A girl slipped unnoticed through the crowd at the Greyhound station. She glanced nervously over her shoulder as she approached the ticket window. Spying a face she didn't want to see, she melted back into the crowd and made for the ladies' room. He wouldn't be able to follow her there.

With a quick glance to make sure nobody would see or hear her, the girl climbed on the sink counter, shoved her duffel bag through the window, and clambered after it. Dropping to the ground, she stopped only to grab her duffel bag before taking off a furious clip down the street.

There was a city bus stop at the corner. A bus approached. She looked behind. The man was just coming out of the Greyhound station. He hadn't spotted her yet, she was sure. She hopped on the bus and prayed it would take her somewhere far from where she was.

*****

Buffy pushed open the door of Giles' flat. She began to speak before looking around.

"So, Giles, there was this new de - oderant I was thinking of trying. And I wondered if maybe you...um...and I should come back later. Sorry to interrupt. I didn't know you had company."

She backed away from the perfectly coifed woman in the middle of her Watchers' home with a sinking feeling in her gut. Giles hurried forward and took her arm. He led her back into the room with a small smile on his lips.

"It's alright, Buffy. Cynthia knows all about these things."

"Cynthia?" Buffy tried to squash down the jealous urge she felt toward the woman. She was lovely, in a middle-aged sort of a way, and Giles obviously knew her very well. If this one called him 'Ripper', Buffy decided she couldn't be held responsible for any damage caused.

"How do you do?" Cynthia offered her perfectly manicured hand to Buffy. "I'm Cynthia Giles."

"Giles?" Buffy repeated. "Your name is Giles?"

"Cynthia is my stepmother, Buffy. Cynthia, this is Buffy Summers, my Slayer."

"So this is the infamous Buffy," Cynthia said. "I must say from your description I was expecting someone a little taller. But she is every bit as pretty as you said."

"Giles said I'm pretty? Really?"

"She also has remarkably selective hearing," Giles teased. "So, Buffy, why don't you tell me a bit about this new...deodorant, did you say?"

"Okay, okay, it was a lousy cover. It's not like I knew you had anybody here."

She took a seat on the sofa as Giles went to the kitchen and put the kettle on. Cynthia took the easy chair so that by the time Giles got back the only seat left was next to Buffy on the sofa.

"So I'm patrolling in the park when this demon comes up behind me. It was really stinky, so maybe that's where I got the body freshening motif from. Anyway, it grabs me and I kick it in the stomach and it just...falls over. Then it died and sort of...dissolved. It was seriously of the icksome."

"It dissolved, you say?" Giles pulled off his glasses and sucked on one earpiece as he thought. "Did you take a sample?"

"I think I got some on my shoe," she inspected her sole.

"And now you've tracked it all over my carpet? Wonderful. You do realize one of these days I'm going to get evicted because of something to do with Slaying. Whatever will you do when I've no home for you to commandeer for your headquarters?"

Buffy laughed.

"Relax, Giles. I changed my shoes before I came over. And hey, if you ever get tossed out of here, you could always come stay at my place."

She handed Giles a small container with a dab of goo at the bottom. Cynthia laughed.

"Oh, Rupert, if you could see your face now!"

Buffy decided she liked Giles' stepmother. Even if she did seem a little...young for the part. More like Giles' age than his fathers' age. Not that Buffy knew how old Giles' father was, but she assumed he'd be older than Giles, anyway. Cynthia seemed a bit younger than he was.

"So, Cynthia," she asked, "what brings you to sunny California? And is Giles' dad here with?"

The older woman's smile faded. She turned to her stepson.

"It's Gerald, I'm afraid. Rupert, I don't know what to do."

*****

"End of the line."

The girl stepped off the bus and looked around herself. She had no idea were she was. She adjusted her duffel bag on her shoulder and started walking in a direction chosen at random.

As long as she kept moving, she would be safe.

*****

"Nonononono...I - I'm not ready. It's not safe yet! There wasn't any click!"

"Come on, Fred. Three months is too long to stay cooped up in one room. If nothing else we need to get the taco sauce out of the carpet before the cockroaches move in and open up a vacation resort."

Cordelia handed her charge over to Wesley and marched into the room with cleaning supplies. Fred lifted her fists to her face and wailed in fear and misery.

"Now, now, it's all right, Fred. You're perfectly safe," Wesley told her in his most soothing tone.

The girl made a sudden lunge for her door. It took both Wesley and Gunn to hold her back.

"Please, I have to have it...my pen...please! I gotta write it down."

Cordelia stood blocking the door with her arms folded across her chest.

"Oh no you don't. I am not cleaning off the walls out here. Wes, get her out of here, already."

"Come along, Fred," the Englishman coaxed her. "I've a lovely pen down in the lobby, and a brand new ream of paper."

"Paper, paper...oh no...I couldn't." Fred shrank into herself and gave a breathless, nervous giggle. "I haven't had paper in...oh my, I don't know how long. Walls are better. They can't move, y'know. Walls are always where you left them."

"Girl's got a point," Gunn allowed.

"That isn't precisely helping matters," Wesley chided him.

"Hey, I'm just saying. Walls stay put. Paper don't."

"Will you just help me get her downstairs?"

"You're the boss, man."

The two took Fred by the arms and steered her to the stairway. They had barely reached the landing when a blood curdling scream arose from Fred's room. Wesley and Gunn looked wildly at one another, let go of Fred simultaneously, and ran back to Cordelia.

She lay on the floor, writhing in agony, hands fisted at her temples. She cried out repeatedly with the pain. Wesley pulled her up and propped her against his shoulder.

"What is it, Cordy? What do you see?"

"A kid," Cordelia managed. "She's alone, scared, lost. Something's after her...or someone. I can't tell. Oh God, she's in an alley. Behind the Greyhound station. You've got to save her. She's important. Please save her, Wesley."

The two men helped Cordelia to Fred's bed and lay her down. Then they went to the lobby, grabbed weaponry and ran out the door.

Moments later, Fred peered out from behind a column. She tiptoed quietly to her room. Cordelia was crying. That wasn't supposed to happen. Not in Fred's mind. Cordelia was strong. Cordelia was brave. Almost as brave as Angel. And Cordelia was important to Angel. She knew that. She didn't even have to write it down; there was no way she could forget.

Another sob from Cordelia made Fred's mind up for her. She scurried down the hall until she found Angel's door. She knew it was his door because she'd seen him go in that room sometimes when she peeped at him from the shadows. She didn't like to bother him, but maybe he would be mad if nobody told him about this. Fred didn't want Angel to be mad at her. She pounded on his door with the flat palms of her hands.

"ANGEL!"

Oops! Too loud, too loud. Try again.

"Angel, please come out here, right away. Oh, my goodness, that sounds wrong, like I'm trying to order you around, which I'm not, really..."

Her babble was cut off by Angel opening the door even as he buckled his belt. When she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt, Fred was struck dumb.

"What is it, Fred? What's happened?" He took in her glazed expression and smiled slightly. "Fred? Hey, I'm up here."

Fred shook herself and peered shyly up at Angel.

"Hi, Angel."

"Hi. Did something happen?"

"H -happen?"

"Well, you've never come to my room before - not that you wouldn't be welcome. It's just...you don't go much of anywhere outside your room. So, something must have happened. What is it?"

Fred giggled nervously.

"That's right. You're so right, Angel. Logical. I like logic. It makes sense. It follows rules. I like rules."

"So you've said. Fred, what's going on?"

"Oh, right! Oh, stupid me! Right. It's Cordelia. The curse. It's that curse, alright. She's hurting real bad."

Angel's brow furrowed. He couldn't see what this had to do with him. Not to mention he knew Cordy's cycle - couldn't help it, really, with vampiric sense of smell - and she wasn't due for almost a week.

"Um...Fred...that's not really something I feel qualified to deal with. Sort of a woman thing, isn't it?"

Fred stared for a long moment. At last she laughed again.

"No, no, not that sort of curse. No, the sight. It's the sight."

"A vision? Cordy had a vision?"

"Yeah! Vision, not curse. Not here, anyway. On Pylea it was a curse. Here it's just a vision. Gotta learn the new rules. Vision. Do you mind if I write that on your wall? It's so far to mine."

Angel handed her a pen.

"Knock yourself out. Where's Cordy?"

"All the way in my room, that's where she is."

As Angel headed down the hall, he could hear Fred muttering to herself and the scratch of pen on his previously pristine walls.

*****

2

Notes and Disclaimer with part 1

"Wait a minute, back up," Buffy said. "Who's Gerald? What's the deal with him?"

"My son," Cynthia explained. "He's a bit...wild, I'm afraid."

Buffy fixed Giles with an incredulous stare.

"You have a brother and you never told me?"

"It's not as if you'd ever asked. And he's my stepbrother. There's no biological connection."

"I guess that's stuffy for 'I don't like him very much'; am I right?"

Giles poured another cup of tea, pointedly ignoring Buffy's question.

"Rupert has good reason not to care much for Gerald," Cynthia said. "He started as a troubled boy, and has grown to be a terribly troubled man."

"Let's not beat about the bush, Cyn. Gerald is not merely troubled. He has done some astonishingly bad things. I don't want to hurt you, but it's time we all stopped making excuses for him. He is not a good person."

"You were always too hard on him, Rupert. He looked up to you, you know."

"Okay, okay," Buffy interrupted. "Family warm fuzzies - or not so warm or fuzzies - can wait. Cynthia, what has Gerald done?"

"Gerald works for the Council. He's on the Slayer retrieval team."

"What, one of those goons who came after Faith?"

"Not that team, Buffy," Giles explained. "This is a group who, when a potential Slayer is identified, inform the parents and take the child to the Council for training."

"In other words, kidnappers."

"Not kidnappers," Cynthia protested.

"Only when the parents object to having their little girls taken away," Giles said.

"So, kidnappers."

"Essentially."

"And this thing Gerald has done has something to do with his job, right?"

Cynthia nodded.

"He's gone rogue."

"Good lord."

"Meaning what?" Buffy asked.

"Meaning he's going beyond the usual measures of offering bribes and then stealing children away in the night," Giles told her. "Meaning he has probably killed at least one person, possibly more, to get a potential Slayer to the Council. Am I right?"

Cynthia rooted in her purse for a handkerchief. Giles handed his to her.

"The girl was in Phoenix a few days ago. She could be anywhere by now. We have to find her before Gerald does."

*****

The girl slid into an alleyway behind the bus depot. She knew she was in Los Angeles, but that was it. She'd been running for days, taking the first bus she could afford to get on, no matter where it went. As for where she was in town...she only knew that Greyhound stations were usually in the bad part.

And that he always seemed to be mere steps behind her.

She could hear footsteps behind her. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for him to appear and kill her. The footsteps stopped.

There was an inhuman growl.

She opened her eyes.

She screamed.

*****

Angel was shocked to see Cordelia curled into a fetal ball on Fred's bed, sobbing.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, Cordy," he crooned as he wrapped his arms around her.

Cordelia pulled back and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I'm okay, really, Angel. It's nothing."

"Cordy, you were crying. What happened?"

"It's nothing. Just a vision. They sort of hurt. I'm just being a big baby today. Really, it's nothing."

She tried to rise and leave the room, but Angel refused to let her go.

"They're getting worse, aren't they?"

"I'm okay, Angel."

"No, you're not. Now hold still a minute."

Cordelia snorted in frustration, but remained where she was.

"Close your eyes," he ordered.

When she glared at him, he merely looked at her hard. She sighed and closed her eyes.

A moment later, she could feel cool hands massaging her rigid neck muscles. The wonderfully tepid fingers caressed her skin and eased the tension away. When he rubbed her temples, she whimpered with the sheer pleasure of not being in pain any longer.

"Can I take you home with me?" she asked.

Angel chuckled.

"I don't know. How would Dennis feel about me being there?"

"Dennis likes you. I think it makes him feel good to have another dead guy around once in a while."

There was no answer to that, so Angel kept up his massage. A moment later, he felt Cordelia stiffen.

"Sorry, did I hit a sore spot?"

"No. I just remembered."

"What?"

"In my vision. There was a face. I barely saw it, and then it hurt so bad I didn't even think about it again until just now. Angel, we have to call Sunnydale."

"At this hour? Why? Who did you see?"

"It was Giles. There was this kid and I think she needs Giles to protect her."

"Giles? Okay, I'll...."

"No you don't. I was there the last time you talked to Giles, remember? After Buffy's funeral? We don't need a repeat of that experience. I'll make the call."

*****

Wesley and Gunn crept softly along the street, peering down every alleyway they passed.

"We ain't never gonna find nothing at this rate," Gunn snorted quietly. "Cordy didn't see which alley it was?"

"If she did, she didn't say. I'm inclined to think she didn't."

A sudden noise caught their ears.

"On the other hand, I think we found her," Wesley added.

The two men started to run.

They reached the alley in time to see a small girl struggling with a vampire. Despite her diminutive size, she was fast. All in all, though, she was a child facing an inhuman beast and she was losing quickly.

Gunn grabbed the creature and pulled it off the child. A moment later, he found himself sprawled on a pile of garbage. Wesley lunged into battle with a fierce cry. He'd brought a sword, since he didn't know what he would be fighting. It flashed in the livid light of the streetlamp as he swung wildly at the beast.

"Gunn! Get the girl!"

The young man shook his head to clear it and ran to where the child stood, petrified.

"Come on. You need to get somewhere safe."

"You're not with him, are you?" the girl whispered.

"What him? I'm with the guy who's saving your ass."

He didn't allow her time to protest as he scooped her up into his strong arms and headed to his truck.

A minute later, Wesley struck the creature's head from its shoulders. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't avoid the cloud of dust when the vampire exploded.

He followed the others to the truck, shaking dust from his limbs as he went.

"Aw man, you are not getting that all over my upholstery."

"Don't be stupid, Gunn. I'll vacuum it out for you later."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what you always say. And then the next time I got a girl in here, she finds herself sitting in a pile of some vamp and she thinks I smoke and never learned to use an ashtray. No way. You can walk, man."

"It's five miles back to the office!"

"Good exercise, Wes. Better than that Buns of Steel tape I caught you with."

"And what were you doing going through my video collection in the first place? Anyway, I don't care for gyms. With videos, I can have a workout in privacy. Far superior. It's not as if I didn't find you using my tape when I got there."

"Well...I'd never seen it before. And, okay, there's one or two good exercises on it," Gunn admitted sheepishly. "But if you ever tell Angel or Cordy about that, I'm whuppin' your buns, steel or no steel."

The three piled into the truck and headed for the Hyperion.

*****

"Hello?"

"Gi - wait a minute. You're not Giles."

"Cordy? Is that you?"

"Buffy? Oh my God, are you there like all the time now?"

The Slayer rolled her eyes, glad that Cordelia couldn't see her do it long distance.

"I just happened to be over and closer to the phone. Is that okay with you?"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to bite my head off. It's just the last time I called you were there too."

"Cordy, Giles is my Watcher. We have to spend some time together."

"Yeah, right. This is just because he's your Watcher."

"I'll get Giles."

Buffy handed the phone off to Giles.

She poured another cup of tea for herself and Cynthia, and tried not to be too obvious as she listened.

"Hello, Cordelia? How are things in Los Angeles?"

"So has Buffy moved in there or something?"

"Cordelia, please. I know you didn't call in order to discuss my relationship with Buffy."

"Okay, okay, I'm just asking. You guys are awfully touchy about it. Anyway, I called because you need to come down to LA right away."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because you have to be here. There's a little girl who needs you to help take care of her."

"A little girl? Who is she?"

"I don't know."

"Well, what is her name?"

"I don't know that either."

"Why does she need my help? Why not Angel or Wesley, or you for that matter?"

"I really couldn't say."

Giles slipped his fingers under his glasses to massage the bridge of his nose.

"What could you say, then?"

"All I know is I had a vision and you were in it because you need to help this kid."

"Have you found the child?"

"I'm hoping Wesley and Gunn did before she got turned into vampchow."

"Cordelia, you said this child is a little girl. Is there anything else you know about her?"

"She's important. I don't know why, but she is. Oh, and she's got this big, ugly, hairy mole on her. I don't know why her parents don't have it removed."

"A mole, you say? Where is it?"

"I dunno. Sort of on her chest. If she ever wears anything like a low neckline, it's gonna look gross."

"I'll be there as quickly as I can."

Giles hung up with no further ado. He turned to Buffy and Cynthia.

"Angel has her...or will in a little while. I'm going to LA."

Buffy bounded to her feet.

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not. What about Dawn? Who will take care of her?"

"Don't have a stroke. She's with Will and Tara right now. All I have to do is ask them to keep an eye on her for a couple days. They'll do it and Dawn will be thrilled not to have to deal with me for a while."

"Don't argue with me, Buffy..."

"Hey, nobody's arguing on this side. I'm just going home to pack a few things. Pick me up in half an hour. And if you try to leave without me, you know I'll just drive down to LA on my own. And you know what sort of driver I am. I'd probably die in a hideous, fiery accident and it would be all your fault. But if that's the way you want it..."

Giles sighed.

"Fine. Half an hour. But if you're one second late, I'm leaving without you."

"Gotcha! See you in a bit."

With a dazzling smile for her Watcher and a small nod to Cynthia, Buffy headed out the door. Giles turned to find Cynthia regarding him with her arms folded across her chest.

"How long has that been going on?"

"What? I don't understand?"

"You and Buffy. How long have you been lovers?"

Giles blinked in shock.

"W - we're not. Good heavens, Cynthia, what sort of a man do you think I am?"

She looked at him incredulously.

"You mean...Rupert Giles, have you changed that utterly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your letters and calls are filled with Buffy. You seem to have no other topic of conversation, so far as I can tell. Now I see that she's extremely pretty and hopelessly taken with you and you're telling me you've never once been tempted?"

"She's my Slayer, Cyn. It's not precisely encouraged."

"But it would hardly be the first time."

"And I rather think you're reading more into Buffy's behavior than is truly there. She's a vivacious girl who thinks I'm far too old to have any feelings left at all. If, indeed, she thinks I ever had any."

"Curiouser and curiouser."

"What?"

"I notice you never said you aren't interested."

"Cynthia..."

She took his hands in hers.

"What are you so afraid of? Don't even try to tell me it's the Council's reaction. They probably won't even notice unless you announce she's just presented you with twins. Tell her how you feel, Rupert."

Giles smiled wanly.

"I'd best pack a few things. Are you joining us?"

"Do you feel the need of a chaperone?"

He gave her hands a quick, light squeeze, disengaged them from his and headed up to the loft.

"Of course I'm coming along," Cynthia called up the stairs.

"After all, it's my son we're hunting down."

*****

3

Notes and Disclaimer with part 1

The girl followed her rescuers warily into the hotel. She'd never been in one that seemed so...empty. She wasn't sure if she should stay with the men who'd killed whatever it was that had tried to kill her, or turn and run. The deciding factor was the fact that she was exhausted. She'd been running blindly for days. It would be nice to rest, if only for the night.

"Angel?" the black man called. "Yo, man, get your broody self down here! We got a visitor!"

The girl looked up at a noise from the top of the imposing staircase. A tall man dressed in black stood there. His expression was intense. He radiated threat to her. She swallowed hard. Maybe following two strangers into a forbidding building wasn't such a good idea, even if they had just saved your life.

The vampire regarded the child. She was small. He wondered how old she was. Eight? Ten? He'd never been good at guessing ages. He frowned, trying to determine what was so special about her. Cordy had said this child was important. Angel didn't know why, and he could see no sign.

He walked deliberately down the stairs, still staring at the child.

The girl backed up until she bumped into the desk. All her defenses were on alert. Her eyes darted wildly, searching for an escape. The two men who had saved her earlier were still holding weapons. If they made a move for her, she was gone. She knew it. She had just decided that if she was going to die, she was at least going down fighting, when a young woman appeared behind her.

"Hi. Are you okay? I'm Cordelia. What's your name?"

The girl jumped back, panting with fear. Cordelia looked up the stairs.

"Angel! You're scaring the poor kid. Stop looking so Bela Lugosi at her!" She came around the desk and knelt before the girl. "Don't worry about Mr. Dark and Broody there. He's really a nice guy once you get to know him. Are you hungry?"

The girl nodded nervously.

"I know you're scared, and I don't blame you one bit. You've been running and fighting for a while now, haven't you? You'll feel a whole lot better once you've had some food and a decent night's sleep. So, food, sleep, talk, in that order. Does that sound good?"

The girl nodded with a bit more confidence this time. Cordelia took her hand and led her to the kitchen.

The men stared after the pair.

"Okay, did I just see what I saw?" Gunn asked. "Did that kid actually like Cordelia?"

"She seems to have found a way to make the girl trust her," Wesley mused. "It will certainly make it easier to find some answers about her."

"Could you guys tell how old she was or anything?" Angel asked.

Wesley and Gunn shared a look and turned to Angel.

"No wonder she took to you so swiftly," Wesley intoned sarcastically. "You've such an iron grip on the question at hand."

Gunn snickered quietly.

*****

"So how long have you been married to Giles' father?"

"Buffy, please. There's no need to ask personal questions."

"Don't be silly, Rupert. She wants to know, and I see no reason not to tell her. We'll have been married twenty two years come the new year."

"What's he like? Is he nice?"

Cynthia mused for a moment.

"He's rather like an older, stodgier version of Rupert with pots of money."

"I say, Cynthia, there's no call to tell her that! And I'm not a bit like the old codger."

"Ooooh, you made him act all British! He doesn't do that anywhere near as often as he did when he first got here."

"Just like Bevis," Cynthia laughed.

"Bevis?" Buffy wrinkled her nose.

"My husband."

"So Giles actually got the good first name? That is so sad."

"If you two are quite finished rattling the skeletons in my family closet, we've arrived."

Giles brought the car to a halt. Despite his gruff words, he helped both women out of the car, and insisted on carrying all three overnight bags.

Buffy looked at the hotel with a quizzical expression on her face.

"What is it, Buffy?" Giles asked.

"I dunno. It's funny. Angel had that whole minimalist thing going on in Sunnydale. Even the last place he had here in LA was pretty compact. Now he's suddenly gone all...maximalist. It's funny he changed that much."

"Well, people do change."

Buffy looked at him with an unreadable face.

"Yeah. Sometimes they do."

*****

The man searched the alley carefully. His lackey had said he would see to it that the problem was eliminated. From the amount of dust, it looked as though the wrong problem had been taken care of.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He hit the speed dial.

"The situation remains unchanged. Come quickly."

He flipped the phone closed and replaced it in his pocket as he strode from the alley.

*****

The microwave pinged to say it was finished. Cordelia pulled a bag of popcorn from inside and emptied it into a bowl. She slid the bowl onto the table before the girl.

"Okay. So, popcorn, Diet Coke. I know it's not the best, but we didn't have a whole lot else on hand. This isn't really an eaty sort of place."

The girl laughed and took a handful of popcorn.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's a detective agency. I know it doesn't look like one, but it is. We specialize in helping the hopeless. And hey, what could be more in need of help than a kid wandering around the country with somebody chasing her?"

The girl paled and dropped several kernels of corn.

"How did you know that?"

"It's okay, really. We're not with whoever's looking for you. See, I get these visions from the Powers That Be. They tell us who needs help. They told us to help you. Now I need you to tell me something: what's your name?"

"Your vision didn't tell you that?"

"Nope. They're not much with the sound effects; more like a silent movie. It would be a lot more help if it was more like Mission Impossible, but it's not. And we don't get to turn down missions, either. So, can you tell me what your name is and who's after you? It would really help us protect you."

The girl looked hard at Cordelia, unsure how far to trust her. At last she nodded.

"Okay. I'll tell you."

*****

Giles ushered Cynthia and Buffy into the lobby of the Hyperion. It appeared deserted.

"Hello? Angel?" Buffy called.

Her ear was immediately caught by a shuffling noise in a corner. With a look and a gesture to Giles to keep Cynthia well back, Buffy silently tracked the sound to its source.

She peered cautiously under a table and found a pair of large eyes behind a pair of cat's eye glasses regarding her nervously.

The eyes were attached to a young woman.

Buffy blinked in surprise.

"Um...hi. I'm Buffy. Who are you?"

The young woman smiled widely and ducked her head.

"You're Buffy? As in Buffy? I never thought I'd meet you, seeing as you were dead and all, but I guess you're not anymore. Want some peanut butter?"

She held out an open jar. Buffy looked from the jar to the woman's peanut butter laden finger.

"Maybe later," she managed. "Is Angel here? Or Wesley, or somebody?"

"Buffy."

She turned to the new voice, fully expecting her heart to flutter in the way it always had at his approach. She was confused when it continued to beat as steadily as ever.

"Angel. You're looking good."

"So are you. I see you met Fred."

"Fred?"

The woman under the table smiled shyly again and waved despite the fact she now had a finger full of peanut butter in her mouth.

Buffy took Angel's arm and steered him a little further from the strange young woman.

"Is Fred okay? I mean, was she hit with a psychic whammy or something?"

"She's...a little odd, I'll admit."

"I was a cow for five years," she announced from her hiding place.

Buffy looked at Fred, then back at Angel.

"It's...a really long story. You don't want to hear it right now," Angel told her uncomfortably.

"Yeah. Maybe another time. So I guess she's not the one we're here to help with."

"No, I've got this one under control...or not control, exactly. That sounds wrong, doesn't it?"

"So wrong. But I'm not going there. Oh, and this is Cynthia Giles, Cynthia, this is Angel...just Angel."

The vampire looked from Cynthia to Giles and smiled broadly.

"Hi, nice to meet you. Giles, I didn't even know you were dating anyone."

"I'm not," Giles replied.

Cynthia laughed at Angel's perplexed expression.

"Don't pay any attention to Rupert," she warned him. "I'm afraid he got his manners from me."

Buffy decided to put Angel out of his misery.

"Cynthia is Giles' stepmother."

"Stepmother? So...you're not..." Angel gestured vaguely.

"No, they're not," Buffy said emphatically. "So when do we meet this kid we're supposed to be saving?"

"How about now?" came Cordelia's voice. "Guys, this is Carrie Ann Wells. Carrie Ann, this is Giles and Buffy and...a woman I don't know."

"That's Cynthia," Buffy told her. "Hi, Carrie Ann."

The child looked to Cordelia, who nodded and smiled. Carrie Ann turned back to Buffy and Giles.

"Hi."

Giles knelt before Carrie Ann and gazed seriously at her.

"Carrie Ann, I understand that there has been somebody following you. Can you tell me why?"

The child shook her head miserably and turned again to Cordelia.

"It's okay. Giles is here to help you. I saw him in my vision, and I brought him here to protect you from the bad guys. He's really good at protecting people."

"He is?"

"Hey, believe me. I know this guy. He's saved me lots of times. He'll keep you safe, too."

Giles blushed slightly.

"Thank you, Cordelia. I'd no idea you had such a good opinion of me."

"I'm nothing if not painfully honest. You know that."

"Yes, yes, I do," he agreed with a silent chuckle. He turned his attention back to Carrie Ann. "Are you ready to tell me who's been following you and why?"

"There's a man. I don't know who he is or where he's from, but he scares me. He tried to take me away. If he catches me, he'll do something awful to me."

"Has he tried to hurt you?"

The girl dissolved into tears. Cordelia immediately pulled Carrie Ann close and rocked her gently.

"It's okay, now. You're safe," she murmured. "Why don't I take you upstairs and get you settled for the night? You need some rest. Angel, give me one of your t-shirts."

"What? My shirt?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes at the vampire.

"Well she needs something to sleep in. Give."

"Okay, okay...you can take one. Go ahead. Just take it out of my room."

Cordelia beamed at him.

"See? That wasn't so hard. Soon you'll be interacting with us just like a normal guy."

She led Carrie Ann up the stairs.

Buffy couldn't suppress a giggle.

"She keeps you on your toes, I'm guessing?"

"Like a ballet dancer," Angel replied with poorly concealed pleasure.

"Cordelia's about the most important thing in the whole world to Angel," Fred announced from her hiding place.

"I don't know if I'd say...most...important..."

"It's okay, Angel," Buffy told him. "It's none of my business. Unless, of course, you get too happy."

"I don't think it's likely. I mean, it's not like Cordy...we're not..."

"Angel? Not my business, okay?"

Buffy stepped back and took her bag from Giles.

"Anyway, it's late, and some of us sleep at night. So, where's my room?"

Fred bounded out from under her table, leaving the peanut butter where it lay in her haste.

"Oh I can show you. I really can. There's lots and lots of rooms, though I haven't been in so many of them."

Buffy took an involuntary step back and collided with Giles. As their eyes met, her stomach did an odd flip. He flushed and blinked. She moved slightly and looked back at the odd woman.

"Um, sure. Why don't you show us, Fred?"

Cynthia tried, but failed to completely suppress her smile at her stepson and his Slayer.

As the four headed upstairs, Angel picked up the peanut butter and returned it to the kitchen. When he closed refrigerator door, he caught sight of the silver claddagh ring he wore. It had been a long time since he'd even thought about it. Now he stared.

At last he drew it off his finger, turned the heart so it pointed outwards, and replaced it on his hand.

*****

4

Notes and Discalimer with part 1

The space was small and confined with little and stale air to breathe. Even in the dark, she could tell she was surrounded by something white, but she was unable to identify it properly. All she knew was that she had to escape.

She pounded on the surface above her. The white cloth - for that's what it was - hid something hard. Something that would take all her strength to break through.

The air continued to grow fouler as she clawed desperately at the fabric. She ripped it to shreds, ignoring the tiny red dots that blossomed across it. She forced herself not to think too much about the lack of oxygen. There was no time to waste. Not if she wanted to get free.

Wood. The fabric had hidden wood. Thick, heavy, yet perfectly smooth wood. She gritted her teeth and hit it with all her might.

Nothing gave.

Again.

The same result.

Again.

There was a hand at her shoulder.

Buffy's eyes flew open.

"God, Buffy! Could you maybe scream a little louder? Someone in France might be trying to take a nap."

"W - where's Giles?"

Cordelia's brow furrowed.

"Are you really awake yet, even?"

Buffy swallowed hard and willed her breathing to slow to a more normal rate. If she could just do that, her heart would stop pounding so hard. Then she might be okay again.

"Yeah, Cordy, I'm fine," she lied as she ran a hand over her sweat spangled brow. "Just a bad dream. It's not like it's the first one of those I've ever had."

"Please tell me this wasn't one of those prophecy things, 'cause you were yelling Giles' name over and over, and we need him to take care of Carrie Ann."

"No, it was just a nightmare. It doesn't mean anything."

Buffy sat up and wrapped her arms around her own shoulders.

"So, do you want to talk about it?"

Buffy shook her head miserably.

"Oh, please! Like you can wake me up yelling 'Giles, Giles', and I'm going to let this go?"

"I'm okay, Cordy, really."

"Bull. I've told that fib often enough not to be fooled by it."

Cordelia pulled the covers down and grabbed Buffy's hand.

"Come on, Slaygal. We're going downstairs for hot chocolate and girl bonding. Y'know, I keep trying it with Wesley, but it never works."

"Could that be maybe because he's a guy, Cordy?"

"Wesley? A guy? Hmmm. Well, it's one theory, anyway."

Despite herself, Buffy giggled. The two headed down to the kitchen.

*****

Giles was startled by a soft knock at his door. He closed his book, rose and went to answer it.

"Angel. What did you want?"

"Can I come in?"

Giles sighed.

"It's not as if you need to be invited. This is your home, not mine."

"That's true. Still, I thought I'd be polite. So, can I come in?"

Giles stepped back and allowed the vampire access to the room.

"Thanks, Giles."

"What did you want, Angel?"

"I...I'm not really sure how to say this, but...what's going on with you and Buffy?"

Giles folded his arms across his chest and regarded Angel coolly.

"I'm not entirely certain I understand that question."

"Y'know, when did you...how...you can't be..."

"You can't possibly be asking what I think you are."

"Look, I know you two were always close. That's how it is with Slayers and Watchers or the Slayer dies real fast. But...this..."

"Is not your affair, Angel. What Buffy and I are - or are not - to one another beyond Watcher and Slayer is none of your damn business. You are no longer a part of her life."

"That's not fair, Giles."

"Isn't it? As I recall, you were the one who left, in a dramatic cloud of smoke after our battle with the Mayor. You broke up with her, left, and moved to a new city. You call rarely, and appear even less often. In what way do you consider yourself a part of Buffy's life?"

"I had to do that. If I hadn't, things would have gotten bad again."

Giles looked at him sharply.

"That's a pretty bloodless way to describe what happened, don't you think?"

"I couldn't help that. I didn't know the curse could be broken, let alone how."

"No, you didn't. And believe it or not, I've long ago forgiven you for what Angelus did. He wasn't you. It's what you did after you got back that I cannot find it in my heart to forgive."

"I don't understand..."

"You knew perfectly well you couldn't be with Buffy when you came back. You knew you couldn't give her any of the things she needed; couldn't be with her in the light. And yet you stayed. You upset her, you dangled your great, undying love before her like a prize she could never quite reach, and then when you did finally make up your mind to leave her, you couldn't even make a clean break of it. You stayed on for more than a month, Angel. When she needed to focus on her work, she was focused on you. She was willing to sacrifice herself, and even sacrifice another human being to save you. It never occurred to her that you'd been dead for over two hundred years already when she stuck a knife in the gut of a girl younger than herself. And when that didn't work, she offered herself as a sacrifice. She let you drain her hours before doing battle with the most appalling creature she had met up to that time. Because of you, she nearly wasn't there to save her class. Because of you, she very nearly became the thing she was meant to fight and destroy: evil. With all she has faced, and all she has seen, the one thing that nearly turned her to darkness was you. And for that, Angel, I will never forgive you. I will work with you when I must, but you and I will never be friends again. My first loyalty is to Buffy. Her welfare and happiness are more important to me than my own. I will not stand idly by should you decide to hurt her again. Is that perfectly clear?"

"Crystal."

The vampire turned to go. At the door he spoke over his shoulder at his one time friend.

"I know you don't want it, but you have my blessing. Just make her happier than I could. Because if you hurt her in any way, I'll make what Angelus did to you that night look like a picnic."

*****

Buffy jumped slightly as Cordelia thumped a mug of hot chocolate before her.

"Earth to Buffy! Where were you just now?"

The Slayer shook her head to clear it.

"No place I want to be."

Cordelia slid into a chair opposite Buffy.

"Okay, this is going nowhere fast. You never used to be cryptic girl. What were you dreaming already?"

Buffy contemplated her hands for a moment.

"I was dead, Cordy."

"Yeah, I know. Willow came and told us. Angel went on a trip to Tibet and killed a bunch of demon monks. Wesley got all sentimental and guilty that he wasn't a better Watcher to you. I even cried a little. We were all bummed out. But you're not dead anymore, Buffy. You're back. You're alive. Again. So what's the trauma? What were you dreaming?"

Buffy looked hard at her companion.

"I was dead, Cordelia. Dead and buried."

"Okay, I get that. So what does that have to do with...ohmigod! Buried? As in they didn't dig you up until after you were alive again?"

"No," Buffy replied quietly. "As in I dug myself up."

"Wow. That's harsh. And you dreamed about that?"

"I do most nights now. Don't tell Giles. He'll just worry."

"So if you were dreaming about waking up in a pine box, and you don't want Giles to know, why were you yelling for him?"

"I was?"

"Duh! I've only said about fifty times."

Buffy rose and began to pace the room.

"He's my Watcher."

"Yeah. And?"

"What do you want me to say? Giles is my Watcher."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning he wasn't watching then. Wasn't even there. When I...came back, he was gone. He went straight back to the mother country as soon as I was dead. He didn't...he didn't wait for me."

"You were dead for three months. How much longer was the man supposed to wait for you to wake up and treat him like crap again?"

"But I wanted...I wanted to tell him I was sorry. I wanted a fresh start."

"You? You wanted to apologize? Okay, that's almost as scary a concept as me eating a big helping of crow. What did you want to say you were sorry for?"

Buffy flopped back into her chair with a defeated expression on her face.

"The last time we talked, before the battle, I threatened to kill him. I even meant it. I can't believe I did that. All he wanted was to save the world and I threatened to kill him."

"So?"

Buffy stared at Cordelia.

"So? Is that all you can say? So?! I told Giles I was going to kill him."

"Yeah, well, it's not like it was the first time, is it? Remember your eighteenth birthday?"

"Vividly. With Dolby sound and everything."

"And remember when you told Giles if he touched you, you'd kill him? And don't try to deny it, 'cause I was there. Everything was okay between you two after. It's the pattern of your whole relationship. You do something dumb and hurtful, and Giles forgives you, but neither one of you says anything about it again. You just pick up and go on. So what's the diff this time?"

Buffy frowned in thought.

"In the last few minutes before I jumped, it was like, everything suddenly got...real clear. Like I could see everything and it all finally made sense. I understood. I knew why Giles was willing to sacrifice Dawn when I wasn't. I knew why I was so much madder at him than anyone else. I even knew why I didn't want to die. But I had to. I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd let anything happen to Dawn. I just wanted more than anything to go and tell Giles. I told Dawn to tell him, but while I was finally seeing clearly, I don't think my language skills had improved much. Either that, or he was too freaked by it to stay. I should never have said anything at all."

"So what exactly did you tell her to say to him?"

"That I understood."

"Okay, once more in English, please."

Buffy stood.

"It doesn't matter. Just forget I said anything, okay? Thanks for the hot chocolate."

She left the room with a dejected air. Cordelia stared after her a moment.

"I cannot believe those two. How much denial can one girl be in?"

*****

5

Notes and Disclaimer with part 1

The next morning, the group gathered in the lobby to discuss Carrie Ann's situation, and share information.

"So Carrie Ann's a Slayer? That's why the PTB wanted us to find her, isn't it?"

"Not a Slayer, Cordelia," Giles corrected. "A potential Slayer. You see, at any given time there may be a dozen or more girls ready to be called, should the need arise, but unless something were to happen to Faith, well, they would simply continue to be ordinary little girls who grow to be ordinary women."

Gunn shook his head.

"I don't get it. You say Buffy's a Slayer. If she dies, why wouldn't that call a new Slayer?"

"Because I've already died twice. The first time, Kendra was called, and when she died, Faith was called. The second time, nada. No new Slaygal. My ticket's been punched already. The whole two Slayer thing ends with me."

"Well, not for some time, I hope," Giles added with a slight squeeze to her shoulder. He refocused his attention to the matter at hand. "So, you see, Carrie Ann may never be called at all."

"But this Council of Watchers wants her anyway? Why?"

"Most potential Slayers, unlike Buffy, are raised within the Watchers' Compound, or at least with a Watcher to oversee their education in weapons, combat, mystical lore, and so on," Wesley said. "They feel it produces a superior Slayer - sorry, Buffy."

"No big, Wes. The Council doesn't much like me."

"And I might point out that the very things the Council so dislikes about Buffy, her independence, her unorthodox approach to the mystical, are the very things that have kept her alive and made her so effective," Giles added.

Everyone turned at the sound of Fred giggling from her hiding place inside the front desk.

"What's so funny?" Cordelia asked sharply.

"Oh, oh, it's nothing; nothing at all. Just the Council of Watchers? Well, it probably doesn't mean anything at all, but the initials spell 'cow'. See? Cow. Like I was. I...thought...it was funny, that's all."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. Giles and Wesley looked to one another and began to laugh.

"Sure, Fred, it's funny," Buffy assured her. "Maybe we should start calling them the Watcher's Council instead?"

To her surprise, this merely sent Giles and Wesley into nearly uncontrollable fits of giggles.

"Okay, I'm guessing I missed something here. In fact, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I missed something English. Am I right?"

"It's just...oh dear...it's just, the initials for that are even worse," Giles managed to gasp out. "You see, that would be 'WC', which is short for 'water closet'. A toilet."

Buffy nodded sagely.

"I think we have a winner. Let's award you a fabulous prize of getting to tell Quentin Travers that one."

"Yeah, yeah, as funny as all of this is to the rest of y'all, don't we still have a problem we need to take care of?"

Giles and Wesley sobered immediately at Gunn's words.

"Yes, of course," Giles agreed. "I'm afraid we may have to take fairly...unorthodox measures to keep Carrie Ann safe. If Gerald is the one after her, he'll know about Angel Investigations. He'll have had her followed at the very least, and he'll know she's in Los Angeles. It won't take him long to learn that Wesley and Gunn found the girl and took her from near the bus station."

"So we need to get her out of here," Buffy concluded.

"But I'm guessing Sunnydale is out," Cordelia said.

"If he knows about us, he knows about my background with Buffy," Angel agreed. "And, most important, he knows Giles. If he has any idea you're here and talking to me, he knows we've got the girl."

"And I have no doubt he knows I'm here," Giles added.

"What we need is a place to take Carrie Ann that he won't suspect. But where?" Wesley mused.

"He'll probably be expecting us to hide her somewhere in the city," said Angel. "So it shouldn't be LA."

"San Diego?" offered Gunn. "It's not that far and there's a clear shot to the Mexican border if he follows."

Buffy shook her head.

"No. Mexico won't help. Anyway, we'd just get arrested for kidnapping Carrie Ann, and then we can't protect her. Besides, Giles and Wes and Cynthia would get deported, and we can't have that happening."

"I should say not," Wesley admonished.

"But if we go to some Smallville, we'll really stick out like sore thumbs," Cordelia protested.

"Caves are nice."

Everyone stared in Fred's direction.

"Yes, well, be that as it may, perhaps we should move in a northerly direction," Giles began.

"No. Wait," Buffy said. "I think Fred here may be onto something."

"Or just on something," Cordelia muttered.

"We can't stay here and we can't go to Sunnydale and Mexico's out. Gerald will expect us to go to a big city to try to hide. So what if we go somewhere that isn't a city?"

Giles whipped off his glasses.

"You mean someplace in the wilderness?"

"Yeah. Like maybe the woods or the desert or something."

"Not to put a damper on this fine wilderness retreat concept," Gunn drawled, "but what about Angel? We take him camping, we're gonna end up using him to make sure the campfire's out at the end of the trip."

"Or I could stay here..." the vampire began.

"No. We're going to need all the fighters we can get."

Buffy frowned in thought for a moment. When she looked up, she moved to where Fred sat huddled and spoke gently to her.

"Do you know someplace we could find some caves near here?"

*****

The man sat patiently flipping through a magazine as he waited for the plane to arrive. He knew where the girl was. It was simply a matter of going in and getting her.

That and a little payback.

That would be sweet.

He enjoyed mixing business with pleasure.

The flight was announced, so he closed the magazine and left it on the chair. His boss had a thing about magazines. Funny guy, but he knew how to get the job done.

He stood at ease and watched the passengers emerge from the gate. At last, he saw the man he'd been awaiting. He hurried forward to take his bag.

"Did you have a nice flight, sir?" he asked politely.

"Not especially," the boss replied in a clipped British accent. "Have you found her?"

"Yes sir. She's with Angel."

"The vampire?"

"That's the one, sir. And sir? The Slayer is there, too."

"Is she? I assume then that Mr. Giles is with her?"

"That's correct."

"Good. I've no doubt this will finally end his somewhat checkered career with the Council."

"I...I guess so."

The boss pulled up sharply.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"No sir. I'm a soldier. I follow orders."

"Whose orders?"

"Yours, sir."

"Very good, Finn."

"Thank you, sir."

"Oh, and Finn? All this 'sir' nonsense, while highly gratifying, is a bit tiresome. Call me Gerald."

*****

Buffy hefted a sword, testing its balance and weight in her hand. It felt good. She added it to the cache of weapons she and Gunn had chosen.

"So what's it like?" he asked her.

"What's what like?"

"Having superpowers. Being the Slayer."

Buffy paused.

"Oh that. I dunno. I guess it's like being me. I didn't get the whole superstrength thing until I was fifteen, but it's hard to remember what it felt like before, y'know?"

Gunn nodded as he picked out a throwing axe.

"I get you. I only hooked up with these guys about a year or so ago, but now...I can't imagine what it would be like not to have them watching my back. Still getting used to Fred, though."

"So you've been hunting vamps and stuff for a year?"

"Didn't say that. I been hunting since I was, I dunno, maybe sixteen, seventeen. Long time now."

"Why? What got you started?"

Gunn's jaw clenched slightly before he answered.

"Vampgang took out half my neighborhood in less than six months. Killed my mom. I grabbed my baby sister and ran. After a while, I stopped running and decided to fight back. Been fighting ever since. That's how I hooked up with Angel."

"He helped you with a vamp?"

Gunn laughed slightly.

"I tried to take him out."

"Let me guess, he respected that and took you under his wing?"

"Something like that. How'd you hook up with him? Slayer getting it on with a vampire; that can't be too popular with these Council types."

"I didn't know he was one at first. He kept showing up being all cryptic, handsome, warning guy and I was sixteen. By the time I found out he didn't have a reflection, I was sorta too far gone in Fantasyland."

"And Giles didn't put a stop to it because...?"

"He couldn't. I was sorta stubborn. Besides, Angel kept bringing him books and things and letting us know when big stuff was brewing. That sorta appealed to his trying his damnedest not to get Buffy killed side."

"I'm guessing that's the side that makes most of his decisions for him?"

Buffy inspected a dagger with intense interest.

"A lot of them, I think."

The pair were silent for a while.

"So, I gotta ask this: with all the vampires in the world, there's only one Slayer at a time? Whose whacked out idea was that?"

Buffy shrugged and smiled wanly.

"Not mine, I can tell you that much. I do what I can, but there's no way I can protect the whole world all the time. I mean, yeah, I've averted the Apocalypse a few times, but most of the time, I can't do anything about vampires in Norway or Greenland or even Oxnard. There are times when a Slayer franchise would be a really useful thing."

Cordelia appeared in the doorway.

"Are you two going to finish anytime soon? It's almost sunset."

Buffy straightened.

"Yeah. I think we've got it under control. You set, Gunn?"

"I think so. Hey, when we get done with this, let's you and me go to some 24 Hour Nautilus place and give the rich folk a good fright. Y'know, go in and do the whole sword and axe thing?"

Buffy shuddered slightly.

"I don't do gyms since high school."

"Why? 'Cause don't get me wrong, but you don't strike me as the bookworm type; more the hit things type."

"And I am, but that gym was enough to turn me against them forever. It's a little wigsome to suddenly find yourself playing dodge ball against a pack of hyenas."

"And the girls' gym coach had a hairy chest," Cordelia reminded her.

"Then there was bodies falling out of lockers."

"Spontaneously combusting cheerleaders."

"The coach turning the entire swim team into Creatures from the Black Lagoon."

"Mitch getting beaten up by a baseball bat with nobody holding it."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Gunn said holding up his hands to stop them adding more to the list. "Gym was not a good space for you girls. Consider the invitation revoked. Just don't give me any more details."

He zipped up the weapons bag, slung it over his shoulder and left the room. The two girls looked at one another quizzically.

"He is such a sissy sometimes."

Buffy shrugged.

"I think he just didn't grow up in Sunnydale. It kind of gives you a different perspective on the world than any other place."

*****

6

Notes and Disclaimer with part 1

The trip to the mountains was relatively uneventful. Gunn drove the rented van with Fred giving slightly erratic directions full of tangenital discussion of the meaning of place names and sudden mention of hard scientific fact. Giles and Wesley consulted quietly about warding spells to keep their location hidden as long as possible. Cordelia, surprisingly, was entirely devoted to entertaining Carrie Ann by reading to her from The Hobbit. Angel appeared to be deep in some form of meditation, probably something designed to center him in case of battle.

Buffy hated the enforced inaction of a long drive, and really hated having nothing in particular to do on the drive. She sighed and picked up her novel again. She wasn't really reading it, but using it as cover while she watched Giles. She couldn't really see much more than the back of his head and neck, but every once in a while a long fingered hand would come briefly into view, or he would turn his head so she could see his profile. If she was really lucky, he might even be smiling.

"There must be a particularly juicy passage on that page," Cynthia teased her quietly.

Buffy started and flushed.

"I...uh...well, that is..."

Cynthia laughed.

"He is rather handsome, isn't he?"

Buffy's cheeks grew redder.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed, my dear. It's only natural that you'd want a chance to admire him. It isn't often one gets the opportunity to observe him without being observed in return, is it?"

"He does sorta have radar sometimes."

"It isn't radar, Buffy. It's simply...yes, I suppose it is a form of radar at that. Bevis and I have it for one another."

"But you guys are married. Giles and I, we aren't."

"Yes, you are. Oh, I don't mean in any legal sense, you understand. But when a Slayer and Watcher are well matched, it is a form of marriage. Anything that gets in the middle is doomed from the start."

"Great. Now I'm dooming stuff."

"Look at poor Wesley. You and Rupert treated him shamefully from what I've heard. I know he was a terrible prig when he was sent over, but neither of you made any attempt to help him out, did you?"

"Unless you count ganging up on him as an attempt to toughen him up a bit, no," Buffy admitted. "But he's turned out okay, anyway."

"Yes, but only by leaving. Only by getting out of the middle. And it's the same with Angel."

"I guess you're right, in a way," Buffy sighed. "Neither one of us has done very well with relationships."

"Nonsense! You've some of the most devoted friends you could possibly wish for. The problem isn't people, but people who try to get between you in some way, isn't it?"

Buffy thought hard. On the list of people who had gotten hurt getting between her and Giles, she could count far too many names: Ms. Calendar, Olivia, Riley, Wesley, and even Angel. On the other hand, they both had Willow, Xander, Tara, Anya, Dawn. None of them had ever been harmed by the friendship they shared with the chosen two. Sure, there had been ups and downs, but not outright harm.

"So maybe you're right. But that doesn't change a thing. I'm still way too young for a guy like Giles. He'd look like a total cradle robber."

"Since when does Rupert care about how things look to the rest of the world? Lord, when he left for America he could barely remember to brush his hair and do up his cuffs! And I'm quite certain a Librarian spending most of his time with a less than scholastically inclined student looked quite odd to the principal and the rest of the faculty of your school. Besides, the Giles men have a long tradition of marrying much, much younger women."

"Why is that?"

"Because they are so very much younger on the inside than the outside, as a rule. If you take my advice, you'll talk to him while we're in the mountains. The closer the Watcher Slayer bond, the more effective a team you'll be."

With that, Cynthia settled back to take a nap. Buffy continued to watch Giles, a bit more openly this time. When she looked back to see if anyone had caught her, she was surprised to note that Angel's eyes were not as completely closed as she'd thought, and that they were facing Cordelia.

"Maybe Fred is right," she mused as she settled back to contemplate the curve of Giles' ear.

She decided it was probably the nicest ear she'd ever seen.

*****

"Gone? How can they be gone? You said they were here, Finn. You said we would have no trouble getting the girl."

"They were here when I went to the airport, I swear. I don't know what happened."

Gerald fixed Riley with an icy stare.

"How did you secure them?"

"I didn't feel they were a flight risk. I'd kept a low profile and hadn't been here at all. They never knew I was in LA."

"Careless! Sloppy! I thought you knew these people. You told me you were familiar with their methods, boy."

"I am, Gerald."

"Then tell me where they've gone, Finn. And you'd best be right or I'll see to it that you pay a very high price for failure."

He swept off in high dudgeon. Suddenly he stopped and turned on his agent.

"And from now on, call me 'sir'."

*****

The band trudged up the hill wearily as Fred skipped ahead, delighted with the terrain.

"Come on, hurry up!" she urged, waving her hands.

Cordelia stopped in her tracks to pant for a moment.

"Are we really sure this is the best thing we can be doing? I mean, would the Watchers really look for us in a four star hotel? 'Cause I'm thinking not."

"Keep moving, Cordy," Angel told her shortly.

"Sure, that's easy for you to say Mr. I don't need to breathe. We all need to rest and Cowgirl there won't slow down. Can you just make her stop a minute?"

"Cordelia's right," Buffy said. "And did I just say those words?"

"You did," Giles said. "What's more I have to agree."

"Wiped out, huh?"

Giles shot his Slayer a sour glare.

"Might I remind you that in addition to being a great deal older and less endowed with superpowers than you, I am also carrying a sleeping nine year old girl?"

"I told you I'd be happy to take a turn," she reminded him.

"Yes, well, I wouldn't want to wake her," Giles said.

Buffy watched as he involuntarily clasped the girl a bit tighter to his chest. She smiled warmly at the sight.

"And she's in pretty good hands. You're sorta talented with the protective mode."

He looked down, but Buffy could tell he was blushing and smiling all the same.

"Well, we'd best keep moving if we're to make it before sunrise."

"Sure, Giles. Let's get to those caves."

*****

Gerald paced as Riley tapped at his laptop. This was not what he wanted to be doing. He had a potential Slayer to find. She had been very nearly in his grasp several times. Now his mother and his interfering stepbrother were involved. Surely they knew the importance of getting Slayers to the Council? The cost did not matter; only the prize.

"Sir, I've found something," Riley announced.

In an instant, Gerald was at his side.

"A van was rented a few hours ago by one Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."

"Wyndam-Pryce? That name sounds familiar."

"Former Watcher. He was fired by the Council when both Slayers under his care turned on us. Spent several months wandering around America, then suddenly moved to LA and started working for Angel. Gave some trouble last year when a team was sent to pick up the rogue Slayer, Faith."

Riley printed off the specs on the vehicle Wesley had rented.

"No destination was required to be named when the van was rented, but he picked up a couple maps."

"Maps? Of what?"

"San Diego and Mexico City. Sir, they're trying to cross the border."

*****

Fred twirled in the middle of the dank cave and giggled merrily.

"This is so nice! So, so homey, like. My cave on Pylea was just like this...or am I back there?"

Her hands nervously inspected her neck for the collar she'd worn so recently. Her eyes flitted down to the sweater and jeans she now wore, pausing to take in her hiking boots as well.

"No, I guess I'm here. Sure feels like there, though."

Cordelia sighed and pushed the hair out of her face as she sat on a boulder.

"Great. She's homesick for Flintstoneland. I miss my palace."

Wesley smiled to himself as he set about building a fire.

"At least here you get to choose your own mate. If you can find someone at all."

"Hey, Groo was really cute. And I don't see you getting much date action lately."

"That's because, unlike you, I can keep my affairs to myself."

Cordelia stuck out her tongue at Wesley.

"Y'know, that's what I love about working with y'all," Gunn drawled as he rolled out several sleeping bags, "you're such grown up professional types. Real mature."

A creature waddled out of the darkness. Cordelia screamed and jumped on her boulder. As the thing scurried past Gunn, he yelped and jumped back. Fred raced after the creature, her eyes glinting oddly. She grabbed a rock as she headed out the entrance of the cave. Buffy, Giles, Cynthia, Carrie Ann and Angel made it to the cave in a clump moments later.

"Where's Fred?" the vampire asked.

"Chasing some giant rat thing out there," Gunn told him with a shudder. "Man, that thing was creepy."

"Rats?" Carrie Ann gulped. "I don't like rats."

"It's okay," Cordelia assured her. "It's gone. We're safe now."

A moment later, she screamed when Fred returned holding the now very dead animal.

"Look! A possum. Now I can make my Granny's possum stew for you."

"I ain't eating no rat," Gunn asserted.

"Oh nonono, it's not a rat. See rats are rodents, but possums, well, they're marsupials. No relation at all. And anyway, it'll taste just like chicken, well that's what they say, anyway. I never really had possum before, but Mom used to use chicken instead because she said it tasted just the same. I guess we can find out now, right? Like an experiment, right?"

Buffy turned slightly green.

"I'm not hungry."

*****

7

Notes and Disclaimer with part 1

It took quite a bit of convincing on Angel's part, but Fred was finally dissuaded from making possum stew. Buffy and Cynthia worked together to make a much more generally palatable meal. Afterwards, the men retreated to another cave and the women sat around their campfire to talk.

Carrie Ann listened from her seat by Cordelia for some time without entering into the conversation. The whole time, though, she stared across the fire at Buffy. Suddenly, she spoke.

"You're what I'm gonna be, right?"

"Huh?" Buffy answered, startled. "Oh, you mean a Slayer. Yeah. I am. But you might or might not be one. We don't know for sure."

"When did they take you away?"

The women looked uncomfortably at one another. Buffy wasn't sure she wanted to open this particular can of worms, but it was the first time that Carrie Ann had brought up the subject of her abduction. It was time to get some details.

"They didn't. They missed me somehow until after I was already the Slayer. Carrie Ann, when they came for you, did they hurt you in any way?"

The girl shook her head.

"The man said not to. But Mom and Daddy...."

Carrie Ann began to cry as Cordelia held her and stroked her hair. Buffy clenched her fists with rage at the Council. A memory surfaced.

"Phoenix. There was a thing on the news a couple nights before Giles and I came here. A double murder in Phoenix, and a little girl missing. I was only half watching while I was folding laundry, so I didn't see much of it, but...Carrie Ann, I'm so sorry."

She joined the girl and Cordelia. When Carrie Ann had calmed a little, Buffy turned her around and took her hands.

"I wish I could give you your Mom and Dad back, but I can't. All I can do is make sure the people who did this never get another chance to do this to some other little girl. I promise that I will do just that."

"How are you going to do that, Buffy?" Cordelia asked.

"Any way I have to."

*****

In the other cave, the men sat around their fire and talked as well.

"Tell us more about Gerald," Wesley said. "What is he likely to do if he finds us?"

"When," Giles replied. "Let's not fool ourselves. You may have thrown him off the scent, but he will figure out the deception soon, if he hasn't already."

"So, when, then," Gunn said. "What happens?"

Giles considered for a moment as he poked the fire with a stick.

"He'll have agents working for him. That was always his style. Even as a boy, he was more likely to pay another boy to kick puppies and pull wings off flies than to do it himself. He's a voyeur of violence rather than a direct participant."

"And these agents would be...?" Angel asked.

"Human, demon, vampire; whatever allies he can get. He isn't particularly choosy about the company he keeps, so long as they obey without question."

"Poor Cynthia," Wesley murmured. "It must be a dreadful disappointment to have a son like that."

Giles and Angel both looked uncomfortable. Gunn shook his head.

"I dunno. When someone's that messed up, you gotta wonder what their parents did to make them that way."

"It isn't her fault," Giles said quietly. "She did her best, but she was terribly young when Gerald was born, and the father left her in the lurch. We did what we could to help, Father and I, but Gerald...some people are simply bad, no matter what opportunities are laid before them."

"And some are good, no matter what obstacles they must overcome," Wesley added.

The other three men smiled slightly, each certain Wesley was speaking of another person around the fire.

Not one suspected that he meant all three.

*****

Late in the night, a scream broke the silence. In an instant, Giles woke from a deep sleep and disengaged himself from his sleeping bag. As he raced to the women's cave, Angel, Wesley and Gunn followed close on his heels.

"Giles! Giles!"

"What happened?" Giles asked as he raced to Buffy's side.

"She did this last night, too," Cordelia told him.

Giles pulled the still sleeping girl into his arms and rocked her gently.

"Buffy? It's me. I'm here. It's alright. You're safe now."

Buffy's eyes flew open.

"Giles? Oh Giles, don't leave me!"

She flung her arms around his neck and sobbed desperately.

"Sshhh, Buffy, of course I won't leave you. I'm here as long as you want me to be."

Buffy lifted her eyes to Giles'. He reached out with a single finger to wipe away an unruly tear.

"But...but you were gone."

"When?"

"When I came back. You were gone. You left me."

Giles cursed himself silently as he pulled her tightly into his arms again.

"I'm sorry, Buffy. I swear I had no notion what Willow was up to. I just...I tried, but I couldn't bear it without you."

Cynthia began to nudge the rest of the group out of the cave.

"I think it would be best if we left them alone, now."

"What about our sleeping bags?" Carrie Ann piped up.

"We can share the ones the guys had," Cordelia assured her. "They wouldn't dream of using them when there are damsels in distress without, would you guys?"

One look at the arch of her brow was enough to make Wesley and Gunn cave at once.

They all trooped to the other cave, leaving Buffy and Giles to their private moment.

"Better?" he asked when she had calmed herself a bit.

"Yeah. Drippy, but better."

Giles reached automatically for his handkerchief, then remembered he was wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt.

"I'm sorry I haven't anything..." he began.

Buffy surprised him by pulling a handkerchief out of her sleeve.

"It's one of yours really. I found it when I was doing laundry. I guess you gave it to Dawn and she never gave it back."

She blew her nose emphatically.

"Do you want it?"

"No, that's quite alright," he assured her. "Keep it."

"Thanks."

She leaned against him, and he draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Giles asked.

"About what?"

"Your dream. I'm not in the habit of hearing beautiful young women cry out my name in their sleep, so I must admit I'm a bit curious what you were dreaming."

"Beautiful, huh?"

"Buffy," he chided her gently.

"Okay, okay. It's just, you're not usually big with the compliments. It's sorta nice to hear things like that sometimes is all."

She went silent for a while. Giles sat with her patiently and waited for her to gather her thoughts.

"Do you ever think about it, Giles?" she said at last. "Heaven and hell and that stuff, I mean?"

"Not a great deal, I'll admit. Of course, I've studied all the major philosophies on the subject, and quite a few of the minor, as well. I've never come to any sort of conclusion, though. And you?"

"I don't have to think. I know. I was there, remember?"

"And what was heaven like?"

Buffy looked down and flicked a pebble away from her foot.

"What makes you so sure I went there?"

"Because if you were damned, then surely there is no hope for any of us."

She leaned against him and cried steadily as he held her. He murmured comforting words and rubbed her back as she wept.

"You...you're the only one," she choked out at last.

"The only one? Buffy, what are you talking about?"

"W - Willow. She told the others I was in hell. They all believe it. I even told them they were right so they wouldn't feel bad about bringing me back. I even hugged her for it, Giles. I wanted so bad to hit her, or at least yell at her, but I hugged her, and I thanked her. She didn't even believe in me, Giles. Nobody did. Not Xander or Tara or anybody. Just you."

"Buffy, you know she meant well..."

"Yeah. I know. They all did. I just...it would have been nice if there had been a more divided opinion, y'know? If somebody had thought that maybe I was finally not in torment."

"I think perhaps," Giles said after a moment, "that they preferred to think of you in torment, because we all were without you. Lord knows I was."

"You were?"

"I missed you terribly. Even your faults, surprisingly enough. And then there was that infernal machine with your face and your voice reminding me every day of what I'd lost. What we'd all lost. I kept thinking if I tried hard enough, one day it would become you, and I'd have you back. Foolish of me, really. When I finally realized just how ridiculous that was, I couldn't stay. I'd been talking about leaving since we'd buried you, but it wasn't until that wretched thing asked me why I stayed that I truly understood you were gone. Of course, a few hours after I got back to London, Willow called to say you were back. I would never have dreamed of disturbing your rest; lord knows you deserved it. Still...that was the happiest moment I've ever known. I thought, perhaps, I could make up for some of my mistakes. Have a second chance."

"Mistakes? Isn't that more my department? And I'm apologizing here and now for every dumb thing I ever did to you. Blanket sorry. I'll send you an itemized list later, but right now, this is what I have the energy for."

Giles chuckled and squeezed her shoulders a bit tighter.

"What say we both say we're sorry, write down our lists separately, and then destroy them. Have we a deal?"

She smiled up at him.

"Deal. So I guess there's just one thing left to do."

"And what would that be?"

"Kiss and make up."

Giles blushed to the roots of his hair.

"I - I thought we already made up."

Buffy looked down at her feet.

"And I guess I can add one more dumb thing to my list. Sorry."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry."

"I said it first."

"Well I said it second."

Buffy giggled.

"We really are a pair, aren't we?"

"Always."

"I like the sound of that," she said as she snuggled closer to his chest. She took his hand and interlaced her fingers through his, then widened her eyes in surprise when he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "W - what was that for?"

"To make up."

"Oh...well, in that case..."

She returned the gesture, looking him in the eyes the entire time.

"Stay with me, Giles."

"Of course, Buffy. I'll stay as long as you want me to."

"No, Giles, I meant stay with me. Tonight."

"As you wish."

Buffy lay down in her sleeping bag while Giles pulled another alongside her and climbed into it. She had nearly drifted off to sleep when a thought occurred to Buffy.

"Giles?"

"Yes, Buffy?"

"I made you watch The Princess Bride, didn't I?"

"You did. I even went out and bought a copy of the book.

"Oh."

A moment later she spoke again.

"Giles?"

"Yes, Buffy?"

"As you wish, too."

They inched their bags closer together, and Giles let Buffy rest her head on his bicep. He kissed her forehead softly, and lay back.

In moments, both were asleep.

*****

8

Notes and Disclaimer with part 1

Gerald flipped his cell phone shut. He turned on Riley.

"You were wrong. They haven't headed South at all."

"But sir, the maps..."

"Were a trick to throw us off the scent. It's a lucky thing for you that I need you for this operation, or I'd turn you over to a certain demon of my acquaintance who likes to eat the limbs of his victims first, and saves the vital organs for last. Quite a show, Finn. I've seen it several times, but it never fails to entertain. The entire process can take days, and the subject remains alive until almost the end."

Riley swallowed hard.

"I won't let you down, sir."

"No. You won't. One way or another, I'll get good value from you."

"Sir?"

"Yes, Finn?"

"Would you happen to know which way they did go?"

"A vampire in my employ saw the vehicle headed up into the mountains. We'll need to get to him before sunrise."

"Can do, sir."

"Excellent, my boy. You see how easy it is to please me? Make sure you do from now on."

*****

Giles was startled from his sleep yet again by a shuffling noise, and the beam of a flashlight. Instinctively, he pulled Buffy a bit closer.

"What is it?" she mumbled.

"It's just me."

Buffy and Giles both sat up.

"Carrie Ann," he said, "whatever are you doing in here?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"I thought you were with Cordelia," Buffy said. "I kinda got the impression that you liked her."

"I do. But I couldn't sleep. Sometimes my Mom and Daddy would let me come sleep with them and I told Cordelia. She tried it. But she had Angel come be with us and he scares me."

"Does Cordelia know you're here now?" Giles asked.

The girl shook her head.

"I waited until they were both asleep and came here. Angel's cold."

Giles took one look at the expression on Buffy's face, and got slowly to his feet.

"I'd best go let her know we've got a guest for the night," he said with some humor.

"Come here, kiddo," Buffy said as she opened up her sleeping bag to accommodate the child.

"You're sure it's okay?"

"Yeah. We're sure."

Carrie Ann snuggled in next to Buffy.

*****

Giles stepped carefully into the next cave. He flashed the beam of light around the cave, cursing himself for having left his glasses behind somewhere in the darkness. He had to peer carefully at every face to find the one he was looking for.

Wesley and Gunn lay huddled close to one another for warmth since they had no sleeping bags. Fred was also without protection from the cold, but seemed less concerned with that. She had curled into a ball on a rock and snored lightly. Even in her sleep, her right hand appeared to be clutching some writing implement and scrawling on the rocks. Giles shook his head.

Cynthia slept soundly and alone in her sleeping bag. Giles had no idea where she'd managed to find an air pillow for her head, but he envied her for it. It was so very like her to be prepared for almost anything fate might throw in her direction.

At last, he found Angel and Cordelia. He frowned at their posture. It might be none of his business, but they seemed almost as though they might be lovers, curled together as they were. Cordelia's cheek rested on the vampire's still chest, and his arm was wrapped protectively around her.

Giles reminded himself that Cordelia had been there when Angelus was unleashed. She was an intelligent girl, and well able to take care of herself. What's more, Angel now knew the parameters of his curse. The likelihood of disaster was far less if they became involved romantically than it had been with Buffy. All he could do was trust that, whatever feelings might be developing there, both parties would be strong enough to resist temptation.

He reached out to touch Cordelia's arm gently.

"Cordelia? Cordelia, wake up," he whispered.

The seer made a soft sound of protest and pulled closer to Angel.

"Cordelia, please, wake up. I need to talk to you."

"Go 'way," she muttered.

"Not until you wake up. It's about Carrie Ann."

Instantly, Cordelia was awake and hunting for her charge.

"Where is she? Ohmigod! She's missing! Where'd she go?"

"Cordelia, calm down; everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know she's gone into the other cave to spend the night with us."

"But why?"

"It seems, that...well, she doesn't much like Angel, I'm afraid. I just wanted you to know she's safe."

Cordelia let out a sigh of relief, then swatted Giles' arm.

"Don't scare me like that! And what's wrong with Angel?"

"He is a vampire," Giles began mildly.

"Yeah, I know. That doesn't mean he's not a good person. He is."

"Carrie Ann is a potential Slayer. She's probably reacting to an instinct she can't even identify."

"He's good, Giles. He helps people."

"Why are you trying so hard to convince me? Cordelia, this really isn't any of my business, but...you and Angel...."

"Stop. Stop right there, Giles. This is my life, and Angel's...or...his unlife, I guess, but it isn't about you."

Giles smiled to himself. He might have known Cordelia wouldn't be the sort to sit quietly and listen to his advice.

"I know. And I'm not going to attempt to forbid you to...become involved with him. It isn't my place. I just wanted to say that if you need me or Buffy, we'll be a phone call away."

Cordelia smiled wryly.

"Is that your oh-so-subtle way of telling me you'll be happy to stake him if I can't?"

"Actually, it's my far too subtle way of saying I'd like to hear from you now and again. Just to know how you're doing."

"And you'll be happy to stake Angel if I can't."

"But only if it becomes necessary."

"Thanks. That's actually good to know. Now get back to Buffy. I need my beauty sleep."

"Hardly that," he demurred.

"Flatterer."

As Giles moved back to the entrance of the cave, Cordelia shot up and howled in pain. Everyone in the cave was on alert instantly.

"Cordy, what is it?" Angel asked in his most soothing tone. "Can you tell me what you see?"

"They're coming..they know where we are! Vampires, demons, some...soldier guy and a weird creepy guy in a tweed suit. Too many, too many, we'll never stop them all."

Angel turned to Giles.

"I guess we know why Carrie Ann needs you to save her."

"I'll take her as far as I can."

"Where?"

"No," Wesley said, "don't tell us. If we know, that information can be gotten from us through torture or mindreading. The less we know, the better her chances, and yours."

"I'll do my best to get help."

He turned to Cynthia.

"Don't even try it, Rupert. I'm staying."

Giles embraced her quickly.

"Will it do any good whatsoever to ask you to be careful?"

"I can take care of myself. Now hurry."

Gunn threw Giles the keys to the van as he sped out of the cave and into the other.

"Buffy, they're coming. I've got to get Carrie Ann out of here now."

He took the little girl into his arms as Buffy scrambled to attention.

"I'm coming with you."

"No. You've got to stay and help the others. Please, Buffy, it's her only hope."

He traced her cheek with his fingertips. She held his hand to her face and pressed a kiss into the palm.

"Stay alive, Giles."

He smiled at her.

"I will always come for you. Believe that."

He bent and kissed her lips for the first time. With a final smile he turned to leave.

"Giles!" she called after him.

He turned.

"You'll need these."

He took his glasses from her outstretched hand.

"Ah, yes, I suppose I will."

Buffy watched him leave with a sinking heart. Then she shook herself together. She had a battle to prepare for.

*****

"Are you sure they went this way, sir?"

Riley punched several buttons on the hand held tracking device he carried. He frowned as the screen continued to show him nothing of use.

"Of course they did. I can feel it in my bones."

"With all due respect, sir, I'd rather rely on an accurate reading than intuition."

"This isn't mere intuition, Finn. I know him."

"You know Angel?"

"Not the vampire; my brother."

"Brother, sir?"

"Dear Rupert has a distinctive magical signature, if one is attuned to it. Oh yes, he's been this way recently. He's done a casting of some sort here."

"You mean...Giles is your brother?"

"Step brother. I never much liked him."

They walked in silence for some time, Riley aware the entire time of the army of fiends, vampires and demons behind them. This wasn't what he'd signed on for at all. Finding potential Slayers and making sure they were properly trained had sounded like a good thing, but this...

The chance to make sure this girl got her training, and maybe stake Angel into the bargain had been appealing, but things were rapidly spiraling out of control. The bodies were piling up - human bodies - and that made him uncomfortable.

He stopped his brain in its tracks. He had a mission to complete. If boundaries had been overstepped, that could be taken up with the Council when the job was finished.

A sound caught his ears. He signaled two creatures to follow the faint rustling as quietly as they could. Moments later they returned bearing a defunct raccoon, gnawing on it as they went.

"I never expected it to be this way," Riley muttered to himself.

"What was that, Finn?"

Riley pointed to the right.

"I expect they went this way, sir."

*****

9

Notes and Disclaimer with part 1

Giles gave a sigh of relief. He had made it down the mountain without running into Gerald and his army. That meant he had some time to find help before the battle began. If only he knew how long he had. He glanced nervously at the girl beside him. Carrie Ann sat tight-lipped and still. He knew that look. It was the one Buffy wore when she blamed herself for a failure that couldn't have been predicted.

"None of this is your fault, you know," he told her.

"Yes it is, too."

"No, it isn't. What's been done to you...well, it's beyond what is usually done, which is bad enough. At any rate, you've done nothing wrong."

"Sure I did. I was born funny, and now all those people are gonna die because of me."

"They will not die, Carrie Ann."

"How do you know?"

"I know because you and I are going to save them."

He turned the van. He knew where to go for reinforcements. Not the usual sorts he went to in time of crisis but, just this once, they might work for rather than against his Slayer.

*****

Buffy pulled Cynthia aside.

"Look, if you want to leave, it's okay. Nobody expects you to do much in the fighting."

"Thanks, but I'm staying. I have to. And I can wield a weapon perfectly well; crossbow by preference. I'm also quite proficient with a short sword."

"I don't want to scare you, but these guys in Cordy's vision, they're the worst of the worst. I know you think you know all about this stuff, but it's dangerous and I don't want to have to explain to Giles how I let you get killed. He'd get kinda cranky, I think."

"Your concern is touching, but quite unnecessary, I assure you. Look."

Cynthia undid the top buttons of her shirt and pulled it aside. Buffy regarded the mole with some humor.

"Y'know, they have ways to remove those now."

"I could have the mole removed, but not its meaning."

"So that's how you hooked up with Giles' dad. He was your Watcher."

"Watcher to a Slayer who was never called. It's an odd limbo to live in. Makes one unfit for an average life. I was glad when Rupert was sent to you. As much as Bevis was relieved I was never forced to put my life on the line as you have, it was still a disappointment to him that his efforts seemed wasted. Tonight, I will prove that he prepared me every bit as well as Rupert prepared you. Just for tonight, two Slayers will fight side by side."

"I've kinda missed that, y'know. Okay. I'll get you a crossbow and a short sword. You wouldn't happen to be good at the magic stuff, too would you?"

"I'm afraid not, Buffy. I was always a rather prosaic person, not much in touch with the mystical."

"Me neither. So we'll be in charge of hitting things and let Wesley handle the mojo. I really, really hope he's up to it."

*****

"Anything?" Angel asked hopefully.

"Perhaps," Wesley answered. "I'm not terribly powerful with magic, but there are a few things I can do to hold them off for a bit. I could create some smoke, perhaps, or conjure up an image of a huge fighting force behind us who aren't there. It wouldn't last long, but it might be enough to hold them off until we can think of something better."

"Smoke's a bad idea. It'll hurt us as much as them."

Cordelia joined the men.

"I wish I could just hit them all with one of my vision headaches. That would slow them down."

"That's not a bad idea," Wesley said. "I wonder how we could do that."

"It'd be real simple if we had some sort of electronic equipment that we could rewire to produce real loud feedback," Fred offered from her rock. "Only problem is, to be loud enough to hurt 'em, it'd hurt us too. We'd all pretty much pass out, unless there's something that doesn't have ears. I wonder what it's like not to have ears. Quiet, I guess, but not much fun at parties. But we could do it."

"Lose our ears?" asked Cordelia.

"No, no, hurt their ears...well, the ones that have ears at all. Did they all have ears in your head?"

"Gee, let me think...I didn't notice through all the pain, thanks for asking."

Angel, meanwhile was rummaging through his coat pocket. He pulled out a sleek plastic device.

"Could you make this loud enough to hurt them?"

Fred took the item and began to inspect it.

"Hey!" Cordelia protested. "That cell phone wasn't cheap!"

"I'll get a new one when we get through this. Can you do it, Fred?"

"What about when the rest of us pass out from the noise?" Cordelia asked.

Wesley had been searching for something in his bag. At last he found what he'd been looking for.

"We can use these."

"Industrial strength earplugs?" Cordelia raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "Do I want to know why you have these?"

"I use them when I go to loud concerts, and occasionally at Caritas when the lineup of demons is particularly tone deaf. These should afford enough protection to our ears."

"Cordy, pass these out," Angel ordered. "Make sure everybody wears them, and I mean everybody. Got it?"

"Okay, okay. I'll use them."

"Good. I don't want you damaged."

She smiled at him.

"You're just a big old ball of mush inside, aren't you?" She handed him a pair of plugs. "I don't want you getting damaged either."

As Cordelia went to hand out ear plugs, Wesley moved closer to Fred.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well that all depends. Do you have a bobby pin?"

Wesley reached into his bag again, and came up with a small box.

"Bobby pins, paper clips, bits of wire, and other assorted things nobody ever seems to have on hand when they're needed."

Fred gazed at him with shining eyes.

"Wow. That's just about the most amazing thing I ever did see...well, maybe not. I did see a lot of amazing things on Pylea, but for here, it's pretty amazing."

"Why thank you, Fred. I do believe that's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in some time."

*****

"Sir, I have a lock on their position. About fifty meters straight ahead."

"Good, Finn. You and I will go in alone at first."

"Alone?"

"To show good faith. We wouldn't want to make them feel they were under attack...for now."

"Sir?"

Gerald sighed. Finn's record had indicated that he was a good soldier and a scholar, and yet he had proven to be neither. Too inquisitive for a good second in command, and yet too unimaginative to have majored in such a speculative branch of science as psychology.

"If we approach with a legion of monsters, they will have no choice but to fight at once. If they fight at once, the girl could be harmed in the scuffle. If she is harmed, she will most likely die, and that is not what we want, Finn. No matter who lives or dies today, I want the girl alive. She survives the day. Later on we will see if the corrupting influence of these misfits has made her unworthy of the burden of fate."

Riley swallowed hard. He understood what Gerald meant: the girl they had hunted across the Southwest would probably die as soon as she was out of the country.

How the hell had he gotten himself into this mess?

*****

The little band stood at attention. Every nerve in every body humming with adrenaline. Cynthia, Gunn, and Buffy took the front line. Angel had been forced into the caves with the onset of sunrise. He cursed the timing, but recognized it as deliberate. At least his aim with throwing knives was deadly enough that he would still be of use in the coming conflict. Wesley and Cordelia had also armed themselves and stood just behind the first line of defense. The vampire knew Fred was still working on her project behind him, though he couldn't hear her mutterings through the earplugs he wore.

Buffy was nonplused by the absolute silence. Losing a sense made battle all the more difficult and dangerous. It also gave her more room to think about Giles and Carrie Ann and all the horrible things that might have happened to them. She sent up a silent prayer that she would see them soon, safe and sound.

A sudden movement in the undergrowth alerted her that things were about to get underway. Two men stepped into the clearing before the defenders. Buffy nearly dropped her crossbow.

She hadn't been expecting Riley.

"I see you were expecting us," Gerald drawled.

He was mildly surprised to get no response. Weapons remained pointed at him in readiness. He noticed his mother, her crossbow aimed at his skull.

"Now you don't want to do that, Mother dear. Look." He raised his arms. "I'm unarmed; not to mention your flesh and blood. Besides, if you'll just hand over the girl for her proper training, there will be no need of violence whatsoever. If you don't, well, I've an army of bloodthirsty demons in the woods. You wouldn't stand a chance."

The lack of reaction began to unnerve Gerald.

"What's the matter with you all? Cat got your tongues? Do you not understand that you will all die if you don't hand over the girl?"

He pulled a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Buffy. He heard a slight click from behind.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you, sir."

Gerald turned slowly.

"Finn?" he sounded genuinely hurt. "You were on my side."

"Don't make me do it. I will if I have to."

"Nonsense, Finn. You wouldn't shoot me."

"If I have to, I will. You know I can do it."

Gerald raised his weapon again, this time pointed at Riley. Buffy and Cynthia sprang as one and toppled Gerald. His gun went off as they knocked him to the ground. Riley clutched his thigh and fell as well. Wesley sprang forward to tend Riley's wound as Angel signaled Fred to stop what she was working on and removed his earplugs. Everyone dropped their weapons and emptied their ears.

"It's a good thing we had these," Cordelia commented. "Gunshots are loud."

Gunn brought a length of rope to Buffy and Cynthia who tied Gerald securely. They'd barely gotten him firmly bound, when a horde of police came onto the scene, guns at the ready.

"Freeze!" yelled one officer.

The little group looked at one another and raised their hands as Angel melted as far back into the cave as possible. With his enhanced hearing, he could tell that at least three dozen demons of various sorts were skulking away in the brush. He guessed none of them were anxious to meet the police, either.

*****

10

Notes and Disclaimer with part 1

Anya came out of the kitchen juggling a bowl of popcorn and two sodas.

"Xander, come help me. This is your snack, after all."

"Okay, An, I'll be right - " his attention was caught by the face on the TV screen. It couldn't be.

"Giles?"

"What about Giles?"

"He's on the news, An!"

Xander turned up the volume as his girlfriend slid onto the couch beside him.

"...and while I took Carrie Ann to the police, the others went into the mountains to act as decoys. It's what anyone would have done, really."

The pretty newswoman flashed a brilliant smile at Giles.

"Way to go, G-man! She's all yours for the asking," Xander crowed.

Then dropped a handful of popcorn as the screen filled with Buffy bounding into Giles' waiting arms.

"Giles! You're okay!"

"Buffy! Darling!"

The pair kissed passionately as the newswoman became somewhat disgruntled by the interruption. At last, Giles pulled back from Buffy, noticing the cameras.

"Oh...ah...I expect that last bit will be edited out?"

"We're live," the newswoman informed him.

"Wow," Anya commented. "I didn't know anyone could blush that red without bursting a blood vessel."

*****

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

"So how did everything go in court?" asked Willow as she and Buffy watched Giles build a sandcastle with Carrie Ann and Dawn.

"Pretty okay as court goes, I guess. We won't be hearing from Gerald ever again, and Riley managed to get his sentence reduced for turning state's evidence. And since neither one mentioned anything about monsters or vampires, nobody goes to the loony bin. I still can't believe they killed Carrie Ann's whole family, just to make her be a Slayer, even if she'll never really be one."

"But at least she's got a new family, right?"

"Yeah," Buffy agreed as she toyed with the new gold band on her finger. "everything's going great with the adoption."

"And what's it like being married to Giles?"

"The greatest," Buffy grinned. "Cynthia is in total I told you so mode, and Bevis keeps asking when we're going to make him a 'real' grandfather. He and Rupert are actually talking these days."

The pair fell silent for a while.

"Will?"

"Yeah Buff?"

"Thanks."

"For what? Not that I'm not happy to be thanked, but what'd I do?"

"I know I already thanked you for bringing me back, but I was still sorta in shock then. Everything was too bright and too...just too, okay? Even with everything I went through being dead, it was hard coming back. Suddenly I had all these decisions to make and stuff I had to deal with, and I wasn't really all that sure you'd done me any favors. I thought I was finished; that I didn't have anything more to do. But now I think if that had been true, maybe the spell wouldn't have worked. So I guess I have stuff left to do. Thanks for giving me the chance."

Willow looked oddly at her friend.

"Buffy...were you...I mean...did you..."

"Don't, Will. Don't ask. That part doesn't matter. I'm back, and I'm happy to be back. This is where I belong."

She hugged the witch tightly.

"Actually, Buff, I think you belong over there."

Buffy followed her friend's nod and saw that the sandcastle building session had turned into a fight. She hadn't noticed earlier that Xander was the foundation for the castle. Now Anya was on the scene managing to look fierce despite her Hello Kitty bikini and Dawn had turned traitor to team Giles by starting to dig Xander out.

"I guess I better go save my guy, huh?"

By the time Buffy made it across the beach, Tara and Carrie Ann had joined the Xander rescue squad and Anya was busy kissing her man and making him better.

Giles held out his arms as Buffy came close. He swept her up into his arms and twirled around so fast she had to reach one hand up to hold the sunhat on her head. She threw back her head and laughed.

Heaven had been peaceful, but this was much better.

*****

The Angel Investigations team stumbled through the door of the Hyperion Hotel, dropping weaponry on the floor as they went.

"Wow, that was really something!" Fred exclaimed. "My ear blaster finally worked!"

"But that thing had no ears," Cordelia protested. "Who knew there really would be a demon with no ears?"

"At least it's dead, now," Angel said.

"Thanks to some pretty impressive one-two headchopping from Wes and yours truly," crowed Gunn.

The two gave one another a complex handshake that seemed to involve large amounts of elbow bumping and thumb-entwining.

"Pretty impressive, yes," Wesley agreed. "But now I'd like to shower for about six months. I think I shall go home and do just that. Good night, all."

"Yeah, that sounds like a real good idea," Gunn agreed. "You got your ride, Wes? Or do you want me to drop you off?"

As the two headed out the door, Cordelia shook her head.

"Do they really think they're fooling anybody?"

Angel smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't want to talk about Wesley and Gunn."

He dropped a soft kiss on the back of her neck.

"Angel," she giggled. "Do you have anything else on your mind at all?"

"Do you?"

"Well, I was thinking you could let me have a bubble bath and then we could meet up in my room and...watch a movie."

"Sleepless In Seattle?"

Cordelia laughed and kissed the vampire.

"Mushball. You made me watch that last week, remember?"

"Okay. When Harry Met Sally?"

"What is the Meg Ryan fetish all about? Don't you like any Julia Roberts movies?"

The two bickered amiably as they made their way upstairs, arms around one anothers' waists. Fred watched them from her perch on the round, pouffy seat in the middle of the lobby. Maybe it was time to move on and find another place to stay. She could still work with Angel and his friends. That was nice. But the Hyperion was starting to get a bit crowded. That's what her mother had always said: two's company and three's a crowd.

Maybe she'd go apartment hunting tomorrow.

She pulled out a pad of paper and wrote herself a note.

Find apartment tomorrow.

THE END

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