Compared to the damp innards of the hotel, the roof was fresh, airy and glowing.
Kate instinctively rolled to a stop beyond the semicircular pattering of falling glass. Gulping air into her raw, deflated lungs, she allowed herself a moment's relief.
Then a cloud of dust rose around her, obscuring everything.
Her euphoria at escaping unharmed from a vampire's clutches for the second time in one day evaporated as her exhausted brain joined the dots.
Dust - Sun - Vampires
Cordy - Angel
"Oh God ... no ..."
Kate covered her face with both hands. The dust hid her, and that was good. She'd always hated weepy women.
Several feet away, Angel opened his eyes. The hazy disc of the sun was obscured, by what he didn't understand. His skin felt curiously tight and was turning a deep shade of pink. Tiny shards of glass were buried in him, but he definitely wasn't burning, in the vampire sense of the word.
Struggling to sit, he noticed that every move he made disturbed a layer of silky dust that covered this part of the roof. Billowing clouds of grey added to the smog surrounding him and he realised he couldn't see more than a few inches from his nose.
Dust. Enough to be the remains of several vampires. Where had it come from?
A chill gripped his thudding heart as he croaked, "Cordy!"
A chorus of voices replied.
"Angel?"
A gentle gust of wind washed over them, clearing the dust away like smoke, to reveal Kate, Cordelia and Angel, sitting in a triangle, each facing the other.
Angel sprang to his feet.
"We have to get her inside. Now!"
The dust rose again as Kate and Cordy scrambled to join him.
"What the hell ...?"
"It's OK!" Wesley's voice boomed from the shattered window frame. "It's just regular dust. Accumulated up here over some time, I should imagine, and after the dry spell we've had ... I'd get out of it though. Can't imagine it's healthy to breathe."
In the hallway, Gunn joined them and the five looked from one to another and back again.
Wesley beamed.
"So, you'll be all wanting an explanation, I should think?"
Gunn ignored him, and strode up to Cordelia in a determined way.
"Cordy?"
Cordelia looked startled, as if about to run.
"You're looking better. How're you feeling?"
"It hurts."
"Well," Gunn reached out and touched her arm, "It's bound to be hard at ... holy mother of God!"
Cordelia shrank away from him, into the mildewed wall.
Gunn swivelled to face the others. "She's warm!"
"Yes, she would be." Wesley smiled triumphantly.
Gunn shook his head and turned back to Cordy, who was gulping tearfully and trying to wipe the dust from her hands.
"You see," Wesley continued, "I had a feeling this would happen. Angel was the big clue. When Angel seemed to be suffering from excess humanity, I guessed it was brought about by being around humans and doing human things and wanting to be human so badly. Having Paul and Kate around, as well as the rest of us, you know, it's bound to make its mark."
Gunn put his arms awkwardly round Cordy and kissed the crown of her head.
"It's OK. Everything's going to be OK. I promise."
"The demon is just overwhelmed." Wesley babbled on. "Still there, but battened down. Under the thumb, if you will."
Kate fixed Angel with a steely glare.
"You're human?"
Angel shrugged weakly. "I don't know. Maybe ... more human than I was."
"Then there was the village." Wesley waved his finger. "A whole village, turned into vampires, then seemingly recovering. I asked myself, what was the deciding factor? Well, it took me a while to figure it out, but you see, they didn't have any living blood."
"And you were going to mention this ... when?" Kate continued, regardless.
"There was almost no-one left to feed from. Except, there must have been at least one survivor. Someone must have known the restoration spell and performed it on all the villagers, one by one. I can tell you, I've done it once and that was enough. I take my hat off to him, whoever he was."
"I didn't know until yesterday." Angel bit his lip. "Kate, I swear, I had no idea."
"Newly born vampire, no chance to feed, soul restored within hours of being turned ... it's like ... taking the gift back in the original packaging. The villagers never had a chance to be vampires, and so when the restoration spell worked, they just went back to being human."
Gunn frowned. "So, Cordy ..."
Wesley smiled. "She didn't burn. And not because of the dust, either. She could walk outside at noon and I think she'd be OK."
"Not that I care." Kate shrugged. "I mean, you made it quite clear how you felt, right? What's it to me if you're human? Friends don't care about these things. Not in LA."
"It's been a lot tougher for Angel of course." Wesley shook his head sadly. "And will continue to be. But then, he does have two hundred years of vampirism to work through."
"Friends. Right." Angel nodded and stared at the carpet.
The hallway fell silent.
Gunn stopped kissing the dust away from Cordelia's brow, and looked into her surprised eyes for a long moment. Then he threw a supporting arm around her waist, and started to thread through the crowd.
"We're going to room 212. Cordelia needs rest. I don't want to see any of you guys until tomorrow. And, Kate?"
As he passed her, Gunn thumbed in Angel's direction. "He's got a collection of your underwear in his room. That's not what friends do. Not even in LA."
Kate looked at Angel and smiled triumphantly.
Cordy turned back as the lift door opened.
"Angel - she never talks about anything else. I think it might be .. y'know ... time."
Angel started to walk very slowly and deliberately towards Kate. As Angel advanced, Wesley made a face and started to examine his fingernails intently, one by one.
"So ... er ... any questions?"
Angel stopped and mumbled. "Curse?"
"I don't know. Really, it's difficult to be sure. I'd guess you're in control enough now to make it a non-issue. But ..."
Angel held out a hand to Kate who regarded it with a frown for several seconds, before folding her arms in a determined fashion and marching towards the stairs. Passing Angel, she jerked her head to one side to signify that he could follow if he wanted. As their footsteps receded, Wesley smiled.
"... I guess there's only one way to find out."