"Here, try this one." The blond handed the brunette a slate blue dress and the girl held it at arm's length, looking at the garment dubiously. Buffy watched her and tried not to laugh. "I take it you don't wear dresses."

"Not in public where people can see me." The other replied doubtfully. "The last time I wore a dress was to my Aunt Jo's wedding to Uncle Fred and that was when I was six."

The blond sighed and pushed her toward the waiting bathroom. Buffy called her mother in LA and told her the situation. Then she passed the phone off to the other Slayer. Joyce decided she liked Destiny with her shy ways and approved of Buffy taking the new Slayer under her wing. She still wasn't comfortable with Slayers or what her daughter was but she thought this couldn't have come at a better time. Her daughter was accepted to college in the fall and like all mothers she wanted what was best for her baby. She didn't want to see someone else's baby get hurt but selfishly she thanked God that her daughter had a chance to move on.

The brunette stepped into the bathroom and pulled the slippery grayish blue fabric over her head. She felt bare when she looked at herself in the mirror. Spaghetti straps didn't cover her shoulders and her legs were bare from the knees down and showed the fact that she'd not seen real sun in years. When she came out, though, the other girl stared in wonder. She was pretty beneath all of the tomboy. The brunette was hugging herself, avoiding eye contact, showing she was embarrassed. "C'mon, Buffy. This isn't me."

"Not you is hot!" the other declared happily. "That blue matches your eyes and it looks great!"

"How am I supposed to slay in this thing?"

"You'll survive. The vampires will be so stunned by how great you look that they won't have time to attack."

"Very funny."

"And yet, not kidding. I knew you had the body but beneath those baggy shirts who'd have known?"

"Buffy!"

"Oh, alright." The other relented. "But I'll get you in a dress eventually. Just promise me one thing. You'll never, ever wear leather pants."

"huh?"

"Promise?"

"Um…sure?"

The blond dove into her closet once more determined to find the perfect thing for them both. This she eventually did after an hour of hard searching. When they descended the stairs again the small town Slayer was transformed. Her long brown hair was down and in waves from her perpetual braid and she was dressed in a form fitting shirt that dipped lower than she'd have liked in front. They compromised from spaghetti straps to tank sleeves and the color was a similar blue to the dress. Buffy even managed to convince the girl to wear makeup and did it tastefully enough. Xander caught his breath to see the two girls coming down the stairs.

"Wow!" he managed but that was all he managed.

"Thanks." The younger girl blushed as the older one rolled her eyes.

"Let's get going to patrol. We don't want to be late to meet Oz and Willow."

Xander stuck close to the girls as they made their way across town. In the grand scheme of things Sunnydale wasn't that large. Only one Starbucks, one fancy restaurant, and only one mall that barely made up two stories worth of shopping. Yep, it really was a one horse kind of town. Destiny had taken to calling it Singleton with a tan, a joking reference to her old town. They moved into the cemetery, sweeping the premises but nothing came out to play.

"It's probably the Ascension. They're scared to screw up his plans."

"Probably a good thing for us." Xander responded. Buffy nodded.

Destiny turned and walked back the way they came leaving Buffy to walk with her best friend. She watched him sidelong, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. He did have a thing for Slayers, after all, and this one seemed to be no exception. He stared at her from behind, his eyes following each movement of her body. The blond grabbed his hand and squeezed it, getting his attention.

"You don't want to go there, Xand." She warned. "We don't know her yet."

"Go where?"

"Do we have to talk about this like you don't know what I'm saying?" she asked softly, keeping her words from Destiny's earshot. Xander looked like he was playing dumb or, in the this case, actually clueless. She sighed. "You tend to get all emotional when it comes to Slayers and she's new and young and we don't know anything about her. Just, please, take it easy. I don't want you to get hurt again."

She was referring to Faith, of course, and herself further back. She'd never hurt him intentionally and Faith seduced him and then tried to kill him when he intervened on her behalf. If not for Angel…she trailed off and realized Destiny had come to a stop in front of them as well. She recognized the figure in front of the new Slayer.

"Angel!" she stopped, not able to hide the pain on her face even if she'd wanted to. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw Destiny. I checked on her thinking she might be attacked but there's nothing out here tonight. It's a graveyard." He stopped, noticing the irony of that statement.

"You don't need to worry about her. She's a new Slayer."

"You got here quick."

"I woke up when Faith died and the Council called about 2 minutes later to tell us to get here. A plane ride and six hours later we were here. So you're Angel. You're…wow!" she breathed softly. Buffy frowned before Destiny continued and she really frowned. "It's hard to imagine you as the demon that tortured all those people." Xander snickered.

"Well, I'm trying to make up for it." He looked sheepish, or managed to. The brunette didn't realize what she was saying and in whose company. Not much was written about the vampire in modern times and though Angelina was well acquainted with the exploits of Angel and Angelus in Giles' reports she didn't share much with her young and vulnerable protégé.

"How?"

"I kill my own kind. I've been helping Buffy."

"When you're not busy trying to kill her, Dead Boy. Let's not forget." Xander was unmistakably hostile.

"I'm confused."

"No need to be." Buffy butted in, elbowing Xander in the ribs. "Angel's leaving tomorrow. He won't be here anymore to distract us and we're dealing with that." She seemed to look at the dark haired man pointedly and it was enough to shut the younger Slayer up and make the vampire back up a pace.

"Oh." He looked at Buffy, his soulful eyes filled with anguish. "Are you alright? Is everything ready for tomorrow?"

Xander stepped in, putting himself between the girls and the vampire. "We're all set. Just show up and do your part and there won't be a problem."

The vampire snarled for a moment, unhappy to be talked down to by the boy. He kept it reined in knowing it wouldn't help. If anything, this was his mess and he had to take responsibility for it. He loved Buffy more than he could imagine but he also knew there wasn't a future for her that didn't include death in one way or another. He knew he was being cruel to be kind, leaving before they could destroy each other in the small ways only those in love can manage.

"Alright. I'll leave." He surrendered, holding up his hands. "It was good to see you, Buffy." He said meaningfully, at last. She shivered and he took that as her response. Without anymore words he took off toward the back of the property, past them. Buffy took off toward the front gates, needing to do something to distract her from the pain. Xander, used to irrational acts when it came to the vampire didn't seem to want to protest her leaving. He had another Slayer for back up, after all.

"What's the deal?" she asked softly once Buffy could no longer be seen.

"Buffy fell for one of the worst people in the world for her. That thing. Now he's finally doing the decent thing and leaving town but it's pretty much killin her. Now me and Will have to watch what he's leaving behind and it hasn't been pretty."

There was so much anger in his tone that the girl shivered. "You love her." She observed, making him stop in his tracks. He blinked, shaking his head.

"Well sure, I love the Buffster but it's not, you know, romantic. That ship sailed with my spectacular failure our sophomore year."

"So you're no in love with her?"

"No. I had my girlfriend and I lost her."

"And Buffy was with Angel?"

"Yep until they decided to get hot and sweaty. Then he lost his soul, went evil, and killed Giles' girlfriend. Buffy sent him to hell and he came back and she lied to us about it. Then they said they were only friends but it never was that way with them. It never will be. I'm glad he's leaving. I never liked him. Once a vampire, always a vampire."

"Are there any others, like him, with a soul?"

"No."

She didn't say anymore on the subject. Xander led her from the quiet graveyard without incident. He took her down the main street running through town and soon enough they came to the Bronze. She could hear the music coming from inside barely held back by the brick walls of the building. They were let in, people stared at Destiny coming in on Xander's arm. One brunette, in particular, seemed to take special notice.

"Oh, Xander, you found someone who doesn't mind that your only after school prospects include the phrase 'Do you want fries with that?' Good for you."

"Hey, Cordy, why don't you let me worry about my own life?" Destiny heard the same pain in his tone that she heard in Buffy's earlier. So this was his ex…

"I just think its sweet you found someone to support you as a future loser of America." She smiled cruelly.

Destiny felt herself wince. He was her friend, or, at least, a potential friend and she didn't like seeing him treated this way. Without letting him make a response she pulled him to her and kissed him. She didn't have much experience with kissing, indeed, this was almost her first kiss but it was enough to prevent a reply on either side and as the kiss lasted, though it didn't deepen, Cordelia got fed up and walked away with a frustrated sigh. She pulled away once she heard the mean girl retreat. Xander seemed frozen in place.

"She's gone." The brunette mentioned, looking to where the mean girl retreated.

"Who did what now?" the boy asked in return, his voice thick with something that sounded like he'd just woken from sleep.

"That girl being mean to you. She's gone now. That's your old girlfriend, isn't it? She's pretty. Bitter, but pretty."

"Hm? What? Oh! Yeah. That's Cordelia. She's one of the terrible things in this world."

"Do you miss her?"

"Sometimes."

"I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm sorry. I just didn't like her talking to you like that and it was the only way I could think of to get her to go away. It was stupid." She blushed, "I'm sorry. It was impulsive and stupid. It's just you've been nothing but nice to me and…I guess….stop me anytime to save me from this embarrassing rambling?"

He watched her, fascinated. It could easily have been him in that situation, doing the rambling. In fact, he'd been there time and time again with girls wishing he could sink into the floor every time. Watching her do it was kind of, well, cute. When it registered that she was begging him to save her from this embarrassing situation he was quick to step in, smiling his boyish grin.

"Really, it's nothing." He breezed and watched her face fall. Scrambling, he was quick to backpedal. "I mean, it was something, you know, and I appreciate it but it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Kissing and me, it's not the greatest. No! You're a good kisser and everything but I'm not oh kill me now!"

With the situation reversed Destiny couldn't tell if he was rambling to make her feel better or if he really was just that way. Whatever the reason he was cute when he did it and she giggled. She pressed a finger to his lips and stopped his talking, at last, and he looked grateful for the help.

"I think this is the start of a strange friendship." She said brightly, taking his arm to lead him into the club to find their friends.

"Yeah. Friendship." He responded, less enthusiastically.

They found Willow, Ox, and Buffy at a table by the dance floor and all three looked at them. "What kept you guys?" Buffy asked.

"Not all of us wanted to jog here, Buff."

"Did I just see Cordelia walk over to you?" Willow was still a little hurt when it came to thoughts of Xander and Cordelia. The brown haired boy shrugged.

"She came. She insulted. She crawled back into her hole." He thankfully didn't mention what made her crawl back into her hole and not one seemed to have seen. For that Destiny was grateful. "What about you, Buffy?" he continued. "Are you over your brush with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Fangy?"

"Xander." She responded, warningly. He relented.

"You saw Angel?" Willow asked, now concerned that her friend hadn't mentioned it sooner.

"I did. He's ready for tomorrow. He'll be able to help out as long as the rest of the vampires."

"Is he still leaving?"

"Yeah. He's still leaving. It won't change."

Willow wordlessly wrapped her arms around the Slayer and held her, knowing how hard this was for her. The other Slayer would have joined in as well but she simply didn't know Buffy all that well yet and didn't want to risk butting in where she didn't belong.

"Does anyone want a drink?" she asked instead. Coffee was the great teenage unifier, after all. When no one answered she went to the bar and brought back 4 cappuccinos anyway. When she passed them out everyone seemed grateful until Willow noticed she didn't have one for herself.

"This is really great but why don't you have one?" she asked.

"Not much of a coffee drinker. Or, really, any kind of caffeine. It's not pretty when I get it in my system. Angel, I mean, Angelina is sort of a health nut. She hasn't let me have anything she considers a pollutant since I moved in with her. No caffeine, no high fructose corn syrup. I haven't had a Dr. Pepper in ages. I used to miss it and now, oddly, I don't."

"That's cool. I can respect a clean lifestyle." Oz responded. "Me? I'd die if everything in my body were that pure."

"Me too!" Buffy chimed in and took a swig of her coffee to prove the point. They all laughed and eventually they parted ways for the night. Buffy noted with interest that Willow was heading back with Oz and new details would follow eventually. Xander gave his own excuse and headed off in his own direction with a cross in his pocket just in case. Buffy and Destiny headed in her direction, walking in silence

Meanwhile the two Watchers were still wide awake in Giles' flat, immersed in books and booze and the topic of the ascension. She was stretched across his couch, her small body draped gracefully over the tan fabric. Her arm cushioned her head and dangled off the arm of the sofa while her legs were curled gracefully behind her. A book lay flat on the table in front of her and a half consumed glass of scotch rested on her hip with her hand balancing it there. She could have been modeling for a portrait; she looked so relaxed and composed. It was hardly the way he felt.

Rupert was sitting on the floor, books scattered around him and the empty bottle of Salut single malt Scotch. According to his drunken ramblings he only served it on special occasions. According to her intoxicated admonitions, she only accepted it to be polite and alcohol was hardly a fitting beverage for a respected Watcher. He laughed when she said that and took another pull from his glass.

Giles leaned back, resting his hands on the floor to prop himself up. He tilted his head back to look at the ceiling and watched the room spinning slowly around him. "I'm drunk." He declared, tempting fate by moving one hand to rub his eyes underneath his glasses. She watched, having only taken a fraction of what he had. However, she was smaller than he and wasn't accustomed to drink so she was almost an inebriated as he was. At least he managed to stay upright but the book in his lap fell away with a dull thump. The woman watching him laughed, setting her glass aside with shaking hands.

"You have a brilliant mind, Rupert." She purred, moving from her model's pose on the couch to come closer to him. "I don't know why you want to dull it with drink."

He swallowed hard before he looked at her, green eyes glazed over a bit. Until that point they'd been discussing the day tomorrow and the Mayor's Ascension as if some detail had been overlooked in the time they'd known this was going to happen. The problem was that they didn't know what sort of demon Wilkins was turning into, much less how to fight it. They'd argued back and forth about it for a while, tossing out ideas of demons known to deal like this one was reputed to be. The list wasn't long and they didn't find a match. In the end Giles brought out the Scotch figuring to spend what may be his last night enjoying one of the finest Scotches known to man. Ever the gentleman, he even offered to share.

"My bit's easy, tomorrow." He breezed. "It's those kids I worry for, the ones fighting the vampires tomorrow, caught in the crossfire. I know Buffy can distract the Mayor but should our plan fail…" he sighed. "Who knows what might happen?"

"You've no reason to worry, Rupert. Buffy is strong and tested time and again. I only hope Destiny holds up as well. She's never been put through and Apocalypse. She's never faced so many vampires at once before. I know she'll have held but I worry, Rupert. She's been like my own child for the better part of three years now. I can't imagine…losing her."

He reached out his arm and put it around her shoulders. "We have to have faith in them. It's our duty as Watchers and as adults that love them."

The Brazilian woman flashed her brown eyes in his direction. "Poetic." She complimented. Her shoulder brushed his as she came to sit next to him, brushing a book out of the way. When he turned his head to look at her they were face to face, only an inch away from one another. The Britishman blinked, feeling embarrassed to be so close, or perhaps by what he wanted to do to take advantage of the closeness, and turned away from her.

"I should escort you home." He said softly, moving to stand on shaking legs. She laughed.

"You're not going anywhere tonight, I'm afraid, Rupert; it is well and so. This is your house."

"I can't permit you to go home alone in your state. You might be attacked."

"How gallant!" she responded in her sweetly accented voice, standing on her own to reach out and steady him in his feet. "You shouldn't worry about me."

"I should!" he protested. "You're…you're…" he searched for the words and seemed to come up short.

"Perfectly capable of taking care of myself." she finished for him. She moved toward the door and began to pull it open before he rushed over as quickly as he could in his state and put his hand over hers.

"Stay." he pleaded, turning his green eyes on her and giving her his best "puppy dog" look. She sighed.

"If you insist. Where shall I stay?"

"Take the bed upstairs. I've spent more than one night on this couch thanks to scotch and research. I could bear another."

"Oh, Rupert, I couldn't possibly." she protested. Secretly she admired his very staunch commitment to chivalry even if she felt she didn't need the protection. It was nice to think he cared enough not to see her go alone.

"I can't very well have you sleep on the couch, now can I?" he responded, easing the door closed.

"This isn't practical, Rupert. I don't have any clothing here."

"Graduation isn't until noon. I'll have you back at your hotel well before then so you can change."

"And when will you have time to set up for your battle with the Mayor?"

"Let me worry about that."

"But I am worried about it, too. I have a Slayer on the line myself."

"Angelina." he protested before grabbing her around her waist and kissing her. The natural urge to resist such foolhardy and ungentlemanly ideas were beaten to death by the scotch so he had no benefit of impulse control. The woman pulled out of his embrace rather quickly and took a step back. Immediately he regretted not being in full control of his senses. "Ms. Barragan, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He looked wounded.

"When you kiss me, Rupert, I want it to be you kissing me...not the scotch. Staying here isn't a good idea."

"Are you afraid I'll take advantage?" he asked her quietly. She turned, gathering her purse.

"No. I'm afraid I will."

With that she stepped out into the night and he didn't try to stop her though he still wanted to. He was a bit stunned by her last words to him and his own stunningly stupid mistake of kissing her so soon. He'd known her all of twelve hours? Perhaps less. What was in his head? Of course, it was easier to blame the scotch, so he did and headed upstairs to bed.