“Angel.” Giles said by way of greeting. He was surprised by the coldness of his own voice. The vampire stared at the floor.

“Sorry to bother you.” Angel said softly. Giles couldn’t help a bitter chuckle at the irony of that statement. “Sorry, coming from you, that phrase strikes me as rather funny. Sorry to bother me.”

“I need your help.” Angel explained.

“And the funny just keeps coming.” There was an awkward silence. Finally, Giles spoke. “Fine, I’ll help you.” The Watcher stepped away from the door.

“I can’t come in unless you invite me.” Angel said softly.

“I’m aware of that.” Giles came back to the door with a crossbow aimed at Angel’s heart. “Come in.” The vampire did as he was told, stepping inside the apartment. Giles kept the crossbow trained on him as they spoke.

“I should be in a Demon Dimension suffering an eternity of torture.” Angel told the Watcher, refusing to make eye contact with him. His voice betrayed the immense guilt he felt.

“I don’t feel particularly inclined to argue with that.” A tear trickled down Angel’s cheek. Of course Giles could never forgive him. How could he possibly expect him to after everything that had happened, everything that he’d done? He did deserve Hell. He knew that. Then, Angel saw her. Standing behind Giles was Jenny Calendar. Her spirit, really. Angel became frightened.

“Angel, what’s wrong?” Giles asked, surprised to find himself genuinely concerned.

“You, you don’t see her?”

“See who?”

“I, I can’t!” Angel ran from the apartment, leaving Giles alone. The Watcher was ashamed at how he’s treated Angel, who was in at least as much pain as he himself was, probably more. And so he decided that he would research for Angel, and hopefully figure out what was haunting the man he’d once considered a friend.

Giles was already in the library when Buffy got there.

“Giles, something’s wrong with Angel.” She said, her voice tainted with worry.

“I know. I saw him.” Giles replied. “He wanted to know why he was back. Then something I couldn’t see scared him off.”

Buffy sat down at the table where Giles was working and grabbed a book to help him research.

Xander, who had been standing unnoticed in the doorway, spoke up. “So what is it exactly that we’re looking for?” He asked. Both Buffy and Giles gave him a look.

Look, I know I haven’t been the mostest best friend when it comes to the whole ‘Angel’ thing, and I don’t know, maybe I’m getting the Hanukkah spirit.”

In that moment Giles gained a new respect for the boy he’d come to love as his own son. In the two years since Xander had started helping the Slayer fight evil, he really had grown up so much. They all had, himself included. The three teens had, on so many occasions been forced to take on challenges no one should have to face, and they had done it with an amazing level of maturity.

Buffy and Giles explained the situation and Xander joined them in their research. Giles was reading from a book and came across a reference to the First Evil.

“…For they are the Harbringers of death. Nothing shall live, above or below them.” Giles read aloud.

“God, no wonder you like this stuff so much.” Buffy said. “It’s like reading the Sun.” Then she thought about what Giles had just said. “Nothing shall live, above or below them.” Buffy repeated. She thought about the cryptic words for a moment. And, then it hit her. Nothing shall live, above or below them. The dead circle of trees at the Christmas tree farm.

“I know where they are.” She announced. “You guys keep researching. I’ve gotta go.” Giles and Xander looked at each other with confused expressions, then returned to their research only to find they’d already read every book on the table.

“Xander, We’ve done all we can. I suggest we both go home and get what little rest we can in the few hours until morning.” The boy nodded, and together they put away the rest of the books before leaving the library.

“Okay, 10 more minutes of chanting, and then you guys have to go to bed.” Buffy quipped, alerting the Harbringers to her presence. She easily killed them. Only she and the First remained in the underground room. The First appeared as the late Jennifer Calendar.

“You think you can fight me. I’m not a demon, little girl. I’m something you can’t conceive. The first evil. Beyond sin, beyond death…I am the thing the darkness fears. You will never see me, but I am everywhere. Every being, every thought, every drop of hate-”

“I get it. You’re evil. Do we have to chat about it all day?”

“Angel will be dead by sunrise.” The First said coldly. “Your Christmas…will be his wake.” Buffy turned and started running toward the mansion where Angel was living.

“Dead by sunrise!” The First screamed out its final warning.

When Buffy got to the mansion, Angel was standing at the top of the hill.

“I bet half the kids down there are already awake, sneaking downstairs, waiting for day.” He said softly.

“Angel, you have to get inside. It’s almost sunrise.” Buffy told him. He did not turn to face her. “I know. I can smell the sunrise long before it comes.”

“I don’t have time to explain.” She told him. “You just have to trust me. That thing that was haunting you-“

“It wasn’t haunting me.” Angel interrupted. “It was showing me.”

“Showing you?” Buffy asked in confusion.

“What I am.” He explained.

“Were!” She responded immediately.

“And ever shall be.” He finished for her. “I wanted to know why I was back. Now I do.”

“You don’t know.” She argued. “Some big evil takes credit for bringing you back and you just accept it? You just give up?” She demanded incredulously.

“I can’t do it again, Buffy.” Angel said harshly. “I can’t become a killer.”

“You won’t.” Buffy told him. “You can’t lose your soul unless you want to.”

“I can’t fight this, Buffy.”

“Angel, please, you have to get inside.” Buffy said desperately.

"It told me to kill you. You were in the dream. You know. It told me to take you and lose my soul in you and become a monster again.”

"I know what it told you. What does it matter?"

"Because I wanted to!” Angel shouted. “Because I want you so badly. I want to take comfort in you and I know it’ll cost me my soul and part of me doesn’t care.” Shocked at what Angel had just said, Buffy stayed silent. "Look, I'm weak. I've never been anything else. It's not the demon in me that needs killing, Buffy. It's the man."

"You're weak. Everybody is. Everybody fails. Maybe this evil did bring you back, but if it did, it's because it needs you. And that means that you can hurt it." Buffy told him. He didn’t want to believe her. He simply wanted it to be over. "Angel, you have the power to do real good, to make amends." She raised her voice. "But if you die now, then all that you ever were was a monster." The sky began to lighten as dawn approached. “Angel, please, the sun is coming up.”

“Just go!” Angel ordered.

“I won’t!” She shouted. “I love you.”

"What, do you think this is simple?” Angel demanded. “You think there's an easy answer? You think you can tell me you love me and it's as easy as that? You can never understand what I've done! Now go!"

"You are not staying here." Buffy said firmly. She grabbed his arm. "I won't let you!”

Angel pulled his arm away from her. "I said LEAVE!" Without thinking, Buffy punched him. Angel shoved her hard and she fell face-first to the ground. Angel was horrified as he realized what he’d just done.

“Oh god…” He murmured. He crouched down beside her, grabbed her shoulders, and turned her around so that she faced him.

“No!” Buffy screamed.

He held her firmly. "Am I a thing worth saving, huh?" He shook her. "Am I a righteous man?" He shook her again. "The world wants me gone!"

“What about me?” Buffy asked tearfully. “Angel, I love you so much-and I’ve tried to make you go away; I killed you and it didn’t help…and I hate it. I hate that it’s so hard…that you can hurt me so much…I know everything you’ve done, because you did it to me. I wish I wished you dead. But I don’t. I can’t.” Tears ran down Buffy’s face, as for the first time she released the emotions she’d kept locked inside of herself.

“Buffy, please…” Angel plead. “Just this once, let me be strong.”

“Strong is fighting. It’s hard and it’s painful and it’s every day. It’s what we have to do and we can do it together, but if you're too much of a coward for that, then burn. If I can't convince you that you belong in this world, then I don't know what can. But do *not* expect me to watch. And *don't* expect me to mourn for you, because..." The Slayer’s tirade stopped mid-sentence. Both she and Angel looked up at the dark sky in awe. It was snowing.

Cordelia was sitting in her room unable to sleep when she saw the snow begin to fall outside her window. For a moment she just stared in amazement and disbelief, then quickly got dressed and climbed out through the window and down the trellis. She noticed immediately that it was cold out. Of course it’s cold, it’s snowing. She thought to herself, wrapping her coat tighter. She began to walk to the Xander’s house, knowing he slept outside on the holidays and would not have been prepared for the sudden cold weather. When she arrived at the Harris house, Xander was, as expected, on the deck in the backyard. He was sitting hugging his knees to his chest and shivering. Cordelia rushed to his side, taking off her suede coat and draping it over his shoulders. She helped him up, wrapping her arms around him as she led him to the high school library.

Once they were at the library, Xander went to the locker room to change into his spare cloths while Cordelia used the microwave in Giles office to make the tea she’d found in the desk.

She handed Xander a mug of steaming tea.

“Thanks, Cordy.” He said softly.

“I miss you, Xander.”

“I miss you, too.”

“I’m still mad about the kiss, but I don’t want to lose you.”

Giles woke up to the sight of falling snow and frosted windowpanes. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and slowly got out of bed, making his way over to the window.

Willow and Oz were cuddling up on the sofa, watching a movie.

“Does it usually snow in southern California?” Oz asked casually.

“No, why?” Willow answered.

“Cause it’s snowing.” He replied simply. Willow turned to the window and saw that he was right. It was snowing. She stopped the movie they’d been watching, they put on their jackets, and headed for the high school, where they knew the others were bound to show up.

Together Buffy and Angel made their way to the library to meet the others. Angel tightened his grip on Buffy’s hand as they stepped into the library.

Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordelia, and Giles were already sitting around the table talking when Buffy and Angel got there. Everyone fell silent upon seeing them. Giles stood up.

“Come, sit down.” He said finally, gesturing toward the two empty chairs at the table. The couple sat down.

“Ooh, cookies!” Buffy exclaimed when she saw the holiday treats Giles had bought on his way to library. The others grinned.

Together they ate and laughed, joked and talked.

“This has got to be the best Christmas ever.” Xander announced.

“Yeah. A White Christmas in Sunnydale. Who’d have thought?” Cordelia agreed. She got up, turned on a CD player, and pulled Xander up to dance with her. Buffy and Angel followed suit, along with Willow and Oz. Giles stood leaning against the counter watching the children he’d come to think of and love as his own dancing together happily, early Christmas morning, while the snow danced down from the heavens in Southern California. It truly was a perfect Christmas. And for the first time, Rupert Giles believed in miracles.