Part 11

"They're going to be here in a few minutes," Willow declared nervously, rushing out of the office into the lobby on her continued mission to make sure that everything was perfectly neat and in order.

She was heading for the stairs when Tara stepped in front of her and cut her off, holding her by the shoulders to stall her. "Calm down, sweetie. It's all going to be ok, you'll see. There's nothing you can do now to make things go more smoothly." She kissed her forehead gently and then pressed her own forehead against it. "Breathe."

Willow sighed deeply. "I don't know if I can handle seeing her face again. It's been too long. I've mourned her; I've gotten on with my life somehow."

"But if it's her-"

"But if it's not her, it'll only dredge up all those old achey feelings without any reward," Willow argued, shaking her head.

They turned expectantly as the front door opened. Xander entered with Anya who was holding their one-year-old son, Matthew, in her arms.

"Are they here yet?" Xander asked, walking forward to give first Willow, then Tara, hugs for mutual support before returning to wrap an arm around Anya's shoulders.

Cordelia breezed into the room at that moment and flopped down on the couch. "Nope, but Wesley just called from his cell and said they wouldn't be much longer."

"How are we supposed to react when they arrive?" Anya asked. "This whole thing is very strange. What are we supposed to say to a live Buffy-look-alike and Angel as a human? None of this makes any sense."

"We'll just," Xander tried to come up with a suggestion. "You know, we'll wing it." He then added, "Hey, has anyone called Dawn to tell her about this?"

Willow shook her head, "We discussed it and figured it was better to wait until we know all the facts. Plus, she apparently has a huge assignment due tomorrow so it's best she's not worrying about anything else. She'll probably come home for the weekend though, so hopefully we'll have things sorted out by then."

The main door opened again and the entire group that had been in New York walked in and gave somewhat awkward "hello"s and waves, the newcomers nervous at meeting new people and those that were returning nervous about presenting them. While the rest of the group seemed frozen, gawking at the new, but familiar, face and cautiously appraising Drusilla, Cordelia got up with a smile. "You came in from outside in the sun. You really are human. I'm so happy for you," she directed at Angel before walking over to give him a quick hug.

"Thank you," he gave her a small smile back, some of his tension eased. He cleared his throat. "Uh, everyone, this is Lisa, Janey and Emily. You, um, already know Dru." He then listed off the rest of their names for Lisa and Janey's benefit.

Most of their gazes were locked on Janey, whom they had not actually believed would look so remarkably like their old friend. She looked a little older, a little thinner, but was still undeniably Buffy. Xander exhaled sharply. "Right. Hi."

Willow seemed to gather herself and began, "Okay, well, it's going to be me and Tara who do the spell to get your memory back. We've got all the supplies we'll need so I guess you can just settle in and then we'll get started. Um, we've set up a few rooms for you…"

Willow's rambling was interrupted by the sound of loud footsteps from the staircase. They all looked up to see Spike strolling down the steps. He scanned the recently arrived crowd with just as much apprehension as the others had just shown, though he was clearly trying to come off as cool and unconcerned. Then his eyes fell on Drusilla and the neutral mask melted away.

He approached her quickly, reaching out to touch her in some way, "Dru, love…"

She darted back away from him and shrieked, then clung to Angel's back as if to use his body as a shield. "Never be forgiven if they see me with you! Life of sin! Dirty evil murderer!"

Spike looked at her shaking form and gave a resigned nod before stepping back and quietly sitting on the couch.

Cordelia cleared the air again by trying to move things along, thinking that there wasn't any particularly good way to ease Drusilla's distress so it was best to just ignore her. "Alright, like Willow said, we've got some rooms set up. Giles said he'd come by soon and then he's probably going to want to talk to you," she said, nodding to Wesley, "about what he's found in his research. But anyway, for now we should all just settle down and breathe. Angel, rooms 128-130. Show them the way?"

He nodded and they all lifted their bags to walk further into the hotel.

Just as they were reaching the stairs, the front door opened yet again and Giles entered. They stopped and further introductions were made.

Giles' gaze also hesitated on Janey. This time she noticed the odd look she was receiving and looked first to Lisa questioningly and then Angel for some explanation. Lisa looked as confused as she was and Angel looked away. It had already been hinted at that Darla, Angel and Faith had some idea of who she was before her accident, but she hadn't asked them to explain further since they'd been changed back because her attention had been more drawn by other matters, like Mark. She wasn't sure if her connection to them extended to all the others present here. She then shrugged it off, figuring if there was something to know, she'd find out soon enough, either by making them tell her or remembering once they did the spell. Of course, the strange looks could have just been because of the unusual situation, and she was getting more attention than Lisa for being Emily's mother; they all knew what Emily had done.

Now that the man with the information had arrived, settling back in was temporarily put on hold. Wesley immediately questioned, "So what have you found out?"

Giles began a long explanation, "Well, there are several prophecies that might pertain to this situation. I'd even, uh, even read some of them before, but had nothing with which to connect them. It was only hearing about what had happened that made them somewhat more revealing. I've also, uh, I've been studying the Shanshu prophecy more closely, and I think we all had rather inaccurate expectations of it. I believe we all assumed that there would be some enormous battle and after the ashes fell, there would be some obvious, um, magical shift that would make Angel human. But my latest theory about the prophecy is that we shouldn't have necessarily focused only on what it says, but also what it – what it doesn't say. It says that Shanshu was to happen after apocalyptic battles and foes, but not necessarily immediately afterwards. It could be that the turning point was the final battle in Sunnydale, but that the prophecy simply wasn't completed until now. It also says that the vampire with a soul was destined to Shanshu, but not that he would be the only one."

Wesley nodded, "Yes, I suppose that fits."

Giles contined, "There were other prophecies that might be a little more useful as far as explaining what we don't yet know. But it would be helpful to know, ah," he looked to Janey, "Can you tell us the dates of when you were first found with your memory erased, and when Emily was born? Often prophecies are directly predicted for specific dates, and it's hard to verify them without confirmation that something occurred on that date."

"Oh, I was found on May 19, 2003, and Emily was born exactly nine months later, February 19," she answered.

"February 19, 2004," Giles repeated, nodding. "Yes, that will be most helpful, thank you."

Willow furrowed her brow, "Hey, wasn't that…?"

"The day the Council had their first panic attack and fell apart because all the potential for future slayers went away," Faith concluded. "Yep."

"Council?" Janey asked. "Potential for slayers? Clue me in?"

Wesley explained, "A slayer is the one girl called in every generation with special powers to fight demons. Faith is a slayer. The Council of Watchers is the organization that records, controls and guides the slayer's destiny. Although there is traditionally only one slayer, there are also a number of girls who have the potential to become the slayer once the current slayer dies. The Council tracks down these girls and trains them to be ready for their calling if it comes. On February 19, 2004, we received a phone call from Quentin Travers, the head of the Council, who was quite panicked because their seekers were all of a sudden unable to locate more potential slayers. Not only that, but those they'd already found had seemingly lost their potential."

"So he wanted to know if we knew anything, and to make sure these guys would do their damnedest to keep me alive for as long as it took him and his top-notch Watcher team to fix their little problem," Faith smirked. "Proved harder than they thought; the Council pretty much officially shut down about a year ago."

"And you think that my daughter being born on the same date is not a coincidence," Janey concluded.

"Sounds like the Powers That Be decided on a different type of warrior to combat evil," Angel remarked. "With the ability not just to kill vampires, but to restore them to their human state. Someone immortal, and containing who knows what other abilities exceeding those of the slayer. The day she was born was the day there became no further need for slayers."

"I think the connection goes rather well with some of the other prophecies I've read. Wesley, accompany me into the office so we can read them over and consult?" Giles requested.

"Certainly," Wesley answered. "While we're occupied with the texts, the rest of you could take the time to actually move in to your new rooms, and Willow and Tara, you could take any further means you need to prepare for the memory spell."

Everyone agreed and split up to help out in either moving, reading or spell preparations.