The old convertible sped down the streets of Sunnydale, whipping the hair of its passengers like leaves on the trees. Inside the convertible, no one spoke. Oz sat in the driver's seat, scowling out the windshield fiercely as he threw concerned glances to the girl sitting beside him. Lisa was in the passenger seat, resting her head on the door and letting the wind play havoc with her hair, her eyes squeezed shut against the wind without and the threat of tears within.

In the back seat, Gina dazedly watched the houses and trees whoosh by, one arm propping her head up on the armrest. Laura sobbed silently, hunched over in the middle of the bench, her arms wrapped around her knees. Giles absentmindedly rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. No one said anything as Oz robotically pulled in to the hotel parking lot. They all emptied out of the car and stood, fidgeting, facing each other in an awkward silence. Giles finally caved to the pressure.

"You girls should go on up and get some rest. We'll try to figure out what's happening in the morning," he murmured. Oz nodded and lifted his head to agree with the older man, but the words died on his tongue as he realized that Giles's hand was still on the redhead's shoulder. Oz suddenly realized that things had just become a bit more serious.

"We won't be here then," Laura said softly, almost in a whisper. Oz and Giles gazed at her curiously. She lifted her head and met their stares. "We're leaving. Tonight. Now."

Giles spluttered and turned slightly pale. Lisa and Gina remained silent, keeping their eyes trained on the floor. Oz stared at Laura. After a moment, his eyes narrowed. "You can't be serious."

"We can't stay here with Angelus. He has a few scores he'd like to settle with us," Laura said simply. Oz and Giles exchanged worried expressions.

"This is crap!" Oz exclaimed, kicking the hubcap with all his might. Oh God, what's this going to do to him? It'll be like when Jenny died…

"But…we could protect you. We've dealt with Angelus before, we can make him leave the Hellmouth," Giles said quickly, loudly. Oz saw the older man's hand tremble slightly as it left Laura's shoulder. "We can stop him," Giles said, forcefully, grabbing Laura's elbow, making her return his gaze. "You can't leave. Not now," he pleaded. Gina's eyes widened and Lisa cleared her throat.

"Oh my, what a strange-looking license plate on that car way over there out of hearing range. Gina, Oz, I think we should inspect it," Lisa said, emphasizing the last two words. Gina and Oz stared at her for a moment before catching on.

"Oh, right. Yes. License plate."

"A license plate that needs inspecting."

"Right there with you."

***

From a trashbin, an emaciated grey cat emerged, stretching thoroughly and focusing its yellow eyes on the bright moonlight overhead. It and the moon stared at each other for a moment, neither willing to break its gaze.

Its ear swiveled after a moment, taking in a new sound coming from a factory close by. The cat broke his contest with the moon and glared at the building. He jumped soundlessly off the bin and went to inspect it.

Inside, Buffy and Willow were belting out "America" from West Side Story, delighting in hearing their voices echo around the large room. They had moved from anger to denial to acceptance rather quickly, and had decided that if they were going to be stuck in an abandoned factory, they were going to enjoy themselves. As they began the second verse, however, the two girls heard a pounding on the entrance to the factory. They fell silent, listening to the loud thuds against the strong doors, both wondering if its assailants would lead them to freedom or greater captivity.

The door suddenly cracked and slammed onto the ground, completely ripped off of its hinges. Buffy and Willow held their breath as they watched the cloud of dust rise and disperse. They saw two figures walk into the building.

"Xander! Angel!" Willow cried happily. Buffy only smiled, smiled until her face hurt. The two men ran over to them and began to untie the ropes that had bound them for so long.

"We knew you'd come! We were just sure!" Willow said happily as Xander pulled on the complicated tangle of ropes.

"You didn't think I'd actually leave you guys to fend for yourselves, did you?" Xander smiled down at her. "All part of my master plan." Willow grinned and attempted to give Xander instructions on how to most easily untie the knot.

Beside them, Buffy silently watched Angel rip the cords to thread.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked quietly after several minutes of silence. Buffy shook her head. Angel looked relieved. "I'm sorry it took so long. I couldn't figure out where you were. I thought you didn't…want…" he trailed off and shook his head, concentrating on the ropes again. Buffy glanced up at him.

"I wanted to be there. Really," she said. Angel stopped working on the ropes and looked down at her. He smiled slightly. "Thank you for coming," Buffy said quietly.

"That's what I'm here for," Angel said matter-of-factly as he wrenched the last tangle apart. Buffy brought her hands down, rubbing the feeling back into her fingers and wrists. She smiled her thanks to him.

"All right!" Willow cried, moving her arms in a windmill motion. "What do we do now?" she asked, jumping up and down.

"I think a little demon-ass-kicking is in order," Xander said calmly. "In the form of three rocker chicks we all love to hate."

"Technically, they're not demons--" Angel began, but Buffy touched his arm lightly and he stopped.

"Sounds like a plan," Buffy said, walking toward the door. Angel walked by her side, motioning for Xander and Willow to keep up.

"We think we know where they're headed…"

***

Giles and Laura both watched the others walk over to the other side of the parking lot; they stood silently beside each other. Laura could feel him turn his gaze back to her, but she did not look up.

"So…uh…how 'bout those Forty-Niners?" Laura said weakly, smiling slightly. Giles raised an eyebrow.

"It's April, Laura. Football is over."

"Oh. Well, how 'bout those Yankees, then?"

"You don't have to leave. We can…um…we'll think of something," Giles said earnestly, reaching over and grasping Laura's other arm. "Please don't leave," he said, bending slightly to meet her gaze.

"I don't want to," she admitted.

"Then don't!" Giles said. "Stay. Here in Sunnydale. With me. I could get you a job in the library or you could go to that god-awful store and work with poufs all day," he began, his mind starting to whirl with opportunities. "Or you could work at the Bronze or--"

"I still have to leave, Giles," Laura said quietly. "I have to." He stopped rambling and bowed his head slightly. She reached up and patted his shoulder gently, and began to break away from his grasp.

"No!" he cried, pulling her to him, encasing her in a tight hug. "No, please don't! I want you to stay! I was only just beginning to recover from the last one, and now you're going to go away and leave me alone again, and it's not fair, it's just not fair, and even though I'm the Watcher and a stodgy old man don't I deserve a bit of happiness too? Don't I get anything without someone taking it away as soon as I start to like it?" he babbled as he held Laura there in his arms. Thirty feet away, Lisa, Gina and Oz tried not to stare.

"The only things I know about you are that…you have red hair and you can sing beautifully and that you stole a book from my library, and for some reason it's enough. It's enough for me, Laura. I could live on just knowing that," Giles continued, tightening his hold on her. "I don't even know how old you are, which is good because I'd probably feel guilty if I did--"

"Not very likely," she interjected. Giles didn't hear her.

"--And oh how the neighbors would talk but I don't care. I don't want you to leave me. Please don't leave me," he finished. "Please."

She remained quiet in his arms for a moment. The world seemed to stop.

"Come with me."

***

"Oi! Hello? Anyone work here?" an irritated voice came from the car parked at the drive-through menu. The car horn sounded twice, the second honk lasting for almost ten seconds. A scratchy voice suddenly came on the intercom.

"Welcome to Dippity-Doo Donuts, can I take your order?"

"'Bout bloody time," the voice grumbled. The driver of the car stuck his platinum-dyed head out the car window slightly to place his order. "I'll take a dozen jelly donuts. The ones with the red filling. And don't try to give me any of those stale ones or I'll come back here and tear off yer legs and beat you with them. I've done it before," he warned.

"Your total is $6.13. Drive around please."

***

"What do you think they're talking about?" Gina asked Lisa and Oz as they sat on the curb, waiting for some indication that it was safe to go back over to the car.

"What, are you kidding?" Oz snorted, tossing a pebble into the street. Lisa and Gina stared at him for a moment. He glanced back at them and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you've got to be kidding. You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"Giles is, like, infatuated with Laura," Oz explained slowly. "He. Likes. Her. A lot."

"Ohhhhh," they both said. "Yeah, we knew that he liked her. So?" Oz stared at them skeptically.

"Well, see, Giles doesn't really like anyone. He used to. He and this other teacher at the high school had a thing going, but then Angel turned up and killed her." Lisa and Gina gasped. Oz nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it. And Angel took her over to Giles's apartment so that he found her. We didn't know if he would recover, to tell the truth," Oz remembered, his face growing sad and tired and old. "He just…stopped talking. He never talked much to begin with, but he would just stay in the library, with his books, ignoring anyone who came to check on him. It was scary for all of us. And now that you guys are leaving, well…" Oz trailed off. Lisa and Gina exchanged glances.

"You don't know how he'll handle it?"

"Yeah. It's not much of a comparison, I mean, he knew Jenny forever, but--"

"Do you want to come with us, Oz?" Lisa suddenly asked. Gina and Oz both looked at her in amazement. Oz gave a little astounded laugh.

"What was that?"

"Will you come with us? Back to L.A.?" she asked again. Gina began to nod her head enthusiastically. Oz stared at her, disbelief written on his features.

"You're joking, right?"

"No joke," Lisa smiled. "You're a great bassist, and we all really like you. When we got to L.A., we could talk with our label and see if we could get you a contract," Lisa said. Oz's eyes grew wide with the possibility of a break into the business. Then he thought of Dingoes, and of the Bronze, and of Sunnydale and Buffy and Xander and…Willow.

"…I couldn't, you guys," he said, crestfallen.

"Why not?" Gina asked petulantly.

"I have too many things tying me to Sunnydale," Oz said. Lisa snorted.

"Like what?"

"Well, school."

"You could transfer! Or get your GED," Gina offered.

"And Dingoes," he said.

"You could always bring them up after you got settled," Lisa said.

"And, well, Buffy and the gang."

"Right, because helping to hunt demons every night is just so fun," Lisa scoffed.

Oz looked at the two of them. "Willow," he said simply.

Lisa and Gina remained silent for a moment.

"As Hamlet would say, 'Ah, there's the rub'," Gina remarked. Lisa and Oz both stared at her for a moment. She glared back at them defensively. "What? Oh, so because I'm blonde I can't say something intelligent?" Oz gazed back at the ground.

"Oz? I know she means very much to you, and I respect you very much for not wanting to leave her. But I have to wonder if you mean as much to her. She didn't show up at the performance, did she?" Lisa asked gently. Oz looked up at her sharply, wounded.

"Well, no, but--"

"Oh, I'm sure it was something important that kept her away. But still--" Lisa trailed off. A tiny seed of doubt planted itself firmly in Oz's mind.

"We're not saying you could never come back to Sunnydale. We just think you have a very good chance of making it in L.A. You're a very talented individual, Oz. We both know that, even if Willow doesn't," Lisa said quietly.

"She does know--"

"I meant as fellow musicians, Oz. I'm not trying to insult her," Lisa explained. Gina nodded. "You could bring her up to L.A., too, after you got everything in order." Oz sat still, contemplating the new and completely foreign idea. Leave Willow? He couldn't!

…Could he?

***

"I beg your pardon?" Giles asked, lessening his hold on Laura slightly and gazing down at her, his eyes clouded with confusion.

"Come with me, Giles. With us," she said again, beginning to smile. "Back to L.A."

Giles stares at her for a silent moment. A small smile appeared on his lips and he began to laugh, nervous high-pitched chuckles. "You're joking!" he said. He glanced at Laura, who looked vaguely hurt. "Oh. You're not joking," he said soberly. "You know I can't do that, Laura," he sighed, stroking her hair distractedly. There was another silent pause.

"Why not?" she suddenly cried, shoving herself out of his hold and folding her arms, glaring at him fiercely.

Taken aback, Giles said mildly, "Because Buffy needs me here." Laura kicked the tire of the old car.

"So it's okay for you to ask me to give up my life, but I can't ask you to do the same because that's just absurd? God, Giles!" she said, exasperated. "What would you be giving up? A failed career as a Watcher? A Slayer who's not even your responsibility anymore, who clings to you because she lacks a father figure? A bunch of teenagers who revere you because you know how to say big words?"

Giles stared at her, bewildered. He then frowned, folding his own arms as he replied. "I don't expect you to understand the sense of duty I feel as Buffy's W…ex-Watcher. But please realize that it's been my entire life."

"That's right, I wouldn't understand a sense of duty since I'm just a flighty little girl in a band," Laura said sarcastically.

"No, I mean…you're missing the point entirely. I can't leave," Giles said, letting his arms drop to his sides. "I just can't."

"And I can't stay," Laura said dejectedly. They both regarded each other for a moment. "This sucks," Laura said decidedly.

"I'm rather inclined to agree with you," Giles said, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes..

"I mean it. This really really sucks. Because I know I'm going to have to leave you here and the thought of doing that makes me want to rip out all my vital organs because they all begin to hurt. And I don't understand why and it's making me crazy because then I can't think about anything except the pain and you and how damn sexy you look in green and that just makes it hurt worse. So thanks a lot, you big jerk," Laura said, slamming her hand on the hood of the car for emphasis.

"My apologies," Giles said, concealing a smile. "If it's any consolation, I hear that the painfulness of a crush ends quickly."

"I don't get crushes," Laura said agitatedly, fumbling in the pockets of her coat and pulling out a mangled package of cigarettes. "I've never gotten a crush because men were always just stupid and hairy and never worth thinking about. And I can't believe my stupidity," she said, shakily putting a cigarette in her mouth and beginning to search for a lighter, "that I actually let one get to me, especially some Brit librarian stuck in Podunk America, fighting the forces of evil with a bunch of overly hormonal sex-crazed adolescents. It figures," she continued ranting, "that my absolutely shit luck would lead me to fall in love with some guitar-playing sweater-vest-wearing man with an obsessive sense of duty and very nearly no fashion sense at all and damn it, do you have a match?" Laura asked as she gave up trying to find her lighter. She glared at Giles, who stared back at her blankly.

"You just said you loved me," he said vacantly.

"Yeah, and don't even get me started on that," she said, beginning to search through the glove compartment in the car. "Do you know how humiliatingly pathetic it is to realize you love someone after a little over twenty-four hours? It's freakish and…and sick and wrong!" She stared at him for a moment. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"D'you have a match?"

"No," Giles said, suddenly standing very tall and arranging his face in what the Slayerettes privately called the "Purposeful Giles" look. "No, I don't, and it's a very good thing because smoking is very very rotten for your health and your mouth."

Laura glared at him for a moment. "Why the hell do you care?"

Giles glared back at her for a moment and took a step toward her. "Because." And then he grabbed her and pulled her close to him and into a very shocking kiss.

***

As he walked down a darkened road in an isolated neighborhood, Angel suddenly stopped. Xander, Willow and Buffy stared at him curiously.

"What's up?" Buffy asked. "Everything all right?" she continued after Angel didn't answer. Angel looked at her, confusion in his eyes.

"Yes, everything's…fine. There was just something…strange for a minute," he said perplexedly. He glanced at the three. "You guys didn't just feel anything weird happen a minute ago, did you?"

The others looked at each other and back at Angel and shook their head in unison.

"That was weird," Angel said. "You're sure you didn't feel anything?" he asked again, uncertainly.

"No, nothing," Xander said, his eyebrows raised.

"Why? What happened?" Buffy asked. Angel stood still, silent for another moment.

"I'm not quite sure. Everything suddenly…lurched forward a little bit. Just, like…I don't know. The earth…moved," he explained, searching the faces of the others for comprehension.

Buffy, Willow and Xander all exchanged glances. Willow shrugged. They resumed walking.

***