Chapter 3
Willow, Xander, Oz and Giles sat in a circle in the living room, waiting for sundown. Walter busied himself in the kitchen making tea and feeding his cats- the four he brought with him. He told them he had seven more at home, who were being cared for by his neighbor, but he constantly lamented on the separation.
Willow sat next to Giles, patting him on the shoulder. "Poor Giles. Are you going to be ok?"
"I think getting closure will help immensely." he told her with a sad smile. "I'm so grateful to you all for coming."
"It's nothing, Giles. It's what we do, right? Slay?" Buffy said, smiling at him.
"I still appreciate it… look, the sun is going down. Time to patrol. Everyone have crosses and stakes?"
"Got it." Xander said. The girls nodded, and they were off into the cool Washington night.
"Xander, you stay on this street. We want to make sure that whatever killed Maurice won't return to the sight of the murder. Buffy and I will patrol the town… but stay there." Giles said firmly.
"You got it, boss." Xander said.
"What about me?" Willow asked.
"Actually… Buffy, do you think you can patrol alone? I'll take Willow."
"Ok, we'll meet back in an hour." Buffy said.
"Sounds good." Will agreed, and they all set off.
It took about fifteen minutes for Xander to recognize that he'd been left with a job designed to keep him out of the way.
"No one appreciates me." he sighed, plopping down on the porch.
Someone was walking down the street, towards him. It wasn't Buffy or Willow.
"Giles?" he called. The person stopped. "Oh. Not Giles. Sorry." he said, a stab of fear moving through him. He gripped his stake tightly. Where was Buffy?
The man began walking towards him again, and Xander could feel his stomach tighten with fear. He bolted into the house, into safety. Well, safe if the thing out there was a vampire, but not if it was a demon…
His mind listed the myriad demons and deaths those demons inflicted as he peeked out the window.
The figure was definitely the size and shape of a man, but with only the dim streetlights, Xander couldn't see any features. The thing stopped at the neighbor's house, looked around, and scaled the wall right into the second floor bedroom!
"Shit." Xander gasped. He needed Buffy, ASAP.
-Meanwhile, in Sunnydale-
Oz banged on Angel's door.
"Open up! Angel!"
It had taken half an hour to figure out that Angel wasn't coming to the movie. Oz had called Cordelia, who was at the Bronze, and asked if she'd seen him. She hadn't, but was pissed that he hadn't invited her, though he knew she would have rejected the offer. It just wasn't his night. He wished for Willow.
Finally, the door opened, and there was Angel with a packed bag.
"Dude. Where do you think you are going?" Oz asked, dumbstruck.
"To help Buffy. She needs me."
"All due respect, she doesn't need a babysitter."
"Neither does Willow, but you still want to protect her."
"That's completely different! Buffy's the Slayer!"
"If Willow is with her, and Giles, then she's plenty safe, and you know it. I've got to go, I have a plane to catch."
"What about sunlight?"
"It's a short flight." Angel walked past him, out into the night.
"Shut the door, will you?" he called back.
Oz did. And then he called Cordelia.
