Chapter 12

Angel stared into Buffy's eyes as he laid on top of her. She smiled back up at him. He planted a small kiss on her lips and she responded by kissing him a little more deeply. His hand stroked her hip while hers caressed the back of his neck. Suddenly a door closed. Buffy grabbed her flashlight and pushed open the lid of the coffin. Angel jumped out first and then helped Buffy out. Another coffin lid opened and Conner and Xander climbed out.

"Hey." Xander said.

"Next time, I get my own coffin." Conner complained.

"Sorry." Buffy said.

"33 minutes, mom. Since when do we go through all this trouble for one lousy vampire? Excuse me, one lousy potential vampire."

"Vampire by vampire. It's the only way I know how."

There was a knocking sound from one of the smaller coffins. Buffy and Angel went to open it, and Dawn, who was fairly cramped, got out, gasping for air.

"I think this thing has a freakin' child lock on it." Dawn said.

"Shh!" Angel said.

"You know, I'm not the shortest one here. I don't know why I had to be in the kid coffin."

"Look, I know it's my job.." Buffy started.

"No, no. I'm sorry. I wanna help. I guess I've been a bit stressed out lately. I'm sorry I took it out on you." Xander said.

"No big. Been kinda stressed myself."

"Well, the whole Willow sitch is not unstressifying. I mean she's here, but not 'part of the gang' here and hopefully not 'under my feet here in another time dimension' here." Dawn said.

"Not to mention that whole Cordy business." Xander said.

"There's Willow. There's Cordelia. There's the looming humongo bad. And it's a school night. I should be home in bed, cuddled up to my insomnia and my husband, and worrying about how I'm gonna mess up tomorrow." Buffy said.

"You'll be fine. You're a great counselor." Angel said.

"It's my first week actually TALKING to the kids. What if their problems are all weird and tricky?"

"I think you underestimate your familiarity with the world of weird and tricky. This job's perfect for you." Xander said.

"Check out perfect me." Buffy walked toward the casket containing a dead woman. Dawn and Conner followed her. Buffy shined the flashlight in the dead woman's face, inspecting her. "Taking my sister and my son on an educational outing to the.."

"Dead body." Dawn said.

"I don't know. Amateur opinion here, but she looks dead. I mean like natural causes dead." Conner said.

"The paper said she had unusual cuts and contusions on her neck." Buffy said as she shined the flashlight on the dead woman's neck. Right below her pearl necklace there were two puncture wounds that had been stitched up.

"Maybe she cut herself shaving and then died naturally of embarrassment." Xander said.

Buffy rolled her eyes and tossed her flashlight to Angel who stood watching calmly.

"She looks.." Dawn said.

"Peaceful." Buffy said.

The woman in the casket opened her eyes, and they were yellow, like a vampire's. She looked at Buffy and said, "I am not peaceful."

"That, I can help with." Buffy pulled out her stake and shoved it through the vamp's unbeating heart. The woman burst into dust and Buffy closed the lid to the casket. "I always thought closed caskets were more tasteful anyway."

"Me too." Angel said.

"Ok, it's time to get you two back home and in bed." Buffy said to Conner and Dawn.

Xander walked to the window that they had come in through and opened it. He climbed out and held it open for everyone else. Conner and Angel helped Dawn and Buffy out before climbing through the window themselves. They said their goodbyes to Xander as he got in his car and sped off to his apartment. Buffy, Angel, Conner, and Dawn walked back to the Summers' house.

As soon as Conner and Dawn were in bed, Buffy and Angel went downstairs and curled up on the couch. Buffy laid her head on Angel's chest and he slipped his arms around her shoulders and waist.

"I'm so nervous." Buffy said. "This is going to be so creepy. I mean, I was once a teenager, I live with two of them, and I know what goes through their minds."

"Seeing as how you could read them once." Angel said. "Buffy, you'll do fine. Principal Wood chose you for this job because he knows that you can do it. You can connect with those kids."

"God I hope so."

"You know what you need?"

"You?"

"Well, that too. But I mean sleep. You just to get some sleep. You haven't slept in a while."

"Cause when I close my eyes, all I can see is your lips on that girl."

"Buffy.."

"I know! It was all her. But how would you feel if you walked in all yippy and then you saw me kissing some guy I just met?"

"I would probably rip his head off. Then, do some extremely naughty things to you to remind you who's your husband."

"Which I already did to you." Buffy sighed and sat up, looking at Angel. "It's just, you promised that you would never hurt me and you did. It broke my trust a little." Angel looked down at the floor. "Awe, Angel. Don't do the tortured puppy dog thing!"

"I'm not!"

"You were! Don't lie."

"No, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"You'll find out later." Angel stood up.

"Where are you going?" Buffy stood in front of him.

"To bed." Angel swept Buffy off her feet and carried her up the stairs.



The next morning, Buffy was rushing around trying to get ready for work. Angel watched her calmly as she rushed in and out of the kitchen and up and down the stairs. At one point he stopped her and made her eat something. Which was when he actually got to talk to her.

"So, what are your plans today while I'm gone?" Buffy asked him.

"Well, Willow asked me to come with her and Xander." Angel replied.

"Where?"

"She wants to go visit Tara. I think she's ready."

"Good for her. I'm proud of her." Buffy's watch went off. "Crap! I gotta go! Dawn! Conner! Let's go!"

Conner and Dawn came down the stairs. Buffy kissed Angel goodbye and rushed out the door to the van. She climber in the driver's seat as Dawn got in back and Conner got in the passenger's seat. Angel waved as Buffy drove off. The phone rang and Angel ran back in to get it.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Angel?" Willow asked.

"Yeah. Are you calling for Buffy? Cause she just left."

"No, I'm calling for you. I wanted to know what time was good for you."

Angel looked down at his ring, the Gem of Amara, and smiled. "Anytime Willow. Anytime your ready."

"Now would be good."

"Um, ok, maybe not anytime. I'm not dressed. Give me an hour and I'll come get you and Xander."

"Ok. I'll see you in an hour."

Angel hung up the phone and headed upstairs to take a shower and get ready.



"I bet she's giving them great advice." Xander said.

"Absolutely! Those kids are lucky to have Buffy looking out for them. I just wish she believed it. She's still stressing over the whole 'dropped out of college, not actually qualified' thing. Plus the salivating Hellmouth underneath her feet and the whole.." Willow said.

"From beneath you, it devours." Angel said.

"It's not the friendliest jingle, is it?" Xander asked. "It's no 'I like Ike' or 'Milk: it does a body good.'"

"I know. It's gonna be bad. It's gonna be real bad. And I wonder, will I.. Well, if it comes.. When it comes, will I be able to help?" Willow asked.

"I think so."

"I know so." Angel said.

"I don't know. I don't know what I can do. I mean, frankly, I'm.. I'm scared of what I might do." Willow said.

"Yeah, I get that. Figuring out how to control your magic seems a lot like hammering a nail." Xander said. Willow and Angel looked at him confused. "Well, uh, hear me out. So you're hammering, right? Ok, well at the end of the hammer, you have the power, but no control. It takes, like, two strokes to hit the nail in, or you could hit your thumb."

"Ouch."

"So you choke up. Control, but no power. It could take like ten strokes to knock the nail in. Power, control. It's a tradeoff."

"That's actually not a bad analogy." Angel said.

"Thanks."

"I'm less worried about hitting my thumb, and more worried about going all black-eyed baddy and bewitching that hammer into cracking my friends' skulls open like coconuts." Willow said.

"You'll be fine. It's hard, I know. I'm here to help you through this Willow." Angel said.

"I know. And I really am grateful Angel. But, being back here.."

"It'll take time. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Willow nodded and walked forward without Xander or Angel. They watched as Willow walked by herself past many graves before coming up to a tombstone. She put a handful of rocks on the headstone, and kneeled in front of it. It was Tara's grave. After Willow left, Buffy and the others had held a small funeral for Tara. They had all agreed that it would be best for Willow if she hadn't been there. Buffy had talked to Giles afterwards and told them what they had done. Giles had told her that Willow said thanks and that she didn't think she could have handled it either.

Xander tapped Angel's shoulder and Angel turned. Xander pointed to a bench and walked over to it. With a glance back at Willow, Angel followed.

"Do you really think she'll be ok?" Xander asked.

"I know she will. Willow's a strong person." Angel said, not taking his eyes off her. "Besides, I love Buffy and losing Willow would hurt her far beyond anything she's ever imagined."

"Worse than her mom?"

"I don't know about that, but it would be way up there. I don't want Buffy to have to go through that again. She's been hurt enough."

"I think she's over that whole yanked-from-heaven stuff."

"I didn't mean that."

"Then what did you mean?"

"It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with. It's between me and Buffy."

"What'd you do?"

"Why do you assume that's me?"

"Cause Buffy loves you way too much to hurt you. So what'd you do?"

"It wasn't me! It just happened."

"Buffy saw him kiss another girl." Willow said. Both men jumped and stood to face Willow. "She told me after she got back."

"She jumped me!" Angel said.

"I know. Buffy told me that too." Willow smiled, took Angel's arm and started to walk. "She's not mad. She's just a little hurt. You're going to have to work her trust back up."

"She talked to me last night. Told me the same thing pretty much."

"Wait! You kissed another girl?" Xander asked. Angel nodded. "And Buffy saw?" Angel nodded again. "Is the girl still alive?" Angel nodded. "And your still alive?" This time Angel glared at Xander.

"Xander, just shut up." Willow said.



"I need some help!" Buffy said. She burst through the door and tossed her stuff on the couch. "Angel! Willow! Are you home?"

Angel rushed down the stairs. "Buffy, what is it?"

"Where's Willow?"

"Right here." Willow came in from the kitchen with Xander.

"Where's Conner and Dawn?" Angel asked.

"They're at school. I asked them to stay behind and make friends." Buffy said.

"What?"

"There's this girl named Cassie Newton and she's in trouble. We need to check her out. Now."

"I'll get on the net." Willow said, sitting at the dining room table and opening the laptop on it.

"Buffy, come here." Angel said. Angel led Buffy into the kitchen and poured her a glass of water. "Drink this and tell me what's wrong."

Buffy set the water down. "I don't need it. There's this girl, Cassie Newton, and she came to me in the office and told me that Friday she's going to die. She didn't give me much to go on because she got nervous and left. But before that, she told me to put a sweater over my shirt because it might get stained. And it did! Look!" Buffy pulled off her sweater and showed Angel the coffee stain. "What if she's right and she is going to die? I have to stop it!"

"We will Buffy." Angel said.