Gods, if Buffy absolutely had to wear a leather jacket to school, you'd think she'd at least pick one that wasn't longer than her dress. Not that this jacket was, longer that is, but it only missed completely dominating her outfit by a few scant inches. As large as it was, it would be better suited to a … Gods, please let it not be a lover. She was already more negligent of her Slayer duties than should be allowed. "Buffy. Late as usual I see. Please fill me in on last night's patrol quickly so you can get at least some meditating in."

"Good morning to you too, Giles. Delightful to see you so bright and dare I emphasize, early, in the day." She had the nerve to tip her coffee at him as if he didn't know she was late because she'd stopped off at the Espresso Pump.

"Please Buffy, I'd like you to report on your patrol."

She must be weakening. Rupert had to raise only one eyebrow to get her to speak. "Nothing unusual. I found a couple of fledges at Shady Rest, just like you'd thought. Killed them and headed out to the Bronze. Oh, and I saw Angel. He said that there's, um, a Fork Guy coming, or maybe Fork Guy's already here since he cut Angel, so I guess that means Fork Guy is definitely in town."

"Fork Guy?" Rupert asked. Wait, what was this other name she was so casually referring to? Giles settled his tea carefully on the table before asking. "Who is this Angel?"

"Angel? You know. Angel. Big cryptic guy who told me about the Harvest."

"He has a name?" Idiot, of course he has a name. "And you've known it for how long?"

She spoke slowly, dragging out the words. Apparently it hadn't occurred to her that he'd need the names of her enemies. "Since, um, before the Harvest?"

"And you were planning to leave me in the dark indefinitely, then?"

"Well, uh, you know. Harvest. Saving the world. I sort of forgot you didn't know."

"Buffy, I can't protect you if I don't know what your enemies are up to."

"What? Enemy? Angel isn't my enemy. He's been helping."

"'But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.'"

"Kisses? There've been no kisses. You think there should have been kisses?"

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose. "Proverbs."

"Proverbs? Those things Jesus said or told or something?"

"It was a quote. Proverbs is a book in the Bible." Good to know the American educational system was maintaining its ever so high standards.

"Um, what was a quote?"

"'Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.' Proverbs 27:6. I was attempting to suggest you don't know enough about this Angel to consider him an ally."

"But we wouldn't have even known about the Harvest if it wasn't for Angel."

Ah, youth, so easily shocked. "And perhaps that was a ruse, merely meant to gain your trust."

"Why? Why would he want to be all trusty with me?"

Giles held back a sigh. "Because you're the Slayer. Anyone who wants power might begin by attempting to gain your trust." She seemed to be taking that in. "Now, what can you tell me about this Angel? Leave nothing out."

"What? I'm not spying on him for you."

Damned recalcitrant … Giles gave up. Let Rupert deal with the impudent brat. "So, er, Fork Guy. What else do you know?" Rupert wasn't quite sure why his Slayer looked upset. Surely she'd been trained to interrogate a source.

"Angel's arms were cut up because the bad guy, the evil guy, the one I'm supposed to hunt down, had attacked him."

"Oh, I, uh, you're friend will be alright, yes?"

"I suppose."

"What else did he tell you about this Fork Guy?"

"No mercy. Ripping my throat out. Blah blah blah."

Gods but she was surly this morning. He knew she was a teenager but Rupert expected a tad more maturity from his Slayer. "In other words the epithet of Fork Guy came from you?"

"Huh?"

"Did your source actually refer to this character as Fork Guy?"

"Uh, well, no." She stared down at the floor. "I called him that."

"Any other information?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Perhaps in the future you could ask this, er, Angel to be a tad less vague."

"It's not my fault that's all he told me." Did she have to be this defensive first thing in the morning? "He just sort of vanished."

Vanished. A Slayer said he'd vanished. Giles sipped at his tea to cover his shock. This Angel couldn't be human. "I'll see what I can learn with the overabundance of information at hand. Lotus position. Come on. You'll barely get thirty minutes in." She grumbled but she sat on the desk and shifted into the Lotus pose and at least closed her eyes. He didn't expect she'd actually get into a trance any day soon but at least she was trying.

As Buffy fidgeted on the table, Giles thought about her so called friend. Calls himself Angel. Isn't human. Damn, it was so very little to go on. When he looked up, she was glancing at the clock. "Buffy," he warned.

She actually had the nerve to jump off the table and pace about the room. "Giles, I'm a Slayer. I'm primed to fight,not sit on my butt and do nothing."

"Buffy, I can make you a better Slayer, I can keep you alive, but only if you trust me. I've explained why the meditative practice is important."

"Yeah, yeah, connect with my inner rainbow warrior."

"There's no need for sarcasm. Merrick thought you wouldn't last and this attitude is exactly the reason why."

"Merrick thought I wouldn't make it?"

Gods, was she honestly about to cry? "I'm sorry, Buffy. I shouldn't have said that."

"If it's true, why not?" Her arms were folded and she wouldn't look at him."

"Please, will you try meditating? It's just another twenty minutes, not long at all."

"Okay." She sounded broken. Well and good. It was time she accepted the harsh reality of her Calling.