Buffy was sitting at her and Angel's desk working on some paperwork when Lorne let himself in with his assistant Van behind him. She smiled up at him. "Hey Lorne."

"Sweet pea, you're looking as delicious as ever." Lorne came over and kissed her knuckles. "Loving that new Betsy Johnson top."

"Thank you."

"Did you even go to bed?"

"No. Too much energy to burn since that spell in the Hellmouth. I haven't needed to sleep much since then. Neither has Faith. Guess when it activated the Slayers, it enhanced the already active Slayers' powers."

"What do you do all night?"

"Well, tonight I worked out in the training room for a couple of hours, showered, and caught up on paperwork. I think this is the first night I've been here without Angel."

"Where is your honey at, anyway? You two are usually attached at the hip."

"Uh, he and Connor went out for some father/son bonding time to hunt a Thraxis demon that's been eating tourists out by the Hollywood sign. Hi, Van." The little assistant blushed profusely. Apparently, he had a bit of a crush.

"When's he coming back? We three need to have a little confab about…." Just then Angel and Connor walked in covered in goopy blood. "Oh."

"I take it your evening was successful." Buffy said to them. Angel walked over to kiss her, but she waved him away with a laugh.

"Fred's little bomb thing didn't work." Connor grumbled, heading for the elevator.

"Well, I'm glad you're here now." Lorne said to Angel. "I need to speak with you and Buffy. Uh, it's about the party. I've done all I can do for the big to-do, but we've still got a few bugs to comb out of the cootie garage…." Angel just frowned at Lorne as he joined Connor by the elevator. "A bridge too far? Uh, let me try it again…."

"Look, Lorne, I've been out all night, ok? I'm beat up, I'm exhausted, I'm covered head to toe in Thraxis blood, which actually kind of burns, so this is all gonna have to wait until I take a shower."

"You killed the Thraxis?"

"Shower." The elevator doors closed on Angel and Connor.

"Hey, Van, look, why don't we, uh, scratch the Thraxis off the invite list, and, uh… Oh, hey, you got a copy of that print ad we're gonna run this week?"

"Yes. Right." Van took out a piece of paper from his files.

Lorne gestured at Buffy and Van handed the paper to her. "What is this?" She asked, looking at the paper. "'Wolfram & Hart wants to be up your alley'?" Buffy laughed and handed it back to Van. "That sounds like a bus station pick-up line."

"Oh, you're right." Lorne said. He looked at Van. "Change it. Second thought, burn it. Grab yourself a bagel or something, too. You look a little waxy."

Buffy stood up and walked around the desk. "Van, tell Harmony to squeeze Lorne in this morning at 7:30. We can sit down then and talk about the Halloween party."

"Thank you, Buffy. You're a doll." Lorne kissed her cheek. "See you at 7:30."

Buffy smiled and got into the elevator. Angel was just getting into the shower when she walked in and she took a moment to enjoy his entire backside. "You know, I like this bathroom remodel. Great views."

Angel chuckled. "How are you not exhausted?"

She shrugged. "I don't need as much sleep as I used to. Not that that was a lot, anyway. I actually talked to Faith earlier this morning. She's feeling it to."

"Really?"

"Yup. That spell enhanced our Slayer-ness, I guess."

"Think I could borrow some of that energy?"

"Of course. I have a great idea of how to transfer some of it."

"Oh yeah? Show me." Buffy grinned and began stripping off her clothes. Angel grinned back and let her pin him against the shower wall. "I'll never get tired of this."

"No more talking."

"Yes, ma'am." He brought her lips to him as the hot water cascaded over them.

Angel turned the shower off and laughed. "It's a good thing I don't need to breathe. I probably would've drowned about an hour ago."

Buffy grinned wickedly. "It's not my fault you're so good with your tongue."

He pulled her to him and listened to her heartrate pick back up. "It's not my fault you taste so good." Her head fell back as he began to nip at her neck. He turned them so he could walk her towards the bed, but groaned when he spotted Eve sitting on the edge of it.

"Hi." Eve said pleasantly. "Uh, the door was open. Well, unlocked. Well…. I had a key."

Buffy grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself as Angel did the same. She marched over to Eve and held her hand out. Eve smiled and handed the key over. "What do you want, Eve?" The blonde growled.

"You two are really enjoying that unlimited hot water feature, huh?"

"Hey, pry your skanky eyeballs away from my boyfriend's body and answer my question because I'm not asking again."

"You had a 7:30 scheduled with Lorne."

Buffy sighed. "Oh. Right." She looked at Angel. "Forgot to tell you that."

Angel grinned at her. "You got a little distracted. I'll get my pants."

The Slayer turned back to Eve. "Get out."

"You're very possessive, you know." Eve said, not moving.

"Yes. I know. Get out."

"It wouldn't kill you to share."

"Maybe not, but it would definitely kill you." Eve chuckled and stood up, sauntering out of the room. "Can we please find a way to get rid of her?"

"Wesley says there's no way." Angel said. "I had him look into it."

"Is there a trade we can make? Maybe someone asexual?"

Angel chuckled. "Hello, possessive-girlfriend-lady."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "This is different. Spike's not giving you a reason to be jealous. Eve is blatantly hitting on you in front of me."

Connor walked by the open doorway saying, "You should marry Buffy, dad. The title of wife carries more weight than girlfriend. Plus, she'd be an awesome step-mom."

Buffy and Angel stared in shock at the now empty doorway.

The elevator door opened and Buffy and Angel stepped onto it in silence. Connor's comments earlier had given them both pause. They'd gotten dressed in relative silence. Neither of them had even thought about the possibility of marriage, but apparently Connor had given it some thought. His thought had given his father and Buffy lots of thoughts on the subject suddenly.
When the elevator door opened, a huge papier-mâché skull blocked their exit. Angel instinctively lashed out and punched it. The man holding the giant skull flew backwards and fell to the floor, groaning. The entire lobby was filled with people holding similar decorations working tirelessly to get the lobby decorated.

"Why does it look like we're having a party in here?" Angel asked.

"Well, maybe cause we're having a party in here." Lorne said, walking down the stairs with Eve. "The Wolfram & Hart Halloween Bash? Ring a bell? The biggest event on the company calendar? I sent you a small forest's worth of memos on it."

"We're having it here?"

"You see what I'm up against?" Lorne muttered to Eve.

"That's what our 7:30 was about." Buffy explained. "Our party."

"Our party?"

"Yeah, listen." Lorne said. "Here's the snafu in a nutshell, top cats. Uh, nobody's coming. Well, some people are coming, but the right people, the A-list people, they seem to be giving it a miss, and if they don't show up, this shindig is gonna be a bust."

"Good." Angel said.

"Good?!"

"I wasn't too crazy about this thing to begin with. I mean, we are talking about our clients, right? Our evil clients." Lorne began rubbing his head and Buffy looked at him worriedly. "Not the sort of folks I really like to show a good time. I'd be a lot happier if the whole thing just kind of fell through. Then we could get back to…."

Lorne interrupted Angel with a loud, forced laugh "Ok! Ok! You're killing me. Can't you just feel up the big picture, Mr. Magoo? It's not about good and evil. It's about party. Party! Capital P! Rhymes with 'me'? I'm about to have a stroke here cause you're killin' me! Listen. I can see that you're in a state…. A mood…. a snit even, so what say we talk about this once you've calmed down a bit?"

"Yeah, sure. That's fine…."

"Great. Your office. 25 minutes." Lorne threw over his shoulder as he walked away.

Angel turned to Buffy, but she was gone. Buffy was making her way to Gunn's office. He was sitting at his desk reading through a deposition when she walked in. "Hey boss lady." He said. "What's up?"

"Just checking in for the morning." Buffy said.

"Since when do you do that?"

"Since I'm trying to avoid thinking about what Connor said this morning."

"Which was?"

Buffy sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "He said Angel and I should get married and that I would make an awesome step-mom."

Gunn burst out laughing and Buffy shot him a withering glare. "Sorry."

"Angel and I can't get married."

"Why not?"

"Well, for starters, he's been dead for over two centuries."

"That's not an issue. There's lots of ways around that. One of my clients got legally married the other day to a nineteen-year-old and she's been dead since 1862."

"Vampire?"

"Wight."

"Oh."

Gunn set down the papers and leaned forward, resting his weight on his arms. "Do you want to marry Angel?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. I honestly never gave it much thought. I'm a Slayer. We don't generally have long lifespans, therefore weddings aren't really in the mix for us."

"I'm pretty sure you're not like most Slayers."

"Well…. Not really. You know, up until recently, I couldn't even give Angel much thought when it came to romance. We were broken up because of the curse and the threat of Angelus hanging over us. And now…."

"Now that's gone and you two are back at it."

"But am I even ready for marriage? That's a huge step."

He stood up and walked around to sit in the chair beside hers. "Look, if you're not ready for that, then you're not ready. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm sure Angel would understand."

She sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe Connor said that."

"It's not unusual that Connor would be thinking about it. I mean, you're the closest thing he's had to a mom and he knows that you and his dad are in love." Gunn laughed. "You know 'in love' doesn't even come close to what you two are." There was a knock on the door and Lorne walked in. "Hey, Lorne."

"Hey, hey. Uh…. sorry to interrupt." Lorne said. "Not to be a pest, but I just wanted to go over a little stratego, amigo."

Gunn exchanged looks with Buffy. "Uh, sorry?"

"Um, you're my big gun, Gunn. Ace-in-hole, ball-in-pocket. You're the key on my kite string."

"What is he talking about?" Gunn asked Buffy.

"We gotta turn Angel around on this whole party idea!" Lorne cried.

"We do?"

"He's not exactly thrilled about it." Buffy said.

"And you?"

Buffy shrugged.

"Look, I know Angelcake is one half of the boss duo and everything," Lorne said. "But you're up and coming here, Gunn, and it's time for you to spread your wings, legal eagle. From now on, I want you to stake out your territory, and I want you to keep it staked."

"Stake territory. Sure. Look, um, Lorne, we're a little busy right now. I have a deposition to get ready for, but I will definitely get to that."

"Great. Just what I wanted to hear. Buffy and Angel's office, ten minutes. See you there, Buffylove!" Lorne walked out.

Buffy started to stand. "I'll let you get back to your deposition."

"No. It's cool. We've only got ten minutes." Gunn said. "Stay. Talk. I don't get to do that often enough. Especially not with our newest member of the AI team."

Wesley, Fred, Eve, Connor, Gunn, Buffy, and Angel were all sitting around Angel's office waiting for Lorne. Even Spike had shown up for the meeting. "In my day, no self-respecting creature of the night went out on All Hallow's Eve." He was saying. "We left that to the posers, the blighters who had to dress up and try to be scary." Angel pressed a button that caused the windows to fog. "Magic windows. Will the perks never end?"

"You know, I remember a certain creature of the night and his fake demon buddies trying to kill me on Halloween once." Buffy said.

Spike laughed. "Oh yeah! You were dressed up trying to impress that one!" He pointed at Angel. "I almost had you that time. I was this close."

"Yeah, some big bad vampire you were." Angel quipped. "She wasn't even herself when you 'almost had her.'"

Buffy grinned at Spike. "I also remember I kicked your ass yet again that night."

"There's a long string of those nights in your history, Spike."

"Shut up." Spike groaned.

Lorne walked into the office talking rapid fire Italian on his cell phone. He finally hung up and looked around. "What did I miss?"

"Us. Waiting." Angel said.

"And dad and Buffy making fun of Spike never being able to kill her." Connor added as Spike rolled his eyes and walked out.

"Oh, right." Lorne nodded. "Sorry I missed that. So, uh, Angel, we just wanted to take a moment and emphasize how important this party really is to us."

"I gotta say Lorne is right." Gunn said. "We gotta show all the big bads that the new regime is here to stay, which, for the most part, boils down to image. And image-wise, if this party doesn't kick ass, we lose face."

"And believe me, milk dud, speaking as the head of your P.R. Department, we need all the face we can get. While your beautiful other half is a gorgeous face to show the world, you two are in this together. People want to see you both."

"Milk dud?" Angel asked.

"Said with affection."

"Ok, listen, I understand the whole 'keeping up appearances' concept, but everyone coming to this thing is unrepentant, dyed-in-the-wool evil."

"Angel, a good host just doesn't make these sorts of judgments."

"We don't know how many of them are holding grudges against us or against each other. It's a perfect recipe for an out-of-control bloodbath."

"That's describing every good party I've ever been to. Listen, Angel, don't worry about a thing. This is my forte. And I ran Caritas for years, a nightclub with an open-door policy. The good, the bad, the hideously ugly, they all bellied up to my demon bar, but they all played nicely together while they were there."

"And this is exactly the kind of ethical tightrope you've gotta walk now, Angel." Eve said. "Which brings up another point: your employees."

"Also evil." Angel said.

Harmony walked in with two mugs and set them down on the desk. "Here's your blood and coffee, bossies." Angel glared at her. "Uh…. Bosses."

"Some of them, yes, but all of them work hard for this firm, and Halloween, well, around here it's like Christmas." Eve said.

Buffy leaned over to Angel. "I can't wait to tell Giles that this is where the bad guys disappear to on Halloween."

"Simply put, this is a morale thing."

"Good luck." Harmony scoffed. "The morale around here stinks."

"What?" Angel asked.

"Uh-huh. You guys are supposed to be co-CEOs, but Buffy is kicking your ass. She knows your guys' schedule better than you, she makes it to all the meetings and actually listens when she's there…. Everybody loves her and thinks you suck." Angel glared at Harmony. "Well, come on, boss. They're all out there, sweating through their matsudas, worried if you're gonna axe them or, you know, axe them."

"Ok, look, hey, I haven't…." Angel started, but noticed Buffy's look. "Ok, look, I may have killed a couple of them."

"And several clients and maybe some potential clients?" Lorne said. "Why do you think my RSVP list is only a fifth of the size of last year's?"

"It's you, babe." Eve said to Angel.

Buffy glared at Eve. "Please remember what I said earlier about comments like that being deadly to your health."

"Come on, what? Do they think I'm throwing this thing so I can slaughter them?" Everyone in the room looked straight at Angel. "Fine. I surrender. Go ahead, Lorne. Put on your best dog and pony. I won't get in the way."

"I don't want you to sit back and just let it happen, Angel." Lorne said. "I need you and your Sexy Goldilocks to get out there and make it happen."
"What does that mean?" Angel asked.

"You, Buffy, and I have a date tonight. I'll see you two at eight. Ciao!" Lorne turned and walked out of the office. Everyone else filed out after him, leaving Connor with Buffy and Angel.

"I've got a lunch date with Nina." Connor announced. "I'll see you guys later." He headed out to the elevator banks.

"Why does everyone love you and hate me?" Angel asked. Buffy shrugged. "And I do listen at meetings."

"No you don't. You zone out." Buffy said, standing up with her coffee and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To our meeting with a coferak demon. It's on the calendar."

"Why are we meeting with it?" Angel asked, grabbing his mug of blood and following her.

"Negotiations with a family of phyarl demons for the right to mate with the two oldest girls."

"Are they ok with that?"

"I don't know. We can ask them." Buffy sipped her coffee as she headed into the conference room.

Buffy, Angel, and Lorne were riding in one of Wolfram and Hart's limo that night. Buffy and Angel sat in the very back, both looking out of opposite windows. Lorne was at the little wet bar fixing himself a drink.

"Archduke Sebassis," He was saying. "Bona fide nobility from the fiery down under. Commands over 40 legions. He's the living end of a pure bloodline of demonic royalty."

"Great. Just great." Angel said.

"Well, also, the very peak of the A-list mountain. He's the crown jewel of the underworld jet set. If we convince him to come, all the other glitterati will just domino in right behind him, and then? Then we'll be in business."

"This really matters to you, doesn't it?"

"Well, of course. The new Wolfram & Hart? I mean, we have to…."

"No. I mean, this really matters to you. Personally."

"Yeah. You know, Angel, I…. I don't have superhuman strength, and I'm not a fighter. Quantum physics makes me nauseous, and I barely made a passing grade at mystical studies, but I'm on your team. This is something I can do. I believe it has a purpose that can help you, even if you don't."

"Well, I'm here, aren't I? I agreed to this."

"No, you…. you did. You did. And I promise you won't regret it. But, hey, let's leave it that you let me do most of the talking, huh? You two just kind of smile and try not to rip anybody apart. Ok?"

"Works for me." Buffy said. "I'm comfortable being the face tonight."

"And speaking of that gorgeous face, I've taken the liberty of booking a day of beauty for you before the party."

"Really?"

"Yes. Massage, light facial, seaweed wrap, mani/pedi, hair, and makeup. The works! You'll be a glowing warrior princess. And the cherry on top? A private visit with Tom Ford to find that perfect dress for the event."

"Wow. Is that something I should be doing for every Wolfram and Hart party? Because I could get used to that."
"Only if you want to, but I thought you might enjoy it since you've been working so hard and this is your first big event." The limo pulled to a stop. "Ok, showtime."

They were escorted into a building that looked like the front of a medieval castle built into the side of a hill. The demon that led them inside was a pale gray-ish pink color with thin, pointy horns. It led them into a dark throne room where another demon sat on the throne. This one was older looking and definitely presented himself as royalty.

"So…." Sebassis said. "This is the mighty Angel. I've been told many things about you. Bit of a restless frog, hmm? Making lots of waves in your little swamp."

"Yeah, well, I'm just trying to keep the fly population down." Angel said.

"Yes. Though I do prefer the tales of your counterpart Angelus. Ah, you had flair back then, child."
"Well, I guess we all mellow in our old age."

"Your contempt is fragrant." He turned his eyes on Buffy. "And the Slayer. I've heard many tales of you, as well."

"Apparently I'm popular. I've never heard of you, though." Buffy said, keeping a fake smile plastered to her face.

Sebassis sipped a blue liquid from a wine glass and finished the drink. Lorne was holding a similar drink he'd been offered as they had been seated. Sebassis put his glass down and a smaller, thinner, paler demon walked out to him. It pulled a cork out of its arm and held his arm out over Sebassis's glass. The blue liquid flowed from the slave's uncorked vein into the glass. Buffy's eyebrows went up to her hairline and she glanced at Lorne's glass, happy that she had declined the drink.

"So, your lordship, we were deeply grieved when you declined our invitation." Lorne said. "I mean, we'd love for you to reconsider." He slapped Angel's arm.

"Yeah." Angel plastered the same fake smile as Buffy onto his face. "Yeah. I mean, a party just isn't a party without the archduke."

"You're sure you wouldn't like some?" Sebassis gestured at the slave's wrist. He was ignoring Angel and looking at Buffy.
"I'm fine, thank you." Buffy said coolly.

"You clearly have a blood bond with the vampire and yet you don't partake yourself?"

"'Clearly have a blood bond'? What does that mean?"

"He means the scar on your neck." Angel said. "I don't drink from her."

"Ah, that's right." Sebassis taunted. "You choose to drink the blood of swine. Filthy beasts."

"Actually, that's a misconception…."

"Filthy! Yes! Honestly, I don't know how he does it." Lorne said. He took a swig of the blue blood, much to Buffy and Angel's disgust. "Mmm. Wow, this is…." He looked at the slave. "You, uh…. you really…. you taste great."

"Well…. in light of this amusing chat, and of my longstanding acquaintance with you, Lorne, I will come to the gala." Sebassis announced.

"Oh, that's wonderful news, your lordship! Well, we don't wanna waste any more of your valuable time." Lorne stood, gesturing for Buffy and Angel to do the same. "We'll…. we'll show ourselves out."

The party had started out in the lobby of Wolfram and Hart. There was disco music playing and a disco ball shimmered in the lights over the dance floor. Harmony was the only person dancing, though. Angel fogged over his windows and turned back to the TV. Buffy was running late and hadn't come down from the penthouse yet. Connor was staying upstairs for the night, avoiding the party like his father wanted to.

The elevator doors opened and Angel looked up to see Buffy step off, smoothing down her strapless, satin dress. It was dark purple and clung to every inch of her from her chest to just above her knees. The back laced up like a corset and Angel took a second to appreciate his girlfriend's décolletage as she knelt down to fix one of her strappy heels. Her hair was curled and one side was pinned back with a large, jeweled comb. Her makeup was flawless with dark, smoky eyes and a glossy nude lip.

Angel let out a low whistle and stood up. "Hello, miss, I haven't seen you around here before."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Ha ha."

He walked around behind her and pulled her to him, nipping at her exposed neck. It didn't escape him that the side of her neck that was exposed was the one with her scar. "Look, my girlfriend is going to be here soon and she's the jealous type." He whispered in her ear. "If you're going to have your way with me, we should probably make it quick."

She chuckled. "I don't look that good."

"I'm going to have to disagree with that." His hands snaked around to cup one breast and pull her hips back into him.

Buffy made a sound in the back of her throat when she felt him pressed against her. "Aren't we supposed to be hosting a party?"

"Not that I know of." He breathed. His cool breath sent shivers throughout Buffy. Before she could respond, the door to their office opened and Lorne strode in. "Coulda sworn I locked that." Angel said, letting go of her.

"Guys, it's a graveyard out there, and all the guests wanna meet the new duo in charge." Lorne announced.

"Look, Lorne, I... We... Have things. We're busy." Buffy laughed slightly as he shifted his belt to try and hide the product of Buffy's dress.

"Is there an inch of this office you two haven't had sex on? I doubt you need to cover that inch tonight. You two need to get out there! I can't steer this ship of fools by my lonesome! I just can't do it! I…." Lorne groaned and rubbed his temples in pain.

Buffy reached out to the green empath demon. "Lorne?"

Lorne looked up, all smiles again. "Let's boogie, sweet tart. You look stunning!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. Angel followed reluctantly behind, still fidgeting with his belt. "Well, so over there we have the Britzai representatives. We can get to them later. Oh, and there's the elder of the Fell Brotherhood. Come on, let's go say hi!"

Buffy and Angel rolled their eyes as they followed Lorne. They were introduced to so many demons that they lost count. It was a small miracle when Lorne got distracted enough to lose tabs on the couple. They took the opportunity to make a break for it.

"What are you even doing here, then?" Harmony asked Spike as she stormed past Buffy and Angel back to the dance floor.
"What am I doing here?" Spike asked, turning to leave and finding Buffy and Angel there.

"Yeah, Spike." Angel said. "I thought you hated these kind of things."

"I would've thought the same of you." Spike's eyes landed on Buffy. "Wow."

Angel scowled. "Hey. Keep your eyes to yourself."

"She shouldn't flaunt it if she doesn't want anyone looking. And trust me, love, everyone is looking."

Buffy blushed and shrunk in on herself some. "I didn't mean to flaunt. The dress was so pretty and the shoes…."

"Don't worry about it, pet. You look incredible."

"Who else is looking?" Angel asked. "I need to gouge some eyes out."

"And here I thought you were doing great." Lorne said, walking up to them. "You two have already not killed, like, 100 guests."

"They don't have to." Spike said. "Party's already dead."

"Oh, really, Spike, would it kill you to be a little more positive?"

A booming male voice by the elevators announced that the Archduke Sebassis had arrived to the party. Sebassis walked in and people gathered around him like flies to picnic food. They began kneeling and kissing his hands and feet.

"Mmm. Ok, lovers." Lorne said to Buffy and Angel. "You two are on, and please, for me, can you try to be nice to him? Just this one time, huh?"

"Yes. Fine. Sycophants, worms." Sebassis said. "Don't writhe all at once. It's sickening."

"Archduke Sepsis!" Buffy said, suddenly cheery despite not wanting to be.

"Sebassis." Lorne corrected.

Sebassis held out his hand to be kissed, but Angel grabbed it and shook it emphatically. His grin was wider than any he'd ever put on. "Thanks so much for coming."

"Yes, well…." Sebassis started.

"Really, really thrilled that you're here."

"Artode, welcome." Lorne said to Sebassis' bodyguard. "Welcome. Love the jacket, by the way."
"It's Pylean." Artode said.

"Oh, made in Pylea. Ha. My home dimension."

"Not made in, made from. I skinned it myself. Anybody you know?"

"Well, great. Thanks for dropping by." Lorne walked back over to Angel and Buffy.

"And you look just…. Well, I don't have to tell you how awesome you look." Buffy was saying. "You know how awesome you look."

"He definitely knows how awesome he looks!' Angel agreed.

"Ok, love birds, hey." Lorne said, steering the two warriors away. "We don't wanna be greedy with his eminence. Thank you, your lordship."

"Absolutely. Really. Thrilled to have you here."

"Okie-dokie! Ok, that'll do it. Thank you. Come on."

Once away from Sebassis, Buffy and Angel were free from the unnerving excitement they'd exhibited. Lorne moved off to go mingle with everyone else. "Punch?" Angel asked, gesturing at the multiple bowls of punch on the refreshment table.

"Uh…. Sure." Buffy said. "As long as it's not spiked or…." She glanced at Sebassis' slave. "Demon blood."

"Well, there seems to be options at least. I'm sure one of them will be safe." They walked over to the refreshments and Angel got her a glass of champagne as she perused the food. "So, uh…. Listen, I feel like what Connor said about us kind of threw both of us out of whack."

"Oh…. Yeah…. A little." She looked up at him. "I mean…. It's not that I don't want to. I mean, I've only dreamed about it a bazillion times. I just…. We haven't been back together long and we're still figuring out who we are as a couple."

"Right." Angel sipped at his own glass of champagne. "You know…. I mean…."

"Yeah?"

"We couldn't actually get married anyway."

"Gunn says it's possible."

"Really? How?"

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

"Wait…. You talked to Gunn about us getting married?"

"You two are getting married? Mazel tov!" Lorne said, appearing in front of them. "It's about time! Why don't you two love birds just get hitched already?" He patted them on the backs and moved back into the crowd.

Buffy and Angel looked at each other. "There's got to be at least one justice of the peace here, right?" Angel asked.

"I need a dress!" Buffy said.
"The dress you have on is perfect."

"Ok."

Angel grabbed her hand and they went off in search of a justice of the peace.

Wesley, Fred, Gunn, and Spike drug Lorne into Buffy and Angel's office. Angel had Buffy pressed against the windows, making out with her fiercely as she clutched the signed the marriage license. Angel had collected one of the many lawyers buzzing around the party since he couldn't find Gunn and gotten him to wrangle up the necessary documents. With a little threatening, the lawyer had gotten everything done in no time at all and a justice of the peace had just finished marrying them.

"Come on, guys. I'm telling you I did not do anything." Lorne insisted.

"What's going on?" Angel asked, backing away from Buffy.
"Hey! Angel's getting some!" Spike cried. "Good on you, mate."

"What's wrong with you?" Buffy asked, smoothing down her dress and hair.

"Are you holding a marriage license?" Gunn asked.

"Oh. Yeah! Angel and I got married."

"I'm sorry…. What?"

"How?" Wesley asked.

"Lots of legal stuff that we didn't understand." Angel said. "I just threatened people until it got done."

"Congratulations!" Spike cried.

"I thought you weren't ready." Gunn said.

"Yeah. I did. Weird."

"They must be under the effect of Lorne?" Wesley suggested. "Presum…. presumally…."

Fred snorted. "Prezoomally."

"Lorne's doing it…. something to all of us."

"I am not!" Lorne insisted.

"Everything he's told us to do, we're doing. Spike's thinking positive, Gunn is peeing all over the office…."

"And we're a little bit drunk." Fred added.

"Yes. But not because we drank, because Lorne told us to be drunk."

Buffy looked over at Gunn. "Lorne told you to pee all over the office?"

"Lord, I hope so." Gunn said.

"Oh! Lorne told us to get hitched!" Angel said. "And…." He looked at the license. "Now we are."

"This is crazy." Lorne cried. "I am not doing this. I would know if I was doing this. I don't even know what this is."
"You know, I really love your guys' desk." Spike said.

"I'm super confused." Buffy said. "I thought Lorne was just an empath demon."

"Territory!" Gunn exclaimed suddenly. "Wait. This morning, Lorne told me to stake out my territory."

"Right." Wesley said. "Territorial marking, taken a little too literally."

"Hey, I did not tell Gunn to go water the ferns." Lorne said. "I did not do anything."

"You had your sleep removed." Gunn said.

"What?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah. He hasn't slept in a month."

"Oh, dear. An empath demon deprived of sleep for that long?"

"What does that have to do with it?" Lorne asked.

"Something, apparently." Fred said.

"Lorne, why would you let them do that to you?" Angel asked.

"I had to do something, didn't I?" Lorne snapped. "I mean, you don't know what I've had to deal with. I'm the center of gravity in a town that's full of borderline disorder celebrities and powerbrokers. All the hand-holding and the ego-stroking and the 4 A.M. Jacuzzi strategy sessions? I just couldn't keep up with it, even without sleeping."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Buffy asked. "Why didn't you tell any of us? We would have…."

"What? Fired me?"

"Helped you." Buffy shook her head. "Why would you even think we would fire you? Talk about crazy talk. Ok, Wes and Fred, sober up and go find Lorne's sleep. Figure out a way to put it back in his head."

"Yes, sir." Wesley said, saluting.

"She's a ma'am." Fred said with a giggle.

"Oh. Yes, ma'am." Wesley picked Fred up by the waist as he walked out the door with her.

"Lorne, just…. Hang tight. Ok? Try not to, you know, talk."

"We've still got a party going on." Lorne protested. "Someone has to make sure there's ice in the drinks."

"Ooh, ooh!" Spike raised his hand and bounced up and down. "Me! Me! I'm your people person."

Angel ignored him. "Gunn, go on the floor, see if anyone else is under the Lorne effect."

"Check." Gunn said.

"And stop with the…."

"Do my best." Gunn walked out of the office.

"Brilliant plan. Excellent." Spike enthused.

Lorne looked at Buffy and Angel. "You two really got married?"

Buffy held up the marriage license. "Yeah. And it's legally binding."

"Should I tell you congratulations or will there be an annulment in the near future?"
Before either Buffy or Angel could answer, Sebassis and his band of demons burst through the office door. They were all holding weapons. Spike suddenly began applauding. "What a fantastic entrance!"

"Sebassis?" Angel asked.

"The nerve!" Sebassis cried. "The raw nerve to lay a hand on one of mine!"
"What is this? Lower your weapons."

"These darts are poisoned, vampire. Powerful enough to put you in a coma for a week. Enough to kill your Slayer whore before their next heartbeat. You murdered Artode. I imagine we were to be next."

"I didn't murder anyone."

"He really didn't." Buffy defended. "We were a little…. Busy."

"Make yourselves presentable. You have a public execution to attend."

"That's a big mistake." Angel growled, preparing to attack

"Look here, Sea Biscuit, you may be royalty in the demon world, but you're in my world now. And in my world…. Demons that point weapons at me get put down." Buffy said. "So, I would suggest you drop your weapons and explain calmly what the hell it is you think you're doing coming in here and threating us."

Before anyone could reply, a woman's scream sounded in the lobby. Buffy and Angel exchanged looks and headed out of the office. Much to Buffy's annoyance, the archduke's demons followed with their weapons still pointed at them. As they arrived in the lobby, the crowd cleared off the dance floor. A dead or unconscious demon was lying sprawled on the buffet table.

"Oh, boy." Lorne said.

"Yeah. Somebody really dipped his chip." Harmony said.

"Really, Harmony?" Buffy asked, eyebrow arched. Harmony just shrugged.

Sebassis turned and pointed his poisoned arrow at Lorne, then at Angel. "Ok, Sebassis, I don't know what's going on here, but we are not behind it." Angel said.

"Enough lies, vampire." Sebassis demanded.

"Ok, everybody, ok." Lorne called. "Yes, the party's taking an unfortunate turn momentarily. So let's not…." Sebassis cocked the weapon. "Fight." Buffy started to pounce, but Lorne yelled, "Wait! Please, wait. I'm doing this. It's me. I mean, it's not me. But I haven't been myself lately. Somehow, I'm making people do things and I'm controlling them."

Sebassis pointed the weapon at Lorne. "Well, then, Pylean, you're making me kill you. Is that consistent with your theory?"

Suddenly, a roar came from the staircase overlooking the lobby. A giant green creature dressed in a blue suit and a purple shirt just like Lorne's jumped down from the balcony. The thing landed in front of Sebassis.

"Oh, my god!" Harmony yelled.

"It's me." Lorne said.

"That's one bitchin' big suit." Spike said with a grin.

Hulk-Lorne lashed out at one of Sebassis's demons and knocked him down. Sebassis fired a poisoned dart at the massive creature, but it had no effect. "Lorne, what the hell is this?" Angel asked.

"Stop it! Stop killing!" Lorne yelled at Hulk-Lorne. "Listen to me, Me!" Hulking Lorne turned and knocked Lorne down. "Wow, I must really hate myself."

Hulk-Lorne made its way toward Sebassis. Angel backed up and put himself between the demons. "Sebassis, run." Angel growled. Sebassis scurried off behind a pole. Hulk-Lorne hit Angel, sending him across the room. Buffy moved up to kick Hulk-Lorne, but her dress prevented her from it. Hulk-Lorne just sent her sliding across the dance floor. Gunn tried to hit Hulk-Lorne over the head with a statue, but it did nothing. Gunn was sent sprawling across the room, landing next to Lorne.

"Oh, sorry about that." Lorne said.

Sebassis tried to crawl away up the stairs, but Hulk-Lorne went after him. Angel picked himself up and attacked. None of his punches had any kind of effect. The lobby elevator doors opened just then and Wesley and Fred's backs were to the room. They turned around and walked into the lobby with Fred carrying a gun-shaped device.
"It's here! It's manifested!" Wesley cried.

Hulk-Lorne was wailing on Angel while Buffy beat at its back with a chair. Fred and Wesley ran up behind Lorne who was watching the fight with horror. Fred pointed the gun up in front of her, but seemed to have trouble aiming.

"Shoot it, Fred. Now!" Buffy cried.

Fred turned and pointed the gun at Lorne's head. She pulled the trigger and Lorne collapsed to the ground. "Oh, my god!" Harmony screamed. "They shot Lorney-tunes."

"No. I'm ok." Lorne said. "Just gonna rest my eyes a little bit." As soon as Lorne's eyes closed, Hulk-Lorne disappeared in a puff of blue smoke and Buffy accidentally whacked Angel with the chair she had had aimed at Hulk-Lorne.

"Oh my god!" Buffy cried, rushing over to Angel. "Sorry!"

Buffy tucked Lorne in under a blanket on the couch in her and Angel's office. Spike was sitting on Angel's desk next to Eve, who was talking on her cell phone. Wesley and Angel stood by the windows.

"That thing…." Wesley was saying. "I think it was a manifestation of Lorne's subconscious. It peeled away from his mind, using Lorne's supernatural powers to punch its way into our world."
"Punch is the right word." Angel said, rubbing his jaw. "Though I think that hit with the chair hurt worse."

"I said I was sorry." Buffy defended. "Why was it trying to kill everyone?"

"I don't think it was." Wesley said. "It may have just been processing the conflicts that Lorne normally deals with in his sleep, acting out on the emotional responses he has to the people around him." He gave them a little wave and walked out of the office.

Gunn walked in, passing Wesley. "Hey, I spoke with Sebassis' people. Explained what I could."

"So what do we got?" Angel asked. "Lawsuit? Demon war?"

"No. It seems like they enjoy a little blood sport at their social functions. Looks like we're ok."
"We're not ok. We've been so focused on the dangers outside that we didn't see the ones within. This place is trying to change us, Gunn. We can't ever forget that."

"Pretty damn good party, though. I'll see you tomorrow…. Well, today, but later. Oh, and your chair."

"What?"

"Don't sit in it. I already called janitorial."
"Why can't I…."

"You pissed in the big man's chair?" Spike crowed. "That's fantastic!"
"Spike, can you please turn off that warm fuzzy?" Buffy said.

"What, the Lorne thing? Wore off. I just think that's bloody fabulous."

"All right, guys, good night. Let Lorne get some sleep, all right?" She pointed at Spike. "Out."

"All right. Just this once." Spike followed Gunn out of the office.

"Mmm…. I'm sorry." Lorne said as Angel shut the door.

"It's ok, Lorne." Buffy soothed. "Just try and get some rest."

"It's…. it's hard. It's hard being the host of the party."

"Stop trying to be." She turned and looked at Angel. "So…."

"Yeah." He held up the marriage license. "What are we going to do about this?"

"Uh…."

"Can I…. Buffy, I think we should just leave it alone."

"You do?"

"I love you. I know I don't want anyone else. Ever. You're it for me."

"You don't want an actual wedding or…."

"Maybe one day…. Down the line…. Sure. We can do the church and the dress and the party, but right now? I'm content with this piece of paper and the little ceremony we had right here in our office. Besides," He held up his left hand to show off his Claddagh ring. "We've already had the rings where they needed to be."

She smiled slightly. "I don't know how to be a wife."

"I don't know how to be a husband. It's one experience I've never had."

"So, then…. We figure it out together?"
Angel walked over to her and took her hands. "I think that sounds like a great plan." He leaned down to kiss her. "Let's go tell Connor he's got a step-mom."

"Of the non-evil variety." Buffy laughed, following him to the elevator.