I finally had another break from school and some time to write! Yay! I hope ya'll are still around and that this is still turning out interesting, lol. I can't wait to hear what you think! Detailed reviews or ideas or anything constructive is always welcome. Thanks so much! I couldn't do it without ya'll!

Chapter 29

Erin just stared at him for the longest time, wide-eyed, and Giles didn't know what to do. He stood rooted to the spot until he was able to collect himself and opt for retreat.

"I'm sorry; it was supposed to have been only Lily here. I-I uhm...I didn't mean to-to bother you. I'll go..." He turned quickly, but he had only taken two or three steps before she spoke up behind him.

"Rupert, wait..."
He paused, though before he turned around he thought seriously about going on and not stopping. It would be better for her, in the long run, even if he didn't want to do it.

But he couldn't do it.

When he turned around Erin just looked at him for another moment or two, until finally she took a slow step or two toward him. Then she was moving faster, and her hands had taken his arms, and she was kissing him. Rupert responded before he understood what was happening, and by the time she had broken away he still didn't understand at all.

"Erin...?"

"I'm sorry. I had to do that before I changed my mind," she told him, squeezing his arms where she still held them.

Giles blinked at her a few times, his head shaking slowly in confusion. "I don't understand."

"I was starting to think I would never see you again."

He raised an eyebrow. "I was uhm...under the impression you wouldn't have minded that at all," he answered painfully.

Erin swallowed, and let go of him. "I thought so too, at first." She crossed her arms and glanced around them down the hallway in either direction, before nodding to her open door. "If we're going to talk about this, you should probably come inside."

"I'm not so certain that would be a good idea..."

She backed inside and waited anxiously. "Please? I know I've hurt you; I just want to explain. If you want to leave after that I won't stop you, but at least let me explain."

It only took a split second to know that he wanted to go in, but it took longer to nod in agreement and follow her inside.

"The way you acted was completely understandable..." he began.

"Maybe," Erin sighed as she shut the door. "But I should have given you a chance."

"Erin—"

"No, just let me finish. Listen, I...I was scared. I-I didn't want to talk about you, or even think about you. I wanted to pretend it never happened. I wanted to pretend I had never seen anything—that I didn't know anything I hadn't known before. I just wanted everything to go back to normal, but I...but then I missed you. By the time I realized that it was too late. Or I thought it was. Lily had given up mentioning you, and I didn't know how to bring any of it up. I didn't know if contacting you would do any good; I didn't know if you would even speak to me..."

"Of course I would have. I am now, aren't I?"

She grimaced. "I ignored you for so long. I was afraid again. I was afraid you would be angry with me."

"Angry? You should be angry. I didn't tell you what I was."

"Oh please, Rupert, I hardly could have expected you to just tell me something like that. Would you really have told me if I hadn't found out? Ever?" He couldn't answer that, and she huffed once. "Of course you wouldn't have told me. But as insane as this is, it's not as if I can blame you for that." Erin groaned and rubbed at her temples. "God, this is such a mess."

"I'm sorry," he told her quietly. He didn't know what else to say.

She looked at him. "For what? I hardly think you chose to be..." She motioned wordlessly, finishing with, "what you are."

Rupert swallowed hard. "A vampire. I'm a vampire, Erin. I never wanted you to need to deal with that. You shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have let myself get so close...I know how dangerous it is. Even before this happened to me. Things happen, and people are hurt, and—" He cut off, because he knew he wasn't only talking about Erin and Lily anymore. He blinked back the beginnings of tears. "I'm sorry. All of this could have been avoided if I had never gotten involved. It's my fault, and I'm sorry."

Now Erin's eyes were damp. "And what about Lily? Where would she be if you had never tried to help her? Where would I be? If you had never gotten involved I would have died in that alley that night."

Giles couldn't answer, again, and Erin came to him and took his arms again. "I didn't want to listen, really, but I did hear everything Lily tried to tell me those first few days. I know you're different...that...that other vampires don't have souls, but you do. I know you really are the man I always thought you were."

"W-well, I..." But he didn't know how to continue.

Erin looked up at him, in something akin to hopeful amusement. "How about this? Right out of the oldest book there is: I'll forgive you if you can forgive me."

After a moment or more Rupert managed to nod, and the relieved smile came of it's own accord. "I would like that very much."


When Buffy opened her eyes they fell on the clock on her nightstand, and she realized she had only been able to sleep for a couple of hours. It wasn't even midnight yet, but there was no way she was going to be able to go back to sleep. With no other acceptable idea of what to do with the rest of the night, she climbed to her feet, gathered a few stakes, and went out the window. Granted, there was no reason to do that anymore, but old habits died hard.

The cemeteries seemed abandoned at first, and in the first few she had no luck. She switched to parks, and in the second she hit the jackpot. There were four of them, and they all noticed her at the same time. By the time they noticed her one of them was dust, of course, but that still left three to grapple with—plenty to keep her mind occupied. Buffy fought harder than she needed to, but that was what she wanted tonight. It could be dangerous to do it, but she let it drag out, and once two were down and she spun for the other one...it was gone.

Or so she thought.

"Buffy!"

She sensed movement only inches behind her, and twisted again as she felt the small breath of air from the implosion of a vamp into dust. The cloud was already floating ground-ward by the time she laid eyes on it, and Angel stepped through it with a particularly peeved expression on his face.

"What are you doing!"he demanded.

"I'm on patrol; what are you doing?"

"Keeping busy."

"Same here."

Angel glared. "You're being reckless. That vamp almost had you."

Buffy shrugged and started walking, with the intent of continuing the patrol, and he followed her. "So? I would have had him if you hadn't swooped in there. I knew he was behind me."

"Not until about the same second he was going for your neck."

"You worry too much," she sighed, trying to brush it off. Angel reached for an arm and brought her to a stop. She had no choice but to look at him.

"You're upset."

Now Buffy glared and pulled her arm away. "I've been upset for two weeks; I have every damn right to be upset."

"But not to get yourself killed," he growled back.

"You're not my mother."

"No, but I do love you."

It slipped out before he knew he was going to say it; that much was apparent from the look on his face a second later. He looked away apologetically—though not, she assumed, because he thought she didn't want to hear that, but because they both knew that was something of a forbidden subject now.

Well, right now she didn't give a damn.

Buffy's throat clogged again before she could remind it not to do that. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's—I ah..."

She moved in and wrapped her arms around him, and that silenced him. Angel returned the embrace more than willingly. Though she didn't dare look up just yet for fear of bursting into tears before she could get the lump in her throat under control, something in the way he held her made it abundantly clear that he was trying his best to comfort her—that he knew she needed it, and maybe even more than she'd needed it last night, or this morning.

Because now it wasn't just the dread of it; now Giles really was gone.

When Buffy was sure she wouldn't cry if she didn't want to, she pushed up on her toes and kissed him. Angel only responded a little before he drew his head back, as if realizing what he was doing. "Buffy..." he said, in a warning tone.

"What?" she murmured.

He didn't sound completely convinced himself, but he continued. "I know last night we...but this is probably not—"

What he was trying to say was right, of course, but she was upset and exhausted, yet sleepless, and she had no willpower to agree with him right now. Buffy kissed him again.

"Shut up."


Rupert and Erin were on the couch, attempting to begin that catching up thing people seemed to be so fond of doing. Giles knew he would have to be on his way, but for this was nice. He was certainly more than glad that she was actually speaking to him.

"Where is Lily?" he asked at one point.

"Normally she's home by now, but she's probably just running a little late. It's not unheard of. Or her schedule could have changed. That happens too; it's why I'm here tonight, instead of still at the shop."

"Ah, I see..."

And that was when the front door burst open and Lily hurried in. When she saw the two of them sitting there she stopped in her track halfway through closing the door behind her.

"Oh," was all she managed to say at first."

"Hello, Lily," Rupert nodded.

"Yeah, hi, I..." She fish-mouthed for a moment before stumbling on. "E-Erin, I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to be here, I mean—"

Erin held up a hand. "Lily, it's all right. We uhm..." She glanced back at him, and then back to Lily. "Rupert and I have come to an understanding. We're fine."

"Are you sure? Really?" Lily asked hopefully.

"I certainly hope so," Giles said. He stood, and Lily broke into a smile and came to hug him.

"Thank god," she was saying. "It was hell with you two not talking."

"What held you up?" Erin asked.

"I know, I know, I was supposed to be here an hour ago, but—oh!" Lily jumped up once, in excitement. "I was late because I went to talk to Marvin! They're going to take my offer!"

"Oh Lily, that's wonderful!"

Giles blinked in confusion. "Offer?"

Lily grinned. "I found a place, farther downtown. It's kind of a bad area, and it's a little small for a shelter, but it's big enough. It's perfect to start out. It's places like that that need a shelter, anyway."

"A place for a shelter? You're moving on this already?" he asked incredulously.

"I know, it seems so fast; I never thought I'd find a place big enough for a shelter that I could afford a down payment on this soon. I thought it would have to be another year or two, at least, but this place has been on the market so long the owner just wants to get rid of it. See the bit about it being a bad part of town. Isn't it great!"

"Well, of course. I'm more than happy for you, but...will it be safe? Will you be safe?

Lily managed to calm down enough to take a living room chair, but leaned over her knees toward him eagerly as she continued. "The project's not even completely off the ground yet, but thanks to a few of our friends from work, I've already got a few supporters behind me. There have even been some small donations, with promise of more once I found a place and got it running. As cheap as I found the place I've already got enough to bar the first-story windows and put a gate over the door after the down payment. I should be able to keep up the rent and bills after that—"

"But she won't be alone," Erin smiled. "I plan to help all I can, financially and otherwise, and I think we already have a few volunteers willing to help there if this works out."

"This is going to work," Lily said firmly. "If it's working out this well so far, it must be meant to be, right?"

Rupert smiled. "I hope that's the case. I'm rather impressed." It only took a moment of thought before he pulled his checkbook and a pen from his jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm certainly not going to miss an opportunity to invest in a good cause."

Lily shrugged. "You don't have to; I just wanted you to know."

"It's more difficult to write when you're talking, Lily." From the corner of his eye he caught Lily exchange a glance with Erin, and they both remained silent, though smiling to themselves. When he was done he tore it out and folded it in half to hand it to her. "Now—"

He was about to tell her not to look at it until he'd gone, but she'd already opened it.

And her eyebrows hit her hairline.

"Wait a minute, this is—"

"All I can do, and I want to do it."

"But..."

Erin held out a hand, and Lily handed the check to her. Her eyebrows went up too. "Rupert..."

He smiled a bit. "It isn't going to hinder me in any way, if that is what you're worried about. I promise."

"I thought you were a librarian," Erin protested.

"It's...more complicated than that."

"Obviously," Lily added.

"If you're going to complain, I can just as easily tear it up."

She let out a breath. "N-No, I uhm..." She took it back from Erin, looked at it again, and slowly put it into her pocket. "Thank you," she said sincerely. She got out of her seat to hug him again where he sat, and Giles returned the embrace happily.

"You're welcome. I'm excited for you, Lily, and I'm proud of you. I only wish I could be here to see it all come to fruition."

She pulled back, and ended up sitting on her heels in front of the couch. "What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid I can't stay."

"You mean you have to go back to Sunnydale. Well, just come back and visit again once we're up and running."

"I don't know if I'll be able to. You see, I'm not going back to Sunnydale; I uhm...I came to say goodbye, actually."

"Goodbye?"

"Goodbye?" Erin echoed in dismay.

Lily got back up into her chair quickly. "What are you talking about? What about everyone you have there? You said they were like your family..."

Rupert smiled sadly. "They are. I would stay if I could, but I can't. It isn't...safe, anymore, there. Not for me."

"I don't get it."

Erin rested a hand on his arm. "Please, what are you saying?"

Giles sat silently for a long moment, and finally he sighed. "The both of you know enough already; I suppose you deserve to know the rest. I don't see any particular reason not to explain."

"Explain what?" Lily asked.

He looked at her. "Do you remember when you were in Sunnydale?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "I'd rather not...but yeah."

"Do you remember the girl who saved the lot of you?"

"Of course I do. Buffy, I think..."

He nodded. "Yes. Her name is Buffy Summers, and...that is as good a place to start as any."


Buffy wasn't sure how long she and Angel had been standing there in the park, locked in each others' arms, but the sense of movement behind her snapped her out of it quickly enough. She broke away from Angel and spun, pulling out her stake, and Angel went on the defensive at her side.

But it was only Faith, also with a stake raised, and both of them lowered their weapons when they realized who it was they'd just run into.

"Faith."

"Yeah. Am I interrupting something?" the other Slayer asked, raising an eyebrow.

Buffy glanced at Angel sheepishly. "Ah..."

"No," Angel finished quickly. "I was just leaving, actually."

"Right. 'Cause Faith and I can handle patrol."

"Right. And we can uhm...that conversation..."

"Later," Buffy nodded quickly. Not that there had been much of a conversation, but she was aware that they probably needed to have one.

"Right," Angel said again.

"Okay..." Faith trailed in amusement.

Then Angel was gone, and Buffy exchanged glances with Faith. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Not really." She looked like she wanted to say something else, and yet didn't really want to...and then she said it anyway, not looking at Buffy. "I mean...he's the first of the male species I've ever known who didn't screw me over somehow, you know? The whole vampire thing took some getting used to, but...G's a good guy. This just kinda sucks."

Buffy swallowed, and nodded in understanding. "Faith..."

But the other girl shook her head, and tossed her stake in the air and caught it again. "I'm done with the talking thing; let's just get going. There have to be more vamps around here somewhere."

"We could always hit the docks. It's on the other side of town, but there's always plenty of game."

"Sounds perfect."


Giles told them everything they might need to know to understand the situation. He explained that Buffy was the Slayer, and what a Slayer was. He told them that he was her Watcher—or had been—and explained the Watchers' Council as best he could, and the job that he'd had in aiding Buffy in the fight against evil. He told them about the small group of friends that had gotten involved in the business of the Slayer, and the small family they had formed. Without going into any details about Angel or Angelus he told them what had happened to him—how nearly eight months ago now he had been killed and turned into a vampire against his will. He explained a bit more about the fact that he did have a soul unlike other vampires, thanks Willow and Buffy and the others.

Then, of course, came the part about the Council discovering the truth about him, and what it had led to. By the time he was done it was much later than he'd realized. Erin sat in stunned silence, and Lily had long since jumped up to pace angrily.

"So...what, they won't even give you a chance?" she questioned.

"It isn't a question of that," Rupert answered carefully. "They know that at the moment I am myself. But there is always the chance that that could change." He hadn't explained the curse—the catch. It wasn't something he wanted to go into.

"How? Could the spell they used...I don't know...fail or something?"

He winced. "In a manner of speaking. There is a way for it to happen, but I know what it is and I know how to avoid it. The Council knows that as well, but my existence is a risk they are unwilling to take. I'm afraid that is the simplest way to explain it."

"So they just ran you out of you home? God that is so stupid," Lily fumed.

Giles shrugged sadly. "I'm not going to disagree with you."

"I'm so sorry, Rupert," Erin said, speaking up finally. "I'm not sure I know what else to say."

He let a hand rest on her arm. "You needn't say anything; I only wanted you to understand why I can't return. If you didn't hear from me again I never wanted you to think I'd abandoned you."

She looked at him for a long moment, and Lily was quiet. She came back to her seat and sank dejectedly into it. When Erin spoke again it was the last thing Giles expected to hear.

"Stay here."

He blinked. "What?"

She turned to face him more, and took his hands. "At least stay for a few days. We're so close to Sunnydale they would never expect you to stop here, if they're looking for you—these Council people. It's perfect. I know it can't be a permanent solution, but it could work for a while."

He began to shake his head immediately. "Erin, I don't want to put you in danger—"

"Would they hurt me or Lily if they knew we were hiding you?"

"They...well, no, actually; they can't harm humans purposefully..."

"Then what are you worried about?"

Lily sat forward anxiously. "She's right; I don't think they'd look here. It's too close. They'd expect you to get as far away as you could if you were running from them, right?"

"I-I suppose..."

Erin looked at the clock. "You have to stay until tomorrow night anyhow; it's too late now and you wouldn't get far before dawn. You don't have to answer now. You have until then to think about it."

He looked back and forth between the two of them, and relented. "All right. I'll stay until tomorrow night, but I can't promise anything more. I'll consider it."

"It's not a bad idea, is it?" Lily asked.

"No, no, certainly not. I wouldn't consider it at all if it were. I'm just not convinced it's the best course of action."

"But you'll stay until tomorrow."

Giles nodded once. "I will."


For days nothing new happened in Sunnydale, and every day no one from the Watchers' Council showed all Buffy could think was that it was one more day Giles could have been there.

The library was an alien place now. There was a new sub, and she was just as annoying as the last one. Giles was gone, and his weapons and books were back at his apartment, and the library was no place for the Scoobies anymore. Willow deleted the computer program that kept the maintenance reports circulating and disappearing, and when the substitute believed nothing to be wrong she quickly had the tarp over the skylight removed and the indoor décor changed. There were no more dark curtains and the main lights were still used regularly during the day despite the sun from the skylight. It was much too bright in there now. It hadn't even been that bright in the old days, when Giles was human. It was just strange.

The gang tried not to be gloomy, but it didn't always work. Sometimes they just were. Gloomy. That part wasn't fun, but life went on. They were okay, but...

And then it happened.

One day late the week after Giles left Buffy was in the lounge at school with Will, Xander, and Oz, while Willow went through her recently-received early admission packets from half a dozen or more schools that Buffy could never even hope to get a tour of. Willow was understandably happy, but a bit overwhelmed. She didn't know which one to choose. Buffy was happy for her, but she didn't want to think about college and that it likely meant the separation of the Scooby Gang. After losing Giles for now, it was too much deal with.

"I feel your pain, Will," Xander was saying. "Like right now, I'm torn between the fast-growing fields of appliance repair and motel management. Of course, I'm still waitin' to hear back from the Corndog Emporium, so—" He crossed his finger on both hands and made a mock hopeful face.

Buffy had to smirk at him. Xander, at least, was still cracking his usual jokes. That helped.

"Well I think its great," she said, trying to remain cheerful. "Early admission. Now there's nothing standing between you and a brilliant future."

Oz broke in. "Well if I may suggest, graduate. Getting left back, not the thrill ride you'd expect."

That was when Cordelia approached, dressed in as little as she could away with at school, as seemed to be usual lately. "That's so cute. Planning life as a loser? Most people just turn out that way, but you're really taking charge," she shot at Xander.

Cordelia had been rather mild for a few days after Giles left—almost friendly. Apparently the honeymoon was over.

"The comedy stylings of Miss Cordelia Chase, everyone," Xander joked uncomfortably, squirming in his seat. "Who uh, incidentally, won't be needing a higher education when she markets her own very successful line of hooker wear."

Buffy expected a retort, but Cordelia only rolled her eyes and shifted her attention to the girls. "Whatever. I just thought you might like to know that there's some weird new guy in the library. I think Snyder found that permanent replacement."

Willow made a face. "Great. Just what I wanted: another librarian I won't want to make friends with 'cause it'll remind me too much that Giles isn't here."

"It's okay, Willow," Oz said gently.

"No, you don't get it; I'm always the librarian's pet. Ever since kindergarten."

Xander nodded. "She does not exaggerate."

"But now that whole aspect of my life is just poof, out the window. I may never feel like befriending another librarian. It's just sad."

"It's probably not gonna help that this guy's British too," Cordelia commented.

Buffy blinked up at her. "He's what?"

"British. Or so I've been told. I haven't actually been in there yet; I've just heard the talk. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do."

Cordy left, and Buffy scowled to herself. "Crap."

Xander's eyebrows went up. "You don't think it's—"

She was already getting to her feet. "That's exactly what I think."

"Buffy—" Willow began.

"You guys might want to stay here; I'm not sure how ugly this is gonna get."

Xander jumped up now too. "Whoa, whoa, one step at a time."

"Sure. Step one, I find the guy; step two, I deck him."

"Buffy, we don't even know if it is the guy from the Council," Willow reminded her.

"At the very least I need to find out."

"O-o-okay, agreed, but how about we cut out the violence part. Remember graduating? You can't graduate if you're expelled. Again. A-and chemistry. You need to pass your chemistry test tomorrow. You should come to my house and study tonight. I can help. Chemistry's easy. It's a lot like witchcraft, only...only less newt."

"I'll be there, Will, but right now there's something I have to do."

Willow let out an uneasy breath. "Okay, just...no violence. Okay?"

Buffy sighed. "Fine. But I do need to go set a few things straight."

"Want any help?" Xander asked. He was already glaring at the guy, and they weren't anywhere near the library yet.

"I've got it, but if anyone wants to find Faith for me you could do that."

"Uh..."

Buffy didn't wait for any more answer than that. She made a beeline for the library and went in all no-nonsense to find a thin spectacled man in a suit and tie unpacking two or three boxes that sat on the main table. She stopped a few feet away from said table before she spoke.

"Who are you?"

He looked startled as he glanced up. "Oh! I, uhm, well, I am the new librarian of this establishment, obviously. And you might be?"

"A concerned student," she answered flatly. He didn't seem to know what to say to that. "You're English," she observed.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." He came forward and held out a hand, but Buffy just stared at it and finally he awkwardly let it drop again. "Yes, well...did you need something? I'm afraid I'm not quite oriented yet, however—"

"What brings you to America?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're from England. So what brought you here? I'm sure being a high school librarian in southern California can't be more exciting than anything you could do back home in the mother country." She knew wasn't doing a very good job of playing the part of a genuinely curious student—in fact, she was well aware that she was coming across positively icy—but she didn't particularly care.

He blinked rapidly, flummoxed. "I-I, well, it's...different; a change of pace, I suppose. I uhm—"

"Yeah, you might want to work on that cover story." Now it was coming out more condescending.

"Excuse me?"

She glared at him. "Hi. I'm Buffy Summers. Clued in now?"

Wesley's eyebrows shot to his hairline. "Oh! Miss Summers. Of course. It's very nice to meet you..." He tried to hold out a hand again, but again she stared him down and he dropped it. "Of course you, uhm, wanted to be sure of who I was before you revealed yourself. Very good. I'm glad to see you're on the ball." He leaned forward as if sharing a great secret. "A good Slayer is a cautious Slayer."

Buffy leaned back, more than a little weirded out. "Uh huh." She deliberately took a step back. "Look, let's make something really clear. You are not my Watcher, and you never will be. In case Travers failed to inform you, I quit. Faith did too. You're only here because the Council wanted a watchdog, and that's all you get to do. You don't get to give me advice, you don't get to train me, and you sure as hell don't get to get in my way. Is that clear?"

Now the new guy really was stumped. "I-I-I...I..."

"Good."

The double doors opened again, and Faith was the one to enter now. She stopped a few stopped in and eyed them both. "New Council guy?"

"New Council guy," Buffy confirmed.

Faith rolled her eyes and reversed to leave again. "Screw that."

Buffy gave Wesley Wyndam-Pryce one last meaningful glance. "That's pretty much what I was saying." And she followed Faith out, leaving the new librarian frozen in shock where he stood.

Willow, Xander, and Oz weren't far down the hallway, waiting. "So it was him?" Will asked.

"It was him," Buffy said in passing. She followed Faith though, until she caught up to the other Slayer out in the courtyard. "Faith, wait."

The other girl stopped by the fountain and swung around . "They gave him G's old job?"

"So it would appear."

Faith crossed her arms irritably. "Okay, please tell me that pisses you off."

"It does, but what can we do about it?

"I don't know; scare him off?"

"They'll send someone else."

Faith gave a disgusted grunt. "Fine, then at least use the guy for information. We still don't know what was up with the vamp with the swords last night; maybe he has some book that knows."

"It's an idea, but we have plenty of books of our own; that's what Giles left them for."

"Sure, but I'd rather have some geek do the research for me than do it myself."

"You've never done research."

"Exactly," Faith smirked. "You shouldn't have to either. We're Slayers, girlfriend; the chosen two. Why should we let a little needed information take the fun out of it?"

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Oh that'd be tragic—taking the fun out of slaying, stabbing, beheading..."

Faith smiled and started walking again. "Oh, like you don't dig it."

Buffy shrugged and followed her. "I don't."

"You're a liar. I've seen you. Tell me staking a vamp doesn't get you a little bit juiced. Come on, say it," she challenged. Buffy opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Faith laughed. "You can't fool me. The look in your eyes right after a kill; you just get hungry for more."

"You're way off base," Buffy sighed.

"Oh yeah? Then what have the past few days been about? We've both been pretty pissed, and you've been right out there with me workin' off the steam. Tell me it's not therapy."

She wanted to disagree, but she couldn't. "I don't know..."

Faith shrugged. "Hey, slaying's what we were built for. If you're not enjoying it, you're doing something wrong." With that she broke off, and Buffy called after her.

"What about that info?"

"You get it! I'll show up for the action."


One day turned into several, and Rupert knew he should have been long gone, but Erin and Lily didn't press him about it. He slept on the couch and during the day when they were gone he cleaned or cooked or otherwise made himself useful. They spent the evenings together, and he could almost forget how much trouble he was in. He'd said nothing of his plans to them because he didn't know. He didn't have any. Well...he had plans, but at the moment the ones that included leaving Los Angeles weren't of much interest to him. Maybe they were right; maybe staying here for a while really was a decently strategic idea.

If Giles had to admit the truth to himself, the only reason he hadn't agreed aloud was that part of him felt almost as if he would be betraying his family in Sunnydale, if he stayed here for any length of time. He'd left them. What right did he have to find another family so quickly? At all? He struggled with it, even though another part of him knew that was ridiculous thinking. The rest of the Scoobies still had each other; if he didn't stay here, he had no one.

None of them would blame him for wanting this.

Just as Giles knew he couldn't blame Buffy for wanting to be with Angel.

When dusk came he'd ducked out of the apartment looking for a walk and time to think. He'd been cooped up there for days, and it wasn't that he minded at all but there was something he had to do, too. More than one something, actually. He was coming back now, and it was late. The night was typical of Los Angeles—loud and too many lights in some places and not enough in others. He'd forgotten how familiar it had become, though he'd only been there for three or four months.

Giles detoured through the parking lot first, to leave the supplies he'd come back with in the cooler in the trunk of his car. As long as he kept it supplied with ice from the corner store, it worked fine. There was no reason to bother Erin with keeping its contents upstairs. Maybe she had supposedly accepted what he was, but he didn't want to push her any farther out of her comfort zone unnecessarily.

He cared too much to do that to her.

Rupert had hardly gotten through the door before he found his arms full, and he realized Lily had latched onto him.

"You're still here!"

"Wh-what? Of course..." He looked for Erin, hoping for a clue. The television was on and she was curled on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate, and the crumpled blanket beside her told him that was where Lily had been. Erin said nothing, but he caught a small smile of relief on her face before she turned back to the movie and pretended to be uninterested.

He knew she wasn't.

"We thought you'd left," Lily told him. "We got home and you weren't here, and you didn't show up."

"I wouldn't leave without letting you know," Giles assured her. He gave her a gentle squeeze and then pulled her away to look her in the eyes. "I wouldn't; I promise. Unless there's some sort of emergency you'll know before I go anywhere."

"You mean if they found you..."

He winced and let his arms drop. "Yes, that would most likely be the emergency. Anyhow, I uhm...I'm sorry. I only needed a few things, and I found the library. I had to send a message, and I'm afraid that took a bit longer than I'd care to admit. I'm still not particularly friendly with this confounded electronic mail..."

Lily laughed and dropped back onto the couch, and Erin stiffled a giggle too. "I know; we need a computer in here. It's on my list of things to afford," she said with a grin.

Rupert chuckled. "Well, it was good to get out. I do enjoy being here, but one simply needs air occasionally, whether or not they breathe it. I'm sorry I didn't think to leave a note; I must have been thinking about something else when I walked out."

Erin calmly took a sip of her drink and nodded. "That's understandable."

He moved to a chair and sat, but they were still looking at him, and finally he sighed. "I'm sorry," he said again. "Barring the night I arrived I know I haven't been very forthcoming. I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure what I was going to do."

"You weren't? Are you now?" Lily asked gently.

He shrugged. "I'm as sure as I can be, under the circumstances. The way I see it, if the Council was going to find me here they would have done it by now. I figure it will be quite a while before they come back around to checking here, if indeed they ever do. Perhaps you and Erin are right; I should take the opportunity to stay in one place for a bit."

Lily was thrilled, but she was forced to head to sleep soon after, thanks to an early shift the next morning. Rupert and Erin were left alone, and when she moved into the kitchen with the mugs she and Lily had been using he followed her. He took them from her and started to wash them himself.

"You don't have to—"

"If I'm going to stay here any longer I might as well earn my keep."

"Rupert, you've earned more than your keep with what you did for Lily alone."

"That was—"

"And you cooked three times this week, and I think every inch of this place has been scrubbed half a dozen times over."

He focused on the mug and sponge in his hands and shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "It's...keeping busy."

"I see that."

She wasn't budging, but he didn't say anything until he was finished washing the two cups and he had set them in the dish drainer by the sink. "I miss them already. I missed them before I left," he admitted quietly. Once he'd dried his hands Giles turned around and leaned back against the counter, and Erin did the same beside him. She seemed to be waiting for him to continue, and eventually he did.

"I suppose if I'm honest with myself...perhaps I was able to leave, but only just—only because it was necessary. I uhm..." He laughed weakly, "You and Lily...being able to stay here is probably the best thing to happen for me in a while. I may be out of Sunnydale but I don't think I'm ready to go any farther yet. It's the same reason I was stuck here this summer..."

Erin smiled. "Now I know why you're so good with Lily—you have teenagers of your own."

"Four, to be exact. The fifth comes and goes. Or, actually, she was the fourth, but—well, I don't suppose that matters."

She chuckled, but then she was serious again. "Do you worry about them? Even though Buffy is, uhm..."

"The slayer?"

"Right."

Rupert grimaced, and he had to nod. "She knows what she's doing. I don't need to worry about her in that sense, and I told her as much, but...she as well as the rest of them...they do have a knack for finding trouble. Or it finds them."


At first she couldn't move, but when Faith finally managed to drag her to her feet and away Buffy suddenly couldn't move fast enough.

"Come on, we gotta go!"

Go where? Buffy wondered silently. But she moved, and when they reached the end of the alley Faith went one way and she went another. She climbed a fence, dropped down on the other side and kept running. The last two days or so was all a blur, and the only thing she saw clearly was the face of the man that had just died in front of her.

God, what had they gotten themselves into? This wasn't fun anymore...

Faith had been right about one thing; she did enjoy slaying, sometimes, to a certain extent. Buffy didn't like to admit it but it was true. It was a good way to let off steam, and she'd needed that recently. In the past two days alone she'd blown off a study session with Willow, snuck out a window in the middle of a chemistry test to help Faith take out a vamp test, been arrested with her fellow Slayer for attempted theft of weapons, and escaped before even making it to the police station by causing the police cruiser run off the road. And now...

It had happened so fast. She'd managed to get the info they'd needed out of Wesley—whether he was eager to please or just following the Council's orders to help them she wasn't sure—and it turned out that the vampire with the swords had been part of some ancient cult that at one time had served the demon Balthazar. Balthazar was supposed to be dead. No luck there, of course. The demon was alive and in Sunnydale, and sending his minions to look for some amulet of his that would restore his strength. Buffy had found the amulet and given it to Angel for safekeeping. She and Faith had been out tonight hoping to round up and dust more of the vamp cult members while planning a strategy for taking out Balthazar.

Then that man had come out of nowhere in the alley, grabbing her shoulder. Faith had thrown him against a dumpster and...and plunged a stake into his heart.

It was only then that they'd realized he was human.

Or...Buffy had realized it just in time, but Faith hadn't heard her when she shouted at her to stop. She hadn't noticed in time, and now a man was dead.

Now Buffy had no idea what to do. She would have gone straight to Giles, she thought, but she couldn't. He wasn't here and this wasn't something you e-mailed someone about. God knew when he would get a chance to check it anyway. In more than a week they had only gotten one message from him—a short one, a day or two ago, vague but enough to let them know he was all right.

He should be here...oh god oh god, what do I do...
She stopped short when a shadow fell across her path, blocking the glow from the dim alley streetlights. "Angel," she said in surprise.

"Buffy. I've been looking for you." Then he frowned and glanced down, and reached out quickly to grab her hand. He held it up, and he didn't look happy when he saw the blood on it.

It wasn't her blood.

Buffy jerked her hand away and held it behind her back. Panic suddenly rose in her throat even though she knew she had nothing to fear from Angel. "It's ok." She should have told him, but she couldn't. Nothing came out.

Angel looked at her warily, but he continued. "I've just been at the warehouse," he said. He meant the warehouse Balthazar and his cult were using as a home base. "I was waiting for you. They got the new guy."

Buffy blinked. "Wesley?"

"Yeah...and I have a feeling the Council wouldn't be too happy if we didn't save him."

She grimaced. "Do we have to?"

"Buffy..."

"I know, I know," she agreed, distracted. "Let's go."

"Where's Faith?"

"She's uhm...she's not coming."

Within half an hour it was all over. Wesley was fine, Balthazar was dead, burnt to a crisp, and his minions were dust.

Then the demon opened his eyes.

"Slayer..." Buffy might have taken a step back if Angel weren't behind her, but he was there and she felt safe and they just stared, wide-eyed, as Balthazar smirked at them. "You think you've won." He wheezed out a laugh. "When he rises...you'll wish I'd killed you all."

And he died.

Buffy glanced back at Angel, who was still vamped-out from the battle. He seemed as clueless as she was. Wesley, she noted with satisfaction, looked terrified, and now he owed her one. That much was good. It made the night a little better. Just a little.

But what the hell had Balthazar been talking about?