away from them, the front door slamming shut emphasizing the unfortunate reality.

"What the hell are we going to do now?" Spike asked, still angry about the news little Leroy brought and even more infuriated by Buffy deciding to leave.

Angel shut his eyes briefly, not having a clue how to fix this mess. "I don't know. I really, don't know."

* * * * *

Buffy curled up on her bed, a large fluffy robe wrapped around her body as she stared blankly at the wall across from her. She'd run home through the lightly drizzling rain, the water unable to compete with the flood of tears falling from her eyes. With her mother's car not in the driveway, Buffy had said a special thank you to whoever was listening before digging out the hidden key on the porch and letting herself in.

Adding to her already existent anguish, Buffy had found a note and an envelope full of money on her bed upon entering her bedroom.

From her mother.

Joyce had gone away for the early part of summer on a business trip that could not be avoided. Buffy couldn't blame her mother for going, knowing that someone had to pay the bills and that couldn't happen if her mother was fired. As much as she needed her mother, she was actually grateful for the opportunity to be alone and think without other stresses invading her thoughts.

There was no telling when her mother would return, or how she would react to Buffy's sudden reappearance. Fortunately, there seemed to be a great deal of time before she would have to think up an explanation and beg for her mother's forgiveness. Whatever punishments and lectures she would face with her mother and Giles and her friends would be well worth it.

She needed them. She knew that now, more than ever.

The thoughts that had led to this sudden revelation of needing her family and friends suddenly came rushing back into Buffy's mind and she let out a sob.

"Please be a dream, please be a dream, please be a dream..." Buffy had chanted to herself as she raced up the stairs and into the bathroom.

She had showered to rid her body of any traces of the night before. She washed her hair and body over and over again until the water ran cold. Scrubbing at her skin as if she'd been contaminated by the magic that had possessed her body. Part of her felt dirty and used, but the rest of her was so wrapped up in confusion, she couldn't focus on one emotion to feel.

Anger? Pain? Sadness? How was she supposed to feel?

Buffy wanted to sleep, but every time her eyes closed, she saw glimpses of the night with Spike and Angel flash through her mind as memories came crashing back to her. Everything they did with her, the unbelievable ways they made her feel--it all hit her so fast. Every move, every kiss, ever complimenting whisper in her ear, the sound of her name on their lips...

"Ahh!" Buffy screamed, hating the loss of control. "It wasn't me, it was the spell," she reminded herself firmly. She never would have done those things on her own...

Buffy didn't know what to do. Her mind told her how wrong it was to feel anything good after what she'd been through. But, her heart was filled with feelings of love and devotion that continued to fight their way to the surface. She was constantly reminded of every detail of the night before and how wonderful it made her feel and that part just seemed to outweigh everything else.

She loved Angel, always had and always would. Even when he was Angelus, her love for him never really stopped. It was masked by a violent desire to kill, but it never stopped. She had just started to find acceptance with the loss of Angel, forcing herself to learn to live on her own and without relying on someone else for a reason to exist. Now, after one night and the new revelations that he was back and had a permanent soul, a whole new dilemma was evident.

Spike was another problem entirely. Ever since he helped her defeat Angelus, their relationship had changed. That had become incredibly clear when Buffy saved him from a sunny death, bandaged his wounds and then spilled her life story out to him like he was her shrink. A comfortable amount of hatred still existed between the sworn enemies, but an understanding and a bond had formed. The common feeling of betrayal by loved ones drew them together despite everything that demanded they kept their distance.

Now, everything had changed. What did the fates have against her? Why did everything have to get so fucked up?

Spike and Angel had been so gentle and loving, so unlike vampires. Buffy couldn't hold back her smile when a feeling of content fell over her, her mind centered on the peace and security she experienced as she had drifted to sleep with their arms wrapped securely around her.

She shouldn't care for the vampires. She shouldn't want them to return her feelings. Shouldn't have had the unnatural desire to run back to them.

But, she did.