Angel was dumbfounded, "How did you find us?"
"I have your memories," Chase said. "I just thought of places I knew you wanted to take Cordy to."
She started to step in the room, but Angel blocked her path. He knew the last thing he and Cordy needed at that moment was Chase turning up and causing trouble.
"You didn't say goodbye to me," Chase pouted. "And now you won't even let me step inside and have a place to sit."
"There are plenty of placing to sit back at the mansion, Chase." Angel said pushing her further into the hallway and closing the room door behind him. "You have to stop chasing after me."
"Don't flatter yourself," Chase said glaring at him. "My days of chasing after you are over. If you're too stupid to realize the amazing thing you have in me then that's your problem."
"Then why are you here," Angel said glaring at her in return.
"Giles came by the mansion. He said it was urgent and that he had to track you down."
Angel regarded her suspiciously, "I'm not in the mood for your games. Is there really an emergency?"
Chase could see his anger. It frightened and thrilled her.
"Giles seemed to think there was an emergency," she replied, looking wasn't particularly interested in what was worrying Giles. When he came by the mansion, Chase only saw an opportunity that would let her go after Angel that wouldn't look as if she were chasing after him again. This way she could be near him and play hard to get. She congratulated herself on the brilliance of her plan. Soon Chase figured making herself unavailable would make Angel come after her.
He was suddenly worried, "Did Buffy relapse? Or is something wrong with Jenny?"
"He didn't give me details. He just made it clear he needed to find you fast," she said. "And considering the shabby way you've treated me you'd think you'd be grateful that I'd go through the trouble of tracking you down."
Angel studied her and said, "Thanks for finding us. We'll be on our way. You can head back home."
"So that's it," Chase said, getting irritated. "Thanks for the info. Go Home."
"There's no time for this," Angel said turning back and opening the door to the hotel suite. "I've got to get Cordy and speak with Giles."
"You're in a mood. What happened Angel?" she asked, knowingly. "Was being with Cordy not the way you imagined? She'll never be what you want. Not like I can."
Angel glared at her, but Chase was determined. She felt no fear when he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the elevator.
"This is it, Angel," she said glaring at him. "This is the last time I'm coming after you. And when you realize you made a mistake and come after me I won't be available."
"Good," was all Angel would say as the elevator doors closed ending the had one consolation.
She could tell things had not gone well between Cordy and Angel. That made Chase feel a great deal walked back into Cordy's suite. He could hear her moving in the bathroom. She had turned the water off, and so he had no doubts she was crying. He knocked on the door. The sound startled Cordy.
"I thought you were long gone," she reopened the water faucet and began washing her face.
"Chase stopped by," Angel said.
"Well that's fantastic," Cordy muttered her voice muffled by the towel drying her face.
"She's gone, but we've got to go. There's trouble with Giles."
Cordelia opened the bathroom door, "Is it Buffy, Jenny, or some new big bad?"
"Chase didn't know," Angel said. "I figure we should just head over to him."
Cordy nodded and picked up her purse, "Let's go."
As Angel settled the bill on the front desk, he saw Cordy talking to one of the bell hops who handed her a couple of bags from behind the information.
When she caught Angel staring, she said, "I picked up a few more goodies at the gift shop earlier. I had the bell hop hold on to my stuff for me so that I could surprise you."
Angel noticed she seemed embarrassed by the explanation. He felt guilty that he had some how wounded her when they had been in the suite together. He couldn't figure out how it had gone so hesitated slightly as they stood in lobby, "Cordy, I..."
"Let's not do this now," she interrupted refusing to look him in the they snuck back into the hotel basement and took the sewer route to the library.
Giles was relieved to see Angel and Cordy emerge from the stacks.
"What's wrong?" Angel asked.
"Buffy's in danger," Giles said.
"Have her enemies figured out her lack of slayer status?" Cordy asked.
Giles and Angel stared her in surprise. Neither of them had considered that demons might come after a now vulnerable Buffy for revenge.
"That problem hasn't come into play yet," Giles said. "It's the council."
"The council?" Cordy asked.
"They're trying to reverse the gifts aren't they?" Angel asked.
"They'd be killing Chase and the others," Cordy exclaimed concerned. "You'd lose your permanent soul."
Giles looked at Angel, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that your soul would be one of your gifts."
"She wanted me to be happy," Angel said almost apologetically, knowing he didn't have to say that the 'she' was Jenny.
"I know," Giles said frowning at him.
"What can we do to stop the council?" Cordy asked to relieve the tension.
"We don't want to stop the council. We have to find a way to reverse the gifts," Giles said.
"You don't have the right and neither does the council," Angel said.
"The gifts have made things complicated, but there's been no permanent harm so far," Cordy said, agreeing with Angel.
"What do you think will happen if the council doesn't find a way to take back the gifts?" Giles began to yell. "What will happen if they lose their slayer?"
"You think they'd kill her to bring on the next slayer," Angel said.
"But that wouldn't guarantee them a slayer," Cordy said. "We don't know how much the gifts have changed things. What if killing Buffy doesn't create the next slayer?"
"There's no way to know for sure unless Buffy's dead," Giles said. "We can't allow that to happen?"
"There has to be another way," Cordy said. "The council isn't evil, right? They can be reasoned with."
"I can't do it," Angel exclaimed. "We can't kill them."
"They aren't real, Angel. They're fantasies," Giles said trying to reason with him.
"They're alive," Angel said. "Don't lie to yourself. Taking back what that woman gave us is killing Liam, Chase and Jenny."
Giles glared at Angel and yelled, "She isn't Jenny."
"It doesn't matter who she is, Giles," Cordy said gently. "She's a real person. They all are. We can't just casually sacrifice them."
"So you'd sacrifice Buffy?" Giles said.
"There has to be a way to protect Buffy without destroying innocent people," Cordy said."
I won't kill Jenny again," Angel said, fiercely before he stormed out of the watched him walked way speechless and wounded. Cordy rested a hand on his shoulder.
"He'd die for Buffy," Cordy said. "You know he would."
Giles only response was to nod slightly.
"Where are the others?" Cordy asked.
"They're camped out at Buffy's hospital room," Giles said. "I don't want her left alone if it can be avoided."
"I figure Angel's on his way over there now," Cordy said going to sit at the table. "Now that Buffy's got protection let's you and me look through the texts and see if there's a solution that works for everyone."
"Does Buffy know the danger she's in?" Cordy said.
"I haven't told her everything," Giles said. "But I'll have to tell her soon. I just wanted to let her have some time to enjoy her gift."
"I'll take the job of filling in Chase and Jenny," Cordy said. "Do you still have that map on how to find her?"
"It's in my office," Giles said going up to find he came back and sat beside her at the table, he handed her the map. "It's isolated in the woods," Giles said. "You shouldn't go alone."
"I'll have Chase come with me," Cordy said. She wanted to say something wise about Jenny, but Cordy didn't have the words."I'm sorry," was all she could say.
Giles smiled bitterly, "She's not a fan of apologies."
"That's good. I don't like making apologies," Cordy replied smiling at him couldn't return her smile.
He felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He hated knowing that Cordy and Angel were right but that Giles was still forced to go against them to save Buffy.
He turned to Cordy and said, "I don't want to do this."
"I know, but you're the watcher. You make the tough choices. That's your job," Cordy said understanding. "And for you it isn't just a job anymore. You're thinking like a Dad now. Angel's capable of making those hard choices too. I think we all are. But let's not jump to the worst case scenario just yet. Maybe the council won't go to extremes."
"I hope you're right, but you don't know the council. You have no idea what they are capable of," Giles said.
"I am right," Cordy said with a confidence she didn't have still worried that there was no solution that would save everyone. This gift given to Buffy might turn out to be a curse. Cordy knew that eliminating Liam, Chase, and Jenny would be wrong and it would damage them all somehow. She wondered if it was something Giles and Angel could recover from.