A/N: Okay, so this chapter is a bit longer than the other ones - okay maybe a lot longer. But there's a point to it! I'm doing this so that way I can start getting to the good stuff because... -drum roll-

The Doctor shows up next chapter.

So get ready, because we're about to launch into the fun times!

None of the characters in this story belong to me other than the storyline.

Chapter Three

Los Angeles Airport, California

The noise of his own feet slapping against tile, the skittering of his suitcase as it wheeled along haphazardly behind him, and the wheezing breaths that he was taking filled his ears as Rupert Giles jogged along the tiled hallways of the Los Angeles Airport. He had just gotten off his direct flight from London to Los Angeles, and although it had taken him a few minutes to get the feeling back in his legs, he was now in a hurry to get to where he was going. It had already been a day since he had gotten the news, and he had cursed himself for having been gone to England when she had shown up. Customs had seemed to take far longer than it normally did, and thankfully the Americans weren't too worried about doing security checks for people who passed Customs. But, it felt like this airport was much larger than the previous times he had been there.

It was well after sunset when his flight had finally landed, and although he had left London at 7 PM their time, he had just now arrived in Los Angeles shortly after 11 PM. It was amazing how what had been an overnight flight only resulted in a four hour time difference from when he had stepped foot on the plane. In England, it would have been morning time, somewhere close to 7 AM. At least this meant that they might still be awake when he arrived at the Institute.

The last row of checkpoints came into sight and Giles smiled wearily, slowing his pace slightly. Within the next half hour he would be seeing her for himself, and he'd finally have some answers as to the cryptic phone call that had delivered the news. If only his mind would stop asking questions that he currently had no answers to, things would be much brighter than they were. But yet, it would not silence itself, because he knew that her having finally made an appearance meant something had transpired.

Something that might not necessarily be pleasant, but then again, when had anything regarding Buffy been considered pleasant in the retrospect of matters?

That was what plagued his mind and had bothered him the entire flight. Why would she show up now, of all times? Was there a chance she had heard the news of what they were doing? There was a possibility. It was not something that they were attempting to keep secret from the Underworld, and news travelled fast in the Underworld. If Buffy was any kind of Slayer still, she would have kept her contacts and allowed them a way of contacting her in case something happened that would have piqued her interest.

His footsteps slowed further as he considered that. She could simply have decided to come back after such a long absence because she had finally fixed whatever was wrong with her. It could be that she was interested in helping with what they were doing. After all, Buffy had always been the kind to take a proactive stance in group doings, making sure that she always helped and benefited the project in whatever way she could. Many a time she had done that simply by doing her duty as the Slayer, but perhaps this time it was different. Perhaps this time, she honestly wanted to help and not because she felt obligated to.

The thought pattern was cut off as the familiar beep of his clearance through the checkpoint reached his ears and as Giles stepped through the two scanners, he pushed his glasses up onto his nose and looked towards the rows of double glass doors that led to the pull around for taxis. In front of the set almost directly in front of him stood someone that caused him to stop in his tracks.

Angel was standing there, obviously waiting for him. With his hands shoved into the pockets of the black trench coat that he had worn for the entirety of the time that Giles had known him and his hair still a deep black and a natural spike to it, he did not look much different than the last time Giles had seen him shortly before leaving Los Angeles. He gave a slight nod, barely enough of a nod for Giles to recognize it as one as Giles approached him. "Giles, how was the flight?"

The older looking man sighed as he let go of his suitcase after setting up upright and reached up to take his glasses off and clean them on the cotton shirt he wore. "Long, tiring, but it was all right, I suppose. The music selection was quite bland, to be honest, though." Angel's mouth split into a grin at the comment. Giles was still Giles, after all this time. Even if he did seem a bit weathered after all they had been through, he was still the same staunch, wise man that he had always been. "Have you seen her yet?"

And always straight to the point – most of the time.

Angel shook his head as he turned and pushed open one of the double doors, holding it open for Giles to pass by him. "Not yet. It's been daylight, so no real way of me getting there from where I stay at." Another sigh came from Giles as he nodded his head as Angel followed after him.

"Does this mean you are my ride then?" Angel gave a nod as they began to walk down the curving driveway that served as pick up for people leaving the airport. "Good. I didn't fancy finding a taxi to take me to the Institute."

A chuckle came from Angel as he stretched his arms out and said half heartedly joking, "Your own personal chauffeur at your service." They both shared a strained laugh as they continued down the walkway. "Has anyone told you anything?"

Giles shook his head and answered, "No, they only gave me a rather cryptic message. Did they give you much the same thing?" A nod was the only answer Giles got as they came upon a black Mustang that Angel stopped at. Angel moved around towards the driver's side door and Giles shot him a look as he asked, "Is this our ride then?"

He flashed a smile at Giles as he said, "I hope she isn't too much for you, Giles. Wouldn't want to upset your stuffy librarian persona after all." Glancing at the vampire from the corner of his eyes, Giles opened the passenger door and tucked his suitcase into the backseat before sliding into the car. As Angel climbed in on the driver's side and shut his door, Giles responded with a quip that made Angel laugh uproariously.

"Perhaps only if she can outdrive my gallant red lady."

Los Angeles, California

"Come on, Buffster, you can give us a little bit of the down low before Mr. Broody and Giles get here." Xander's voice echoed throughout the room as he lounged back in his chair. Although he gave the impression that he was relaxed, his leg was bouncing up in down in jittery off beat showing the anticipation and anxiety he felt at whatever news Buffy had to share with them. Willow patted his shoulder reassuringly as Buffy shot him a stare from the corner of her eyes before continuing her slow, rhythmic pacing across the bottom tier of the library.

"No can do, Xander. I want everyone here before I share and start asking questions." She was gazing at the ground as she said it, her eyes focused on the next step her feet would take rather than anything else going on around her. That was the way she had been since they had gathered there two hours ago waiting on Angel and Giles to show up. Buffy had remained mostly quiet, which was unusual for Buffy to do. She was usually the one who was constantly chattering about something, whether it was sharing information, asking questions, pepping the team, or whatever. She almost always had some words to say.

Although after her second death and being brought back she had become quieter, since the destruction of Sunnydale, she hadn't been quiet. Willow, Xander and Kennedy remembered her as being chipper and talkative, constantly having something to say or chip in. The red head and Latino had tried to ask her questions, but they only got one word responses and after several attempts and failures, they had gone back to doing what they were supposed to be doing – studying.

Silence descended on the library once more and Xander continued to bounce his leg up and down. Buffy's footsteps and the squeaking of his sneakers against the linoleum were the only sounds that could be heard. Occasionally there was the shared whisper between Willow and Kennedy but it was usually only about something one of them had come across in their books. Buffy continued to pace, Xander continued to stew, and Willow and Kennedy continued to distractedly study.

It wasn't until the door opened that any of them made a single noise.

As the door slammed open, Buffy jumped, Xander squawked, and Kennedy let out a small shriek as Willow gasped in surprise. All heads turned sharply to stare at the door, expecting to see Giles and Angel but instead they were met with a different surprise as a flurry of brown and blonde streaked hair went rushing towards Buffy at top speed.

Dawn Summers threw herself at Buffy in a grapple as she tackled her older sister to the ground, hugging her as tightly as she could. "You're here, you're actually here." The words were said with such awe and happiness that Buffy was shocked at them. All she could do was hug her little sister back from where they lay in a heap on the ground. "I can't believe it. You're back."

At some point during the hugging, Xander, Willow, and Kennedy had all stood up. Willow tucked a strand of hair behind her ear she crossed her arms over her chest and Kennedy wrapped her arms around her stomach as she watched the two girls. Xander ran a hand through his hair, throwing a side long look at Willow and Kennedy before shoving his hands into his pockets. The entire scene made it seem as if Dawn wasn't supposed to be there, especially given the look of surprise on Buffy's face.

It was obvious to everyone that Dawn was not supposed to be there.

Whatever reason, it didn't matter. Buffy had no idea how to handle her little sister as she gave her a squeeze before pushing Dawn up slightly so she could slide back and stand up. She offered a hand to the brunette, who took it gladly. As soon as Dawn was back on her feet, she gave Buffy another hug and whispered, "I'm so happy to see you. I'm so happy you're back." The hug lasted only a few moments before Buffy was pulling away again and taking a step back. The smile that had been on Dawn's full lips began to fade as the blonde wrapped her arms around her stomach and gave only a small smile in return to the words.

"It's good to see you, Dawnie." The use of the nickname put Dawn's senses on high alert as Buffy looked away from her at Xander, Willow, and Kennedy briefly. "But… I'm not here to stay." The words had not been what Dawn was expecting as she took a step back and sank into the chair that was nearest available. "I'm sorry, but I'm only here for… information." Buffy knew the words were weak and sounded pathetic even as they came out of her mouth, and she almost winced as Dawn pressed her lips together into a thin line and nodded slowly.

Dawn didn't respond right away and Xander, Willow, and Kennedy could feel the tension as it rose. It was one of those tensions that was palpable and it made them all shift nervously in their own little ways as they tried not to act as if they could feel it. "I should have known." The words were barely audible as Dawn whispered them, her blue eyes taking on a slight green to them as she stared at her sister. "You never actually come back; you're always on the job – even when there are hundreds of other Slayers now." Buffy was waiting for the line she was used to, the accusation that Dawn was never important enough to her but as she waited, her teeth gritted, it never came. Her little sister sighed and tucked long brunette strands behind her ear, looking at the ground the entire time, but she never said the dreaded words that always stuck a knife in Buffy's heart and twisted it.

"Dawn… something happened. I had to investigate it, and now… I need answers." She held her hands out at her side as she shrugged her shoulders. "But you know I can't stay here. I… I don't belong here." As she said the words, they stung with the honesty behind them and Buffy's gaze pleaded with each of them to understand. It was something that all of them had known was true, even when Buffy had taken off in the middle of the night, but it didn't make it any easier to hear them.

Kennedy hugged Willow as the red head wrapped her arms around her stomach and Xander looked at the ground, scuffing the tip of his shoe against the floor. None of them said anything as Dawn nodded and looked up at Buffy's pleading look. "I know. We all know. It just… it doesn't make it any easier when we don't hear from you." Buffy's eyes widened slightly as she met Dawn's steady gaze. She was used to the temper tantrums, not the maturity that Dawn was displaying at the younger girl crossed her arms and continued to stay strong in her gaze.

"So you knew."

"Buffy… we've known you how long now? Of course we knew." It was the first time Willow had spoken in what felt like hours and her voice wavered slightly as she said the words. Buffy glanced back at her before nodding and turning back to Dawn. "It's just… When you came back, when you just showed up, we thought maybe you were back this time, permie back." The red head's eyebrows shot up with emphasis on the last two words.

"I… I know. But, it's just…" Buffy was at a loss for words as she sank down into a chair opposite from Dawn and held her hands against her forehead before letting them slide down her face to cover her mouth. After a moment of not speaking, she shook her head and abruptly changed the subject with the question, "How have you been doing?"

Dawn continued to look steadily at her sister as she thought over her response before saying it. "I've been good, actually. I have a job, I'm going to school. College school, not high school." Buffy arched her eyebrows as she nodded her head and Dawn continued, "I've also been studying. A lot. Giles recruited me." As Dawn said the words, Buffy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Xander, Willow, and Kennedy each made a facial expression of regret at the words that Dawn had just said.

"Recruited you?"

Buffy's voice rose a little on the words, pitching higher than it normally would as the sound of confusion ran over Dawn. Her little sister's mouth formed a perfect O as she realized that Buffy still didn't know. "Oh, you haven't heard… Uhhh, Willow, I'll leave this to you." For the first time, Dawn looked away from her sister and off to the side, shifting in her chair uncomfortably. As soon as Dawn had said the words, Buffy turned on the three standing behind her, her hair flying out in a perfect curtain behind her before coming to rest on her shoulders lightly.

"What does she mean by recruited?" Buffy's voice and gaze was steely as she asked the question again. Her posture read hostile as she crossed her arms over her chest and jutted out one of her hips. It was a go to pose for Buffy whenever she was surprised by something that she did not approve of right off the bat even if she had no idea what it entailed. "Willow, answer me. What does she mean?" Her words were pointed and tipped with venom as she said them. The poisonous quality to Buffy's voice caused Willow wince mentally as she wrung her hands for a brief moment.

"Well, after you left, we, we had a lot of Slayers coming to the Institute. Too many for Giles to train by himself, you know, cause he's the only Watcher." Willow's voice trailed off as she glanced at Kennedy and Xander, each in turn, for some sort of support.

Xander ran another hand through his hair before beginning to make gestures while he spoke. "Yeah, so Giles called us all together and asked us for help, for suggestions, and… the best we could come up with is… Watchers." He almost choked on the last word as Buffy's mouth parted in surprise and he swallowed the lump that had begun to rise in his throat as she looked from both Willow to him and back again.

"So, when we decided to reform the Watcher's Council, we started looking for people who would fit the position. Obviously, none of the Slayers could take them, so we looked at our group first – you know, the ones who weren't Slayers." Kennedy's voice was strong as she stepped forward and took Willow's hand in hers, staring down at Buffy with obvious wariness but resolve as well.

Buffy was still for few long moments, before she nodded and began to pace, glancing at the trio and then at Dawn as her mind puzzled over what they had just said. Within moments she had put two and two together and she rounded on Dawn, her question sharp as she asked, "And you're going to be one of the Watchers?" Once again, Dawn surprised Buffy as she met her gaze and held it while she nodded. Silence came down upon the library once more and Buffy continued her pacing.

Seconds stretched into minutes as they waited for the explosion to come. After fifteen minutes time had passed, it finally came. Buffy threw her arms out wide as she rounded on Dawn and yelled, "What in the world made you decide to do that!? Do you know how dangerous that position is?" Dawn didn't even bother to try and look chastised as she stood up so quickly that the chair she had been sitting in flipped backwards onto the ground. "Dawn, you can't just go making rash decisions like this. You remember how many times Giles almost got killed because he was my Watcher. Do you think the bond you share with whoever you end up being a Watcher for is going to be any different? What if you end up getting kil-"

"You mean like you did? I know the risks. I've seen them happen first hand. Don't forget, I went through your second death for months before you came back." Her words were quiet and Buffy would have missed them if Dawn hadn't cut her off. Although the younger girl stood with her fists clenched at her side and her eyes were volatile with emotions, she held firm in her stare with her older sister. "I know the risks, and I'm okay with them. Just because the First is gone doesn't mean that everything is okay. There's still danger from demons and vampires, and they're still trying, Buffy. These girls need Watchers and I fit the job requirements." She shrugged her shoulders after the statement before adding, "And… it's something that I really want to do."

"It's not like she's the only one, Buff." Willow's voice broke on her words as she spoke up for Dawn, supporting her and shaking slightly under Buffy's dagger like stare as the blonde turned back around to face her. "I'm going to be a Watcher as well. I was one of the first to be approached about it, and then Dawn. We know the risks, they've gone over them with us, and… we have more experience than any other Watcher has before. Other than Giles." She waved her hand in the air at her dismissal of Giles. "But, we've been in danger for years now. We were best friends with the Slayer, and Dawn… Dawn was related to you. How many times was she targeted because she was your sis?"

Buffy was at a loss for any counter argument as Kennedy and Xander nodded in agreement. She didn't even bother to come up with one as she turned on Xander next, almost sneering at him as she said, "And you? What's your entire purpose in this? I know you're not uninvolved because of your little story, Xand, so don't even try to make up an exc-"

"I recruit the Slayers, Buff. I'm a Recruiter. It's something new we had to come up with because… well, there's not just one Slayer anymore. Whenever we hear a story of a girl with super strength, we pursue it. Me and Angel." Xander ran another hand through his hair as he continued, "It's not as easy as it sounds. We have to find these girls, scope them out, find out if they're the real deal and then approach them. Sometimes, it's not easy like what you heard. The Bringers are still active even with the First's death. Vampires are trying to track down these girls and kill them even if they have formal training." Xander looked pointedly at Kennedy as he said this and the youngest girl of them all shifted her stance a little in discomfort.

At first, Kennedy didn't say anything even though they were all looking at her now because of Xander. It wasn't until Willow gave her a word of reassurance and a squeeze of her hand that she finally sighed and pulled down the half turtleneck she wore.

Clear as day on her golden skin was the telltale scar of two circular puncture marks. "I was out patrolling and a group got the jump on me. One of them managed to knock me out for like a minute and was biting on me when Xander and Willow came to the rescue. I was half dead, Buffy." Kennedy shuddered at the memory of it as she released the shirt's material and let it spring back up to hide the scar. "It happened two months ago. The vampires are becoming more active and we've had three or four Slayer deaths in the past four months. Three of them were untrained, one of them was trained." There was a grimace on Buffy's face as Willow slid her arm around the other Slayer's shoulders and Kennedy leaned into her, shutting her eyes at the comforting touch.

Dawn didn't give Buffy a chance to speak as she continued with the explanation. "We've found enough Slayers at this point to where we're trying to recruit Watchers for the ones who have finished training so they can be placed. The goal is to have a Slayer in every state, every country, every major city of a province, county, or state if a country has separate parts to it. The demonic activity has jumped back up to almost where it was at before the First and we need to show them that we're fighting them. That's why… That's why if someone fits the bill for Watcher and they want to, we take them. You're looking at the new Watcher's Council location."

"Welcome to the Institute, Buffy. We're glad to have you back."

None of them had heard the door open as they turned to look at Giles and Angel standing in front of it. Angel stood with his hands tucked into his pockets while Giles stood with his arms crossed and watching Buffy with a careful eye for her reaction as she looked at them. She was clearly in shock as she nodded slowly and sighed before shrugging her shoulders and giving a shaky smile. "So where do we start?" was the only question she asked.

Giles clapped his hands together and rubbed them as he began to walk forward. Angel gave his traditional smirk as he whispered, "And there's my girl."