A/N: Caution; this chapter contains the following pairings - Xandelia, Puffy, Spuffy, slight inkling of Bangel, Woz, Lesley, Giles/Jenny (I couldn't figure out an adorable couple name. xD), Friley, and Gwunn. There also will be no Dawnnor in this story, because of my love for Bangel. If Connor and Dawn start dating and Angel and Buffy are dating, that's just weird. Especially with Cordelia being there and all. That's REALLY, REALLY weird.

IF YOU DON'T REVIEW THIS CHAPTER I WILL NOT POST ANYTHING ELSE. I'm posting this chapter because a bunch of people put it on Story Alert, so I know there are people that will read this. But if you don't review, how will I know that anyone bothers to check it? REVIEW, or I will send Illyria God-King after you, kay?

Angel knew that Buffy was calling before she even began to type the numbers into the cell phone. There was a strange connection between them: he knew when she would try to contact him, sometimes even before she knew it.

Sure enough, the phone rang a few seconds later. Angel answered it halfway through it's first vibration. "Hello? Buffy?"

"Yeah, it's me. You wanna tell me what your problem is? SPIKE just showed up in the middle of my date. Why didn't I know he was back?"

"I wanted to tell you, but -"

"But you were so busy running your evil law firm that you couldn't pick up the phone and call me? No, not even to-to call… you know, there's this thing now; it's called the internet. You could've e-mailed me or something. And instead you just let me cry over him instead of… you're a real… I can't think of a word for you right now, but you are it. And also, consider my cookies off-limits." Buffy slammed her thumb into the red hang-up button and began to cry.

***

"Oz!"

Willow ran over to the (currently) red-haired boy and gave him a hug. God, she'd missed him so much. The traumatizing incident involving a gun, a garden, and Tara had caused her to have yet another change in which gender she tended to go out with - she was now officially un-gay.

"Hey, Will," he said, catching her gently in a hug. "I've missed you. I haven't seen you in… how long has it been? Five years?"

"Yeah, but I've talked to you on the phone since then; we've kept in touch," Willow replied. "So, how are you? What have you been up to since I last saw you five years ago? You're always pretty vague on the phone - even when I told you about the fetal pigs that I used to make fun of Wesley!"

"Ah, Willow, you've been using the poor fetal pigs to mock Wesley? It's not their fault they're fetal. I've been developing my philosophies about gummy worms. Pretty cool; I didn't want some other up-and-coming philosopher-slash-guitar player to steal my ideas and write a song about them."

"Oh, yes, because everyone could pull off playing a song written about gummy worms," Willow said with a smile.

"What happened to you, Willow?" Oz asked suddenly, turning to look at her. "Something's happened to you, and you've tried to get over it. You can't, so you pretend that you've gotten over it. What happened?"

"Well, I turned gay, my girlfriend was killed by an ordinary guy with a gun, I turned evil and tried to kill him and his friends, I went to England; got some help from the Coven, turned invisible to my friends and almost had all of my skin eaten off, which it would have been if Spike hadn't been insane at the time, had an annoying, immature loser stalk me for almost two years, and battled off the First Evil, which killed Anya and left Xander somewhere between depressed and proud. It's been weird, but I've dealt."

"Spike isn't always insane?" Oz asked. Leave it to him to pick out the most irrelevant detail.

"No, he's usually pretty de-insane," Willow told him, smiling again. "Which I guess would make him just sane, without the extra prefixes. But, see, that was right after he got his soul and came back to Sunnydale. It was creepy; he muttered to himself and saw dead people and everything. Thank God for it, though."

They were quiet for a few minutes as they walked. They were in D.C., walking down the Mall. Willow had never been there before; it was amazing to look at these monuments that she'd only seen in textbooks before rising right before her eyes.

"So, meet anyone interesting?" Willow asked. She tried to sound flippant, as if this question weren't of vital importance to her, even though it was.

"Angel was in Tibet at the same time I was. We were training with some people that said they were monks. That was right after Buffy died; Angel filled me in on that whole deal. Anyway, the monks; they weren't monks. They were actually trying to kill me because I'm a werewolf and they wanted to eat me. A few years later I heard about this girl named Nina that they tried to eat for the same reason, but Angel stopped them. Then I heard that Angel started going out with this girl who was almost eaten whose name is Nina. I wonder where Nina is now; I'm sure we would have a lot to talk about."

"Cool," Willow procrastinated. She decided to come right out and give a vigorous hint. "I'm not gay anymore."

"I'm not quite sure what to say, Will. I mean, is that like a conversation starter or are you implying that you want to start dating again? Because if it's a conversation starter I'd say, 'Well, now you can get married in all fifty states,' but if you wanted to date, I would say, 'That's great; which of the fifty states would you like to go on a date in?'.

"I was actually leaning towards the second one," she said, suddenly hesitant. "I mean, assuming you want to start dating again."

"Of course I do. I've hoped for the last five years since I've seen you that you would unexpectedly call me and say that you're no longer gay and that you like me again."

Oz and Willow were both smiling.

***

Lilah.

Where is Lilah?

I have to find her. She should be here, but she's not. Where is she? She can't still be working for Wolfram and Hart. Even they couldn't be that cruel.

I know that Fred would like me to find her, and I will. Right after I find Lilah. I've already spent my last few moments on Earth with Fred, but that was only because I know her better than Illyria and Illyria offered. I accepted. Now, I wished that I hadn't taken her up on her offer. I quite liked that blue hair and her stormy, ice-colored eyes.

But Lilah is the one I have to find. Not Fred, not Illyria, not the robot that pretended to be my father. Where could Lilah possibly be hiding? When will she come out?