The Wishverse Chronicles

by hgh

The Buffy from the Wishverse gets pulled into Sunnydale. After the initial confusion gets sorted out, she returns to her own universe and her duty as the Slayer there.

2. The Winter Brunch

The Winter Brunch

Disclaimer: all characters are borrowed from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer

* * 1 * *

Buffy sprawled in her chair looking up at Wesley pacing the length of the guestroom at the Marston Arms with a closed expression on her face. "I know you didn't want me to come to Sunnydale, but since I am here, it's my duty as a Slayer to get this place into some kind of order before moving on. This place's infestation of demons is even worse than the one we cleaned out in Manhattan. From what Giles told me, it is the proximity of the Hellmouth. It acts like a magnet for Evil."

Her Watcher stopped and pivoted to face her squarely. "I don't want you to have any further contact with Mr. Giles. He was thrown out of the Watchers over two years ago, and for good reason!"

"Fine. Then you tell me where all the different demons are holed up." Buffy sighed.

"Well, I..." Wesley went on the defensive, "I will have to do some research first. I have no information about Sunnydale. It will take me a little time to prepare..."

"So why not take advantage of Giles knowledge of this place? He has been fighting here for the last two years; he should have a pretty good idea of what nasties live where." Buffy suggested reasonably. "And the more accurate my information, the sooner I will be able to move on to Cleveland or wherever else they need the Slayer next."

Wesley mulled that over for a few moments. "I will have to inform the Council and see what they have to say..."

"You do that." Buffy said, getting up from her chair. "In the meantime I'll talk to Giles and ask him to make a list of nasties and their locations."

"Wait! I still have more questions about what happened last night!" Wesley pointed out.

Which was the main reason Buffy wanted to leave. She had been entirely truthful about her fight at the factory, but she had decided not to tell Wesley about her five-day vacation in the other Sunnydale. She hadn't even told Giles more than the basics, and he had been personally involved in both worlds. "I don't think there is any more to tell. You can always talk to Oz and the other people that where there," she said, knowing full well how much he disliked talking to civilians.

To her surprise he actually took her up on the suggestion. "Yes, I guess I should do that. They are a part of these 'White Hats' that Mr. Giles has organized to help him fight the minions of Evil around here, are they not? They can act as your support team until we can get a Watcher Swat team here."

"I told you before: I don't want a support team." Buffy told him flatly.

Wesley took off his glasses, pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned them before answering her. "I don't understand you. You worked with a team under your previous Watcher. Very successfully, too, if I may add."

Buffy automatically clamped down on the pain that surfaced at every mention of her previous Watcher and her team of demon fighters. "I got them all very successfully killed, you mean. I am supposed to save people's lives, not let them die in my stead!"

"We are fighting a war. In wars people die." Wesley reminded her.

"Not if I can help it." Buffy said quietly.

* * * * *

Oz was sitting on one corner of the table in Giles living room idly strumming his guitar thinking about the strange events of the night before. It had started when they had rescued Cordelia from Xander and Willow. He still found it hard to believe that she had been out after dark in a shiny blue dress that just screamed 'bite me' to any vampires around. Of course the vampires had taken her up on the invitation rather quickly. He and Larry had taken her body to the incinerator that same night.

So, just imagine his surprise when he saw her walking the school hallways this morning as if nothing had ever happened to her. He would have to tell Giles about that one.

He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to find the Slayer's vampire partner standing in the hallway leading into the rest of the house. Strange to think of a vampire as anything but an enemy, but without his and the Slayer's help he would undoubtedly be dead by now.

They just looked at each other for a few minutes before Oz finally broke the silence. "Well, you look a lot better than yesterday. Which reminds me: There are some leftovers from the Master's machine in the fridge. Maybe you should eat before the others get here. They might get a little freaked by your diet."

The other nodded and soundlessly disappeared into the kitchen. Strange character that, Oz thought. Almost as strange as his name. Who would ever think to name a vampire Angel?

Angel was still in the kitchen when the door opened to admit Larry, Amy, Sandy, and to Oz' surprise her brother Owen.

"I see you dragged your brother along." Oz greeted the brown-haired girl.

With a snort the girl jumped up on the table next to Oz. "Actually it was the other way around. I think my big brother has a serious crush on the new girl that came to our rescue."

"I do not! Can't a guy be concerned about his little sister? You did get kidnapped by a bunch of vamps yesterday," Owen defended himself.

"Oh, so you asked her to the Winter Brunch out of pure gratitude for saving poor little me?" Sandy needled him. "I am soo moved." Sandy put a hand over her heart and blinked up at her brother with a soulful expression on her face.

Owen shrugged a slight flush creeping up his neck. "I was just trying to make her feel welcome. The longer she stays the better for all of us. I mean, come on! She took out the Master!"

Oz saw Amy shift, clearly unhappy with the topic of conversation. She had had a crush on Owen for about a year now, ever since he had stepped in and prevented a bunch of high school jocks from beating her up for being a witch. Not that Owen ever seemed to see her as anything but his little sister's friend.

Larry got a piece of wood from the pile in the corner of the living room, picked up a knife and began to whittle it into a stake. "She certainly can fight." He agreed with Owen. "We should take advantage of her being here and go after some of the tougher demons. If we work together, maybe we can make a dent in the local monster population."

The door opened and Giles entered talking to someone following him. "I really wish you'd reconsider. You should accept any help offered you. We all have some experience fighting these things. It's not like we don't know what we'd be getting ourselves into. And Amy is quite powerful as a witch. There have been quite a few occasions where one of her spells saved the day."

Buffy followed him into the room a stubborn expression on her face. "Look, its *my* job to fight these creatures, and I prefer to fight alone."

"But you said yourself yesterday that you might not have been able to beat the Master and free all those people without Angel's and Oz' help!" Giles countered.

"It is one thing to accept someone's help when you are trying to save them. It's something altogether different to endanger their lives for no good reason." Buffy stated flatly.

"Ridding the world of monsters sounds like a pretty good reason to me." Sandy chimed in.

"Yeah," Larry agreed, "and there is safety in numbers. We can protect each other."

Oz watched a pained expression flicker across the Slayer's face. "When I am out there, I need to be able to concentrate on killing demons. Having you around would just be a liability. I can't be distracted by having to protect civilians. I won't be responsible for your deaths."

That silenced them all as effectively as a bucket of cold water. Buffy looked at them all in turn, her face an emotionless mask, but when her eyes met Oz' he thought he saw an old pain hidden in their depths. She turned back to Giles. "You said that you had a map?"

Wordlessly Giles handed her a folded map of Sunnydale. One of several they used to keep track of where the different demons made their homes.

Buffy nodded her thanks and made her way out the door. As she left, Oz saw Angel detach himself from the shadows and follow her, scooping up a couple of stakes as he passed next to Larry. He saw the others jump as they noticed the presence of the vampire for the first time.

Owen scowled as the door closed behind Angel. "What's so special about him that he gets to go with her?" he wanted to know.

Oz and Giles exchanged a look, but neither of them felt like explaining to Owen what made Angel different from the rest of them.

"So, what do we do now?" Amy wanted to know. "Should we just go home?"

"She does have a point." Giles came to Buffy's defense. "I have never liked putting any of you kids in danger."

"Giles, just being alive puts us in danger." Oz reminded him. "Personally I'd rather go down fighting, than being slaughtered like sheep. Which is what almost happened yesterday."

"Just because she doesn't want to take us along, doesn't mean we can't go out on our own like we usually do." Larry stated.

"We'll show her that we aren't a liability. We can take care of ourselves!" Owen declared.

Oz looked at Owen a little surprised. He had helped out every once in a while, mostly to try and protect his little sister, but Owen had never really been all that interested in going out and fighting the creatures of the night. He even had repeatedly tried to talk Sandy into just staying at home after dark where it was safe.

"Yes, well, be sure that you *do* take care." Giles said dryly. "I don't think she would be terribly impressed if you got yourselves killed."

* * * * *

As she staked the last two vampires, Buffy was getting the feeling that this last group had been leading her into a distinct direction. So when she entered the next intersection she wasn't surprised to find a group of maybe fifteen vampires appearing out of the shadows to form a loose circle around her. She quickly raised her double load crossbow and let her last two arrows hit home. The clatter as she dropped the now useless bow was unnaturally loud in the stunned silence that followed the scream of two of her attackers exploding into dust.

A big beefy vampire wearing a light blue jacket with oversized lapels that looked straight out of the disco era took a swaggering step forward. "Oh, poor little Slayer is out of arrows! Too bad. Time to die now."

Buffy pulled out a stake and set herself for the coming fight. "I took out your Master in his own factory, you think I can't take a measly dozen of his hench-vamps?" Five more figures silently stepped out of the shadows, and Buffy felt her hopes of survival dwindle. Seventeen to one. Not good at all.

Suddenly another shadowy figure dropped soundlessly from an overhanging tree branch. Buffy spun around to stake the new arrival. She stopped herself barely in time.

"Don't do that! You were almost wearing this." She told Angel shaking her raised stake at him.

"Well, lookee who's here." Disco boy chimed in. "Willow's little puppy! You should be careful when taking in strays, Slayer. His type will turn on their Master."

"I guess you would know all about that." Buffy sneered. "Did you work up enough courage yet, or do you need to waste more time on pointless insults first?"

Disco boy rushed her with an inarticulate scream. Buffy took a hold of one of his arms as she stepped out of the way of his rush and sent him flying into two other vamps coming up behind her. Two hands covered her face from behind only to disintegrate into dust, making her sneeze as Angel put one of his stakes to good use. Buffy took a hold of another vampire and sent her flying, bowling down a trio trying to rush Angel, then staked another one trying to tackle her from behind. Two more screams of dust told her that Angel was holding his own as well.

Then two vampires managed to pin her between them while a third tried to close in for the kill. Leaning back on the vamps holding her, Buffy swung both her feet up and kicked the third one hard in his chest, then tried to twist herself free. Noticing a broken branch sticking out from the tree behind her she managed to impale her right hand attacker on it then swung her stake around to dust the other one. Before any others had a chance to attack her, she turned and buried her stake in two more vampires, too intent on Angel to pay her any attention, then she had to turn back to her own defense. A few minutes and five dust screams later the remaining vampires decided to hightail it out of there.

Breathing hard, Buffy leaned her back up against the tree and turned to Angel. "I thought I told you guys to stay inside where it's safe! I don't want any more people dying in my place."

Angel just handed her her crossbow. "No need to worry about that with me."

"Overconfident much? You can die just like anybody else." Buffy reminded him.

"I died over two hundred years ago," Angel shrugged.

"That's walking around, sucking blood dead. I'm talking about crumbling to dust, blowing away dead." Seeing the pained expression on his face before he turned away, Buffy regretted having put it that way, even though it was nothing but the truth. Her voice softening despite herself, she added: "I don't want to be responsible for your final death any more than for anyone else's."

Angel turned back to her. "Why? I'm a vampire; you're a Slayer. Why would you care?"

"Slayer's Handbook rule number five: Every souled person has a right to the Slayer's protection."

"I'm not exactly a person." Angel pointed out quietly.

"Close enough. Well, since you are here, you might as well tag along." She said pushing away from the tree. "And thanks for coming to my rescue, but I rather work alone."

"It's just as well that I followed you instead of the others. Seventeen to one are stiff odds, even for a Slayer."

Buffy stopped dead and turned to face him. "The others went out on their own? Why didn't you stop them!"

Angel raised an eyebrow at her. "And how would I do that? They have been going out almost every night for the last two years. Why should they stop just because there is a Slayer in town?"

"Do you know where they went?" When Angel nodded, she grabbed his arm and started hurrying him down the street. "Come on. We better find them before they get themselves into trouble!"

"Uh, Ms Summers?"

"What?" she asked impatiently. "And don't call me Ms. Summers. My Watcher calls me that when he is *really* upset with me. Call me Buffy."

"We're going the wrong way, Buffy. Oz and the others are that way." He said apologetically, pointing back over his shoulder.

"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?" She demanded, spinning around to start back the way they had come.

* * 2 * *

"I *am* going to the Winter Brunch!" Buffy told Wesley with a note of finality in her voice. "Ms Summers, as the Slayer you cannot afford to waste time on something as frivolous as a school dance! You should never have accepted the invitation in the first place." Her Watcher was getting more annoyed with every passing minute.

Buffy decided that it was time to change her approach. "Look, I've done as you asked and am using the White Hats as a support team." That should soften him up, as long as he didn't find out that she wasn't doing it because he had told her to, but to keep them safe, since they refused to stay out of the fighting. "My birthday is less then two weeks away. Look at it as an early birthday present. Besides, I have been dreaming of it for the last few nights. I *have* to go!" Before a botched spell had pulled her into an alternate reality, she had been doing her best to turn herself into a cold and unfeeling fighting machine. The five days she had spent with her alter ego in the other Sunnydale had shown her that a Slayer's life didn't have to be limited to fighting and dying, and she was determined not to lose herself again to the world of demons and darkness.

Wesley hesitated. "You have had dreams about this dance?"

Buffy nodded keeping her face carefully blank.

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Wesley asked and Buffy felt her hopes rising. "If the senior class is being threatened by the forces of evil, of course you need to be there to thwart them."

Buffy almost groaned. She was about to protest, when it hit her that he had actually agreed that she should go. Feeling a bit guilty about exploiting his misinterpretation of her remark, she nevertheless agreed quickly. "Exactly! And that means that I need to go to the mall and get a new outfit and shoes to fit the occasion." When Wesley opened his mouth to protest she added quickly, "For camouflage. I have to be able to blend in with the other kids there."

"Good point," Wesley admitted reluctantly. "I better go with you. We need to find you a dress you can fight in."

Buffy was not thrilled by the idea of going shopping with her Watcher. She could just picture the kind of dress he would pick for her. But rather then arguing, she just suggested: "I should probably ask Amy and Sandy to come along as well. I am a little out of touch when it comes to fashions."

"As you should be. A good Slayer doesn't give a thought to things like that." Wesley's superior tone was really starting to get on Buffy's nerves. Next he would start again on how she should be staying with him at the Marston Arms, saying that she was taking unfair advantage of Giles' hospitality. He did have a point. The small house was kind of crowded with both her and Angel staying there as guests. But staying with Wesley would mean having him breathing down her neck whenever she wasn't actually out on patrol. And that would quickly drive her out of her mind. She decided that it was time to take a look at the mansion on Crawford Street. She had liked staying there during her time in the other Sunnydale.

A smile played across her face as she remembered her time with the Scooby gang there. Her smile grew as she suddenly came up with the perfect way to distract Wesley and give her a little more breathing room. She just hoped that this world's Cordelia was still around and hadn't been turned into a vampire like Willow and Xander.

From what she had seen of the other Wesley, Cordelia should prove a very thorough distraction.

* * *

"Well then, how about that one?" Wesley asked pointing at a pink monstrosity with a flower print that Buffy wouldn't ask a scarecrow to wear. Pretending to give it serious thought, she picked it up and gave it a closer look before shaking her head regretfully. "No place to conceal a stake or other weapons."

Sandy quickly put up a hand to hide a smile. Buffy had found some rational objection to each of Wesley's choices and the Watcher was getting more than a bit frustrated.

"I guess that only leaves the green one then." Wesley concluded. "The skirt is full enough and short enough not to restrict your movements and there should be plenty of places to hide stakes and a knife in all those ruffles. Perfect!"

True, Buffy admitted, if you didn't mind that it was a hideous shade of pea green, or that all those ruffles would make her look like an advertisement for a curtain factory. "It doesn't fit." She told him firmly.

"How can you know that without trying it on?" Wesley demanded exasperated.

With a sigh Buffy took it from him, walked over to one of the mirrors by the dressing rooms and held it up in front of her. If anything it looked even worse than she had expected. The color gave her skin a sallow tint and all those ruffles made her look wider than she was tall.

"Oh, look everybody. It's the little Green Giant!" Buffy turned to see Cordelia coming out of the dressing room looking absolutely stunning in a cream-colored gown that cascaded down over her long slim legs like a foamy waterfall. Four other girls hovered in the background snickering at Cordy's remark.

"Hey guys, it's Snow White!" Sandy countered stepping up beside Buffy. "Where did you leave the rest of your seven dwarves?"

"Oh, ha-ha! Very funny." The blond girl behind Cordelia said. "If it isn't the dateless maiden society! Still haven't found any spells to make the boys actually notice you?"

Buffy saw Amy's eyes narrow in anger and stepped in quickly. "Actually we all *have* dates for the Winter Brunch, unlike some people, I'm sure."

"Let me guess," Cordelia's voice was dripping with sweetness, "you must be Buffy. I heard that Owen was playing the Good Samaritan by taking some ugly duckling to this dance. Just don't be disappointed if he doesn't stick with you for more than one dance. Pity only goes so far." With that parting shot Cordelia disappeared back into the dressing room. The other four girls followed, laughing at the joke.

So I'm an ugly duckling, huh? Buffy thought. Well, this duckling is about to turn into a swan! she decided angrily. She hung the green dress back on the closest rack and turned back to the others only to find Wesley standing motionless, staring after Cordelia. The sight of the spellbound expression on his face turned her anger into amused satisfaction, but it didn't change her resolve to outshine Cordelia.

"Let's look somewhere else." She said pulling on her Watcher's sleeve to get him moving. "And Wesley, I think it might be a good idea if you went to the dance as well. I might need your input on the situation."

"What?" Wesley asked slightly confused. "Oh, the dance. Yes, yes, may be I should come along." He agreed, throwing a look back over his shoulder in the direction of the dressing rooms. "As a chaperone, so to speak, - and to help you perform your duties as the Slayer."

"Great! Let's find you a tux!" Buffy said, leading the way into the next store.

While Wesley picked out his suit, the girls looked through the dresses. Buffy found several that would have been acceptable, but she was no longer willing to settle for acceptable. She had almost given up when she spotted a blood red dress almost hidden at the back of the store.

With a satisfied smile she held it up in front of her. She loved the feel of the smooth silk, and the full skirt, cut long in the back but coming up above her knees in the front, would allow her plenty of freedom to move and fight if she had to. Her reverie was interrupted by her Watcher's sharp voice. "No, absolutely not! There is no way that you'll blend in wearing that! The color alone is enough to attract the notice of any vampire or demon around."

"Well the dance is during the day, so it's unlikely any vampires will see me in this." Buffy countered reasonably. "And if this dress will attract any evil demon present to me, so much the better. It will save me the trouble of having to go look for it."

"This is plain foolhardy! No sane person would wear that shade of red!"

"Which is probably why it's been marked down so much. This will leave us more money for all the other things I need." Buffy pointed out practically.

"Other things? What other things?" Wesley asked weakly.

"Oh, shoes, make-up, a couple stilettos and arm sheathes to fit under the sleeves, some matching jewelry... you know, girlie stuff."

* * * * *

Oz ran his finger around the inside of his collar in an effort to work some of the stiffness out of it, but only managed to skew his tie. With a long-suffering sigh he did his best to straighten it. Looking up he found Angel watching him with something close to amusement lighting his eyes.

"You have no idea how lucky you are you don't have to go to this thing." He told the vampire.

"If you hate it so much, why did you agree to go?" Angel was busy carving wooden stakes for tonight's patrol.

Oz shrugged. "Sandy managed to talk Larry into taking her. Owen is taking Buffy. It would have been unfair to leave Amy without a date. We White Hats need to stick together." He sat down next to Angel and picked up a piece of wood and a carving knife. "How long have they been at it?" he asked gesturing towards the back of the house.

It was Angel's turn to shrug. "The girls have been closeted in Buffy's room for over an hour. It can't be much longer."

"Haven't been dating much, have you?" Oz said dryly.

"Not lately, no." Angel answered.

Giles came out of the kitchen wearing a plain black suit and tie. "Hello, Oz. Where are the others? I thought they were coming with you."

"Owen and Larry went to pick up Wesley. Buffy talked him into coming."

"Buffy talked him into coming? I wonder why she would want to do that." Giles asked a bit surprised.

"Ask her." Oz shrugged.

The door to Buffy's room opened and Sandy and Amy came out just as Larry, Owen and Wesley came in from outside.

"Hey, you guys look sharp!" Owen exclaimed. "I almost didn't recognize either of you."

"Just wait till you see the dress Buffy is wearing!" Sandy told him.

"Yes, well, none of that is really important." Wesley interrupted them. "What is important is that there might well be serious trouble at the dance, and we have to be ready to deal with it. Amy, you reviewed those spells I showed you? Will you be able to cast them reliably?"

Amy gave Wesley a cold look. "Don't worry about me. I've done much more complicated stuff than..."

Oz was distracted from Amy's words when Angel's knife suddenly stopped in mid stroke. He looked over at the vampire to find him frozen in place, so stunned by whatever had caught his attention, he had even stopped breathing. Oz followed his look and felt slightly stunned himself.

It was clearly Buffy that stood silently in the doorway, but she looked completely different from the Slayer that went out on patrol with them every night. A pair of dark red slippers had replaced her heavy combat boots, and instead of her usual cargo pants and tank top, she was wearing a shiny silk dress falling in graceful folds around her slim figure. But the biggest difference was her face. Her soft blond hair hung open, framing a face that looked years younger with the scar artfully concealed. Her big, expressive eyes quickly scanned the room and came to rest on Angel's. Oz saw a slight flush color her cheeks before she quickly looked away and moved into the room to greet the others.

"Wow, Buffy, you look amazing." Owen greeted her.

"Thanks." Buffy answered, her blush deepening under her Watchers disapproving stare. "If everyone's ready, we better go. We don't want to be late and miss all the fun."

"Hmpf!" Wesley snorted. "You are going there because it is your duty as the Slayer to protect people," he reminded Buffy, "not to have fun!"

"I can't do both?" Buffy wanted to know.

* * 3 * *

Buffy tried to concentrate on the feel of Owen's arms around her and enjoy the dance, but thoughts of tonight's patrol and her duties as the Slayer kept intruding, making her feel slightly guilty to be here at all. The fact that she had basically tricked Wesley into agreeing to the day's entertainment by letting him think that she had had some prophetic dreams about a disaster at the Winter Brunch, didn't help either. With a sigh she stepped back as the song ended and Owen lead her off the dance floor.

"So, are you having fun?" Owen asked her.

"Yeah, it's... fun." Buffy answered without much enthusiasm. "Are you having fun?"

"How not? I get to dance with the most beautiful girl here. Even if she does seem a little distracted."

"I'm sorry." Buffy smiled up at him. "I guess I'm just not used to having fun anymore. It feels kinda strange. - You think I'm beautiful?"

"As does every other guy here, I bet. Hey, can I get you something to drink or eat? The Buffet is great. The Mayor himself arranged for the food."

"Sure." Buffy accepted his offer gratefully. "Just make it something sinful and fattening."

Buffy stood alone at the edge of the dance floor feeling awkward and conspicuous. Despite the satisfactory manner in which Cordelia had paled at the sight of Buffy on Owen's arm, she now regretted the impulse that had caused her to choose the dark red silk dress. It had been a long time, more than two years, since she had last been to a high school dance and she felt terribly out of place. In her memories it had been a lot more fun than this.

"Hey!" Amy came up next to her with Oz on her arm. "So what do you think of Sunnydale's lighter side? Probably pretty tame compared to what you're used to."

"Well, I'm not really used to going to dances. Though this one is better than he last one I went to."

"How so?" Oz wanted to know.

Buffy shrugged uncomfortably. "A bunch of vampires decided to crash the party. I ended up getting expelled for burning down the gym."

"Does disaster follow you everywhere you go?" Amy wanted to know.

"Ever since I became the Slayer it certainly seems that way," was Buffy's gloomy answer.

"So, where's your Watcher?" Oz tried to change the subject. "I kind of expected him to follow you around like a shadow, making sure you didn't accidentally have fun."

Thinking of Wesley brought a satisfied grin to her face. "Oh, he has fallen totally under Cordelia's spell. I don't think he has talked to me even once since she made her entrance."

"Cordelia, huh? Is that why you wanted him to come?" Oz wondered.

Buffy gave him a crooked smile. "Let's just say that I had a feeling that he might find her fascinating."

"A lot of boys seem to. She is almost a shoo-in for Winter Queen." Amy shrugged. "They'll be announcing the winner at the end of the dance."

Owen came back and handed Buffy a chocolate milkshake. "Sinful and fattening, as ordered."

"Food and drink in one," Buffy accepted it gratefully and took a sip, "and tasty. Can't ask for more than that."

"And Wesley wants to talk to you. I ran into him at the buffet." Owen told her with an apologetic smile.

"So much for your clever plan to keep Wesley off your back." Amy remarked, sounding almost happy.

"So much for trying to have any fun." Buffy said resigned. "Sorry Owen, but I better go see what he wants. He is my Watcher."

* * *

She found Wesley standing at the end of the Buffet table in front of the hallway leading to the restrooms wringing his hands with impatience. "Finally!" He greeted Buffy.

"What's up?" Buffy wanted to know.

"I think something terrible has happened to Cordelia. She has locked herself into the bathroom and won't let anyone else in," Wesley told her.

"Maybe she found a run in her stocking?" Buffy suggested.

"Do be serious!" Wesley reproved her. "Just listen to those noises she is making!"

Buffy cocked an ear towards the bathroom and nodded agreement. "You're right. Much too distressed for a run stocking. Sounds more like she discovered a zit on her face."

"Will you just go check on her?" Wesley asked impatiently.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going." Buffy sighed.

A quick twist and a shove dealt with the locked door, but what she found inside surprised even Buffy. Cordelia stood in front of the mirrors, both hands firmly pressed over her mouth, a slightly crazed expression in her eyes. Probably caused by the ten to fifteen frogs of different colors that were clinging to her gown.

"Wow, way to accessorize Cordelia." One of the frogs dropped off Cordelia and hopped over towards Buffy who flicked it away with a well-aimed kick of her toe. It hit the wall with an audible splat, but instead of falling to the floor dead, it just picked itself up and again hopped towards Buffy.

Seeing that more drastic measures were needed to stop this amphibian menace, Buffy pulled out one of her stilettos and skewered it neatly through the head. To her surprise this caused it to disappear in a little puff of smoke.

"Now there is something you don't see frogs do every day." Buffy said slightly taken aback.

"Mmmh!" One hand still firmly pressed over her mouth, Cordelia was gesturing wildly at the remaining frogs.

"Hold on, I'll have you defrogged in a minute." Buffy told her.

After the last frog had disappeared in a puff of smoke, Buffy turned back to a slightly less frantic looking Cordelia. "Now, would you mind telling me how come you're such a frog magnet?"

"Mmmh mmmh mm!"

"Can't understand a word you're saying like that." Buffy told her pulling Cordy's hand away from her mouth.

"No! Don't!" Buffy stared fascinated as two frogs dropped from Cordelia's mouth to the floor only to turn around and start climbing up a frantically squirming Cordelia, who once again had one hand firmly planted over her mouth.

"Well, I guess that explains it." Buffy said while quickly dispatching the new arrivals. "I think we need to call in the cavalry on this one." When she saw Cordelia shake her head frantically, she added: "This is really not my area of expertise. You want to be able to talk without it raining frogs, we'll have to tell someone who knows a bit more about magic than I do."

After a moment Cordelia gave her a reluctant nod.

* * * * *

"But why won't you tell me what is going on?" Oz heard Wesley's voice and turned around to see him, Buffy, and of all persons Cordelia walking towards them.

"Look, Wesley, it'll be much easier if I only have to explain it once."

Oz thought she looked rather amused as she turned to ask them. "Where is Giles?"

"I think he is in the library. He wanted to check something in one of his books." Amy told her.

"Okay, I guess the library is as good a place as any for this." She turned to go, but stopped as something occurred to her. "Are there any unused aquariums around here we could borrow?"

"Yeah," Oz told her, "I think there are a couple in the science lab."

"You think you could bring one to the library?" Buffy asked him. "And we need a screen or something for a lid, so they can't get out."

"So what can't get out?" Owen wanted to know.

"You won't believe it until you see it for yourself." Buffy was openly smiling now while Cordelia looked like she wanted to strangle her.

Oz turned to Owen and shrugged. " Let's go get one then. The sooner we get it to the library, the sooner we'll find out what's going on."

Oz and Owen arrived at the library to find Cordelia pacing back and forth looking ready to murder something, while the others were staring open-mouthed at Buffy.

"So, every time she says something frogs start to appear?" Giles asked. Buffy nodded. "And they disappear in a puff of smoke when killed?" Again Buffy nodded.

"Doesn't sound like any spell I ever heard of." Amy said.

"No," Giles agreed, "You killed all the frogs? It might help if we had one of them to study."

"That's what the aquarium is for." Buffy nodded towards Oz and Owen. "Care to fill it up, Cordelia?" Cordelia just glared at Buffy. "Oh, come on, don't be shy!" Buffy told her.

"I don't know. I kind of like the idea of Cordy having to keep her mouth shut." Sandy said thoughtfully. "Do we have to cure her? A silent Cordy would be a big improvement. It might even make up for her non-existent fashion sense. She probably gets her clothes at S-Mart's leftover clearance sales. I mean, just look at what she is wearing right now..."

This last proved too much for Cordy. "Shows what you know! This is a one of a kind... argh!"

Sandy grinned as frogs dropped to the floor. "Thought that would work."

"Wow. Those are some weird looking frogs." Oz said.

"Yeah, I bet you could make a pretty penny selling them to the local pet shop." Sandy threw in. "Are you sure you want us to break this spell? You could have a great future as a supplier of exotic pet frogs."

"You..."Cordy started incensed, but quickly slapped both hands over her mouth to stop more frogs from appearing.

Buffy and Giles carefully picked the frogs off Cordy's dress and deposited them in the aquarium.

"These really are rather remarkable." Giles commented holding up a frog covered with purple, blue and yellow spots. "Amy, Owen why don't you take a couple down to the lab and run some tests to see what elements were used to conjure them up? That might give us a clue as to how to break the spell. The rest of us will see if there is any mention of a spell like this in any of the books."

* * *

"Ah!" Giles exclaimed coming down out of the stacks with a book in hands. "I believe I've found a fairly easy way to break the spell. One has simply to draw certain symbols into the air with a bundle of burning herbs and recite a short verse in Latin."

Cordelia looked at Giles with a horrified expression, then reached for a pen and paper.

"I believe I have all the needed ingredients for the spell at home." Giles announced, marking the place in the book with his finger.

"Great!" Buffy said. "Let's go to your place. Cordelia can break the spell, and we can all get back to the party before all the food is gone."

Cordy handed the piece of paper she had been writing on to Buffy, who read it out loud: "There is no way I'm going to hold some burning twigs. Do you have any idea what the smoke would do to my complexion? And how am I supposed to get the smell out of my clothes before I have to go up and accept the crown of Winter Queen?"

"It's your choice." Sandy told her with a heartless grin. "You either do the spell, or your acceptance speech will be truly memorable."

"She could use sign language." Oz suggested helpfully.

"Who understands sign language?" Sandy pointed out. "Besides, she gave away enough other stuff to get herself elected, why not use the frogs as party favors?"

"Don't you talk to her like that, young lady." Wesley came to Cordelia's defense. "Show some consideration for the acute distress from which this poor girl is suffering."

Sandy rolled her eyes up. "Yeah, whatever. Come on Larry, let's go tell Owen and Amy that we solved the problem and get back to the dance." With that she took a hold of Larry's arm and left the library.

Buffy was about to follow them, when her Watcher stopped her. "Buffy, now that we have identified the threat and are about to deal with it, there is really no reason for you to waste any more time there. I am sure you're eager to start preparing for tonight's patrol."

"But, - Owen - and how do we know that there isn't some demon or something just waiting to pounce on all those helpless teenagers?" Buffy objected. "I really think that I should stay until the end."

"I assure you that I looked the whole area over quite thoroughly, and there were no signs of any demonic threat." Wesley reassured her. "Besides, Amy is staying here, and with the spell I showed her she should be able to contain any threat until you can get there to deal with it in a more permanent fashion."

"But I didn't even get to finish my milkshake!" Buffy complained.

"We can pick up another one on our way out." Oz offered. "The Mayor really did go all out with the Buffet."

Wesley took off his glasses and slipped into the lecturing tone that always managed to get Buffy's hackles up. "This is precisely why I opposed your going in the first place," he told her earnestly. "You need to concentrate on your duties and not allow yourself to be distracted by inconsequentials." Buffy did her best to tune out the rest of his lecture as she followed him out of the library.

* * 4 * *

By the time they reached Giles' house, Buffy wanted nothing more than to get this whole thing over with, so she could go on patrol and get away from Wesley before she strangled him.

She hopped out of Oz' van and stormed into the house ahead of the others - only to freeze at the sight that met her as she entered the living room.

Dressed only in a pair of dark gray sweat pants Angel was flowing through a series of Tai-Chi like exercises, so intently concentrating on his movements he didn't notice that he was no longer alone.

"Well, hello salty... eek!" Cordelia broke off abruptly as frogs started to drop to the floor at her words.

With a resigned sigh Buffy pulled out her stiletto and waited for the frogs to climb up Cordelia's skirt. But to her surprise the frogs totally ignored her and instead made a beeline for Angel, who had turned around at the sound of Cordelia's voice. He tried to sidestep the frogs, but they only changed direction to follow him.

Buffy caught a hold of one, while the other began to climb up Angel's pants.

"Interesting." Giles commented. "Why would the frogs be drawn to anyone except Cordelia?"

Neatly dispatching her frog, Buffy shrugged. "Maybe they have a thing for the und - derdressed." She quickly changed what she was going to say, shooting an apologetic look up at Angel as she plucked the other frog off his leg.

"I am not underdressed!" Cordelia protested, causing more frogs to drop.

"No, no, of course not." Wesley reassured her. "You really look rather - splendid."

Giving Wesley a closer look, Cordelia opened her mouth to speak only to be forestalled by Giles: "Cordelia, we really don't need any more frogs, and I would prefer to get back to the dance before Principal Snyder notices that I deserted my post as official chaperone."

Seeing how little impression that argument made on Cordelia, Buffy decided to fall back on the methods Sandy had employed so successfully at the library and asked: "Who do you think will get crowned Winter Queen if you're not there?"

"They wouldn't!" Cordelia exclaimed, too upset to pay any attention to the frogs dropping from her lips. "Where is that spell?" She demanded of Giles, who handed her a sheet of paper. "Read this until you're sure that you will be able to say it without any mistakes. I'll get the herbs ready."

Seeing that Cordelia would do her part, Buffy looked around for the frogs only to spot the last one disappearing down the hallway. She followed them into Giles' den where she found Angel retreating wearily from the amphibian pursuit. As he passed a small table he scooped up the carving knife resting there amid some freshly carved stakes and stabbed the lead frog with enough force to sink the blade a good half inch into the floor. He quickly pulled it back out, ready to stab the next frog in line, only to find that the first one had not disappeared, but was still impaled on the knife's blade.

Drawing his lips back in disgust, Angel took another step back - right into the sunlight streaming in through a crack between the curtains. Giving a yelp of pain, he made a sideways leap that landed him up against the wall on top of his bed. His face morphed into his vampire visage and a menacing growl rose from his throat as he retreated to the farthest corner of the bed, brandishing the carving knife with its froggy decoration in front off him like a shield.

The sight of a big, strong vampire put to rout by a bunch of lowly frogs proved too much for Buffy. She burst out laughing.

Angel's reproachful look only caused her to laugh harder. "I am sorry!" She gasped. "But if you could just see yourself!" Wiping at the tears streaming down her face, she set about dispatching the frogs as they climbed up the sides of the bed and made their way towards Angel.

"I'm sorry." Buffy apologized again, having finally managed to stop laughing. "I've just never seen a vampire with frog-fear. Is that a common trait?"

Shifting back to his human guise Angel stepped of the bed, a rather sheepish expression on his face. "I don't have frog-fear." He told her defensively. "I had forgotten about the crack between the curtains. The frog not dying and then the sun burning my back just made me jump."

"And what an impressive jump it was." Buffy couldn't help herself from commenting with a smile. "But the frog not turning to smoke is rather strange." Buffy admitted with a frown. "Maybe they only go puff if you stab them in the head. The way vampires only go puff if you hit the heart." Slipping her stiletto back up into its arm-sheath, she gestured towards the knife in Angel's hand and asked: "Can I see that?"

He handed it to her without protest, seeming almost relieved to get rid of it. Buffy pulled the frog off and stabbed it neatly through the head with the carving knife. The frog let out a tiny squeak, but otherwise showed no reaction, and when Buffy looked at its back, she could see no evidence of where Angel had stabbed it before. "That is rather creepy." Buffy observed. "Come on, let's see what Giles has to say to this."

"You go ahead." Angel told her.

"I thought you weren't afraid of these frogs?" Buffy couldn't resist asking.

"I'm not." Angel told her firmly. "But I think it might be a good idea if I got dressed." he added, gesturing at his bare chest and feet.

"Oh. Well, I'll see you out there then." She said, quickly turning away to hide the blush creeping up her neck.

Buffy entered the living room to find Giles and Wesley in a heated argument over exactly how many sprigs of Sage should be included in the bundle of herbs, as well as the color and material of the ribbon used to tie it.

When the argument degenerated into over polite stiffness, she decided to step in before the two Englishmen resorted to fists to settle the matter. She stepped forward and brandished the frog, still impaled on the knife, under their noses, causing both men to take a startled step backwards.

"Ms. Summers, this is hardly the time for..." Wesley started annoyed, but Buffy interrupted him impatiently. "See this frog? It's not dead."

"I can see it's not dead. Why does that matter?" Wesley demanded exasperated.

"At a guess I would say because it has a knife sticking through its head?" Giles retorted dryly. At Wesley's blank look he added in the patient voice one would use to explain things to a slow child: "Because it didn't go puff like the others when Buffy stabbed it."

"Ah. Oh." Wesley managed nonplussed.

"Exactly." Buffy chimed in. "Now what I want to know is what happened to turn this guy into Super Froggy? Angel stabbed it clear through the back and now there isn't even mark there."

Giles took the knife from Buffy to take a closer look. "Very curious indeed."

"It doesn't look any different from any of the others." Wesley remarked skeptically.

"Not obviously so, no." Giles agreed absentmindedly.

"Excuse me?" Cordelia broke in impatiently. "Can we focus on what's important? I need to get rid of this spell so I can get crowned Winter Queen! Who cares why that icky frog is still alive as long as it stays away from me!"

With a longsuffering sigh Buffy pulled out her stiletto and set about decimating the horde of frogs hopping towards the back of Giles house as a result of Cordelia's outburst.

"Well, at least those frogs aren't invulnerable." Wesley pointed out as he watched them disappear in little puffs of smoke.

"Yes. I wonder..." Giles pulled the frog off the knife blade and held it out towards Buffy. "Buffy, would you mind taking a stab at this fellow here?"

Buffy had only gotten about half of Cordelia's newest production, but she obligingly turned to stab at the one in Giles hand.

"Just as I suspected!" Giles said as he watched the frog go up in smoke with obvious satisfaction. "Could I have a look at that knife of yours?"

Buffy handed it to him with a shrug.

Giles twisted it slowly in his hands. "This is clearly very old. I think that is some kind of inscription here on the blade."

"Looks a bit like runes." Wesley observed. "So it wasn't the frog that was different, it was the knife."

"In that case, could I borrow it for a moment?" Angel asked stepping out of the hallway with brightly colored frogs climbing up his usual combination of black jeans and dark shirt. Buffy suppressed a smile at the sight of the vampire covered in frogs; an expression of resigned disgust on his face. As Giles wordlessly handed over the knife, Buffy pulled out its twin, and between them they made quick work of the remaining frogs.

"I'll see what I can find out about the history of those knifes in my books." Giles told Buffy.

"And I'll see if there is any mention of them in the Council archives." Wesley immediately offered not to be outdone.

"Hello - o!" Cordelia interrupted. "Can we do this spell now?"

"Yes, let's." Buffy agreed. "I have slayed more then enough of these things for one day... and my work-day hasn't even started yet!"

* * *

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief when the spell went off without any more problems, but she soon found herself wishing that it hadn't worked as Cordelia seemed to try to make up for her relative silence by telling them exactly what she thought of this whole situation. Desperate to stem the flow of words she finally reminded Cordelia that she would miss the ceremony if she didn't get going soon.

"Oh, what time is it?" Cordelia asked, then continued before anyone could answer. "I am sure to have nightmares about this for *months*! I am so totally traumatized. What if those frogs had messed up my dress? I need some moral support when I go back to the dance." With that she turned towards Angel and laid a hand on his arm. "Will you take me?" She asked, leaning in close against him. "And I can't thank you enough for keeping those horrid frogs from climbing all over me!"

Buffy almost burst out laughing at Angel's startled expression. His looks around for help were met by a decidedly disapproving stare form her Watcher. Taking pity on him she stepped forward. "I am sure he would love to, but it is getting rather late. Why don't you let Wesley take you back to the dance? Angel and I really need to get ready for our patrol tonight."

"Oh, do you go out to fight against those creepy monsters?" She asked Angel. "That is so brave! It's been horrible. I can't even drive my own car to school anymore. And don't even get me started on the clothes! Do you go out every night? Maybe I could come and help."

"Why don't you talk to Wesley about that on your way to the dance?" Buffy broke in. "You wouldn't want to be late. And I am *sure* that Wesley will be more than happy to lend you all the moral support you need." Then she turned to Oz. "You'll take them back to the school in your van, right? *Please*!"

Oz gave her a reassuring smile even as Cordelia finally turned from Angel to Wesley. "You go out and fight these demons, too? That sounds kind of exciting and sexy. But isn't it dangerous?" she asked him.

"Yes, well, of course." Wesley told her as he led her out the door. "But that would never be enough to stop me. I laugh in the face of danger."

Buffy rolled her eyes as she watched the others head out the door and muttered under her breath: "And isn't it strange how laughter can sound a lot like terrified screaming sometimes?" With a sigh she added: "I guess, I'll go get changed."

"You're not going back to the dance?" Angel asked her.

"Now that the horror threatening the senior class has been identified as Ms. Cordelia Chase, the Slayer has no more business being there." She tried to keep her tone light to hide her disappointment, but some of it must have come through, because Angel gave her a long searching look before asking quietly: "But what about Buffy Summers?"

Buffy shrugged uncomfortably and looked away. "Sometimes I think Buffy Summers died the day Merrick found me. In her stead there is this thing called a Slayer; walking around in my body, killing vampires, ridding the world of evil." She swallowed against the tightness in her throat. "And compared to that what does Buffy Summers matter?" she added, her voice little more than a harsh whisper.

She felt Angel's hands settle hesitantly on her shoulders, but refused to look up at him until his hands tightened and shook her gently. "Buffy Summers matters." He told her sincerely, his eyes looking deeply into hers. "The Slayer is *what* you are. But Buffy Summers is *who* you are. Don't give up on her." He hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and added softly: "It is Buffy Summers that matters to Owen, not the Slayer."

Buffy felt his concern envelop her like a warm blanket and almost stepped closer, for a moment tempted to lean on his offered strength, to take refuge in the safety of his arms wrapping around her, shutting out the horrors of her world. Instead she forced herself to straighten up and step back. "I don't think Owen has the slightest idea who Buffy Summers really is." She determinedly ignored the hollow feeling in her stomach as his hands dropped off her shoulders, reminding herself firmly that that was a vampire standing in front of her. "Not that I am all that sure who she really is myself anymore." She added. In her mind's eye she saw the Buffy of the other Sunnydale. Was that who Buffy Summers really was? In some ways her twin self had been more alien and incomprehensible to her than all the rest of that world taken together. She had found it hard to believe that that could have been her, ever. But looking up into Angel's eyes now, she suddenly had the unwelcome suspicion that she might have more in common with her other self than she would care to admit, even to herself. "And anyway, it is the Slayer not Buffy Summers that matters to the world. Especially this world." She reminded herself, trying to derail that train of thought.

But Angel wasn't willing to give up quite that easily. "There have been hundreds of Slayers before you. There will be hundreds more after you. It isn't being the Slayer that makes Buffy Summers special. It is being Buffy Summers that makes this Slayer special, that makes her different from all the other Slayers. How many other Slayers have lasted as long or killed as many demons?"

"How many other Slayers have had groups of regular humans fighting with them? Hiding behind them. Using them as a shield. Allowing them to die in her stead?" She countered bitterly.

"Oh, is that what you were doing when you jumped between Giles and that Chaos demon?" Angel asked wryly. "You could have fooled me."

For a moment she stared at him, resenting the fact that he refused to let her wallow in self-pity and guilt. Then she had a sudden vision of herself covered from head to toe with a thick layer of slime after finally managing to kill that Chaos Demon. She had needed Angel's help to even walk without her feet sliding out from under her. Her clothes had been a total loss, and she hadn't been sure she would ever get that stuff out of her hair. Her sense of humor reasserted itself, and she laughed despite herself. "Well, I had no idea how slippery and hard to get rid off all that slime would be! I'll do better next time," she told him.

A deep-seated glow lighting his eyes, he smiled back at her. "I am sure you will."

* * 5 * *

Buffy carefully set her backpack on top of the low table in front of the fireplace in an effort to avoid stirring up more clouds of dust. She had made a thorough search of the whole house, but hadn't found any signs of life besides the tracks of mice, birds and raccoons left behind in the thick blanket of dust that covered everything. She wondered where she would find enough time to make this place livable, but thought it would be worth it. Both to get Wesley off her back and for the fond memories it brought back of her stay in the other Sunnydale.

But first things first. She opened her backpack and set out the ingredients she would need to cast the spell that would turn this house into a home and seal it against vampires and other unsavory entities.

* * * * *

"And then Mrs. Garber said that I had no grasp whatsoever of the impact that all those demons are having on today's society. Please! As if anyone could miss seeing how far society has fallen! You just have to take one look at how people dress! And do you have any idea how hard it is to get a hold of a decent eyeliner?"

Angel looked at the stake he was sharpening and wondered if Cordelia could really be as shallow as she sounded. For the last half-hour he had been trying to think of some acceptable way to stop her flood of words. This was possibly the first time he regretted having a soul. It would have been so easy to rid himself of her unwanted attentions before he got cursed. His thoughts drifted back to a young lady in London, who had tried to catch his fancy by entertaining him with her endless chatter. On the hunt for a suitable husband, she had seen only his rich clothing and mistaken him for a desirable conquest. She had smelled truly delicious, and it had been an easy matter to lure her out of the ballroom and onto the shadowy balcony... With a shudder of revulsion at the direction of his thoughts Angel pulled his eyes away from Cordelia's neck to find Cordelia looking at him in alarm.

"What?" she asked him, lifting one hand up to cover the side of her neck.

Unable to meet her eyes Angel just shook his head, ashamed of what he had been thinking of.

"That hickey is showing through, isn't it?" Cordelia jumped up. "Oh, I am so going to kill Devon!" With that she stormed down the hallway in search of the bathroom.

Taken aback by her abrupt departure, Angel looked up to find the others giving him admiring looks.

"Man, you're good!" Owen told him. "I wonder if that would work for me the next time she won't leave me alone."

Angel was saved from having to come up with any kind of response by the door opening to admit Buffy's Watcher. "I know there is still a lot left to do here, but there are other places that need your attention." Wesley was saying. "With the Hellmouth attracting monsters like flies you could spend the rest of your life here and never run out of demons to kill!"

"So, why waste time hunting them all over the country? Why not stay right here and wait for them to come to me?" Buffy followed Wesley into the room looking like she had been crawling through some long abandoned, dusty crypt.

"I do not appreciate this flippant attitude towards the Council's orders and your duties as the Slayer." Wesley reproved her. "We will be leaving Friday morning, and I expect you to be packed and ready to go."

Buffy wiped a lock of hair back from her face, leaving another grimy streak on her cheek and gave Wesley a stubborn look, but remained quiet.

"Besides," Wesley added mollified by her apparent acceptance of his authority, "this trip will give us a chance to finish your studies as laid out in the Handbook."

Angel saw Buffy's head shoot up and her whole body tense. "I've already read through the next section on vibratious crystals." She told Wesley, the casualness in her tone belied by the sharp look she shot at him through her lowered lashes. "So we can skip that and go straight to the section on second level spell casting. Spell casting is not only more fun but also much more useful for a Slayer."

"You may have read through it, but that doesn't mean you understood it." Wesley replied condescendingly. "There will be no half-learned lessons while I am your Watcher! There is a representative from the Council traveling all this way with a full set of those crystals, just so you can get some real life experience of their effects."

There was a rather grim set to her mouth as she folded her arms in front of her. "How considerate," she remarked sarcastically. "And will there also be a special celebration of my 18th birthday?"

"A special celebration? What are you talking about?" Wesley asked suddenly getting flustered. "Well, you know, candles, cake, ice cream, presents, or at least a gold star for making it to my 18th birthday at all?" Buffy gave her Watcher a bright smile. "You think there is a chance that just for once since becoming the Slayer I'll have a horror free, normal birthday?"

If anything Wesley seemed even more flustered, looking at Buffy with something close to consternation. Slowly taking off his glasses, he finally told her somewhat uncertainly. "I am sure we will find a way to make your birthday... memorable." Rubbing her dirty hands along her arms as if she were trying to disperse a sudden chill, Buffy muttered: "Oh, and doesn't that sound promising!"

"Yes, well." Wesley self-consciously replaced his glasses. "In the meantime let's get as much done here as we can while you're still here. Where is Mr. Giles?" With that he hastily turned away from Buffy to go in search of the librarian.

Angel slowly stood up and walked over to where Buffy was standing. "You're leaving?" he asked her softly.

Buffy shook herself and looked up at him. "Looks like it." she told him with a nonchalant shrug. "A Slayer seldom gets to stay in one place for very long."

She was acting like there was nothing unusual about this particular assignment, trying to avert any further questions on his part, but Angel wasn't willing to be put off that easily.

"Then why are you so upset about it this time?"

Buffy gave him a sharp look. "What gives you the idea that I am upset?"

"Hard to miss." At least it was if you found yourself watching her as closely as he did every time she was around, Angel thought to himself.

Angel watched a myriad of expressions flit across her face, before it settled into an unreadable mask. He half expected her to tell him to mind his own business, but instead she told him slowly: "If I'm right, the Council has a rather unpleasant surprise planned for my birthday." He took in her shoulders, hunched as if she were expecting a blow, and wondered what kind of surprise she thought the Watcher's had planned for her. The Council would never do anything to endanger their most valuable fighter, would they? Unfortunately Angel had seen too much of what humans were capable of to be able to convince himself that his growing unease was unfounded.

"I never have any nice birthdays anymore." She told him with a resigned sigh. Then he watched as a rather unpleasant smile slowly spread across her face. "Only I have no intention of walking into their trap like a good little Slayer. If they try the same thing with me, I'll be ready for them, and I'll make sure they won't be able to pull that particular stunt with any other Slayers either!"

Angel frowned. The idea of Buffy walking into a trap, even if she did so knowingly and therefore prepared, sent a cold shiver down his back. "Let me come with you." He urged her. "I can watch your back."

Buffy gave him a look of surprise. "Thanks, but I know what's coming, and I can handle it."

Angel looked down at the stake in his hands, telling himself that of course she wouldn't want him along. He was a vampire, a Slayer's natural enemy. What had made him think that she would trust him at her back when she might not even be able to trust her own Watcher?

One of her hands came to rest on his, jolting him out of his glum thoughts. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I much rather you stayed here and kept and eye on Giles and the others. I am the Slayer. I can take care of myself. They can't. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to one of them because I left them unprotected. They are the only friends I have left."

"You're coming back?" He asked, trying not to sound to hopeful.

"I am. With or without my Watcher." She told him simply. "Will you watch over the others until then?"

Before he could answer, they were interrupted by Cordelia. "Buffy! Love the look." Cordelia remarked sweetly laying a possessive hand on Angel's arm. "Did you tangle with a bunch of dust devils, or is that camouflage to make it easier for you to blend in with all the other dirt bags out there at night?"

Angel saw the hurt flash in Buffy's eyes, but couldn't think of anything to say to take the sting out of Cordelia's words. He tried to step out from under Cordelia's hand, but she just moved with him, and it was Buffy's hand that dropped.

"Well, not everybody can afford to spend hours in front of the mirror, trying to cover up their flaws. Some of us have more important things to do." Buffy told her defensively.

"Oh, please! It doesn't take any longer to dress with some style. All it takes is some fashion sense. Something you're totally unfamiliar with, I'm sure." Cordelia told her dismissively.

Pressing her lips together into a thin line, Buffy spun around on her heels and disappeared down the hallway.

"So, Angel," Cordelia turned back to him, either not noticing or simply ignoring the look of pure dislike he gave her, "my parents are throwing a party to celebrate my being named Winter Queen. Not that there was ever any doubt in the outcome, but it's nice when people show their appreciation for you by throwing a special party. And I thought that you might be glad for the chance to get to know some interesting people. And I'll be there. And if the weather's nice, we'll be having the party out in the garden, which will be good for you. You really should try to get a little more sun. That pale look went out of fashion years ago! What do you say?"

"No thank you. I have a rather adverse reaction to sunlight," he told her with a sardonic smile.

"What? You break out in hives or something?" Cordelia asked.

"Or something." He told her distracted as something she had said gave him an idea of how to make Buffy feel better. "Excuse me. I have to talk to Giles and Oz about something."

* * * * *

Buffy finished toweling off her hair and hung the wet towel over the back of a chair in the little room Giles had given over for her use. Cordelia's remark about her lack of fashion sense had stirred up long buried memories. How often had Merrick accused her of being a pain in the butt, or complained about her letting social concerns encroach on her Slayer life? She could almost see him standing in his apartment, his hat shadowing his face, the ubiquitous handkerchief in his hand. "None of the other girls ever gave me this much trouble." He told her querulously. - "And where are they now, huh? Duh!" She had countered.

Then there was the time after she had gone out on patrol for the first time. Merrick had as good as admitted that he thought that she was exceptionally talented, and she had refused to let his consequent call for more training put a damper on her spirits.

"Merrick, I am not going to croak that easily." She had told him, so sure of herself. "I have something that none of the other girls had."

"And what might that be, pray?" He had humored her.

"My keen fashion sense!" She had told him triumphantly.

"Oh, vampires of the world beware!" he had countered. The first time he had actually made a joke.

But in the end her fashion sense had not been enough to save her from Lothos' attack, it had taken Merrick's breaking with established Watcher procedure, coming to her rescue and paying for it with his life.

The memory of his death still held as much guilt and pain as it had the day he had died.

She had just been standing there, entranced, looking at Lothos, unable to lift a hand in her own defense, as the vampire Master slowly lowered his fangs towards her neck. Merrick had come up behind Lothos, raising his dagger, ready to plunge it into the vampire's back. Lothos had leisurely turned around, covered the Watcher's hand with his own and forced Merrick to bury the dagger in his own chest instead. And she had stood and looked on and done nothing! There had been surprise in Merrick's eyes at he looked down at the dagger protruding from his chest. "Oh, look at what I have done." She remembered him lifting that damned handkerchief of his up to his lips as she caught him and lowered him to the ground.

Lothos could have taken her then, but he had simply walked away, as disappointed in her as Merrick must have been. She remembered holding her dying Watcher in her arms, the blood dripping from one corner of his mouth as he told her: "You do everything wrong."

It had been hard to speak through the pain clutching her throat: "I'm sorry! I take it all back..." He had interrupted her apology with a wave of his handkerchief, now spotted with blood: "No, no. Do it wrong. Don't play our game. Lothos is a show... when the music stops..."

"The rest is silence." Buffy whispered quietly into the empty room. She had forgotten Merrick's advice. First she had gotten expelled from school for burning down the gym, then her mom had died in a car accident on the road to Sunnydale. After she finally got out of the hospital she had moved in with her father, doing what she could to keep the ever-growing vampire population in check. Three weeks later Marilyn Houser had shown up with a small group of assistant Watchers to continue her training. Then Ian had joined their little team of demon fighters. Ian with his clear blue eyes that brimmed with his barely contained joy of life. Ian with his undefeatable sense of optimism that had never failed to find something funny in even the grimmest situation. Marilyn had threatened to have him expelled from the Watcher's more than once, but not even she had been proof against his charm.

Looking back, that had been one of the happiest times in her life as the Slayer, despite the fact that demons seemed to be multiplying like cockroaches everywhere. It had come to an abrupt end on her seventeenth birthday.

It had been the night before her seventeenth birthday that she had come home to find her father dead on their doorstep, drained by a vampire. And as if that wouldn't have been bad enough, she had found a note tucked into his belt: 'You killed my sire, so now I killed yours. Love - Michael.'

The guilt of knowing that her father had died because of who and what she was had almost been too much to bear. Not even Ian had been able to pull her out of it.

It only got worse when Michael expanded his vendetta and started to go after her little group on demon fighters, eliminating them one by one. Michael could have killed her anytime he had wanted to. In the state she was in, she would have barely put up a fight. Instead he had continued to go after the people trying to protect her, knowing full well that that hurt her more then any injury he could have inflicted on her physically.

It had taken Ian throwing himself between her and the poisonous stinger of a Scara demon to finally snap her out of her funk. She took a shaky breath and pushed the memories of his death aside. Even after all this time they were still too painful to dwell on.

After that she had gone cold. She had pushed all feeling aside, walling herself away in a corner of her mind. She had gone hunting, and she had gotten every one of the demons in Michael's band. But she hadn't managed to kill Michael himself before he left her one last present: her dead Watcher.

She had kept hunting him by herself for three more months after that, tracking him across five states. She had hoped that his death would ease some of the pain and guilt of having failed yet another Watcher, but there had been no satisfaction in watching him burn after she shoved him out into the sunlight, just a hollow emptiness.

She didn't remember much about the time between Michael's death and when Wesley showed up to take over as her Watcher. She wasn't even sure how long she had been on her own, just drifting, numb. There just hadn't seemed any point left in doing anything. With everyone she had ever cared about dead, killed because of her, the last thing that had given her life purpose had gone up in flames with Michael.

When Wesley found her, she resumed her Slayer duties at his direction. It was something to do to pass the time and trying to fight against her destiny never seemed to lead to anything but more pain.

But she had carefully maintained her hard-won? emotional distance from everyone and everything. Better not to care. Better not to allow anyone close, so as not to get them hurt, or get hurt herself.

She had thought herself secure behind the walls of the fortress she had built within her mind, so sure that nothing would ever get through those walls to touch her.

Then she had found herself face to face with her mother after a misfired spell had pulled her into a parallel world, and her walls had exploded into dust like a staked vampire.

During her time in the other Sunnydale, she had come to see just how much she had been missing, how her safe fortress had turned into a prison. Buffy had shown her that by shutting herself off, she had done what even Michael had been unable to do: she had been killing Buffy Summers. By turning herself into an unfeeling killing machine, she had been playing their game, forgetting what Merrick had told her.

She opened the closet door and for the first time really looked at the clothes in there. The Buffy Summers of two years ago would never have worn any of them. On an impulse she pulled out the bag with the presents she had brought back from the other Sunnydale. She grinned as she pulled out the pack of clothes that had been that Cordelia's gift to her together with another pack of clothes from Buffy. She would show this Cordelia who had the superior fashion sense, and she would do it with the help of Cordy's own alter ego.

* * 6 * *

Angel stole another quick look at the petite blonde fighting beside him and paid for it with a sore jaw as the vampire he was fighting took advantage of his momentary distraction.

'Serves me right,' he thought wryly as he repaid his attacker in kind.

A scream of dust told him that Buffy had dispatched another of her opponents and caused him to redouble his efforts.

Over the last few nights they had fallen into a kind of friendly competition, with the rest of the White Hat gang cheerfully keeping score. It was strange to listen to them argue about style points. By now the gang had split into two distinct camps with Larry, Owen and Sandy cheering for Buffy, while Amy, Cordelia, and Oz declared him to be the better fighter.

No one was in any doubt about Cordelia's reasons for championing him over Buffy, least of all Angel. But he had been surprised by Amy's and Oz' choice, especially since at least the latter was fully aware of Angel's true nature as a vampire. He had been oddly touched by their trust and been trying to do his best to justify their faith in him.

Of course Wesley had complained bitterly about all the frivolous bantering, but even he had been impressed with their overall kill rate. Which wasn't all due solely to Angel's and Buffy's efforts. Both Larry and Oz where excellent marksmen with a bow and Owen was slowly improving as well.

The three girls acted more in a back-up capacity, reloading crossbows, throwing Holy Water balloons (which always made a fight especially interesting for him, since they would hurt him just as much as their enemies), or, in Amy's case trying out a new spell with varying degrees of success.

Giles did his best to try and coordinate everybody's efforts, taking their individual strengths and weaknesses into account, and juggling all the different personalities with surprising skill. Which wasn't as easy as it sounded especially once Cordelia and Wesley started to come along on a regular basis.

Since Wesley was Buffy's official Watcher, he considered himself to be the most important member of their group. Though his efforts to take charge were generally ignored by everyone except Cordelia, who seemed the only one even marginally impressed by him, his running critique on everyone's performance was harder to ignore. He also kept complaining about Buffy's new style of dress, which, though just as practical, was a lot more flattering. 'And a lot more distracting,' Angel added to himself as he finally saw an opening to bury the stake he held in his opponent's heart.

After a quick look around reassured him that there were no other vampires in their immediate vicinity, he allowed his attention to return to Buffy. Since this was her last night here in Sunnydale, he was trying to soak up her presence without being too obvious about it, storing the memory of her away to last him until he would see her again.

"Is it just me, or is it unusually quiet tonight?" Buffy asked refilling her weapons belt from the store of stakes and Holy Water bottles they kept in the back of Oz' van.

Angel shrugged as he joined her to replace his own spent arsenal. "You're right, I think I've only gotten five so far. How many did you get?"

"Got you beat by two. My total for tonight is seven and not even a scratch to show for it!" She smiled up at him and he could stop neither his answering smile nor the warm tingle spreading through his body in response to it.

"But your technique is getting sloppy." Wesley chimed in. "That blonde vampire would have gotten you if it hadn't been for Oz' skill with a bow. You can't rely on others to watch your back for you. A good Slayer has to be aware of everything that goes on around her at all times, and be prepared to react in an instant."

"And so I was. I was totally aware of the fact that Oz was ready to shoot that vampire." Buffy told him.

Wesley opened his mouth to protest, and Giles quickly broke in to prevent the argument from escalating. "Well, since it *is* quiet and you both have a long trip ahead of you, maybe we should call it a night even though it's still early. Cordelia, could you drop Wesley off? It will be hard enough to get everyone in Oz' van as it is."

Angel watched with amusement as the Watcher immediately dropped the argument and turned to Cordelia with an almost star-struck expression on his face.

Cordelia simply shrugged. "Sure. I have plenty of room in my car; I can take more people. How about it Angel, need a ride?"

Angel couldn't help but feel just the tiniest bit flattered by her continued efforts to attract his attention, but he was all too aware that she was only interested in him because she thought him human. She would run from him in horror or disgust if she even suspected what he really was. "No thank you. I think I'll walk. Maybe I'll run into a few more vampires and get a chance to catch up to Buffy's count." He told her politely.

As he had half hoped Buffy immediately offered to accompany him. That should give Giles and the others enough time to get to the library ahead of them to put the finishing touches on their surprise birthday party for Buffy. Now all he had to do was get her there - and hope that she would like it.

She had done so much for him that he had wanted to do something for her in return, and an early surprise birthday party had seemed like the perfect way to do so. But now that everything was in place he was suddenly having second thoughts. It had been so long since he had had anything to do with humans other than using them for food or entertainment. Even after having enlisted Oz' and Giles' help, he was afraid that he had gotten something wrong.

Giles obviously had no such doubts, because he gave him an encouraging smile. "Very good. Just be careful. Just because we haven't seen that many vampires doesn't mean that they aren't out there."

* * * * *

Buffy threw another puzzled look at the vampire walking next to her. Something seemed to be making him uncommonly jumpy. He kept checking his pockets and fiddling nervously with the stake in his hands.

Scanning their quiet surroundings she stretched all her senses to their limit to see if she could catch a trace of what was making him so nervous.

It was thanks to this hyper-awareness that she noticed the shapes of several vampires shadowing them in the distance.

"We have some company. Only they're kind of shy." She told Angel quietly.

Angel threw her a startled glance, then instantly turned all business. "How many?"

"Not sure, but I don't like the odds." She told him. Mindful of the need to maintain the illusion that she was unaware of the threat following them, she smiled up at her companion, hoping that he would pick up on and join in her pretense. She needn't have worried. Angel returned her smile, even as he threw a quick glance at the area ahead of them.

"Do you think they will attack, or are they just spying on us?" He asked.

"I hope they're just spying, but I'd rather be prepared in case they decide to do something more." She pictured the map of Sunnydale in her head. "We're pretty close to the school. Maybe we should stop by the library and stock up on some of Giles' spare weapons."

"The library?" Angel asked startled.

Buffy frowned. "Didn't you know that Giles is the school librarian? He keeps a good part of his books and weapons there."

Angel shook his head and gave a bemused shrug. "The library it is."

* * * * *

Now that Buffy had recalled his attention to his surroundings he caught several glimpses of a vampire following them at a distance. He looked back one last time as they neared the school. He missed a step as he spotted a familiar silhouette and bumped into the Slayer just as she pulled the door open for them.

Buffy gave him a questioning look as she put out a hand to steady him.

"I thought I recognized one of the vampires shadowing us." Angel told her quietly.

"Who?" Buffy wanted to know.

"Willow." He tried to keep his voice and face expressionless, but he couldn't stop the cold shudder that ran through him at the name of the vampire that been his prime tormentor during his captivity. He tried to deflect Buffy's searching look with a self-depreciating smile, hoping that she wouldn't be able to see past it to the uneasiness twisting his gut.

She didn't say anything more and he followed her just as wordlessly as she led the way. He was so preoccupied with his own thoughts and memories that he ran into Buffy's back when she suddenly stopped just inside the library doors.

"Surprise!"

He and Buffy both jumped. He had totally forgotten about the surprise birthday party.

He saw Buffy freeze as she took in the cake and decorations, realizing that this wasn't the vampire ambush they had both been half expecting.

"What's this?" he heard Buffy ask.

"Since you're leaving, we thought we'd celebrate your birthday early." Oz told her.

Angel couldn't see her face, but she must have looked less then enthused, because Giles added a bit flustered: "A-actually the whole thing was Angel's idea."

There was a moment's silence, then she turned around to look up at him. Was she upset? He couldn't read the expression on her face. "I heard you telling Wesley that you never have any nice birthday parties anymore..." he trailed off uncertainly.

"So you guys decided to give me one?" She looked around at the others and a smile slowly lit up her whole face then looked back at Angel. "That is so sweet!"

A warm tingle spread through his body at the expression in her eyes, and he suddenly had to fight the impulse to lean down and capture her smiling lips with his own. He wasn't sure whether he was relieved or sorry when she removed the temptation by stepping over to the table that held the cake and presents.

Giles gave her a fond smile. "Well, it seemed the least we could do to show you our appreciation for everything you have done for us here."

Angel stayed by the door and watched as the others began talking excitedly, giving Buffy her presents, and cutting into the cake. He wondered what she might have wished for as she blew out the candles on her cake. It tugged on his heart to see her smiling happily, surrounded by her friends. For the first time since she had come to Sunnydale she looked like the vibrant young girl that had inspired him to try to become *someone*. He froze as he questioned his feelings for her for the first time. Could it be that he was in love with her? That he had been ever since he had seen her sitting on the steps in front of her school two years ago?

No he wasn't. He couldn't be, he told himself firmly. He was a vampire. Vampires did not fall in love, certainly not with Slayers of all people. It was quite natural that he would want to protect her in return for her rescuing him from the Master. The tingle he felt whenever she smiled at him? Well, she was a very attractive young woman. Which was the only reason why he found himself watching her whenever she was around. It was nothing more than that, he told himself firmly. Only gratitude and the appreciation any man would feel for a beautiful girl.

He watched as she flipped through the book that had been Owen's gift to her, then wrapped her arms around his neck and stood up on tiptoe to place a kiss on his cheek. Something uncomfortably like envy flashed through him, and he quickly looked away from the couple and out through the round windows in the library doors - and for a moment forgot to breathe.

Shoving the confusing tangle of his feelings aside, he quickly stepped up next to Buffy.

"I hate to spoil your party, but I think we're about to get some company." He told her quietly and quickly. "Those vampires shadowing us earlier seem to have gotten over their shyness."

The others wasted no time on unnecessary questions. He watched them pull out whatever weapons or protection they had to hand even as a group of vampires spread out along the upper level of the library and about five more stepped through the library doors.

Sandy, who had been standing next to her brother, pulled out a big wooden cross and waved it through the air, almost hitting the side of his face. He quickly stepped back to avoid getting burned, never taking his eyes off the vampires that were slowly spreading out to encircle their little group. As his back came up against the countertop Island he felt a sharp unease crawl along his skin setting his teeth on edge. He looked around for its source and felt his lips pull back in disgust.

There on the countertop sat a terrarium holding those strange frogs that Cordelia had inflicted upon them every time she opened her mouth until Giles had managed to break the spell she had been under. They were climbing all over each other in their desire to get closer to him. A desire he most decidedly did not share.

With shudder he quickly took two big steps away from them, which carried him almost to the bottom of the stairs, a little outside the tight circle the White Hats had formed.

For a minute no one moved, then the vampires at the top of the steps parted to allow another pair to walk down the steps.

Xander. And Willow.

As he watched them slowly coming down the stairs towards him, Angel almost wished he were back next to the terrarium. He wasn't sure what was creepier, the frogs or the smile spreading across Willow's face as she spotted him.

"Puppy!" She almost purred. "Willow's been so bored without you. The others all die too fast to be any fun!"

As memories of what Willow considered to be fun crashed through his head, he decided that the frogs definitely where the lesser of two evils, but he refused to retreat or let any of his fear show on his face.

He clenched his hands into fists at his sides to keep from moving as she stepped up to him and ran her fingers across his chest, a possessive smile on her lips.

Before she could do anything more, Buffy interposed herself between them, a stake held ready in her right hand. With a slight pout on her face Willow slowly retreated to Xander's side, who had remained at the bottom of the stairs.

"What do you want?" Buffy asked curtly.

Instead of answering Willow looked around the room. "Look!" She told Xander. "A birthday party. With presents." She rubbed her head against Xander's shoulder and smiled up at him. "Do I get to pick a present?"

" Whatever you want, Babe." Xander told her, looking at the Slayer with an expression that made Angel forget all about Willow's plans for him.

"I want my puppy back." Willow slowly ran one hand up Xander's chest as she leered at Angel.

"How about a different pet?" Xander suggested his eyes still locked on Buffy. "It might be even more fun to have a Slayer to play with."

Angel felt an angry growl rising in his chest as a picture of Buffy chained in the cage at the Bronze flashed across his mind. He tried to step between Buffy and Xander but was stopped by a sharp jab of Buffy's elbow to his ribs.

"I don't like her!" Willow stated. "I miss my puppy."

"But he's the Slayer's pet now." Xander said with a mocking smile at Angel that only fanned his anger. "And I don't think she wants to give him back."

"He'll come." Willow assured Xander. "To save his little human pets." The knowing smile she gave him sent a chill down Angel's back. Then Willow turned to Buffy. "And the Slayer will let him. After all, why should she care?"

As if to confirm Willow's assessment of the situation, Buffy shot a quick look up at him then slowly stepped back, leaving him on his own. What should he do? What *could* he do? They were badly outnumbered. If it came to a fight it was more than likely that that at least some of the White Hats would die. But even if he surrendered without a fight, would that really help?

Echoing his own thoughts Oz asked dryly: "And what guarantee do we have that you aren't going to kill us anyway?"

"None." Willow told him with a sweet smile. "But if you don't hand him over, I will guarantee that you will all die in the most painful way possible."

Angel could hear the White Hats shuffle around behind him, whispering quietly among themselves and felt a cold unease crawl up his back. Would they ask him to go along with Willow's bargain? And if he refused, would they knock him out and just hand him over?

Buffy stepped up next to him, her hands hidden behind her back, but instead of providing reassurance her presence only set his teeth on edge. He had to fight to remain in place, so strong was the desire to put some distance between them.

There was an unpleasant smile on Buffy's face as she looked at Willow. "Well, I guess, if you want to have a pet that badly..." Angel glanced down at Buffy with a sinking feeling. So, they had decided to hand him over. He took half a step back and felt his mouth drop open as he saw what Buffy was holding behind her back. At the same time Buffy told Willow sweetly: "...how about these?"

With that she tossed the two frogs she had been holding at Xander and Willow. The other White Hats followed suit and garishly colored frogs filled the air.

Willow had instinctively caught the frog Buffy had tossed at her, but as soon as she saw what it was she tossed it from her with a scream.

Looking around Angel noted with grim satisfaction that the other vampires didn't like the frogs any better than he did. And once they found out that these frogs not only persisted in trying to climb up the legs of whatever vampire was closest to them but were also practically indestructible, true havoc broke out. He winced as he saw one vampire actually sink his teeth into a neon-green frog.

Just the thought of putting one of those things in his mouth was enough to make him shudder.

A shrill scream drew his attention back to Willow. The way she looked at the two frogs climbing up her legs while waving her arms around aimlessly and whimpering suddenly reminded him of Drusilla, an insane vampire child of his that had indulged in the same kind of fits.

"Wow!" Buffy said beside him. "I had no idea they would be *this* effective." She looked up at him, amazement clearly written on her face. "What I said - about you having frog fear - I take it all back."

In the meantime Xander was trying to get Willow to calm down so he could pull the frogs off of her.

Pulling out a stake, Buffy turned to the others. "Okay, people lets clean house!"

Hearing her, Xander swept the still whimpering Willow up in his arms and made a break for the doors.

Pulling out a stake of his own, Angel found a frogless vampire and joined the fray. * * * * *

Buffy looked around the library. Her birthday cake had been smashed by a vampire falling on it, and with the pieces of it that decorated the bookshelves and floor, it looked like they had had a food-fight in here. She pulled the book by Emily Dickinson that Owen had given her out of the mess on the table. It was thoroughly smeared with cake and vampire dust. She wiped off the worst of it and wrapped it in some paper before she added it to the bag holding her other presents.

"I am sorry your party got ruined." She looked up to see Angel standing beside her.

Sweeping the remains of the cake into a wastebasket she shrugged. "Actually as birthday parties go, this one really wasn't all that bad. No one died, and watching all those vampires freak from the frogs was rather funny." She looked over at the terrarium holding the few remaining frogs and couldn't help smiling. "We didn't get all of them back. You think Willow will keep the others as pets?"

"Somehow I doubt that." Angel told her with a ghostlike smile. "She didn't seem to like them much."

Buffy nodded in satisfaction. "Maybe that will cure her of her obsession with keeping pets."

"Maybe." He said noncommittally.

Buffy remembered how she had found him chained in the basement of the Bronze and wondered what he must have had to put up with as Willow's "pet."

Angel broke into her thoughts speaking hesitantly. "I got you something - for your birthday." He had a little square box that he kept turning around nervously in his hands. "It's not much, but I thought maybe..." Then he took a deep breath and held the box out to her. "You can give it to someone else it you don't like it."

Curious she took the box and opened it slowly. Inside she found a finely wrought choker made from crosses strung together bordered at the top and bottom by tiny, different colored stones. She held it up and admired the way it sparkled in the light.

"It's beautiful." she told him, and watched his anxious expression melt into a relieved smile.

"It's extra strong, so it shouldn't be easy to rip off, and those stones were believed to bring good fortune and health to the wearer." He explained almost shyly. "It might help keep you safe and bring you luck in your confrontation with the Watchers."

She frowned at this reminder of what the Watchers might have planned for her upcoming birthday. If it hadn't been her other self that had warned her, she would never have believed it. "I am still hoping that I am wrong about that." She told Angel as she fastened the choker around her neck. "But there is no such thing as having too much protection. Thank you."

"No, thank you!" Angel told her seriously, and Buffy was disconcerted to find herself blushing under his gaze. Feeling a bit flustered, she looked down at her hands, and not knowing how to respond, she decided to change the subject. "The sun will be up soon. If you don't get going you'll be stuck here all day."

He nodded and slowly turned to leave.

At the door he turned to look at her one last time. Their eyes met and she thought she heard him say, "Be safe." Then the doors swung closed, hiding him from view.

She lifted a hand to touch the choker around her throat wondering at the strangeness of a vampire giving a cross-necklace as a present, before she turned back to help finish cleaning up the library.