&&&&&&&&&&
Giles' House
Sunday, 7:30 am

Willow walked outside to find Xander after Charlotte and Oz had left.
He was sitting on the doorstep. "Hey, now it really makes a whole lot
of sense for you to be sitting out here by yourself your first day
back in Sunnydale in over two months," Willow said, nudging his leg
with her foot.

"Oh, sorry," Xander said, watching Charlotte and Oz drag Adam to Oz'
van. "I guess I just needed a little time to process that Adam would
have killed me if Angel hadn't been there."

"Oh, so...how's that going?" Willow asked, sitting next to him.

"I'm not going to bolt again, if that's what you're asking," Xander
replied. "I get it, Willow. I'm dense, but I finally caught up with
the rest of you." At her puzzled look, he continued, "Angel saved my
life. Angelus never would have done that. Two different people, well,
not people, but you get my point. I think that's what Buffy and you
have been trying to tell me for a few years now?"

"Yeah, something like that," Willow said. "So does that mean the
Scooby Gang is back?"

"I missed you, Wills. And Buffy," Xander replied, putting his arm
around her shoulders. "We've got a ways to go to get back to where we
were, but I'm willing to give it a try."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Willow said, "but does that mean you can
tolerate Angel?"

"Yeah," Xander answered. "I think so. I'm not saying we're ever going
to be best buds or anything, but I can deal."

"Can I come out, or are you two still bonding?" Anya asked
sarcastically as she walked outside.

Willow giggled, and said, "Of course you can come out, Anya. You're
Xander's girlfriend, after all."

"Just making sure," Anya said, but smiled as Xander stood up and
wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So, can we go see Buffy, now?" Willow asked, as they went back
inside.

"You drive," Anya and Xander said to each other simultaneously,
causing Willow to laugh. "I'll drive," Wesley offered, and received
no argument from anyone.

&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale Hospital
Sunday, 7:30 am

Angel sat staring at Buffy's face, begging her to wake up, silently
praying for her heart to start beating again. Giles finished the spell
and looked up at him. "Come on, Buffy," Angel said, "Don't leave me,
not now. Come back, Baby."

There was no reaction. Angel took a shaky breath as he felt the tears
streaming down his face. "Damn it, Buffy Summers! Don't leave me! Not
when we can finally be together! I love you, please, I can't live
without you!" He sobbed as he pulled her to his chest and held her
tightly.

Beep

"Buffy?" He looked down at her face.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Oh god, she's alive," Angel said, looking at Giles, knowing Giles'
expression of relief probably mirrored his.

"She's a fighter," Giles said. "I never doubted for a second."

"Sure you didn't," Angel chuckled. He looked over and saw Buffy's eyes
open.

"Angel?"

"Yeah, I'm here. It's okay. You're okay now," he said, kissing her on
the forehead. "Thank God you woke up," he said.

Giles went to get the doctor.

"Miss Summers," the doctor said, walking in with Buffy's mom close
behind. "You scared quite a few people last night and this morning. I
must say I'm amazed you're awake and breathing on your own. How are
you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a truck," Buffy said wryly. "But otherwise great."

"Well, your vital signs are amazingly stable," the doctor replied. "I
think we want to keep you here for a couple days to monitor you, and
do some tests though. Mrs. Summers? Could I talk to you?" and he
pulled Joyce out of the room again.

Angel shut the door behind them and sat down next to her again,
putting his arms around her. He felt her trembling and wished he
could take away her pain. "It's okay, Buffy, it's all over."

"Over? It's not over," Buffy said bitterly. "It's never over. There's
always another danger, just one more demon for Buffy the Vampire
Slayer to kill. That's my responsibility, and I've gotten used to it.
But it's not Willow's responsibility, or Xander's. Still, they're
always getting hurt. Maybe Xander had the right idea, leaving this
town and me far behind."

"What happened to Xander is not your fault," Angel insisted. "It's
mine--"

"No, it's not, Angel. And it's not even Angelus' fault," Buffy said,
closing her eyes tiredly. "It's mine." She put a finger against his
lips to stop his protest. "I've always expected Willow, Xander and
Giles to be there with me every time something happens. No matter
what the danger. But it's not their fight. They aren't the Chosen, I
am. I shouldn't be putting them in constant danger. Maybe for a while
it was kind of Giles' duty, being my Watcher. But I should've kept
him out of it when the Council removed him as my Watcher. All of this
could have been stopped, and nobody is responsible for what has
happened to Willow and Xander these past few months except me."

"Buffy, you can't take all the blame," Angel said as he pulled away
to look into her eyes. "They live on the Hellmouth, and that alone
puts their lives in danger every day. And as for you expecting them
to help you, they would help whether you asked or not. They're your
friends, and they love you. Do you really think you could stop them,
even if you tried?"

"I don't know," Buffy said. "I'm just tired, Angel. Tired of seeing
the pain, tired of watching people die."

"I know you are, Sweetheart," Angel pulled her closer. "I wish I
could make it all go away. All I've ever wanted for you is to have a
normal life."

"Normal," Buffy said. "I don't know what normal is anymore. It doesn't
belong in the Slayer vocabulary."

"Try to sleep," Angel said as he sat on the bed, with her in his
arms. "You've been through a lot." Buffy settled against his chest,
and wrapped her arms around him tightly. After a few minutes, she
settled into a uneasy sleep.


&&&&&&&&&&&
Paris
5 pm, Sunday evening

Drusilla woke as the sun was going down, and looked up into the
watchful eyes of Spike. "Where's Miss Edith?" she asked, looking
around.

Spike sighed, and got out of bed. He walked into the living room, and
retrieved the doll from the floor where Drusilla had dropped her that
morning. When he returned to the bedroom, Drusilla was standing in
front of her dresser.

She had opened her jewelry box, which was full of jewelry. Some was
fake, some was worth more than she would ever know. She had collected
some of it, but Spike had provided her with most of it over her one
hundred years as a vampire. She smiled, obviously happy with what she
found and sat down on the floor with the box.

Spike looked at the doll in his hand, and decided to leave Drusilla to
her current amusement. He laid Miss Edith on the bed, where Drusilla
would be sure to find her if she wanted her. Knowing that Drusilla
could spend hours playing with her jewelry, he felt safe in taking a
quick shower.

Five minutes later, he exited the bathroom, and saw that Drusilla was
still playing contentedly. "You hungry, Pet?" he asked.

"No," Drusilla frowned at him. "It's yucky."

Another one of her quirks when she was not quite there. She had an
aversion to blood, and sometimes wouldn't eat for a week at a time.
"Drusilla, Luv, you'll get weak if you don't eat," Spike urged.

"No," she said firmly. "No, no, no."

"Fine," Spike backed down, not wanting to upset her. He changed the
subject then, "Do you remember what you told me before?"

She looked at him, a puzzled expression on her face.

He sat down in front of her. "About what I was looking for? You said
they took it. Do you know where they took it, Drusilla?"

"Oh," she returned her attention to her jewelry box. "Yes, I know,"
she said with a shrug.

Spike waited, hoping she would offer more information. After a minute,
he realized she wasn't going to. "Drusilla, would you tell me?"

She looked at him, as if considering the question. "No," she finally
replied, and stood up. She saw Miss Edith and squealed with delight.
"There you are!" she exclaimed, settling on the bed. Reaching over for
her hair brush, she began to brush the doll's hair.

Spike put his head in his hands, slightly annoyed at Drusilla's timing
in her latest spell. *Patience, Spike. She's probably your only hope,
and if you upset her, you'll never find the bloody thing.
Unfortunately you're at the mercy of an insane vampire, but her
insanity is either caused by or due to the fact that she gets
information from...who? Definitely not the Powers that Be. Maybe
there's an evil version of the Powers that Be.* That thought struck
him as incredibly funny, and he chuckled. *Wonder what Giles would
think of that possibility?*

"If I tell you, you'll leave me. You won't need me around, you'll be
powerful," Drusilla pouted.

"Do you remember what I told you all those years ago when I took you
away from Angelus?" Spike asked.

"You said you'd protect me," Drusilla answered slowly.

"Well then, what do I have to do to convince you that I'm not going
anywhere without you, Pet?" Spike asked. "I've never broken a promise
to you, have I?" She shook her head no, and he continued, "Then, I
promise you, Drusilla, that if you tell me where the ring is, I won't
leave you."

She regarded him for a full minute, and said, "Cross your heart and
hope to die?"

Spike chuckled, but refrained from pointing out that it was redundant
to hope for something that had been true for a century. He went to
sit next to her on the bed, and replied, "Yeah, Pet. Whatever you
want."

She smiled, and said, "It's in the Council Headquarters."

End part 12