Angel closed his eyes tightly as he proceeded to completely drain the container. Putting it back down on the table, he stood and waited for a reaction.

He didn't need to wait long. Seconds after he finished it, a burning sensation like liquid fire appeared down his throat and his chest tightened as he gasped for breath against an invisible assailant.

Buffy and the others watched as he grimaced and clutched his chest. She wished she'd told him about the Holy Water. Maybe it would have at least prepared him, let him know what he was getting himself into. But instead, she and the others watched as the weakened demon inside him battled against his newfound soul.

Stumbling backwards into the wall, Angel slammed into the hard surface as his body convulsed against it. His face changed from its human form to the demonic one and back several times. Finally, it returned to its normal countenance, and he collapsed to the floor in exhaustion, the demon's ashes crumbling to the ground beside him.

Sitting up, Buffy rushed over to her fallen friend. Her earlier dizzy spell was forgotten now. Angel was human. They had all seen the demon inside him turn to dust. The spell worked.

"Can you sit up?" Buffy asked quietly, concern evident on her beautiful features.

"I think so," he answered, rubbing his temples. She helped him up, and he leaned his head against the wall to brace himself.

Angel waited a few seconds to allow his head time to clear before asking, "What happened?"

Tears welled up in her eyes, and Buffy found herself unable to speak. Everything she had hoped, prayed for, was suddenly coming true. She was overcome with emotion and simply nodded.

Angel's eyes widened. Her response was what he had hoped for. The spell had worked. He wasn't a vampire anymore. He was a human being.

Buffy tried to hold back the sobs as she watched him before her. His expression had turned from one of confusion into complete joy with the news of the spell's completion. However, neither of them knew how to react.

Noticing the tears start to form in her eyes, Angel felt immediate guilt over his happiness. He had been given another chance, but did he deserve it? Buffy had lost one of her friends by his own hand while the demon was alive. He never thought about the repercussions his being mortal again would bring.

"Buffy?" he asked gently, placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

Finding she couldn't hold back the tears any more, Buffy gave up on it and fell into his arms as the sobs escaped her. Everything she had been keeping inside her for those long months came out in one moment as he sat there, holding her tightly against his chest and rubbing his hand against her back soothingly.

"Sh," he whispered, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Sh. It's going to be okay."

Throughout all of this, Giles and Willow had stood back from the couple, silently observing the scene unfolding before them. Angel was human again. They all saw the demon leave his body and turn to dust. The only question now was: What did this mean for the rest of them?