Angel sat on the top of a picnic table with Buffy on the bench between his legs. Connor stood a few feet away enjoying the view of the city. They were at a park up in the hills overlooking LA waiting for the others to arrive. Gunn was the first one there, followed by Lorne and Fred. She pulled out her device for finding bugs and began sweeping everyone with it. Wesley was the last to pull up on his motorcycle.

"Hey, uh, who wants some mu shu?" Lorne was saying. "I got beaucoup mu shu here."

"I'll take some, thanks." Fred said, scanning Wesley. "This little picnic was such a good idea."

"Yeah." Gunn agreed. "Why haven't we done this before?"

"Well, you know, you've all been working so hard…." Angel said.

"Has anyone seen the plum sauce?" Wesley asked.

Fred finished scanning Wesley and put the scanner back in the briefcase on the picnic table. "We're clean." She announced. "Nobody's listening."

Buffy looked at Wesley. "Everything ok? You were late."

"Thought I was being followed." He said.

"I get that we have to be careful, but feels weird hiding from the company we're supposed to be running." Gunn said.

"We're not hiding, we're being safe." Angel said. "There are factions at Wolfram & Hart, people who want to see us destroyed."

"But still, it's not like everyone there's evil." Fred said. "I mean, we work with these people. Some of em I see more than I see you guys, at least lately, anyway."

"And you think you can trust him?" Wesley asked her. "Them."

"What?"

"These people, the ones you're spending so much time with lately. Knox, for example."

"Uh, we're, you know, friendly, but he's under me, or I'm on top of him. Professionally. All I'm saying is, he…. He's not evil."

"That you know of. It's usually the ones you least expect." Buffy said.

"I think we're all agreed that the Senior Partners are evil." Angel said. "They put us in charge for a reason. What we need to know is: why?"

"We've only been there a month." Gunn said.

"Turns out running a company doesn't leave a lot of time for, you know, covert ops." Fred said.

"Yeah, I'm up to my horns in schmoozin' starlets and boozin' hipsters, Angel." Lorne said.

"What about Gunn?" Wesley asked.

"What about Gunn?" Gunn asked defensively.

"It's…. Well, what they put in your head." Fred clarified. "All that law knowledge and whatever. Maybe you know something, more than the rest of us."

"The alteration to your mental capacity…." Wesley started.

"My capacity's the same as it's always been." Gunn said. "The good doctor just revved up some idling brain cells, set them in motion."

"It's a legitimate concern." Angel said. "You gave them access to…."

"I made a deal. We all did. Seems like I'm the only one who's willing to accept that. Everybody here got something out of this."

"Fear, mistrust, a great motor pool." Angel looked at Buffy. "An even better co-CEO." Buffy grinned up at him.

"I got the Nancy Sinatra collection." Lorne said. "Original 45s."

"I did get a rather nice pen." Wesley said. He pulled his pen out of his pocket. "Sterling. Has my name on it."

"I got an amazing and large shoe collection to go with my wardrobe." Buffy said, admiring her Louboutins. "Woke up the day after signing the contract and there they all were." She looked up sheepishly. "Which is totally not the point at all."

"No, the point is what, that I'm some spy for the senior partners?" Gunn asked.

"I didn't that."

"Just thinking it."

"Not at all, actually."

"The point is, the Senior Partners have a plan for us," Angel said. "And if we're not prepared…."

"Angel, it's not like we don't want to be ready." Fred said. "We just have, you know, plates…. big, heaping, full plates."

"Between running our departments, handling clients, dealing with Spike…." Wesley said.

"Spike is a distraction." Angel said.

"He's not a distraction." Buffy argued.

"He's got Fred looking for a way to fix him when she's got lots of other things to work on. Wesley has been researching the amulet for explanations…."

"Ok, he's a little bit of a distraction."

"As soon as he's released from his ties from Wolfram & Hart…."

"Which could take years." Wesley inserted.

"Using the amulet to destroy the Hellmouth," Fred said. "It turned Spike into…."

"A spook?" Lorne offered.

"Well, he's more than a ghost. He's something unique."

"Regardless, whatever binds him…." Wesley started.

"Can I borrow your pen?" Connor asked suddenly.

Wesley shot Connor a glare, but handed the pen over. "Sure."

Connor took off running just as Buffy and Angel heard the scream of a woman followed by the snarl of a beast. They both looked up and realized it was the full moon. Buffy was off and running first with Angel hot on her heels. By the time they caught up to Connor, he was shoving Wesley's silver pen through the thing's chest. The werewolf collapsed and immediately turned back into the shape of a man.

"Where did the girl go?" Buffy asked.

"I guess she ran away while I was fighting this…. Thing." Connor said. The sound of car tires screeched in the distance.

"Was she bit?"

"I don't know. I didn't see."

"Were you bit?" Angel asked.

"No. I'm good. Why?"

"That's a werewolf." Buffy explained. "Or it was. How did you know to use silver on it?"

"I didn't. I just didn't have time to get to the weapons in our trunk, so I took Wesley's pen. Silver kills werewolves?"

"Yes." Angel said. "Are you sure you're weren't bitten?"

"Yeah. Not a scratch." He looked down at the dead man. "I'm sorry I killed him. I didn't mean to."

"You didn't know."

Buffy knelt down and examined the body. "He looks like he was feral and very hungry."

Angel looked down at the body. "He bit the woman."

"Yeah. There's blood on his mouth." Buffy stood up. "I guess we should get this guy back to Wolfram and Hart. See if he has any family we can notify." She looked over at Connor with concern. "You ok?"

"Yeah." Connor nodded, staring at the dead man. "I think so."

Buffy sat with Gunn on the couch in her and Angel's office. Angel was at their desk finishing up a sketch of the girl from the park that Connor had saved. The father and son had spent a good portion of the morning making the sketch from Connor's memory.

"She was definitely bitten." Buffy was saying. "And tonight's the second night of the full moon. She's got two more nights to go full wolfy. So we've got a couple of hours till moonrise."

"We'll find her." Gunn said.

"I hope so. She won't even know what's happening to her."

"Well, she'll figure it out soon enough. McManus did."

"Who's McManus?" Angel asked.

"The guy Connor…. Uh, killed. I pulled his credit card records, cross-checked 'em with police reports. He left his wife and kids a couple years ago, kept moving, staying in the middle of nowhere most of the time. First year or so, a few mangled bodies showed up here and there, but the last 6 months, guy was leaving corpses like bread crumbs."

"Probably tried to control it for a while and just gave up. Thought he had to fight it alone, ended up with nothing worth fighting for. But this girl, she's not alone. She's got us." Angel stood up and handed the sketch to Gunn. "Finished. Let's get this out there and find her."

"On it." Gunn said, standing up and headed out of the office.

Angel took Gunn's vacated seat next to Buffy. "Connor's pretty upset that he killed that werewolf."

"I know." Buffy said, taking Angel's hand. "He didn't know any better. They didn't exactly have werewolves in hell. Surprisingly."

"And he's never encountered any since he's been back."

"He's down in the lab helping out where he can. We should go check on him."

Angel stood back up and helped Buffy to her feet. Down in the lab, Connor was pacing furiously looking every bit like his father. "You're trying to tell me that we're useless?" He was complaining. "All this resources…."

"We're doing everything we can." Wesley said.

"There's two years of history on a dead man and we can't get one lead on a living, breathing girl."

"Fingerprints." Fred said. "Have his, don't have hers."

"There must be something where she was attacked."

"So far, not even an earring." Wesley said.

"Connor, we're trying." Angel said, trying to soothe his son. "We'll find her."

"Hey Fred," Buffy said, walking over to the taller brunette. "Anything on the tire prints yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm working on it." Fred said.

"Psychics are working on traces of the girl's blood." Wesley said. "They picked up images, imprints." He handed a sketch to Angel.

"Must be her bedroom." Angel said, handing the sketch to Buffy.

"Could they maybe make it clearer?" Buffy asked.

"It's not like a photograph." Wesley said.

"Well that sucks."

"Who's that taking pictures of the body?" Angel asked.

"Dr. Royce is the cryptozoologist on my staff." Wesley explained. "I brought him in to tell us what we'll be dealing with when we find the girl."

"Pretty rare breed you've got here." Dr. Royce said. "Lycanthropus exterus. Undocumented in North America. Until now, obviously."

"How is it different from a standard werewolf?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, biped, for one thing. Walks upright. Canines are a bit longer than normal. Arm span is…."

"I don't care about that." Connor snapped. "All I care about is the girl."

"That's rough." Spike said. "Cause here on out, she's in the kill-or-be-killed club."

"Here on out, she's under our protection." Angel replied.

"If you find her before she turns. Catch her after she goes all growly, won't be easy taking her out. I had a wee spat with a werewolf myself once. Fought for over an hour. Brutal, vicious. Almost lost my…."

"Connor killed him with a pen." Buffy interrupted, grinning at Spike.

"Show off." Spike said to Connor.

"Can I see what you've got on the tire prints, Fred?"

Fred brought up the photo of the tire prints on her computer. "Those fine lines? Bad for the car, good for us. Apparently, they mean old tires, at least 5 years."

Gunn walked into the lab just then with a folder. "Nice sketch. Somebody saw your girl last night. East Hollywood."

Angel glanced through the file and handed it to Buffy. "All right, we're looking for a mid-size sedan, at least 5 years old, somewhere in the Hollywood area."

"Tick-tock, tick-tock." Spike said. "The moon's a-risin', ladies and gents."

"I'm in the DMV database, but there are thousands of possible matches." Wesley said.

"I have an idea." Buffy said. She walked over to Wesley. "Are we plugged into the traffic cameras around the city?"

"Yes."

"Being a werewolf's chew toy isn't exactly fun stuff. She probably couldn't tell the difference between a red light and a green light."

"I'm looking at the cameras." Gunn said. "You get set to run with it if I find a match. Course I might leak the info to the Senior Partners, cause we're tight."

"Just do it." Wesley snapped.

"Is the van ready?" Angel asked.

"Yep. I triple checked." Fred assured him.

"Good, cause we've got less barely an hour now."

"A lot of fuss over one girl." Spike said to Fred. "Other things to do around here…. important things."

"You know that whoosh thing that you do when you're suddenly not there anymore?" Connor snapped at Spike. "I love that."

"10:19 last night, 1992 Honda Civic ran a red light at Western and Franklin." Gunn said. "Blond woman." He pulled the picture off the printer and Connor took it from him.
"That's her!"

"License number: 2ABM-543."

"Address: 2315 Harvard. Name: Nina Ash." Wesley announced a moment later.

"Let's go adopt a were-puppy." Buffy said.

Buffy waited outside of Nina's cell for the were-woman to wake up. She heard shuffling and gave her a moment to put on the clothes that had been left for her. When the shuffling stopped, Buffy turned walked into the room. She silently unlocked the cell door as Nina stared at her.

"What…. who are you?" Nina backed away from Buffy.

"My name's Buffy. You're safe now."
"Safe? Oh. Well…. great. That's…." Nina tried to run past Buffy, but the smaller blonde stopped her. "Get off me! Let go of me! Help me, somebody!"

"I'm trying to, Nina. Quit struggling before you end breaking your arm."

"How do you know my name? What do you want with me?"

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I just…. There's something you need to see, ok? It'll explain why you're here and why you don't remember last night."

"Last night?"

Buffy gave her a nod and gestured for Nina to follow her. She led the scared woman up to her and Angel's office where Angel and Connor were waiting. Buffy introduced them quickly as she led Nina over to the computer screen. On the screen, a video of a werewolf pacing inside a cage could be seen.
"I don't…. What am I supposed to be looking…. God, what is that?" Nina asked.

"2 nights ago you were attacked in the woods. You were jogging." Buffy said.

"Jogging. Wait. Yeah. I remember that I…. that thing attacked me."

"Not exactly." Buffy gestured at herself, Angel, and Connor. "We were in the area, Connor heard screams, but by the time her got there…."

Nina looked at Connor. "That was you. Yeah, I remember you. You saved me."

"I was too late." Connor said apologetically.

On the video, the werewolf collapsed to the floor of the cage and transformed into Nina. "Oh, my god!"

"It was a werewolf, Nina," Angel said. "And you were bitten."

"No. This is…. insane."

"The bite already started a process. You may have already started to feel the effects: Distorted vision, heightened senses…."

"Blood. Jill, my sister, she was cooking meat. Oh, my god. I…. I smelled the blood. It was making me…. Oh, god, Amanda, my niece!"

"She's ok." Buffy said. "And so's your sister."

"No, you don't get it."

"Nina, it's ok."

"No, it's not!"

"You didn't…."

"I wanted to rip her throat out!"

"It wasn't you." Angel assured her. "It was that thing inside."

"Oh, like there's a difference?"

"There is."

"A big one." Buffy muttered.

"I know this is a lot to take…."

"Don't tell me what you know." Nina snapped. "You didn't wake up and find out you're a monster. You don't know anything."

"I'm not a werewolf like you, but I…. I know what it's like. I'm a monster, too."

"Neither of you are monsters." Buffy interjected. "If you are, then I am, too." She turned to Nina. "Angel's a vampire. Connor is his biological son. I'm a Vampire Slayer."

"What?"

"None of us are evil. Angel has a soul. Like you."

"But vampires kill people, and they…."

"Can control themselves if they want to." Angel interrupted. "I do it every day, and so can you."

"We'll help you." Connor offered.

"Can you cure me?" Nina asked.

"No." Angel said.

"But we can keep you safe." Connor added.

"How?" Nina asked, sitting down on the couch.
"Well, I have a friend that's also a werewolf." Buffy said. "When it was his…. Time of the month, he would lock himself up in a cell."

"I have to lock myself up every month?"

"It's best for everyone if you're not roaming the streets as a werewolf three nights of the month."

"You can stay here. I promise you'll be safe." Connor said. Nina nodded at him, hugging herself as she sat down on the couch.

Buffy looked at Angel and nodded towards the doorway. They left Connor to comfort Nina and headed out into the lobby. "Someone's got a crush." She said.

"I noticed." Angel smirked as he shut the door.

Fred and Dr. Royce had been waiting in the lobby and they stepped over to Buffy and Angel. "How is she doing?" Fred asked.

"Oh, agreed to stay in the holding cell tonight, but she's pretty scared. So, what do we do now?"

"We wait for the show." Spike said, walking up to them. "Should be a good one. Everyone on pins and needles, dreading the moonrise, then pop goes the werewolf."

"We can't stop what's gonna happen, but we can keep her from getting hurt." Buffy retorted.

"These first few transformations are the worst." Dr. Royce said. "Werewolf's strength combined with the disorientation and fear…."

"You mean, she could hurt herself?" Fred asked.

"Oh, I've seen them bang their heads against walls, claw at their own skin…."

"We'll just have to tranq her and let her sleep through it." Buffy said.

"Well, that could work for tonight, but, uh, over the long haul, bad idea."

"Well, there has to be something." Fred said.

"They like familiar scents, images. Maybe if you took her home, let her get a few things, could have a calming effect."

"Fetching her blanky's not gonna make a bloody bit of difference." Spike said.

"Spike, really not helping." Fred groaned.

"I'm just saying, the girl's a killer. Maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but she will get out of that cage."

"Not if she doesn't want to." Angel argued.

"Oh, she'll want to." Dr. Royce said. "It's unfortunate, but…."

"And when it's not that time of month?" Spike added. "She'll be wracked by the guilties. What with a soul and all."
"Didn't seem to bother you." Angel retorted.

"Oh, it's been nothing but a pain in my…." Spike disappeared.

"Finally."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'll take Nina by her house."

"Buffy, you and Angel have a meeting in twenty minutes." Harmony piped up. "They're already here. Gunn's getting them settled in the conference room."

"I think Connor wants to make sure she's ok." Angel said. "We can let him take her."

"Good idea." Buffy said.

"We'll have him take security, though. In case she changes her mind."

"I think Connor can handle her by himself." Buffy gestured through the windows where they could see Connor sitting with Nina holding her hand and patting it for comfort.

Connor, Buffy, Angel, Wesley, Fred, and Gunn stood around Buffy and Angel's office. Connor was nursing a nasty bump on his forehead, holding an ice pack to it. He and Nina had been attacked when they left her house. Someone had killed his car's driver and shot him with a couple of tranq darts. They had taken off with Nina, leaving him passed out on the street.

"Lorne's read the entire security team already, and the lab staff, as well as half of my department." Wesley said.

"If the kidnappers have someone inside Wolfram & Hart, Lorne'll know." Angel assured Connor.

"What if she was detected somehow before we found her?"

"By who?" Buffy asked.

"They were so organized." Connor said. "They were almost like the military guys I see in movies."

"An underground monster-hunting military organization. Sounds familiar."

"You know them?"

"I knew of an underground monster-hunting military organization. They got shut down, though."

Connor stood up suddenly and threw the ice pack across the room. "It's all my fault! I'm so stupid."

"Calm down, Connor." Angel said. "Anything happens to Nina, it's on me."

"No it's not! It's on me! I was supposed to protect her and I let her get taken!"

"You didn't let her get taken." Buffy soothed. "Trust me, those tranq darts were no joke. You got hit with two of them."

"This wasn't your fault." Angel squeezed Connor's shoulder. Dr. Royce knocked on the door before he walked in. "What do you got?"
"Usual suspects." Royce said. "There's the sacrificers, wackos who want to rid the world of abominations, and werewolf packs looking for new recruits. Then there's the paranormal sporting groups. Vampire hunting in Eastern Europe. That kind of thing."

"I'll be…." Fred rushed out of the office.

Buffy glanced after her, but shrugged it off. "I could make a couple of calls. See if Oz knows of anything packs around here looking for recruitments."

"You still talk to him?" Angel asked, surprised. Buffy and Oz, while being friends, had never had the attachment that the rest of Buffy's friends had to her. Once Willow had chosen Tara over Oz, the stoic werewolf hadn't been heard from as far as Angel knew.

"Every now and then he checks in on Willow. He lives at this compound thing in India somewhere. It's like an ashram for werewolves."

"Nice."

Buffy's, Gunn's, and Wesley's cell phones beeped and they pulled them out to find an urgent text from Fred. "I'll be…." Buffy started.

"Excuse me." Wesley said.

"Be right back." Gunn added.

They both headed out of the office and headed down the hall to find Fred. She had asked them to come to Dr. Royce's office. When they got there, Dr. Royce was unconscious on the floor.

"Um…." Buffy looked at Fred.

"I found this in his trash." She held up a little glass vial.

Buffy dragged Royce into her and Angel's office by his neck. Gunn and Wesley were helping Fred go through Royce's office to see what he'd known. The substance in the little glass vial had helped him lie to Lorne. She kicked in the doors, causing Angel and Connor to jump slightly, and threw Royce on the floor.

"Ok, Dr. Doolittle, where is she?" Buffy demanded, advancing on the man.

"I don't know what you're…." Royce started.

"What's going on?" Angel asked.

"He's hiding something about Nina. Fred found a little vial of hide-the-truth serum in his trash. And now," She leaned down with a knife she'd produced from somewhere on her person. "He's going to start singing."

"It's a secret!" Royce yelled. "If I tell you, this man, he's not like you. You're a good person, but he's a..,."
"I've got a knife to your throat!"

"No offense, but he's scarier than you."

Buffy stood up and dropped the knife, letting the tip embed in the floor perfectly between Royce's legs. "Angel?" Angel vamped out and growled, moving towards Royce. "Have you met my boyfriend, the Scourge of Europe? I bet he's scarier than your friend."

Royce knocked on the door of the mansion and a moment later, a small window opened. After the man checked to see that it was Royce, he opened the doors. Gunn was the first one in and punched the man in the face. Behind him Connor, Buffy, Angel, Wesley, and Dr. Royce walked into the house.

"I'm all up in the law now, but damn it feels good to get my violence on." Gunn said to Buffy.

"Sometimes you just have to let loose." Buffy agreed, kicking away another man.

"Crane's not gonna like this." Royce complained.

"If I were you, I'd just be hoping Nina's alive." Connor growled at him.

"She has to be, at least through dinner." Wesley explained. "Once a werewolf dies, it reverts to its human state."

"You mean, to eat werewolf, they got to eat her alive?" Gunn asked.

"Evan, you've brought guests." Crane said as they walked into the main room.

"We're just here to pick up a friend." Angel said as Gunn pointed a shotgun at Crane. Buffy grabbed a large silver platter and knocked the chef out with it.

Connor ran over to Nina lying bound and gagged on a serving cart. "They garnished you?" He asked, pulling off Nina's gag.

"No, get away!" Nina cried. "Just let them choke on me."

"I'm not leaving you here. Tomorrow you're gonna be home and perfectly fine, ok?"

"This is what I am. I can't go back there, ever. This is better."

Buffy walked over with a heavy urn she found. "There's nothing better about ending up in a doggy bag." She said, using the urn to help break her bonds.

"What, no leprechaun souffle?" Gunn asked, glancing at a menu.

"There's no such thing as leprechauns." Crane said.

More men with guns snuck up on Wesley and Gunn, pointing weapons at the backs of their heads. "We've hit a snag." Wesley announced.

"We're not leaving without the girl." Angel said.

"I'm willing to let my men die." Crane said. "Can you say the same?"

Gunn pointed his shotgun at Crane. "I go, you're going with me."

"It's a risk. What can I say?"

Buffy suddenly threw the urn at the back of Crane's head, knocking him down and leaving him dazed. "Probably should've told me to drop that." One of the men with guns aimed it at Buffy and fired. Connor pulled Buffy away just as a newly turned werewolf Nina sat up and growled. Buffy and Connor rolled away as she lunged at the guests, biting a man on the neck and ripping his throat out. Wesley called Buffy's name and she flipped to her feet, catching the tranq gun out of mid-air and shooting Nina twice with it. The werewolf fell to the ground.

"This is the part where we take our friend and go." Angel said to Crane.

"I'm afraid not. Tonight may not be salvageable, but my guests have paid a high price." Crane glanced at the dead man missing his throat. "Some higher than others. And I promised them a werewolf."

"Guess you'll just have to refund them their money." Buffy said, punching Crane in the face and knocking him out. She turned to the guests "This little dinner party is out of business. If I even get a whiff of it happening again, I will burn the house down with you people in it. Got me?" The patrons all took off running, clearly scared of Buffy. She looked at Royce. "See? I can be pretty scary."

Angel drove the four door, silver Mercedes up to Nina's house. Buffy was in the passenger seat and Connor and Nina were in the backseat. "This is it." Angel announced.

Nina watched her niece drawing in chalk on the sidewalk for a long moment. "She's a really good artist."

"Our refrigerator's always available if she's looking to show." Buffy said.

"How do you live with it?" Nina asked Angel. "Knowing that you've…. Killed people?"

"Nina, they were going to eat you for dinner." Angel said.

"I just wanna wake up. You know?"

"At some point you'll be at the grocery store or with Amanda, and the whole werewolf thing…. It'll just be a part of who you are."

"Next you're gonna tell me you actually like being a vampire."

"Well, being nearly indestructible is cool."

"The stamina is pretty handy, too." Buffy said. Nina and Connor gave her disturbed looks. "Hey, he's gotta keep up with me in a fight."

"Sure." Connor laughed.

Nina looked at her sister and niece. "I can't tell them."

"Maybe, maybe not. That part's not covered in the manual." Angel said.

"It is in the Slayer Handbook and I've firmly ignored that rule." Buffy said with a laugh. "I pretty much tell everyone who I am these days."

"You're supposed to be keeping it a secret?" Connor asked.

"To be fair, no one ever gave me a copy of the Slayer Handbook. I've been going at this blind for years!"

"You don't ever think about letting go, disappearing somewhere?" Nina asked.

"Once upon a time, that's all I wanted to do."

"And now?"

"Now?" Buffy looked over at Angel and took his hand. "I'm right where I want to be. If I wasn't who and what I am, I never would've met the love of my life and had these amazing experiences."

Angel leaned over and kissed Buffy lightly. "Take it from me, Nina, if you separate yourself from the ones you love, the monster wins." He said.

"You make it sound simple."

"It's not." Buffy, Angel, and Connor said in unison.

Nina looked over at Connor and smiled. "See you next month." He smiled at her as his face turned red. She didn't notice his blush as she got out of the car and walked up to her sister and niece.

Willow, Giles, Dawn, Lorne, Fred, Gunn, and Wesley all stared out the window of Buffy and Angel's penthouse. Buffy and Angel were curled up together on the couch. Connor was playing a video game on the entertainment system with Xander.

"Mm, talk about a room with a view." Lorne said, walking away from the window and grinning at Buffy and Angel.

"Wow, is that the hotel?" Willow asked.

"Where?" Wesley asked. "No I think that's the Center for Scientology."

"Oh. Yeah. They look nothing alike at all." She laughed with Fred.

"I was starting to think we were never gonna see the inside of this place." Gunn said.

"We're sorry." Angel said. "We probably should've had everyone over sooner, but we're still trying to get used to the place ourselves."

"I love how you two have already started talking in 'WEs'." Xander said. "'We're sorry.' 'We should have.'"

"Don't knock it." Willow said, walking by and poking Xander's arm. "They've earned it."

"Yes," Giles agreed. "You two do seem very happy."

"I don't think I've ever seen Angel this settled." Wesley said. "Buffy has been extremely wonderful to have around."

"Awe, thank you." Buffy said.
"It's nice to have another female around, too." Fred added.

"Have you been to the mall with her?" Willow asked. "She's the Slayer of Vampires and Shopping!"
"We should do that one day, Fred." Buffy said to her.

"Ok!" Fred said.

Lorne finally spotted the bar. "Look at this. I'm home! Hey, cosmos all around?"

"Sounds good." Buffy said.

"Quite luxurious." Wesley said to their hosts.

"Yeah, it's not bad." Angel agreed, not taking his eyes off Buffy. She reached up and kissed him happily.

"Don't mean to talk shop, but Crane's Bistro of the Bizarre…." Gunn said.

"Out of business. Permanently." Buffy said. "I meant what I said."

"What if I have a craving for Sasquatch Soup?" Giles asked, sitting down on the couch opposite Buffy and Angel. Willow sat down on the couch with them, smiling at Buffy.

"Is that something you English eat with your beans on toast?" Gunn asked Giles.

"Mmm, you guys are making me hungry." Fred said. She held up a menu she had procured from the drawer by the phone. "Who wants Chinese?"

"Long as nothing comes tar-tar, I'm in."

Fred offered Wesley a menu, but he shook his head. "No, I'm too tired to make any decisions."

Xander paused them game, causing Connor to protest. "Did I hear food? What are we having?"

"Just order the usual, Fredikins." Lorne said.

"I'm buying." Angel said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, hell just froze over." Xander said, pretending to be shocked by Angel's generosity.

"Shut up." Angel said, shaking his head.

"So Connor, werewolf girl? Think you got a shot?" Gunn asked.

"She gave me a look." Connor said.

"Really? A look?" Xander asked.

"She told Connor she would see him next month." Buffy said. "Completely ignored me and Angel."

"I think she would be good for you, Connor." Fred said. "She's nice. Oh, hi!" She walked away from the group to order their food.

"How's everything going with the Slayers?" Buffy asked Willow and Giles.

"It's good." Willow said.

"I've collected some of the remaining Watchers and we've found a compound outside of London." Giles said. "We'll begin sending people over next week."

"Are you reforming the Watcher's Council?" Angel asked.

"Essentially. There will be some rather drastic changes from the old regime. Buffy changed the game and I rather say, her way is working much better than before."

"I agree." Wesley said.

"If you ever tire of Wolfram and Hart, you're welcome to come work for us. The benefits aren't as nice as of yet, though."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Are you sure you don't want to help them out?" Angel asked Buffy quietly, his mouth gently pressed against her ear.

She looked up at him. "I'm happy where I am." He smiled and kissed her, making everyone around them groan at their display of affection.