Last time: Cordelia arrived at the mansion and recognized Angelus.

********************************

She glared at him. "Don't ever touch me again--Angelus."

He must have misheard Cordelia. "What did you call me?"

She rolled her eyes. "You heard me, Angelus."

He held his ground and refused to panic. There was no way Cordelia could know the truth. "Why are you calling me that?"

"Duh, because it's your name. You know, the one you went by for more than a century, before you were cursed with your soul. Angelus, as in the Scourge of Europe. It's written all over you, plus I have proof. Don't try to play dumb with me. You might think I'm a bimbo without two brain cells to rub together, but there's a lot more to Cordelia Chase than that oh-so-false image. Now, where's Buffy? She and I need to have a little talk."

"She's out," Angelus replied truthfully, figuring it was pointless to lie. Even if Cordelia didn't have proof, all she had to do was repeat his name to Buffy and the game would be over. "You can search the house if you want, but you won't find her."

"All right, she's out where?"

"Do you really think I'll tell you, knowing that you have every intention of feeding her the truth as you see it the second you spot her?"

"What choice do you have? I'll find her eventually and you know it. If you cooperate, though, she might not stake you right away. She might just lock you up until Willow can restore your soul again."

Angelus bared his teeth. "That soul is never getting back inside this body. I'd dust myself first."

"That would save us all a lot of time and trouble, except it would mean Angel would be gone too and I don't like that idea so much. I kind of grew fond of him while we were working together. Nope." Cordelia shook her head emphatically. "He's coming back and you can't do a thing to stop it."

"I could kill you."

"How? By gumming me to death? I know all about your defangment, remember? Why else do you think I was willing to come in here and talk to you, without even a weapon in my hand? It's because I could beat you up without even trying. Wesley could, too. Even Xander wouldn't have a problem. So keeping all that in mind, do you still say Buffy went out and you won't tell me where?"

"Naturally. I refuse to give up so easily."

"I'll wait for her, then." Cordelia moved over to the leather chair, eyed it knowingly, and then sat down on it.

After a moment, Angelus shrugged and followed her, taking one end of the couch. "So, since we have some time to kill, no pun intended, tell me how you figured things out."

"Well." Cordelia looked at him. "Why not? It should be fun to point out all your stupid mistakes. It started when you left Los Angeles so suddenly. You made up some excuse about why, but let's face it, it was pretty flimsy. Wesley and I got left in the lurch trying to keep *your* business afloat, and of course we didn't stand much of a chance. You're the muscle, after all, and you usually need muscle a lot more than brains or beauty when you're dealing with demons."

Angelus smirked. "Maybe you just don't associate with the right sort of demon."

Cordelia ignored him. "So anyway, you were off in Sunnydale for, like, ages, and at first we thought you'd just fallen under Buffy's spell again. I mean, I don't *get* what you see in her, but it's happened before so that wasn't too big of a shock. I figured, you didn't want to run your agency anymore, I never really wanted to work at it except for the money, so that was fair enough.

"After a while, though, I started to get suspicious. The little things were adding up. Like all those broken Barry Manilow records I found in your garbage, and how you wouldn't even talk to me on the phone once a week. And it was like you'd forgotten Wesley existed, too. Weird. Then Buffy called and asked me--"

"Wait a minute," Angelus snapped. "What do you mean, Buffy called?"

"Exactly what I said. I got a phone call from Buffy early this morning. She was starting to have her own doubts and she turned to me for help. She figured that because I was with you in Los Angeles, I'd have more insight into how you'd changed since you left Sunnydale after graduation. I think she just wanted me to drop by, reassure her everything was okay, and leave. But that ain't gonna happen now."

Angelus' brain was racing. Buffy was expecting Cordelia. If he simply killed Cordelia, Buffy would wonder what had happened, why her visitor had never showed up. Buffy would certainly call Los Angeles and learn from Wesley that Cordelia wasn't there. She would probably waste a little time checking up on highway accidents or any other event that could have waylaid Cordelia, but she wouldn't find any. Sooner or later, then, her suspicions would turn full force toward Angelus. He was screwed if he killed Cordelia; he was screwed if he didn't. He had to think of a third choice, only that was easier said that done. "What else do you have on me?" he bluffed, playing for time while he calculated odds and risks. "That can't be all."

"No, sure isn't." Cordelia lifted her chin. "This morning the police found the dead body of Rebecca Lowell with fang marks in her neck. Could have been a coincidence; could have been some other vampire. Except that I know Rebecca was your client, and she was missing since right about the time you left Los Angeles. That discovery of her body is actually what made me decide to come here right away. I was going to wait a day or two since, you know, Buffy isn't one of my favorite people and I thought she was just being a pain in the ass. But when I heard about Rebecca, I got in the car and drove straight over to check things out. Then I arrived here and you hugged me, and that told me all I needed to know. I saw the look on your face. It was disgust. Angel might have looked uncomfortable or uncertain, but he wouldn't have looked disgusted. That was an Angelus expression, through and through. Finding it a bit hard to keep up the charade, aren't you? And speaking of that, what I want to know is, how did you lose your soul and when?"

"That's a question I'm not going to answer," Angelus replied. "And you do realize you'll never get a chance to relate all of your little beliefs to Buffy."

"I repeat, how are you going to stop me? A, I know about the chip in your head. B, Buffy's expecting me. Oh, and did I mention the chip in your head yet?" Cordelia crossed her legs and smiled a supercilious little smile.

Angelus had never wanted to eat anyone so badly in his entire existence. He could do it, too. He held the advantage. Cordelia had no clue the chip had been removed. Of course, if he offed her then he'd have to find a way around the fact that Buffy was waiting for her arrival. Yet what other options did he have? He couldn't think of any way to blackmail Cordelia around to his side. Threats, begging, bribery wouldn't work. At least if he got her out of the way, he would live to plot another night. Yes, Cordelia Chase simply had to die.

*****

Buffy watched as Willow's fingers flew over the computer keyboard. She supposed she ought to be thrilled. Willow had used a lot of technical language to get across the fact that she had hacked into the Initiative's databases and could do whatever she wanted with them. That had been their aim all along. Yet somehow Buffy couldn't bring herself to feel especially happy.

It was because she was worried about the entire mess with Angel, she decided. Her hope was that Cordelia would show up soon and lay her fears to rest. That outcome would be the best possible. She didn't let herself think about what would happen if Cordelia's news tended toward the negative.

"Hey, Buffy." Willow nudged her. "You paying attention?"

"Kind of. Not really. What is it?"

"I can start the sequence any time now. It needs to build up gradually, but in 24 hours, the Initiative computers and all their information will be ruined. Angel will be safe then."

Buffy nodded. "That's good."

"Isn't it?" Willow's index finger hovered over the "enter" key. "Should I do it?"

Yes... no... yes... no... The thoughts chased each other through Buffy's mind. Finally, she opened her mouth and said, "Yes."

Willow pressed the button.

*****

Cordelia tapped her foot and stared at her watch. "What a waste of time this has been. I came here to talk to Buffy and since she isn't home, I'm going to go find her." Cordelia stood.

So did Angelus. She'd forced his hand and he could see no other way out of this difficult situation. "Now, hold on, Cordy. I have a question for you. Say I'd never been chipped. Would you be standing in this room with me if that were the case?"

"Are you kidding? Not in a million years."

He took a pace toward her. "Or say, for the sake of argument, that the chip was implanted and then removed. What about then?"

"Same deal." Cordelia shrugged. "But that isn't even an issue. You *are* chipped, as told to me by Buffy, so there's nothing to discuss."

Angelus nodded. "Point taken. Let's also say that you're right for one of the few times in your life and I am indeed still chipped. Would I, then, be able to do *this* to you without feeling any pain whatsoever?" And he backhanded Cordelia away from his leather chair and into the wall.

It took her almost a minute to recover enough from the blow to rise, even though he hadn't hit her as hard as he would have liked. It was too soon for that. He needed Cordelia to keep what few wits she had about her for at least another several minutes. Otherwise, it just wouldn't be as much fun.

She finally got to her feet, braced against the wall with blood welling from her split lip. "How did you..."

"Hit you without giving myself a crippling headache? That's for me to know and you to never find out."

Cordelia swayed as she stared at him in dismay. "But Buffy told me herself. You shouldn't be able to hurt me."

The fear covering Cordelia's face was a beautiful thing to behold. Angelus padded closer to her. Her eyes darted to the door and back to him. He stood in the way of her most likely means of escape. "How about I give you a sporting chance, 'cause otherwise it's just too damn easy? I'll let you have a five-second head start. If you can get to the door and outside before I catch you, you'll be safe because it's still daylight. If you can't, well, I haven't had lunch yet."

Cordelia gaped at him, looking very much like an extremely stupid goldfish, before she accepted the offer and bolted for the door. One...two...three...four...five. She hadn't even managed to turn the knob with her shaking hands before Angelus was upon her.

"Oh, Cordelia, you're not making this very challenging, are you," he chided. "But I guess that has its advantages. I really can't predict when Buffy might come home, and it's so much better if she isn't present for the finale. I'm afraid I'm going to have to eat and run."

Cordelia screamed at the top of her lungs and struggled against his hold, momentarily managing to squirm free before she was captured again. "Angel, don't do this!" she begged. "I know you're still there, somewhere inside. You can stop this!"

Angelus sighed. "Angel isn't here. You can beg and cry for mercy all you want, and it'll just make me bite harder."

One of Cordelia's feeble blows bounced off his chest. "Buffy will know something's wrong if I don't meet with her. She'll figure out what happened."

"Maybe, maybe not. It's a chance I'll just have to take." Angelus leaned Cordelia against the wall and tilted her head to the perfect position. "Now, cooperate and stay like that." Naturally, she wriggled even more at those words, so Angelus was forced to repeatedly slam her head back until she went limp. She wasn't dead, though, just nicely stunned. "Not very good at obeying orders, are you? Oh, and Cordelia, there's a lesson you should have learned long ago. A selfish bitch like you should never try to change her spots and do a good deed. It simply doesn't become you." He waited to hear if she had any last words, but he must have cracked her head just a bit too hard. Well, no great loss. "I've been waiting years to do this," Angelus informed her with a grin. With that, he bit into Cordelia's neck.

Cordelia's body was safely stashed in the basement. Buffy would never know what had happened. Realizing she could return at any moment, Angelus rinsed his mouth out to get rid of any lingering traces of human blood. Did he have any evidence on his hands? Clothes? No. Good. He just had to ditch Cordelia's purse and the job would be complete. He was all set.

Or was he? A doubt niggled in his mind. Something wasn't right. Something that might possibly tip Buffy off to the truth. Something he had overlooked. But what?

Slowly it dawned on him. How had Cordelia gotten to Sunnydale? She must have driven, which meant her car was outside even now. Buffy would return, spot the vehicle, and know Cordelia had shown up. She wouldn't stop looking for answers after that, and a curious Buffy was definitely a dangerous Buffy. He had to get rid of the car.

Cautiously Angelus edged open the front door. He knew where to stand so that any sunlight wouldn't hit him, but that still left him inside and the car outside. A careful check revealed that Cordelia had managed to park her vehicle in pure sunlight, with not even an inch of shade cover all the way to it. Even in death, the bitch had to make matters as inconvenient as possible. If he hadn't killed her once, Angelus would gladly have done the honors again at the moment.

He had to move the car before Buffy came back. That bothersome fact remained. Angelus went back and rooted through Cordelia's purse until he found her keys in the change pocket. Then he proceeded to the hall closet, found the biggest, thickest blanket in the place, and draped it over himself. If his mission failed, Buffy would show up to find a bizarre range of items including Cordelia's car, a pile of dust, and a truly horrendous black purse.

Steeling himself, Angelus nudged open the front door and made a run for it. He could feel the heat of the sun's rays beating down upon him through his protective gear, but it couldn't harm his unexposed body. A tense moment did arise after he had gotten into the car and needed to insert the key in the ignition, but the folds of the blanket continued to provide sufficient cover.

Where to ditch the car? He couldn't drive too far away, keeping in mind the fact that he'd have to be able to return to the mansion afterward. On the other hand, the hiding place needed to be secluded enough that Buffy wouldn't immediately stumble upon it. After some consideration, Angelus managed to maneuver the vehicle to a nearby woodsy patch that Buffy was extremely unlikely to explore before night fell. At that time, he'd be safe to move it much, much farther away. In fact, that sounded like a job for Spike.

After secreting the car as well as possible considering the circumstances, Angelus made a mad dash through the sunlight back to the mansion and threw the blanket off once he was safely inside. He'd just performed a task that was tailor-made for a minion. Oh, the indignities he had suffered since his return to Sunnydale. He hoped this one had been the least and last in the string.

Fortunately, by the time Buffy came back an hour later, no trace of Cordelia remained for prying eyes to easily see. Purse, car, and body were all neatly tucked away. As long as Buffy didn't go snooping, she'd never know the truth.

Angelus was watching covertly as Buffy entered the living room. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed as she scanned the place and a disappointed expression fell over her face. "Something wrong?" he asked innocently from his position on the couch.

"No. Not really. Did you do anything interesting today?" Buffy asked in a transparent attempt at being casual.

"Oh, you know, just a typical day for me," Angelus covered smoothly. "Tai Chi, pig's blood, research..." He held up his copy of "Famous Demons of the 18th Century." "You never know when this information might come in handy."

"Right." Looking distracted, Buffy plopped down in the nearest chair and checked her watch. "I remembered to wear this today, not that it's done me much good." She glanced at the door and sighed. "Okay, well, do you want to know what happened with Willow?"

"Of course." Angelus set aside the book and settled down to hear what he hoped would be a nice, depressing tale of the downfall of the Initiative.

As indeed it was. He didn't have to fake his approval at the end of Buffy's recap, which was to the general effect that the organization should basically be crippled within about a day. Not bloodily crippled, unfortunately, but one couldn't have everything.

For the rest of the day, Buffy remained anxious and moody, periodically checking outside and glancing at her watch. Angelus finally, conveniently, left her alone with the cell phone while he claimed to be going to the kitchen for a snack. He lurked just out of sight and wasn't a bit surprised when Buffy snatched up the phone and placed a quick call in his absence. He listened to her side of the conversation, obviously with Wesley.

"Is Cordelia there? ... A note? What did it say? ... That's all? ... Yeah, I'm worried about her because I asked her to visit me and I thought she'd be here by now. ... Okay. Thanks."

Angelus waited another 10 minutes before returning to the living room to spot Buffy, who was trying to hide her concern regarding Cordelia's whereabouts. She didn't breathe a word to him about the situation and resorted to working on homework for several hours, until long after it had grown dark.

"No patrol tonight?" Angelus eventually asked.

"I'm taking an evening off. I have so much work to get caught up on," Buffy explained.

Angelus nodded, not believing her cover story for a second. She just wanted to be around to see if Cordelia arrived. However, her reluctance to leave the house afforded him an excellent opportunity to accelerate the next phase of his plan. "I'll be happy to go out in your place, Buffy," he offered.

"Yeah, that would be nice," she quickly agreed.

"Good." Angelus managed to sneak off with the cell phone while Buffy's back was turned. After a brief call to arrange a meeting with Spike at the Adamson crypt in Sunnydale Cemetery, he returned the phone without Buffy noticing and set off for the basement. A risky element of his plan was coming into play. He had to collect Cordelia's body and move it out of the house without Buffy seeing. If only he'd been able to transfer it earlier, before she'd come home, but the sunlight had made that maneuver impossible.

All went smoothly, though. Angelus grabbed the body and toted it out of the house with Buffy none the wiser. Then he made his way to Cordelia's hidden car and pitched the corpse in the back. A quick drive to Sunnydale Cemetery ensued. The Adamson crypt, chosen because it was near the street, looked as deserted as the rest of the place, but Angelus was confident Spike was lurking inside, waiting for him.

After he checked to ensure that he had no observers, he pulled Cordelia's sheet-covered body out and carted it to the crypt. Sure enough, Spike was there smoking a cigarette and looking bored.

Once he saw Angelus' burden, Spike perked up considerably. "What have you got there?"

"A surprise." Angelus dropped his load on the floor and peeled back the sheet to reveal Cordelia's face.

Spike poked the body with his foot. "We're finally getting some real action. And there I was thinking you didn't have it in you anymore."

"Don't get excited and start thinking big yet," Angelus warned. "I only killed Cordelia in self-defense."

"How do you figure that? Did she get the upper hand and was going to stake you or something?"

"As if that imbecile could endanger me physically," Angelus scoffed. "No, that was not the case. It turned out she'd figured out my true identity through a most unfortunate series of coincidences, and she was prepared to tell Buffy. What choice did I have but to take her out? It was me or her: a clear case of self-preservation. Of course, Buffy's already a bit suspicious of me, seeing that her phone call to Los Angeles was the basis for Cordelia showing up in the first place, but at least now she won't have proof."

"You went pretty far," Spike pointed out. "This is quite a drastic step."

"True." Angelus looked at Cordelia's pale face in disgust. "Still, needs must when the devil drives. Anyway, Spike, I need you to stay with her until tomorrow night, because obviously I can't be away from the mansion for so long. Buffy would think I got dusted."

"You want to tie me down watching over this?" Spike protested. "Not exactly my idea of a fun time!"

"I know." Angelus launched into the explanation that would convince Spike to go along with his orders. "What I have planned is going to blow Buffy's mind, but I can't do it without your help."

Spike listened intently as Angelus gave him the details of an evil new plot. In the end, appreciative of its diabolical consequences, he did indeed agree to fulfill his part. If all went smoothly, Buffy's suspicions would be completely derailed by the end of the following night.

Buffy spent the bulk of Monday engaged in very boring, fruitless activity. Cordelia still hadn't arrived or bothered to call to report her whereabouts. True, she had only been inaccessible for about a day and she'd never stated precisely when she planned to come to Sunnydale. On the other hand, Wesley had confirmed that she'd left home, and where else would she have gone? All things considered, she should have arrived by now, unless something terrible had happened to her. A car accident was not out of the question, as were various other troublesome possibilities.

As dusk approached, Buffy ran down the list of people and organizations she had called in hopes of uncovering information. Highway patrol, hospitals, the police station, Wesley again, Cordelia's parents, and even Willow. During her brief conversation with her friend, she had been careful not to mention Cordelia's name to avoid tipping her off. Despite her reticence, she was confident Cordelia had not shown up. Willow had said that aside from the Initiative action, nothing of particular importance was going on, and surely she would have mentioned if she'd unexpectedly seen Cordelia. The last phone call Buffy made was to her former home, just in case. She'd received no answer, which was just as well. She wasn't sure if her mom would have stayed on the line after hearing her voice. Anyway, Cordelia going there was a longshot.

Several times, Buffy found herself on the verge of confiding her concerns to Angel but since he was the reason she had summoned Cordelia, she couldn't think of a reasonable way to bring up the topic. "Hey, Angel, I think you've been behaving kind of weird so I asked Cordelia to come over to analyze you and now she's disappeared" simply didn't make for a good conservation opener.

Ultimately, Buffy was at a complete loss as to Cordelia's location and could only wait and wonder, alone. If Cordelia didn't show up by morning, though, she would have to seek more help and possibly learn something she didn't want to know.

*****

Angelus prowled the upper rooms of the mansion, waiting for the sun to set. A big night lay ahead of him. Buffy had stuck inside the house all day, having made up some lame excuse about skipping classes so she could spend the free hours preparing for a big history exam that was to take place on Tuesday. Angelus was perfectly aware that she'd spent most of her time talking on the phone or waiting for it to ring, though he'd been careful to conceal that knowledge. Instead, under the pretext of allowing Buffy to work without the distraction of his presence, he had stayed upstairs nearly all day. His plan was to escape the second it became dark enough outside. The moment almost at hand, he was sure to make plenty of noise as he proceeded into the living room. Buffy was pretending to study and looked up inquisitively as he entered.

"Everything going well?" Angelus asked, indicating Buffy's scuffed history book.

"Oh, yeah. I should get an A on this test for sure. Well, at least a B."

"Good. Does that mean you have time to patrol tonight? I was thinking we could go out together," Angelus suggested, silently willing Buffy to refuse.

She didn't fail him. "I don't think I should go out. I really ought to review this material." She indicated a huge chunk of the textbook.

Angelus nodded seriously and pretended to buy her excuse. "I'd be happy to patrol for you again."

With a smile, Buffy accepted the offer and Angelus was on his way out the door with a cover story firmly in place. Of course, on these solo outings no real patrolling was involved. Hunting, however, was another matter. According to what Willow had said, the Initiative should be hamstrung by now. In the likely confusion, it might just be the perfect place to pick up an easy meal.

Accordingly, Angelus made the Initiative grounds his first stop. He slunk around the outskirts, working his way closer and closer to the likeliest hunting grounds and keeping alert for any signs of security. Aside from one distracted-looking guard, he found no one. He bypassed the guard and weaved nearer to his goal. He was close enough to make out definite sounds that indicated disarray: shouting, hurrying footsteps, multiple ringing telephones. Willow had evidently done far more evil than she might ever realize.

A pack of soldiers armed with rifles ran his way, passing within arm's length. None of them noticed the figure that blended in so smoothly with the shadows. Angelus swiveled his head and studied the members of the little group as they split up. Something was drawing him to a particular individual. He couldn't place his finger on precisely what, but the feeling was enough to make him decide he had tonight's supper in his sights.

The soldier ran on, alone, and Angelus tracked him through the night. He thought the man's destination might be a graveyard, though since Sunnydale contained so many of those, it was an easy assumption to make. At any rate, wherever the goal, when his target paused to readjust his rifle it seemed the perfect moment to pounce. Angelus grabbed the man from behind in a stranglehold and bit deeply into his neck. The soldier tried to break free, bringing the butt of his rifle up and back, but Angelus wrenched it out of his grasp and continued to gulp the rich, hot blood. The struggles of the figure in his grasp grew more and more feeble before drawing to a halt. Finished with his meal, Angelus shoved the body into a convenient copse and looked idly on as it fell face up. 'Hmmm,' he thought. 'That looks like Riley's friend Graham, the one who helped Buffy not so long ago. That's why he seemed so familiar. Oh, well. Tasted pretty good.'

He turned and skulked away, taking the quickest route to Sunnydale Cemetery. He was really quite interested in seeing how his experiment had turned out. The walk proved uneventful, though the flickering light near the Adamson crypt caused him some alarm until Angelus realized it was coming from one of Spike's infernal cigarettes. He relaxed and openly approached the crypt, guessing that matters were under control.

"Took you damn long enough to get here," Spike complained as he walked up.

Angelus shrugged. "I came as soon as I could. More or less. How'd things go here?"

"Babysitting a corpse all day was not my idea of fun." Spike reached over and yanked open the door of the crypt. "Then she woke up. And *that* led to even less fun."

Angelus looked inside the crypt to see Cordelia in full vampire face, staring out at him.

Cordelia and Angelus stared at each other for a frozen second before Cordelia ruined the moment by slipping back into human guise. She reached up to feel her face and scowled when she found it smooth. "Damn it! It never stays when I want it to!"

Angelus looked at Spike. "I'm beginning to think I might not want to know, but what's been happening here today?"

"She woke up this afternoon, right on schedule, and I have to ask: Was she this much of a pain in the ass back when she was still alive? Because it seems hard to picture."

Angelus glanced back at Cordelia. She was wrinkling her forehead and squinting grotesquely. "What the hell is wrong with her?" he asked Spike.

"Hey!" Cordelia halted her efforts and glared at him. "*She* is in the crypt right next to you, thank you very much!"

"Fine. I'll rephrase." Angelus patiently asked, "Cordelia, what the hell is wrong with you?"

She scrunched up her face and felt it again before she relaxed her muscles. "I'm trying to switch into game face. Vampire face. Whatever you guys call it. I must be using the wrong muscles. Which ones do you use, Spike?"

"I don't know. I just do it!" Spike's hands were involuntarily clenching and unclenching and a muscle in his jaw was working. He had the look of a vampire near the end of his rope.

Angelus almost--not quite, but almost--felt a bit guilty about having saddled him with the newly arisen Cordelia. He grabbed the crypt door. "Keep practicing. Spike and I are just going to talk outside for a few minutes," he informed Cordelia before shutting the door in her face.

Spike heaved a long sigh and lit a fresh cigarette. "She's a disaster as a vampire."

Angelus looked away. "Well, what else could I do except turn her?" he defended himself. "I didn't use poor judgement for the sake of using poor judgement. You know I couldn't let her live once she found out the truth about me, but I couldn't simply kill her for good, either. Even at this very moment, Buffy is having all sorts of fits trying to figure out where Cordy got her ass off to. So, I cunningly invented the option of door number three, the risky but potentially rewarding course of turning the ditz so she can inform Buffy that I'm still the souled wonder. Besides, look at the other big benefit. Not only do I get to conceal my true identity, but I finally got to kill the whiny bitch."

Spike flicked away his cigarette and ground it out. "Yeah, and that worked out so well, because now she's a whiny *immortal* bitch."

"Good point. Well, once she's served her purpose I can dust her. Killing Cordelia twice is an appealing prospect."

"You're making one huge assumption--that she'll be able to trick the Slayer. I have serious doubts about her ability to do just that. She's pathetic. At this point, she couldn't fool *anyone*. Anyway, even assuming she eventually manages to control her own appearance for five minutes on end, what if Buffy senses she's been turned?"

"I'll be in the room, too," Angelus reminded him. "If her vampire sensors happen to go off, Buffy will probably think it's just because I'm there. Besides, you know her senses are hit and miss. Did she pick up on the fact that Angel was a vampire the first time she met him? Or the second? Or the time she bandaged his injuries? No, she didn't realize anything was amiss until he lost control and vamped out in front of her."

"It's true she didn't pick up on me, either," Spike recalled. "First time I saw her, I was in the Bronze not 20 feet from her and she didn't turn a hair. Didn't even suss me out in the alley afterwards. If the idiot who was fighting her hadn't said my name, she wouldn't have had a clue."

"Right. See?" Angelus agreed, relieved. "What are the odds she'll have any better luck with Cordelia? Now come on. We have to prepare her." Angelus swung the crypt door open.

They entered to view Cordelia, who had progressed to uncontrollably flickering from vampire face to human and back.

"It's hopeless," Spike declared. "She can't even handle her own appearance."

"Once we feed her fresh blood, we'll see significant improvement," Angelus optimistically replied.

"One can only hope," Spike muttered.

Angelus ignored him and continued, "We need to have our game plan mapped out and make sure each of us understands our part. Me first. I go back to the mansion and report to Buffy on how patrol supposedly went. Make up some story about a slime demon or a three-headed vampire or whatever to gain her sympathy. She'll be thinking about me instead of Cordelia for a little while there. Meanwhile, you will be teaching Cordelia the very basics about being a vampire. Make sure she can stay in human face, and get her someone to eat. But don't let her try to hunt by herself because I don't think I can picture the range of that disaster. After an hour or two, you will make sure that Cordy gets in her car and drives up to the mansion, calm as can be, and knocks on the door like nothing is amiss. She will then feed Buffy a good lie about where she was, assure her that I am just like I was back in Los Angeles, and take off after about an hour of boring small talk. Buffy will be sure to feel guilty about doubting me, I will make sure to carefully rub it in, and things will be back to the way I want them."

Spike growled, not looking terribly pleased. "What's wrong with this picture? Maybe the fact that I'm stuck doing the dirty work, again."

"Don't look at it that way. Think of it as me trusting you to hold the pieces together. Without you, this plot has no chance of succeeding."

"Not so sure it should." Spike cast a baleful look at the hapless Cordelia. "You're her sire. You're the one supposed to be teaching her."

Angelus gratefully fell back on his built-in excuse of, "Buffy is expecting me." Seeing the mutinous expression on Spike's face, he reluctantly added, "I suppose I can stick around here for an hour or so, though."

"I did it! I did it!" Cordelia crowed from behind them.

They turned to look at her. Her vampiric ridges immediately slid away to be replaced by normal human features. Cordelia stamped her foot. "Oh, no. Why won't it stay like I want it to? I want to look like a *real* vampire!"

Angelus and Spike exchanged glances. "We're going to need every second of that hour," Spike decided.

"Well, Cordelia claims to be an actress," Angelus pointed out. "We'll soon see if she's right."

Buffy managed to get in some studying while waiting for either Cordelia or Angel to show up. Not surprisingly, Angel was first to appear, reentering the house with a slight limp.

"Angel, what happened?" Buffy asked as she ran to look him over. His shirt was ripped at the neck and the side and his right hand was scraped, but the injuries seemed minor.

"I ran into a pack of vampires on the way home," he explained as he made his way to the couch. "There were so many that they gave me a little trouble."

"Wait here." Buffy went to the kitchen to fetch a blood bag and returned to Angel, turning away before he could tear it open because she still wasn't comfortable with watching him feed. With her back to him, she thought out loud. "I'll have to tell Giles..." She stopped. There had been no telling Giles anything for a while now, and there might not ever be again. "I mean, I'll pay special attention when I patrol the rest of this week. I'll ask around at Willy's, too." When she heard Angel discard the empty bag, she went to sit beside him. His hand healed before her eyes as if he'd never been hurt.

Angel held it up. "See? Good as new."

"You were lucky," Buffy insisted. "I shouldn't have made you patrol alone. It's my responsibility anyway. Next time--" She was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Angel's appearance had momentarily driven thoughts of Cordelia from her mind, but now they returned. It had to be her, didn't it? "I'll answer it," Buffy told Angel, and she walked to the door as quickly as she could without appearing too eager. 'Please be Cordelia, please be Cordelia,' she thought all the way. And when she opened the door, sure enough, the person she most wanted to see was on the other side. "Hey, Cordelia." Buffy had to fight to keep the relief out of her voice. Angel still didn't know she had phoned his friend, and she had no intention of letting that information slip. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you, too." Cordelia began to turn away from the door. "From your tone, I take it I'm not welcome?"

"No," Buffy blurted. "I mean, yes! I mean, come in."

"Thank you." Cordelia sidestepped her and entered.

Buffy closed the door and followed her. "Angel, look, we have a visitor."

"Yeah, I thought I'd drop in to say hi and bye, and let Angel know that if he ever returns to Los Angeles, he'll need a new secretary," Cordelia explained.

Buffy watched with just a little jealousy as Angel and Cordelia hugged in greeting. They had never been close when both had lived in Sunnydale, and she hadn't been in Los Angeles to see the development of their friendship. Who could have ever predicted that those two would get along so well anyway? They were so different. Of course, Buffy and Cordelia had never been particularly good friends, either, and they'd had a lot more in common than Cordy and Angel ever did.

Realizing that the two were looking at her curiously, Buffy shoved aside these thoughts and took a seat in the living room. Angel and Cordelia did as well, and an awkward silence descended.

Buffy broke it. "So what have you been doing lately, Cordelia?"

"Mostly auditions and acting classes. With Angel away, we don't have much business at the agency so I've had more time to devote to my career."

"Yeah, your wonderful acting career," Angel said. "How that's been going?"

"Picking up," Cordelia replied. "I almost snared a national commercial last week, and today I got this great offer to join a touring company."

She began to rattle on about her big chance to become a star, but Buffy tuned her out and allowed her to converse mostly with Angel, as planned. Another reason, however, was that something about Cordelia seemed odd. Buffy couldn't quite put her finger on it at first. Then, as she continued to study the other girl, it struck her. Compared to her usual standards, Cordelia looked downright sloppy. Her makeup was minimal, her hair unkempt, and her clothing came on the lower end of the brand-name scale. She'd mentioned that business at Angel's agency had plummeted, so she must really be broke and unable to do any better. The "old" Cordelia would never have appeared in public looking this way. She had never been one to want pity, so Buffy decided not to mention her new circumstances and just kept her mouth shut.

Eventually Cordelia seemed to have talked herself out. That was when Buffy realized she hadn't thought much about how things would actually work out once Cordelia arrived. Now that the situation had arisen, she saw that they needed to speak alone so she could get Cordelia's opinion without Angel hearing. The best way to do that was to keep her visitor around for a while. To that end, Buffy issued an impromptu invitation. "You can stay with us for at least a few days, right? We can catch up some more, and I'm sure lots of people would love to see you--like Xander, and your parents, and all your old friends."

"You'd be very welcome," Angel added. "We obviously have plenty of room."

Cordelia shook her head. "Sorry, no can do. That new job I told you about? It starts tonight."

"What?" Buffy asked as she saw her plan slipping away. "That soon? But it can wait till at least morning, right?"

"I'll lose my spot if I'm not there. This is my big break and I'm not giving it up. No way."

Frustrated, Buffy revised her plans. "Angel, why don't you go in the kitchen and get our guest something to eat? Like a sandwich? Take your time." She hoped he would take her words to heart. She needed to quiz Cordelia in his absence. "Well, what do you think?" she asked once she was sure he was out of hearing range.

Cordelia looked blank. "What do I think of what?"

"Of the reason I called you here. To check out Angel."

"Oh, that." Cordelia waved a dismissive hand. "He seems normal enough, for him. No need to worry."

"Are you sure? You haven't talked to him all that much yet. He's definitely been different since he came back here. He has mood swings and I can't put my finger on it but something about his behavior worries me."

"Oh, like he was never Brood Boy before?"

"Can vampires be manic-depressive?" Buffy wondered. "Oh, forget it. I'll have to leave you two alone without him wondering why so you can examine things more closely. And what happened to you, anyway? You took so long getting here after I called that I thought you got in a car accident on the way or something."

"Sorry, I didn't realize it was such a problem for you. I got an unexpected call to audition today and I figured you could wait a little longer."

"A phone call to tell me some of this would have been nice," Buffy pointed out.

"Well, I'm here now," Cordelia retorted.

The tension eased as Angel walked back into the room and set Cordelia's sandwich plate on the coffee table. "Peanut butter and jelly. Enjoy."

Buffy jumped up. "You know, I don't think a sandwich is enough food. I ought to go make Cordelia some coffee and soup. Keep her company while I'm in the kitchen." With that, she was gone.

*****

Angelus stared after Buffy. "What the hell...?"

"She wanted to leave us alone so I can talk to you in private," Cordelia explained. She lapsed into demon face with an expression of relief. "Thank God she went away. I don't know how much longer I could have held out."

Suspicion struck Angelus. "Spike did teach you how to control your face, didn't he?"

Cordelia avoided his gaze. "Um, sure."

"He didn't, did he? I knew I should have taught you myself instead of trusting him to take care of it."

"He got me to switch to human and then he told me he'd stake me if I slipped out of it in front of Buffy."

"I'm going to say the same thing to you now." Angelus growled in warning. "I've never turned a sorrier excuse for a vampire. Look, you're going to learn fast. And to be extra safe, when Buffy comes back in here, I'll make an excuse and leave the room. You tell Buffy I'm normal Angel and then get the hell out of here before you can ruin everything. Got it?"

"Fine with me. I know when I'm not wanted."

"That's new."

"Hey, none of this is easy on me," Cordelia whined. "Even just being around Buffy is tough. I really, really want to bite her."

Angelus nodded. "Understandable."

"Plus she makes me really uncomfortable, like my skin itches more and more the closer she gets to me."

"That's normal."

"So can I kill her?"

"No."

Cordelia pouted. "It's not supposed to work this way. You're even more of a stick in the mud when you're evil than when you're being good. That is *so* not fair."

"Deal with it. I have a plan, and nowhere does it involve you embedding even a tip of one fang in Buffy's neck. She is not for you."

"Fine." Cordelia stomped over, picked up the sandwich, and lifted the top piece of bread before she let it flop back down. "You could have at least spread a little blood on this so it'd be edible."

"You wanted me to bring you a peanut-butter-and-blood sandwich in front of Buffy?" Then Angelus considered. "Actually, that sounds like a pretty good combination. Might try it someday. But why are you so hungry? Didn't Spike feed you?"

"Yeah, but that was a whole half an hour ago and he didn't even let me kill the person. I want to be a *real* vampire, stalking and attacking and murdering dozens of people a night. Leaving a trail of destruction in my wake. Getting a cool name like the Scourge of Europe because everyone for miles around is terrified of me."

"If you tried any of that, you'd be dead again inside of a day. Being a scourge requires talent, resourcefulness, intelligence, and cunning. Among other things."

"I have all those things," Cordelia insisted. "And, I can act."

"In your nightmares. I'll settle for you fooling Buffy for tonight. Now let's practice some basics."

Angelus spent the next little while making Cordelia morph back and forth. It was amazing how much better she did when he added the appropriate motivation, like threats and pain, to the equation. See, all she needed was a little extra incentive, like a twisted wrist or a fist to the gut. It was quite simple, really. Cordelia was progressing nicely when Angelus heard the tell-tale signs of Buffy's return.

"She's coming. Change back," he warned.

Aided by a blow to the head, by the time Buffy returned with the soup and coffee, Cordelia had plastered on her human mask and was ready to confront her.

Generously making things easier on Buffy, Angelus quickly said, "I accidentally brought one of Cordelia's books with me when I packed to come to Sunnydale. Let me go upstairs and get it before I forget." His departure would, of course, provide sufficient opportunity for Buffy to pounce on Cordelia with her questions. Angelus sprinted upstairs, grabbed the first book he saw on the shelf, and loped back downstairs to eavesdrop. The first words he caught came from Cordelia.

"Look, Buffy, people change. Grow up and accept it. Angel was not going to stay the exact same forever. You're not the same as you used to be, either, you know, but you don't catch him asking me to check up on you."

"Well, you've changed less than I thought at first," Buffy replied with a decided snap to her voice.

"Don't be so sure."

Angelus had heard enough. Cordelia had told Buffy that "Angel" was okay. If he allowed her to keep talking, she might just blow the whole situation. He stepped back into the room, effectively halting the conversation between the women. "Here's your book, Cordelia." For the first time, he looked at the cover. He'd picked up Nietzsche's "The Birth of Tragedy." An unfortunate choice, given that he couldn't imagine Cordelia ever wanting to read it or even being able to correctly pronounce the author's name.

Buffy apparently shared his feelings, as she stared at the book and then at Cordelia. "You read that?"

"Oh, yeah, 'Nee-etz-skee,'" Cordelia sounded out as she accepted the volume, "is a great author. Thanks, Angel. Well, I gotta be on my way. Nice seeing you and all. I won't forget any of you once I'm famous." She swept out of the house before Angelus or Buffy could make a move to stop her, even if either of them had wanted to.

In her wake, Buffy shook her head and looked at the plate lying on the coffee table. "And she didn't even touch her sandwich."

Cordelia was undead and soon to be dust. The Initiative was in a state of chaos. Buffy had been tricked.

Angelus was having a particularly fine day. Well, night. He smiled.

Buffy looked at him strangely and he quickly lied, "I was just thinking about how great it was to see Cordelia again. I know it still seems hard to believe, but we developed quite a friendship while working together. She got off to a rocky start but working at Angel Investigations turned out to be good for her and she was an asset to the team."

"Right." Buffy looked a bit skeptical of Cordelia's value but she didn't comment further on it and instead went about the living room collecting the dishes. When she had all of them, she carried them into the kitchen, with Angelus following.

Angelus watched as Buffy threw away the food Cordelia hadn't even tasted. Then she took the pot of soup off the stove and went to pour the remains down the drain. He raised an eyebrow at this move. "There's plenty left. Aren't you going to have any?"

"No, I'm not hungry," Buffy replied, proceeding with the task. "Besides, it's probably terrible. You know I'm not much of a cook and I made this pretty fast."

"You were willing to inflict it on Cordelia," Angelus pointed out, trying to hide the admiration he felt.

"Oh. Well, you know," Buffy said, looking away. "It would have been rude not to offer her something."

"Even something that might have given her food poisoning?" Which sounded fitting, as far as Angelus was concerned.

Buffy slowly turned around to look at him.

He'd gone a little too far with that last comment, obviously. "Just joking. I'm sure you tried your best. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Cordelia, would we?"

Buffy nodded and finished up at the sink. "I'm going to go take care of my homework. You coming?"

"In a few minutes. I want to get a snack first." When Buffy had left, Angelus went over to the refrigerator and made himself a peanut-butter sandwich. After a little more thought, he carefully poured a cup of blood over it, saturating the bread. He'd earned a treat.

*****

Buffy managed to make some real progress on her homework for the first time in days. Cordelia's assurances had lightened the burden on her mind. She'd told Buffy what she had wanted to hear, and been quite firm about it. Buffy's suspicions had been groundless. She was even feeling guilty about having had doubts to begin with. Not guilty enough to confess to Angel, though. She wasn't sure how understanding he would be of the fact that she had gone behind his back to get answers from Cordelia rather than sharing her concerns with him. No, it was better that he didn't know.

Buffy set aside her completed World War II essay and winced as she recalled how pushy she'd been with Cordelia, to the point of offending her. Oh, well. Her intentions had been good, and she and Cordelia were never going to be best friends anyway. Then again, even a year ago the idea of Angel becoming any sort of friends with Cordelia would have seemed ridiculous and look at them now.

While she was thinking about Cordelia... if anything about her visit had seemed odd, it was her eagerness to leave. She'd acted like she couldn't get out of Sunnydale fast enough, though she'd had a reasonable enough excuse. She'd needed to get to her new job. That was perfectly understandable, at least if taken at face value. The thought did, however, lead Buffy on a tangent.

When Angel came back into the living room after finishing his snack, Buffy brought up the topic she'd been mulling over. "Angel? What sort of actress is Cordelia?"

"What do you mean?" he asked as he picked up her essay and skimmed it.

"Is she good? I mean, I wouldn't expect her to be Meryl Streep already, but is she decent?"

There was a pause before Angel said, "Her style is very interesting. I've never seen anything else quite like her onstage."

"She must be pretty good, I guess. I mean, she got a job with this touring company and from what she said, it sounded like they were looking for a while before they picked her so it's not like they were willing to take just anyone. I hope she keeps in touch while she's away. When people leave Sunnydale, sometimes you don't hear much from them." Buffy thought of her father and Oz.

Angel was briefly silent and at first she thought he hadn't been paying attention to her latest ramble. Then she realized that the subject appeared to cause him pain. He finally said, "You could be describing me. I tried to give you space for your own good but I've learned my lesson. Believe me, you'd have a hard time getting rid of me now."

"As opposed to Cordelia, who couldn't run out of her fast enough," Buffy said ruefully. "But it was her big chance. And what could I say to her? Drop us a postcard sometime if you're not too busy becoming a star?"

"I doubt Cordelia will ever become so big-headed from fame that she'll forget about us little people," Angel replied. "I just don't see her future heading that way." He handed back the essay with several corrections scrawled across it.

"Thanks." Buffy pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and began a rewrite, while Angel resumed reading a huge old demonology text he'd been plowing through for days. Soon Buffy's pen began to move more and more slowly across the page. She'd lost interest in the topic and her mind wandered to other concerns. She wondered what her mother was doing, or Giles, or Xander or even Anya. She'd more or less made up with Willow. Surely the others would be willing to come around, now that they'd had some time to get used to the idea of her being with Angel again.

Unable to continue with her school work while these thoughts nagged at her, Buffy came to a decision. She was going to make another attempt to reconcile with her mom and her friends, as soon as she figured out the best way to approach them.

Scrape.

Bump.

Clatter.

These sounds would have gone unnoticed by most individuals, they were so quiet. But Angelus, who possessed exceptional hearing and also happened to be lying awake in bed despite the fact that dawn was looming, did hear them.

He quickly got out of bed, threw on some clothes, and crept toward the stairs, warily listening all the way. He had his reasons for not waking Buffy, who remained obliviously sleeping.

Down the stairs, a few more steps, then into the living room, and there it was. Angelus had found the source of the noise. It was Spike, invading the peace of his home once more. He had settled onto the sofa with a mug of blood and had flicked on only one lamp to provide minimal lighting.

"Spike, what the hell are you doing here now?" Angelus demanded in a low voice that nevertheless managed to convey his irritation.

Not seeming to notice or care that his presence was undesired, Spike replied, "I wanted to find out how things went. If Cordelia managed to trick the Slayer."

Angelus relaxed slightly and dropped into the chair nearest to Spike. "Didn't Cordy tell you what happened when she met with you afterwards?"

Spike shrugged. "Yeah, said she put on a masterful performance, deserved the vampire version of an Oscar, that sort of thing. Nothing I haven't heard the likes of before. What I want is the truth."

Reassured when he could detect no signs of Buffy stirring, Angelus settled in for a talk. "Under my direction, she managed to do a credible job. I consider it a success. Though if I hadn't been around to monitor, we would have had yet another disaster on our hands. Instead of tricking Buffy, Cordelia wanted to try to kill her."

"My kind of vampire," Spike said with obvious approval.

"What?" Angelus stared at him. "You must be joking. I'm almost ashamed to have turned the bitch. She's an embarrassment to the family name. The only good thing about her continued existence is the fact that I can kill her again, now that she's fed her lies to Buffy and outlived her usefulness. So where is she, anyway?"

"Oh. About that." Spike glanced away and took a sip of blood. "She's an actress, right. So I got an idea about what to do with her. A good idea, mind."

Angelus glared at him. "This already sounds bad. What, exactly, did you take it upon yourself to do without my permission, knowledge, or approval?"

"There's such a thing as a demon acting troupe that crosses the country every year, and Cordelia's traveling with it," Spike said in a rush.

"So that's why she still didn't know how to morph by the time she showed up here to talk to Buffy?" Angelus demanded. "Because during the time you were supposed to be teaching her, instead you were arranging an acting job for her?"

"Yeah, and it wasn't easy. I had to call in some favors and threaten five demons before they agreed to take her on," Spike informed him. "They were just leaving Los Angeles last night. Perfect timing."

"Shit." Angelus reined in his fury and took two deep breaths, trying to make himself calm down. True, he was pissed that he'd been cheated of the pleasure of offing Cordelia for the second time. On the other hand, throttling Spike on the spot wouldn't help him.

While Angelus was still getting his emotions under control, Spike continued to speak. "'Sides, it's not like it'll affect anything. The Slayer won't be alive much longer anyway. Seems like this is the right time to kill her."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Angelus snapped, his attempt to control his temper failing spectacularly. "I'm not nearly ready to make such a drastic move."

Spike snorted. "And you never will be unless you follow my lead. You're procrastinating. Have been for ages. Fact is, I'm sick of waiting. It's all I've been doing, that and being your errand boy, and it wasn't fun even in the beginning."

"Spike, what we have here is a massive failure to communicate. Now, listen carefully, and remember what I'm about to say, because it's simple. I am in charge. I have always been in charge. Whatever I say goes."

Spike's eyes narrowed and turned amber as he shifted to game face. "About time I got more of a say, isn't it? Been here doing your dirty work and following your orders for too long."

Angelus also morphed. "Some of us are meant to be leaders, and some of us are meant to be followers. Keep that in mind."

He thought the matter was settled when Spike nodded and shifted as if to back down, but in the next second realized he was wrong. Instead of giving in as usual, Spike leaped up and bolted for the stairs. He was closer to them than Angelus and also had the element of surprise, which gave him a significant lead.

Angelus immediately pursued him. If Spike reached the top of the stairs first, he would have access to the sharp ornamental sword hanging on the wall there and he could easily fight off any challenges. They raced up the stairs, Angelus gaining slowly but Spike still holding a clear lead. He was almost at the top. Angelus took the only option open to him. He lunged forward, grabbed Spike by one ankle, and pulled. Together, they slid all the way down the stairs to land with a crash at the bottom.

Spike recovered from the impact first and gouged at Angelus' eyes. Angelus quickly punched him in the gut, and Spike kicked him in the shin in retaliation. They briefly scuffled, neither gaining a real advantage, until Angelus deliberately turned onto his back. Spike closed in, trying to get within biting range. Before he could move into position, Angelus kicked him in the stomach with both legs, sending Spike into the wall behind them.

Rather than continue the fight on the ground floor, Angelus struggled to his feet and ran up the stairs to take up a defensive position. If Spike tried to get past him, he would have a very difficult time of it. They eyed each other, Spike glowering from the base of the stairs and Angelus blocking his path.

"Leave town now, Spike," Angelus ordered. "I won't warn you again."

"Fine, mate." Spike contemptuously spat a mouthful of blood onto the carpet. "You're on your own. You've just lost yourself one partner. Mark my words, you'll regret this night's work."

"I'll take that chance."

They bristled at each other from opposite ends of the stairs, but the standoff was broken when Buffy's sleepy voice called, "Angel? Where are you?"

He switched back to his human face in case she came into the hallway and turned his head to answer. "Right here."

Her voice got louder, like she was moving toward the bedroom door. "What was that noise?"

"I dropped something."

"It must have been big," Buffy replied.

"Oh, it was." Angelus glanced down the stairs, only to see that Spike had vanished. Good. He had done the smart thing. Knowing he couldn't beat both Buffy and Angelus, he had run. Even at that moment, he must be thinking of the nearest place he could hide his ass while the sun was up. He probably had all of 15 minutes to find a suitable location or he'd burn.

The bedroom door clicked open, and Buffy poked her head into the hallway. "Come back to bed, Angel. You're going to need all the rest you can get. Remember, I 'm going to try to make up with my mom tonight, and I want you to be there."

"Right," Angelus replied, taking one last look down the stairs. He didn't have time to pursue Spike, plus he was hoping his warning would work and Spike would leave on his own that evening. He wouldn't go off and do anything reckless instead, would he?

Wait. Who was he kidding? This was act-first, think-later Spike, who had the least patience of anyone Angelus knew. Not staking him might have been a big mistake. Angelus only hoped Spike would leave quietly and not cause him any more trouble, but he was already developing serious doubts.

The following afternoon, Angelus thought long and hard about how he could best sabotage Buffy's attempt to reconcile with her mother that evening. He didn't want the two to connect but he wasn't sure how he could ruin the meeting without getting the blame for it. He finally decided that he would just have to go with Buffy, behave while she was around, and hope a prime opportunity to cause trouble would present itself. Joyce didn't even know they would be coming over, so they were likely to upset her merely by showing up in the first place.

Buffy had gone back to school that morning and arranged to meet him just after dusk at her mom's so they could go in together. She had said it was so they could present a united front and show her mother they were there as a team. The time crawled nearer, and Angelus began to brace himself for what might well be an excruciating evening spent making nice with the bitch. He wasn't resigned to the situation, but he was at least prepared for it, when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" he answered cautiously. Buffy was the only one he could think of who would be calling him, considering that he was on the outs with Spike and Cordelia was out of his hair.

"Angel," Buffy, as expected, replied. "I wanted you to know, I'm going to be late tonight. I got a message that one of my professors wants to talk to me so I won't be able to make it to my mom's on time. How about we meet an hour after sunset instead?"

"Sounds good," Angelus agreed, for once being honest. The bonus hour would allow him time to cook up a sufficiently evil plot. He mused over his options until he was satisfied that he had come up with a suitable approach. He would go to see Joyce on his own before Buffy arrived. He would then insult and/or frighten her before leaving to meet Buffy. Of course, when she showed up and tried to enter the house with him, Joyce would probably simply slam the door in their faces. Even if she did complain about how Angelus had seen her alone first, he could either deny the entire accusation or else dispute key parts of the story. Who would Buffy believe: her "loving" boyfriend or her bitchy mom? He was the clear choice.

When it came time to leave, the evening was cool and pleasant. Angelus opted to walk to Revello Drive so he could grab supper along the way. After a pit stop to dine on a teenage Stop 'n Shop employee, he continued on his way and soon arrived outside the house. He paused, then rang the doorbell.

No answer.

He rang again, and again. Still no one came. With a shrug, Angelus tried the door. The house was unlocked. He promptly let himself in. If Joyce happened to be home already, she would be pissed that he had entered without her permission. If she wasn't around, when she did show up she would be pissed that he had made himself at home. Either way, he won.

He cocked his head and concentrated. She must not be home. He'd thought he'd sensed a heartbeat as he stood on the doorstep but it must have been coming from a neighbor's house instead. Too bad. It would be most convenient if she showed up before Buffy, though, so he could torment her a bit.

Angelus glanced around. In the brief time that he had, what could he do that would most annoy the witch? Maybe if he....

He stopped thinking and his nostrils flared; he smelled blood. Fresh, luscious blood calling out to him. The smell came from the kitchen. Angelus followed it.

The kitchen door was closed. He pushed it open, took a step inside, and stopped dead. What the hell? A stunning sight met his eyes: Joyce's limp, lifeless body, blood still trickling from the puncture wounds in her neck, was propped up against the counter. The back door was wide open. Angelus ran over and looked outside. "Shit!" he yelled. Spike, already several houses away, was sprinting toward the safety of his parked DeSoto. He was almost there already. Trying to follow him would do no good; Angelus knew he couldn't catch up before Spike took off, and he had no chance of outrunning a speeding vehicle.

With a growl, he retreated inside the house. "Dammit, Spike. I wanted to be the one to kill her." He'd thought Spike was sure to leave town after last night, but the bastard couldn't go quietly, could he? He'd just put a major dent in Angelus' grand schemes. Although, Angelus was reluctantly forced to admit, this fact in itself was rather admirable. Spike had obviously learned from the master.

And all might not be lost. Joyce's death had been in the works for a while. True, Angelus had not expected to kill her for some time yet, but he had always known she had to die. Spike had merely accelerated matters, not to mention how he had robbed Angelus of the pleasure of committing the act. Still, it was no use crying over spilled blood.

Somewhat calmed, Angelus paced over and examined the body. The wound was clear evidence of the cause of Joyce's demise. For those who knew of the existence of vampires, there would be no convincing them that her death had been due to anything else. Buffy would immediately see the truth. Angelus would have to leave, "innocently" meet with her, go inside the house at the same time, and pretend to be shocked and dismayed by Joyce's horrific death. His game plan had to be altered.

Oh, well. He couldn't change what had happened. For instance, Joyce was already dead, and freshly so. There was certainly no sense in letting decent blood go to waste. Angelus bent his head and began to drink.

Buffy walked in.

TBC