Buffy rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands and shook her head. Xander leaned toward her.

"Late night?" he asked, voice pitched low.

Buffy stifled a yawn. "Not so much 'late' as 'action-packed'. This is getting ridiculous."

"Miss Summers, are we boring you?"

Buffy stared daggers at Xander. "No, no, not at all. I am very excited by–" she glanced down at the book on her desk "-Things Fall Apart." The teacher raised a doubtful eyebrow and returned to the discussion.

The Slayer rolled her eyes. Could that title be any more on the nose?

When the bell rang, Buffy slung her backpack and headed for the library. She was going against the primary flow, so it took a few minutes of ducking and dodging.

"Hey," she said, slightly out of breath as she dropped her burden on the counter. She raised a questioning eyebrow; her Watcher glanced around the library and nodded. "I went to the the zoo last night. Thought there might be a return engagement."

"And?" Giles asked.

"Vamps were found, vamps were slayed–"

"Slain. The correct form of the verb would be 'slain'." Buffy gave her Watcher the stink eye. He seemed unfazed. "Yes, you're saving the world, but that doesn't allow you to sound like a street urchin."

"Interesting choice of words, since said suckers were definitely of the Reverend's group."

Giles's forehead creased. "You're certain?"

"Certain as… something really certain. Wait, what's that thing? You know, the thing? 'Death and taxes'? Yeah, death and taxes. Somebody said that."

"'Somebody' would be Benjamin Franklin," Giles observed dryly.

"Anyway, I know these were Revampires…" Buffy stopped and waited for a reaction. "You like that? Revampires, kinda combining Reverend and vampires?" She frowned. "Don't sigh at me like that."

"You were saying that you are certain they were members of the Reverend's clan?"

"Yeah, it's really kind of easy to tell them apart." The Slayer flipped over her left hand, palm up. "Trick's crew are always dressed like commandos or something, lots of tactical-looking clothing." She flipped over her right hand. "The Reverend, on the other hand, they're a real grab bag."

"And last night?"

"Like the orphans in a community theater production of Annie." Buffy folded her arms. "What about the rest of town?"

Giles cleared his throat. "There were reports from three separate areas of town. None of them were the zoo."

Buffy slammed her right fist into her left palm, a gesture of complete frustration. "Dammit. Every night this week. Could it be a coincidence? Tell me it could be a coincidence."

The Watcher shook his head. "Every night this week, there has been group activity in three different locations. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."

Buffy's face screwed up in annoyance. "Well, that helps."

"The only constant we have is three incidents per night." Giles shook his head. "That might be significant. The number three has certain properties in magic. I'll look into that, it might lead somewhere."

Buffy breathed heavily. "Well, we need to find out something. I'm getting exhausted."

"About that. Ms. Hollis has agreed to assist with patrolling. Th-she will take a sector of town. That should offer you at least a slight respite."

"Is that a lyric from 'Hoodoo Child'?"

"What?" Giles frowned, then rolled his eyes. "No. I mean, the song is 'Voodoo Child', not 'Hoodoo Child', and it's not from the song anyway."

Buffy shrugged. "Whatevs." She slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Do you think it'd be a good idea if I went by her office after school, thank her for helping and figure who's gonna be where, that sort of thing?"

Giles thought for a moment. "Probably."

"Okie-dokie. See you later."

Buffy trotted down the steps to the gym floor, hung a right, and went up the tunnel. An overwhelming smell of locker room smell immediately assaulted her senses. The weird, shadowy lighting and the odd thumping and scraping noises felt like a bad horror movie. There were reasons she didn't remember gym class fondly. The tunnel rose slightly to the locker room; the Slayer passed through the empty room, which still reeked of wet towel, and saw the top of Matti Hollis's head through the window. The door to the office was open, so Buffy tapped her knuckles on the jamb.

Matti looked up. "Buffy. Well, this is a surprise. What brings you to the dungeon?"

Buffy's mouth quirked. "I, uh, kinda… I mean… Wow, I have just suffered total brain lock."

Matti smiled, tossed her pen on the desk, and leaned back in her chair. The springs squeaked. "Just start at the beginning."

"Well, I guess the beginning would be Giles asking you for help with patrollage. He said you gave it a thumbs up."

"Yeah," Matti said. "I did."

Buffy shuffled her feet. "Thanks. Should we figure out, y'know, our boundaries?"

Matti cocked her head and tapped her fingers on the desk. "I thought I might go west from my house to the city limits. Be sure to loop in the U, swing by the airport, maybe give the shipyard a once-over. That leaves you with two-thirds of town to cover, but it takes three complex targets off your board."

"Yeah, that's good." Buffy blinked. "That was a very… precise plan."

Matti grinned. "I am a professional. This sort of thing happens a lot."

Buffy shifted her weight. "Listen, about boundaries… I know when I was in the library yesterday…" The Slayer took a deep breath. " I kinda acted like a, a…"

"South end of a northbound horse?" Matti appeared to be enjoying herself immensely.

"Graphic, but accurate." Buffy waved a hand. "I wanted to apologize for that, and say thank you, and tell you not to get hurt."

Matti leaned forward, elbows on knees, and Buffy took an involuntary step back. "I appreciate that. I really do, but I kinda do this for a living, just like you–"

"Not really," Buffy muttered. "I don't get paid."

"And I don't get paid enough to do it. Anyway, I'm a grown-ass woman, I make my own choices, and if something happens to me, that's not on you. I signed up for it long before I knew you." Matti leaned back again. "I'll look after myself, Buffy Summers, don't you fret about me. You've got enough to worry about, including a Physiology and Anatomy grade if I hear right."

"Ouch. Touche." Buffy nodded. "I just felt like I needed to say it, I don't know why."

Matti shrugged and picked up her pen. "Part of being a grown-up is doing what you think you need to do. You're becoming an adult."

A wry grin graced the Slayer's face. "And those may be the most hurtful words anyone has ever said to me." She pushed off the door jamb. "I gotta go."

Matti waved dismissively. "I know."

Buffy smiled as she turned into the tunnel. She noticed the noise from before, but now she realized it was localized, coming from behind a door. She stopped and glanced up. A small plaque with the word 'Storage' stenciled on it was screwed into the frame.

"What are you storing?" she whispered and turned the handle.

The foreground of the room was dark; she was aware of the storage bins and shelves lining the walls. The far end of the long room was lit by a single bulb in a cone-shaped fixture; it cast a circular glow on the floor. A heavy bag hanging from a chain was centered in that glow. Someone was working the bag; Buffy could see it twitching and hear the sounds of the blows and shuffling feet, mixed with grunts of effort, but whoever was imitating Mike Tyson was on the other side of the bag, their only presence a wavering shadow around the periphery of the puddle of light.. As the Slayer stood rooted to the floor, a shadow began to move around the bag; she unconsciously bent her knees and shifted her weight as who(or what)ever was on the opposite side of the bag came into view. Buffy flexed her fist…

Cordelia came into view, her attention focused on the bag as she threw punches. Sweat flew from her torso as she pounded the apparatus. She circled the bag until her back was to the Slayer. Her arms dropped, and she bent over, hands on knees. Buffy opened her mouth–

And felt an iron grip close on her shoulder. She twirled, fist coming up, then saw Matti standing in the doorway, a finger raised to her lips. Buffy stopped, staring, as Matti stepped back into the hallway and made a beckoning gesture. The Slayer glanced over her shoulder, confused, and took a half-step toward Cordelia, then looked back at Matti. The teacher made another, more forceful 'come here' motion with her hand. Buffy shrugged and stepped into the hallway. Matti carefully closed the door, then jerked her head toward the gym. Utterly confused, the Slayer followed her.

"What. The. Hell." Buffy blurted as they reached the gym.

"It's her program," Matti said, glancing over her shoulder toward the tunnel. "And I'm pretty sure this would be a bad time for you to talk to her."

Buffy pointed. "Did I just see Cordelia Chase going Floyd Mayweather in the equipment room? I repeat, for emphasis, what the hell?"

Matti crossed her arms. "After what happened to her parents–"

"Yeah, I know what happened to her parents, and it's been a shitty year for her, what with the kidnapping and the fae on the camping trip, I mean, I understand–"

"Kidnapping?" Matti frowned. "Camping trip?"

"Oh." Buffy's eyes widened. "You didn't… I thought… I think I may have said too much. Bye now."

"Buffy!" Matti barked, but the Slayer didn't look back as she took the stairs two at a time. The teacher shook her head and went back into the tunnel. She opened the door to the storage room. Cordelia had resumed her attack; the blows were slower, but her form remained intact. Matti watched for a second, then cleared her throat. "I'm about done, if you want to get cleaned up."

Cordelia threw a last looping punch. Sweat dripped from her nose; she brushed at it with a thumb. "Okay."

Matti nodded and closed the door, then stalked away down the tunnel.

"Giles!" Matti's voice rang through the library with the authority of a gunshot. The Watcher stepped out of the stacks.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked.

Matti went up the steps in two strides and came to an abrupt stop in front of Giles. "Cordelia was kidnapped?"

The librarian blinked. "What? When?"

Matti's jaw dropped. "Wh– Last fall? Is that why she missed most of Homecoming week?"

"Oh. Oh, that." Giles pushed up his glasses. "Yes. Um, I did talk to you, you came here… to the library… and we talked about Cordelia's absence."

"Yeah," Matti said, "and I remember you said she probably had the flu. That was exactly what you said, she probably had the flu." She raised her arms, fists clenched so tightly her fingertips tingled.

"What?" Giles stammered. "How…" His face went slack. "Buffy."

"Yeah, she let something slip, but don't change the subject. Cordelia was kidnapped… by who?"

Giles cleared his throat and asked, "Should we be discussing this here and now?"

"I am," Matti declared. "I doubt if you're going to be flooded with students looking for books at-" she glanced at the clock on the wall "-four-forty-five."

The librarian nodded. "True."

Matti waited. When the Watcher remained silent, she made a beckoning gesture with the first two fingers of her right hand.

"A group of boys who wanted to summon the death angel Azrael by sacrificing three virgins," the Watcher muttered.

Matti's eyes grew round. "What? What the hell? And you never thought… Okay, next item. Camping trip."

Giles tugged on his tie. "Buffy and Cordelia were on a class trip that was attacked by a group of wild fae. They were quite heroic in saving their classmates."

Matti fumed. "Rupert, are you really… Come on. Cordelia's parents are dead, that's bad enough, but now I find out that it's on top of… good God, do you realize how much trauma she's gone through this year? No wonder she's so messed up." She threw her head back and looked up at the ceiling. "Did it not occur to you that this might be useful information to share with me, since she's staying at my house? You might have said, 'Hey Matti, it's not just her parents. Lots of shit has rained down on her already'. That would have been helpful."

Giles brushed past her and headed toward the counter. "In retrospect, I see that it would have been appropriate to share that information." He turned and raised a hand. "I would point out that Willow was the victim of a voodoo curse, and she–"

"And she had a functional family unit. Hey, Faith lost Lindsay, how'd that turn out?"

Giles winced. "The two are–"

"Don't weasel on me, Rupert. Which one of those two is more like Cordelia? Willow, with a functional family and the support of the rest of your little group, or Faith, who has to navigate the world by her damaged self?"

"Well, that's just silly. Cordelia is much more…" The Watcher's voice trailed away.

"Cordelia lived in a bigger house, yeah, but let's recap–" Matti held up a hand and ticked off her fingers "-she has, or had, a toxic social group. Those girls scare the shit outta me the way they tear each other down. We now know she had a dysfunctional family. She is the continual outsider in your group, all of whom feel free to take shots at her–"

"Stop." Giles's voice did not increase in volume, but it was firm and commanding. "I appreciate what you are doing for Cordelia, more than you could possibly know. I understand that you have come to view yourself as her protector and guardian. I am… aware of how easily that role can be assumed before one realizes the responsibility it entails. I am grateful to you because, as you said, it is apparent that she is a damaged young woman. I will even admit that perhaps I could have been more… perceptive. All of that is true, but take care that you do not cross a line. Do not accuse Buffy and, and Willow of not caring, or of being cruel. I am an adult and, as I said, I should have been more discerning, but they have not treated Cordelia any differently than they treat one another or she has treated them. Did Buffy tell you that they found Cordelia and rescued her?"

Matti shook her head. "No."

"They did. You were there when they discovered the bodies of Cordelia's parents. Did they seem blase or uncaring?"

Matti's lips compressed into a thin line. "No."

"Exactly. Yes, Xander was wrong when he slept with Faith–"

"Say what?" Matti's voice went up an octave.

Giles blinked. "Oh. Oh, you didn't… you didn't know about that. Hmm, well, yes, Xander and Cordelia were a couple, which I'm sure you knew." Matti nodded, and Giles continued. "Faith blamed Buffy for Lindsay's death and she, she had sex with Xander as an act of revenge."

"Oh,man," Matti said. "This just keeps snowballing."

"Yes," Giles replied. "And I am no expert on the teen libido, thank a thousand gods, but I do know that such behavior would be… upsetting at the best of times."

"Whoa. Whoa. So, there's kidnapping, this camping trip business, and Xander cheated on her?' Matti shook her head. "How did you not think this was trouble brewing?"

"Given what we now know about Cordelia's family… yes, that's an obvious question. But we did not know and I was distracted, because one of my colleagues, a young woman who trusted me, died in front of me. Because the organization to which I have devoted my life came apart. Because… because…" Giles took a deep breath. "Enough. I should have been more aware, but I wasn't. That cannot be rectified." He looked at Matti, and for the first time she noticed the brown patch in his left iris. "Never mistake my errors for a lack of concern."

They stared at each other, unblinking. Finally, Matti said, "I'm sorry. I came in here hot and ran my mouth. I know that the Slayer is your primary responsibility, but… I guess I've chosen Cordelia as mine."

The Watcher nodded. "And it is to your credit and her good fortune that you have done so."

Matti crossed her arms and cocked her hips. "I'm still mad."

Giles inclined his head. "Understood. I trust this clears the air." Matti nodded, stepped around him, and headed to the door.

"Ms. Hollis." She turned back at the sound of Giles's voice. "If you need assistance or counsel, I would recommend that you contact Mrs. Summers. I believe she would be a great help."

Matti lifted her chin. "Thanks. I was already leaning that way."