Tiffany walked through the darkened cemetery alongside Will, Giles, Emily and Gerard. They weren't really talking much, trying to listen for the sound of vampires, and have some semblance of an advantage. Tiffany had been on patrol a few times, but she was usually with the slayer, and at least one vampire. The all-mortal patrol party was leaving her a bit on edge, even if she was all-powerful.

The tense girl was drawn out of her thoughts as a limb cracked behind them. She raised her crossbow instinctively, and pivoted towards the noise. Gerard took a curious step towards it as well, peeking around the nearest mausoleum, but saw nothing.

Shrugging, Tiffany continued walking. Will and Emily were discussing something in low tones, while Giles and Tiffany surveyed the rows upon rows of headstones. Gerard trailed slightly behind the quartet, walking at a leisurely pace and quietly humming bits of the new song he was working on.

Seconds later, a cry of surprise was heard from behind the group. Tiffany turned, recognizing it as Gerard's voice. She looked around, but didn't see anything. Noticing a sudden movement, she looked down, to see two figures fighting amidst the headstones. The rock star was currently rolling around on the ground with a familiar vampire.

"STOP IT!" Tiffany shrieked, but her efforts were futile. The attacker wasn't listening, and had now pinned Gerard to the ground, with a stake raised above the pale rockstar's head. Gerard's hazel eyes were wide with fear and worry as he tried to escape.

Tiffany heard Giles issue an 'oh, my' from behind her, and jolted into action. "ANGEL, STOP!" she screamed, rushing over to the two men.

Angel turned and looked at Tiffany, his face in full vampire visage. "Tiffany? What are you doing out here?" he inquired. The vampiric attributes faded from his face as his brown eyes stared at her inquisitively.

"Patrolling!" she said angrily. "Now get off of him! Just because he's pale doesn't mean he's a vampire. He's wearing makeup! Get off of him," she repeated, staring down at the vampire with a demanding glare.

Angel looked back at Gerard, who gave a nervous smile, and the vampire climbed up off the ground. Offering Gerard his hand to help him off the ground, he gave a bit of a shrug, mumbling, "sorry."

"No problem," Gerard lied, obviously shaken as he waited for his breathing began to return to normal. Tiffany immediately moved around Angel and to her boyfriend's side. "Are you okay?" she asked, worriedly.

Gerard nodded, and Tiffany took his hand, giving it a squeeze, before turning back to Angel. "You really know how to greet a person don't you, Angel?" she grumbled. He smiled at her sheepishly.

"Angel, this is my boyfriend, Gerard, and Gerard, this is my overly aggressive friend, Angel," she volunteered.

Gerard and Angel simply nodded at one another. There was a tense, pregnant moment as the group looked around, surveying each other. Angel still didn't know who the short girl following Giles was, never mind the tall, mysterious man with the comic book.

Suddenly, Buffy appeared from behind the mausoleum. Two others - Max and Caitlin, followed her shortly. Caitlin dusted ashes off the front of her shirt as they stopped before the group, sending up small, greyish-white clouds.

"I think I swallowed an entire vampire," she grumbled, coughing. Buffy gave her an apologetic look, but the girl seemed to miss it as she surveyed the large group assembled before her.

"Party in the cemetery," Max mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He stood beside Caitlin, ready to intervene if her temper should get the best of her.

"You're here?" Caitlin inquired, pointing at Emily, before she turned to Giles. "You take her on patrol? She's like 2 feet tall!" she stated, bitterly.

"Nice to see you again, too, Caitlin," Emily inserted, looking sadly at the ground. She sighed, disappointed; she'd never be good enough for Giles' friends, no matter what she did.

Caitlin just looked at the shy girl disapprovingly, deciding not to respond to her comment.

"Caitlin, I can assure you that she is completely versed in the responsibilities that patrolling entails," Giles said defensively, taking up for his fiancé. He gave Caitlin a stern look, opening his mouth to speak again.

"That's Giles-speak for: she has super midget stealth, and can hold her own," Tiffany interrupted.

"Whatever," Caitlin said, shooting a glare in Tiffany's direction. She did, however, decide not to say anything more to push the issue, since dealing with an angry Giles wasn't the smartest -or safest- thing to do.

Tiffany looked at Caitlin, curiously, wondering what was bothering her now. The lighter-haired girl seemed not to catch the look…or at least ignored it. Tiffany had noticed that Caitlin talked to her only when she absolutely had to lately - and even then, it was usually laced with venom. She hadn't seen the girl in almost a year, and still, their friendship had only gotten worse over time. She tried not to dwell on it.

"So, when did you guys get back?" Tiffany asked, deciding to lighten the mood as she looked at Buffy and Angel.

"A few hours ago," Buffy answered, smiling at Tiffany. She then seemed to notice Gerard for the first time. "Who are you?" she inquired, noting that he looked oddly familiar. Her forehead furrowed in confusion, as she tried to place why he seemed so recognizable.

"My boyfriend, you know the one I've been touring the world with," Tiffany stated, returning the Slayer's smile. "The one that your boyfriend attacked because he thought he was a vampire," she informed, giving Angel a pointed look. He mumbled another apology before looking away.

"Well, nice to meet you…" Buffy trailed off, fishing for a name, since one hadn't been provided as of yet.

"Gerard" the dark-haired vocalist informed her.

"Gerard…like 'I make out with boys and am in a band' Gerard?" Buffy asked, suddenly realizing that that would explain his familiarity.

Gerard looked at Tiffany, smirking a bit, but she averted her gaze.

"Though, I don't frequently make out with men…yes, that's me," Gerard stated, a small smile forming on his lips.

Giles and Angel were both looking at him with a mixture of disbelief and confusion on their faces.

"You're Tiffany's boyfriend, but you kiss other …men?" Angel prodded.

Tiffany nodded. "Right! Now, can we please pick a different topic-like Emily and Will-they're new!" she said enthusiastically, trying to change the subject. Gerard smiled at Tiffany, taking her hand in his and squeezing it.

"You're Giles' fiancé?" Buffy asked, looking at the new arrival. She couldn't believe what she was seeing; the girl must be in her early twenties, and Giles was… how old? She didn't even want to think about it.

Emily nodded, smiling shyly. "And you're the Slayer. I'm Emily, though they call me a various assortment of other things around here, as well," she said, smirking at her two closest friends. A distinct cough of 'Midget' and 'Indian' was heard from Tiffany's vicinity, and a call of 'freak!' was heard before Will cleared his throat, quite loudly.

"Buffy," the Slayer volunteered, laughing slightly at the nicknames Emily donned.

"Nice to meet you. And this is Will; he's in town for a bit, on business. He's a friend of Tiffany and myself," Emily introduced, gesturing to William.

"Hey, Will," Buffy offered, nodding at the male.

"'Ello' he stated, giving a vestige of a smile before turning away once again, surveying the scenery around them. Like Emily, he wasn't one for crowds.

"Okay," Caitlin spoke suddenly, interrupting the conversation. "I think we're probably scaring away the creepy crawlies with this kind of a gathering. So, we should split up," she suggested, though it was obvious to everyone that the suggestion was more of a command.

"She's right, we should split up. We'll cover more ground," Buffy informed, "And I don't think that vampires will be as friendly if we're all standing around, they might decide to go chew on someone that's not, you know...us – so we'd better break up this little shin-dig."

Everyone agreed, and the group split up, heading off in separate directions. Buffy and Angel headed to the left, while Gerard and Tiffany wandered towards a more tombstone-populated area. Caitlin and Max ventured off to the right, with Max trying to calm a visibly seething Caitlin. Emily and Giles walked hand-in-hand on their way to the oldest part of the cemetery. Will stood alone after the group had hurriedly dispersed, looking around forlornly.

"Uhh…guys?" he asked, but unfortunately, he was already very much by himself. He sighed, looking around to see if anyone still might be in the area.

"Dammit," he muttered, nervously playing the stake in his hand. He decided to make a quick sweep of the cemetery, before heading into a crypt to wait for the others to finish their own patrols.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"They hate me!" Emily whined, hitting the stake she held against the palm of the opposite hand, nervously. She and Giles were now walking through the most ancient part of the cemetery. If she weren't so upset, she would've appreciated the desolate beauty of it, and admired the wrought iron gates they passed on their stroll. As it were, her vision was blurred as she blinked back tears, trying not to let them fall. Giles stopped, turning to face her.

"They don't hate you, love, they don't know you," her fiancé corrected. He placed his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close to him, tucking her against his chest.

Emily snuggled into his warmth, despite her worry. "You think that'll make a difference?" she asked, looking up at him, her blue eyes meeting his. He could clearly see her worry, though their only light source was the moon.

"I'm sure of it," he stated, pulling out of the hug slightly, as he lead her towards a mausoleum. "Now, I think I heard something…in there," Giles stated, a hint of a smirk forming on his lips.

Emily looked up at the stone building. It was gorgeous, but she really didn't want to get trapped inside it with a vampire, especially if there was still a corpse in there. She frowned, before noticing Giles' mischievous smirk.

"Yeah, we'd better check it out," she stated, smiling.

"Certainly," Giles agreed, as she slid her hand into his, letting herself be lead to the centuries-old structure. They opened the rusted door and entered the mausoleum, bathing it in slivers of moonlight. Giles pushed the door closed behind them, making sure it was still open slightly. He didn't want them to get trapped inside, but he didn't want anyone looking in, either.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tiffany looked at Gerard. "He could have killed you!" she stated. Her eyes were wide as she issued the statement for what seemed like the millionth time.

"But he didn't," her boyfriend countered, logically.

Unfortunately, she was beyond hearing.

"But he could have!" Tiffany stated, "He's a vampire, isn't he supposed to know if someone else is a vampire? He's like 712 zillion years old, and he can't take two seconds to check for someone's pulse?"

"It's not that big of a deal, suga," Gerard tried to assure her. Tiffany didn't reply this time, as she settled into sulky silence. She looked around the cemetery, still holding her cross bow.

"There aren't even any vampires," she pouted.

"Oh, no, we're not in peril…how ever will we survive?" Gerard asked, sarcastically. Tiffany sighed and plopped down on the ground, leaning against a nearby headstone. She placed her crossbow beside her, and leaned her head back to look up at the stars.

"Our lives aren't like other peoples," she mumbled.

Gerard shed his jacked and sat down beside her, looking up at the dark sky. She immediately moved so that she was leaning on his shoulder, still surveying the stars. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her a bit closer to him as they sat in comfortable silence.

"I wouldn't want my life any other way," Gerard informed, softly breaking the quiet moment.

Tiffany gave him a soft smile as he leaned in to give her a passionate kiss.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Will trudged along, bored and humming random songs by New Order. His nervousness had faded a bit, since he had yet to encounter a vampire, and the fact that the Slayer was within hearing distance helped him to relax - even if only a tad.

He spotted a beautiful mausoleum nearby, with the door slightly cracked. Emily would love it, he thought, as he walked towards the ancient structure. He pulled a Hellboy comic from his back, glancing at the cover - it was Gerard's comic book. A smirk flitted onto his features. "Bloke shouldn't have left it on the table" he said to himself, slipping quietly inside the mausoleum and sitting down against the wall. He read for a few moments, flipping the pages as he quickly absorbed the comic. Hearing an odd noise, the comic-fiend looked up, scanning his surroundings. It was quite dark in the building, with small patches of moonlight only seeping in through the cracks and the open door. His eyes landed on a few footprints on the dusty floor, and he noticed something out of the corner of his eye - and then a few more somethings.

"Weapons bag…Converse…stake…glasses? Cure T-shirt! OH GOD!" he yelled, jumping off the floor. He quickly grabbed his bag and rushed out the door, running into the cemetery and away from the offending mausoleum.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Caitlin walked alongside Max "I can't believe that Giles takes her on patrol. And who's that Will guy? 'Hey, we're bored so let's tell everyone there are vampires and go hunt them?' What the hell is up with that?" she asked.

Max started to reply, and then looked at Caitlin. "I heard something," he stated, softly.

Caitlin frowned, and looked towards the next row of headstones. "I'll go that way, you go this way," she gestured.

Max nodded, and they separated. Caitlin went around a rather large headstone and let out a cry of surprise, followed by a loud expletive.

Tiffany pulled away from Gerard. "Hey there, Caitlin," she stated, embarrassed, as Gerard looked around for his leather jacket. Caitlin turned without a word, and stormed away from all of them-including Max, who quickly followed after her.

"Stupid people! Who makes out in a cemetery?" she yelled. "They could get eaten! Do they even care? No! Fuckin' retards are so obsessed with their hormones they can't go ten minutes without making out. Hi, my name's Tiffany, I'm a slut and my boyfriend likes to makes out with guys, and we enjoy having sex in cemeteries," she mocked, completely exaggerating in her rage.

She was so busy with her tirade that she didn't notice someone walking towards her, and bumped straight into the figure.

"Ouch-" Caitlin mumbled with a frown. She then realized it was the new guy, Will. Taking in his disheveled appearance and fast pace, she frowned suddenly.

"Giles and Emily?"

"Tiffany and Gerard?"

The two figures asked the questions in unison, and both gave a disgusted nod. They shook their heads, as Max came to a halt beside Caitlin.

"I'm ready to go home, and hope I go blind," she stated.

Will once again nodded. "That sounds like quite a marvelous plan…"

They headed towards where Giles' car was parked, deciding to wait there for everyone else to assemble. Once there, Will leaned up against the side of the car, pulling out his comic book, while Caitlin and Max talked a few feet away.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The group slowly filed into the mansion. Buffy and Angel had invited everyone back to their home after patrol; they had decided that it was better to discuss all of the changes that had taken place in a more suitable place than a cemetery.

"Anyone want anything to drink?" Tiffany inquired, heading towards the door of the kitchen. She paused there, leaning against the doorframe as she awaited their responses.

"Coke…"

"Diet Coke…"

"Green Tea…"

"Snapple…"

"Water…"

"Water…"

"Water…" came the avalanche of replies.

"Can you help me, Gee?" Tiffany asked, afraid she would drop something. She normally would have asked Caitlin for assistance, but the girl hadn't even looked at her since her comment in the cemetery, and had only spoken to voice her want of a Snapple.

"Sure," he agreed, standing and following her into the kitchen.

"Try not to have sex while you're in there," Caitlin muttered, causing Angel and Buffy to look at her curiously. The girl simply averted her gaze, not bothering to explain.

Buffy turned to Giles. "So, how long have you been seeing Emily? And why didn't I know?" she asked, frowning a bit.

"We've been seeing each other for quite a while actually, but you are always under so much stress, and I was quite sure you wouldn't like it. Also, I thought it would be better for you to actually meet her…"

"Okay, so it was all for my benefit…great," Buffy interrupted, the sarcasm evident in her tone, before she looked at Emily. "So, you're here for good? You're getting married for real?"

Emily nodded, smiling brightly. "Absolutely."

Tiffany and Gerard emerged then, loaded down with beverages. Tiffany handed Caitlin her Snapple, passing the Coke to Buffy, and the Diet Coke to Will. Gerard handed Max, Giles, and Angel their waters, and Emily her Green Tea. The couple then sat down on the massive overstuffed chair, across from the couch that Max, Caitlin, Buffy, and Angel were occupying. Giles and Will sat on another couch nearby. Emily sitting in the floor in front of them, leaning back against Giles.

Tiffany sipped on her own bottle of Diet Coke, and then leaned her head once again on Gerard's shoulder. He snatched her bottle away and took a large drink, causing Tiffany to give him a faux glare.

Angel looked at Will, asking, "And you're Emily and Tiffany's friend?"

The male gave a nod, but Buffy spoke up before he could elaborate. "So, you're here …why?" she asked, curiously.

"Officially… for a business trip," Will explained. "Unofficially… for a concert later this week."

"What concert?" Tiffany asked, frowning.

"The one that the Cure is playing with your favorite band, assuming they're still your favorite," Will grinned. Emily's mouth dropped open.

Tiffany looked at Gerard. "You didn't tell me you guys were playing a show. I haven't seen you guys play in a while," she stated, frowning a bit.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a whole month," she muttered, her tone sarcastic.

Tiffany chose not to reply, but pouted a bit at Caitlin's bitter behavior. She looked curiously at her friend in the floor, who was seething. It wouldn't be long before-

"That's not the point!" Emily suddenly yelled, "THE POINT IS HE'S PLAYING A SHOW WITH ROBERT SMITH!" She turned to Will, calming slightly before interrogating him. "Why did I not know about this? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I figured you knew," Will stated, flippantly.

"Well, I didn't…" Emily said. She opened her mouth to continue, but was interrupted by Caitlin.

"Emily, what happened to your neck?" the girl inquired, with mixed expressions of worry and disgust.

"What?" Emily asked, lifting her hand to her neck.

"No one the other side," Caitlin corrected. "Did a vamp get you?"

Emily shook her head, a bit confused, "huh?"

"There's a bite mark on your neck," Caitlin said, exasperated. Emily blushed, covering her mouth as she giggled.

Giles grinned sheepishly and pulled his glasses off to clean them. "No, not a vampire…" he said, laughing cheerfully.

"Emily," Tiffany began, but stopped, as her eyes widened with complete realization. "Okay, anyone for vomit?"

Several hands went up over the room. Emily yelled an indignant, "He started it!"

Tiffany just gave her a look of disbelief. Emily settled back against Giles with a sigh. "Whatever Tiffany, you know how I am," she said, laughing. Tiffany rolled her eyes, thankful that at least that was all she had to hear about.

"Eew…" Buffy said, making a face of disgust. She averted her gaze from that of her former Watcher, who was having trouble keeping a smirk of his face.