Chapter Twenty-One

Though many miles away, Giles thumbed though the research that lay scattered among the desk in front of him. It seemed that every single thing he found only seemed to lead to a dead end. Nothing was conclusive and he knew that they were running short on time. He glanced momentarily at the clock, eight o'clock, meaning it was noon back in California. He thought about calling Buffy, trying to figure out if there was any news, if there had been any more dreams. But he thought twice about it, hadn't she mentioned that she was moving?

He picked up the phone, and dialed the familiar number. He called often to check up on them, to make sure that they were safe, sometimes to even talk. He was proud of her, that was something he couldn't deny, life hadn't exactly been kind to her but she was persevering, supporting not only herself, but her son and Dawn as well. That kind of dedication, devotion was scarce in the world, she could have given up, he knew that, but she chose to fight, to be strong. It was those same qualities that made her the slayer that she was and he couldn't help but be thankful that his job had lead him to her.

"Hello?" Her voice came through the receiver after a few rings..

"Buffy?" He asked, though he knew it was her.

"Giles! Have you figured anything out?" There was panic in her voice and he could hear it, it was unlike her usual tone, almost slightly higher in pitch and he realized that things must have gotten worse over the past week, enough to cause her this much worry.

"I'm afraid not. I have some reason to believe that there is a connection with the Immortal, seeing as your previous history with him as well as Angel's history… It's a possibility. I'm by no means saying that it is him, but I would advise you to keep a lookout for men who work for him." He responded. He waited a few moments for her response however, nothing came, just silence. He figured that she was processing the information, her relationship with the Immortal had been, well, tumultuous at best.

"Buffy… Buffy?"He asked, giving a few seconds before each time, wondering if she was still on the other line.

"Oh… Yea, I'll keep a look out." She finally replied.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Angel's back." She said softly, almost in a whisper.

"When did this happen?" He knew the concern in his voice. The last thing he wanted to see was her get hurt in the process of keeping her son safe. Angel always did seem to have bad timing… Well, no that wasn't exactly true but he couldn't help but worry that he would leave her behind again. Granted, he knew that Angel loved her, more than loved her, but sometimes that isn't enough, even he knew that. He just hoped that Angel had the sense to be practical, because he knew Buffy wouldn't be. She never was when it came to him.

"Two… Three days ago? I don't know really… Things have been a little more eventful around here. I've been having more dreams and Liam has been having more dreams… I'm going to San Jose in a few days. Angel is coming with me. "

"Buffy do you really think a relationship is something you should be pursuing right now?" He questioned, cutting her off.

"I'm not pursuing a relationship Giles… I know that he would do anything to protect me, to protect Liam. It's the right thing to do. If he really is serious about sticking around, I guess this will be the best way to determine that."

"Just be careful Buffy…"

"I will be. I'll call you when I get there." She said, before they said goodbye and hung their respective phones up.

"That's right… San Jose." He said aloud, but all the while wondering what had prompted this move. Though he knew moving would be a good thing, he had no idea why all of a sudden she had agreed to it. It had been something that he had been telling her to do for a few months ago. Did it come down solely to the reason that Angel was back? She didn't have to worry about him coming back only to find her gone? No, surely she wouldn't have risked the life of her son because of the boy's father. No… Something was wrong, something was off. He just couldn't quite place his finger on it.

He reached for the phone and dialed the familiar number, listening to the rings, waiting for the answer.

"Hello?" The masculine voice rang out, louder than Giles had expected, causing him to pull the receiver far from his ear.

"Xander?"

"What's up G-man?" He asked as he began to pack his things up. He had promised Buffy that he would come with her but the last minute noticed meant that he would drive up there with Willow a few days later.

"I was just calling to check up. Buffy mentioned that she was moving?" He pried, he wasn't sure exactly how to approach the subject, so he figured he would learn what he could by giving as few things away as possible.

"Yea, she's leaving in a few hours with Angel and Spike. Will and I are going to meet them there in a few days. Wasn't this your idea anyways?"

"Of course it was my idea, I've told her many times that she should move, I just don't know what prompted her to finally take my advice. Did Angel convince her?"

"What are you talking about? You told Pike to tell her to get out of town." Xander responded, confused.

Giles thought hard, Pike… "Xander I most certainly have not spoken with anyone by that name. Who is Pike?" He asked before putting it together. "Oh, Pike, from Los Angeles… That's right. I have not spoken to him ever. So how…"

"I knew there was something off about that guy." Xander grumbled. "You don't think?"

"That's exactly what I think." Giles responded, not even needed Xander to finish his question. Whatever was happening was not what Buffy had been expecting, in fact, it was the exact opposite. They needed to get Buffy and Liam out of there, quickly…

A Little While Later…

When five o'clock finally rolled around, Buffy meandered over towards her Mercedes; setting down the bag that contained the few cans of Red Bull that she knew she would need if she was going to make the seven hour drive in one piece, on the passenger side of the seat. As she turned around, she watched as Angel and Liam made their way over towards her and she found herself smiling, it had been a perfect day. Well, if you didn't count the whole having to move because someone was after her son part.

She moved to the back seat door, and opened it, checking to make sure that Liam's booster seat was in properly before moving back and letting him get in.

"Did you go to the bathroom?" She questioned just before she leaned over and pushed the metal into the buckle. Though she should have been use to his presence, she could feel Angel behind her, his arm resting on the car door and when she stood back up, she felt one of his arms wrap around her waist as they stood there looking at Liam. Though she was thrilled with the progress that they were making, she couldn't help but be worried that she was moving too fast, that things were moving too fast between the two of them. She felt that her priorities should lay with her son, that before she let herself become involved with Angel, she had to know that whatever it was that was after him, was defeated, once and for all.

"I did." He responded, smiling up at them. He was growing more accustomed to this new sight, the sight of both his mother and his father. Though, he was still unsure as to what he should call him, he wanted desperately to call him dad, daddy… But he was worried, worried that it would make it all the more real, that if he did use those kinds of words that it would scare him off. He also couldn't deny that he hadn't seen his mother happier than she had been in the past few days. She seemed more relaxed, less on edge about the impending danger, though, they wouldn't tell him about it. For being so young, he did know that something was wrong. He knew from his dreams, he knew from his mother's hushed whispers to Aunt Willow and Uncle Xander, even more recently from her talks with Angel and Uncle Spike.

"Okay, I'm just going to run into the house and double check that we have everything. Then we'll be on our way baby." She said smiling, before backing up and closing the door.

Angel smiled as he watched her run towards the house and moved over to the driver's seat. Getting in wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, her petite frame meant that the seat was basically as close to the wheel as possible and he heard Liam laugh at him as he struggled to move the seat back and fit into the small car. There was a reason he loved his Plymouth, and a definite reason why he never wanted a small car.

"What are you laughing at Lee?" He asked as he turned around and saw the laughter in his son's eyes.

"Nothing…" He said laughing as Angel turned around and began to tickle the young boy, only causing him to laugh harder.

"All right you two, time to act like big boys." Buffy smiled as she walked up to the driver's side window. Angel stopped and winked at the boy before turning to face her. "I thought you were going to drive your car?"

"No, Spike is." He responded, she could see the devilish gleam in his eyes and she was wondering what that meant exactly, surely he wasn't thinking about sexual things as their son was right there.

"What about the moving truck? I thought he was going to drive that and I know Xand and Will can't make it down there until Saturday…" He leaned forward and kissed her, cutting off her train of thought.

"Pike is driving the truck. That's what you wanted right?" He finally said after he pulled away, triumphing on the fact that she still seemed to be waiting for more, as he observed that she took a few seconds to open her eyes and lean back.

"Wha? Oh… Pike… Sure." She stuttered before walking to the other side of the car, and slipping into the passenger seat.

"Ready?" He asked, turning his head and looking at her as she rested her head against the back of the seat.

"Now or never…" She responded, turning her head and smiling at him before he put the car into reverse and starting their journey North.

A/N:

Hey guys! I know it's a super short chapter but from here on out, or at least, until my schedule lets up... They will probably be about this length... Anyways, Hope you liked the chapter... I've given you some clues as to what might happen next but the story is far from being over... Anyways, hope you are enjoying and like I always do, THANK YOU to everyone who continues to read and extra special thanks to you all who continue to add this story to your alerts/favorite and especially to all you who are continuing to leave me feedback! So, as always, enjoy and please remember to continue sending me your thoughts!