I Only Have Eyes For You:

An Alternative Ending.

As the ghosts left the couple locked in their embrace the soul that had been beaten by Angelus woke before he did. Realising quickly Angel broke apart from the kiss. "We don't have much time."

"Angel?" Buffy uttered his name in hope.

"Yes, but not for long. Buffy, the night of your birthday was the most wonderful and happiest of my life. Before I lost, I felt myself falling in love with you all over again. I wanted the moment to last forever. Now, the reason why he killed Miss Calendar was that she had found the restoration spell."

"Angel, why....." Buffy began but he cut her off.

"We don't have much time, so just listen. Take me to the library and lock me in that cage. Then go to Miss Calendar's room. There's a disk trapped in between her desk and the filing cabinet. I saw it in a dream. Then get the others and perform the ritual."

Buffy, slayer instincts on alert, obeyed. Taking his hand they ran to the library and she locked him in the cage. With one last look she left him there and dashed to the computer room.

The disk was exactly where he said. After Buffy found it she dashed back to the library, bumping into the gang on the way.

"Buffy you're okay," They began. She cut them off. "The ghosts took control of Angelus and me. They left his soul temporarily." She held up the disk. "There's gift on here from Jenny. The restoration spell. I have him locked in the library. Lets restore Angel."

Willow's laptop, forgotten in the rush to quit the school was lying on the table ready as they entered the library. Buffy ran towards it and inserted the disk.

Xander was the first to recover from his stunned reaction. "Okay, so why are we doing this exactly?"

Before he could say anymore, Buffy stood up and grabbed his shoulders with slayer strength. "Grow up and listen to me. Angelus is the demon and he has every right to die. but Angel is a completely different person. Neither of us knew he would loose his soul. If we restore it, there's one more person on our side. Now, unless you can't get over your jealousy and help us, you might as well leave." She paused and let go of him to look at the others. "All of you can leave if you want. I'll do this alone if I have to."

There was a horrible, frightening moment of silence. Then Willow rushed to the laptop and began to active the disk. "Its here," she announced after a few minutes. The rest of the Scoobies had by now surrounded her, ready for action.

All except Xander, who stood in front of the cage, looking at the vampire within, unnoticed by all.

Angel suddenly spoke, surprising them. "You need an orb of Thesluah," he uttered the final word in a horse voice, displaying his rapidly loosing battle.

Giles saw Willow about to ask and explained, saving the Wicca in training and the vampire that was trying to conserve his strength. "A container for capturing souls from the Ether. I've got one, I was using it as a paperweight." Buffy smiled at him in thanks as he went to fetch, knowing that due to Jenny's death this was the hardest for him.

"I'll get the other stuff from the Magic shop," Oz remarked, as he finished reading the list of needed ingredients.

"Let's get that pentagram ready," Cordelia decided, adding her support to the plan.

Half an hour later they were ready. Angel, his soul ready to depart, was hunched on the floor, is face on his knees. Xander still watched him, as if the conclusions he could draw from the figure would lead him to know which side to take.

"Right," Giles began, taking up the Latin version. "Willow you read the English after me."

"Not dead nor not of the living, spirits of the interegum we call."

As the spell continued, the orb started to glow. Buffy's gaze remained fixed upon it, her hands clasping the claddagh ring that he had given her.

As the half way point was reached, Angel began to scream as his soul was wrenched from him, transferred to the orb, then put back in his body. The slayerettes carried on, all joining in the last words, anxious to end his suffering.

The orb changed colour from yellow and then to blood red as the vampire's scream became the loudest and suddenly stopped, just as the spell finished.

The occupants of the library all breathed a sigh of relief. Buffy turned and rushed to the cage where Angel lay, rocked by grief. The others watched in silence as she unlocked the door and lay down next to him, cradling her soulmate.

THE END.