Faith nodded. "She probably went to talk with the other angels or whatever. Yea, we're coming." Buffy understood that they still needed more alone time, and had the others hang back a bit to give Faith and her new sisters some space.

"Are you sure you want me livin' with you? Maybe you haven't heard the stories, but I'm sorta a criminal. Wanted in 3 states and everything."

Piper waved her hand in dismissal. "So? Are you evil or whatever anymore?" Faith shook her head.

"Nope. Got this whole redemption gig going."

"And Mom said that you could choose? Then that means the PTB are somehow going to erase whatever was on your record." Piper murmured, more to herself than to Faith.

"I think we're going to have a very interesting time together." Prue spoke up.

"Duh. I thought you were the smart one?"

All three sisters laughed. "You have a lot to learn." Phoebe ruffled Faith's hair, and her sister glared. "Ok, maybe that's something we don't do quite yet."

"Sorry, not quite used to spontaneous displays of affection."

Angel walked with Buffy towards the front of the group. "This is good for Faith. Maybe she'll finally find the family she wants." Buffy looked up at him, and he was almost certain he could read her thoughts. Angel slipped his hand into hers, and they walked that way.

"Hey!" Xander jostled Anya. "Buffy and Deadboy are holding hands! I don't like what that implies."

"I thought you were over her, Xand." Willow said from his other side.

"Well, I am. But still, she's one of my best friends. I hafta look out for her."

"Or is it because you loathe him with all your being?"

"Ahn! That's so...Ok, that's a lot of the reason, but you weren't around the last time he got all happy. Pretty, it was not."

"You must care nothing for her feelings, I can tell how happy she is around him, and you want to sabotage that because you dislike him? Typical man." Anya looked disgusted.

Xander looked to Tara for help. "I'm sorry, Xander, but Anya's right. Buffy glows w-when Angel's around. Don't you see it?" He had to admit that he did, and Anya looked smug. Spike walked next to Tara, who was behind Willow, Xander, and Anya.

"So, what do you wager the Slayer and the big poof get together?" Spike asked her, while he lit a cigarette.

"The poof?" Tara asked, baffled.

"Angel. The great hair-gelled one."

"Oh. Um...I-I don't know. Isn't their something that doesn't work with them? I've never heard the full story."

"Really. Then, pet, you're in for a treat."

"You know that they're talking about us?" Angel asked Buffy.

"Let them talk. It never bothered us before."

"Spike's filling Tara in on our history. Embellishing a bit too, if that's even possible."

"Spike!" Buffy called over her shoulder. "If you so much as finish that sentence, I will make you wish you were dead."

"Yes ma'am." Spike said forlornly. "Spoil my fun, Slayer!"

"That's my job." She said happily. Buffy suddenly stopped in her tracks, floored by a thought.

"Buffy? Are you ok?" Angel asked, worried.

Her eyes were shining, and he hadn't seen her this happy in years.

"Not only am I very-ok, but soon we will be too." Angel didn't know what to make of her babbling, but he went along with it.

"What do you mean?" And she told him.

Xander was talking to Anya about something involving Snoopy when Willow yelped. Xander jumped and looked at her.

"Will? What's the matter?" She didn't say anything, just pointed at Buffy and Angel, who had stopped walking and started kissing.

Xander grinned. "Bout time, you two. But can't you get a room or something? On a gross-scale of 1-10, that gets an 11."

Back at Buffy's house, they were discussing the events of the last few days. Well, everyone except Buffy, Willow, and Dawn. They had slipped away as soon as they got into the house, probably to talk about Angel.

"That was wild! I mean, 10 demons? Usually not that fun. But DAMN, did that kick ass. Can we do it again?"

"No, you psycho! That was not fun at all. You're not the one who got all bruised. I did, and I'm sore." Anya said defensively.

"Chill, I was jokin'. Mostly."

"Don't joke about things like me being almost being beaten to death. I can think of more amusing things to do than being pummeled. Like-"

"Ok, change of subject." Tara said quickly. "Um...Angel, what's LA like?"

Willow sat cross-legged on Buffy's bed. Dawn leaned against it, sitting on the floor, and Buffy had spread herself across the bed. They were talking about boys.

"Buffy! I want to know what happened! One second, you're walking, and the next, you're making the bestest smoochies I've ever seen! Are you two back together now?" It felt good just to hang out and gossip again, like they were normal teenagers. Of course, they were anything but.

"I don't know. You said it yourself, Will. Its so fast....But if everything works out, then yes, we are." The Slayer was beaming. If her smile got any bigger, it would have enveloped her whole face.

"This is huge!" Dawn said. "I mean, you two, are like, the cutest couple ever!"

Her big sister laughed. "He hasn't gotten any less cute, I can say that much."

"Duh! There should be an intelligence requirement on who should be the Slayer or something."

"Dawnie, don't push it. I'm happy, but not too happy not to beat up my little sister."

"Um, LA's ok. I only see the demon-part of it, so probably less fun than you'd think. Surprising Fyral population, though."

"Really?" Giles said, taking off his glasses and rubbing them on his shirt. "I had the impression Fyrals didn't particularly like crowded places."

"Me neither. See, that's the thing about these demons integrating themselves into our culture. It's a lot harder to figure out their next move if they up and change their feeding patterns."

And the conversation continued, much to everyone else's dismay. Giles and Angel weren't the most interesting people, but when you put them together, they were just boring. Xander motioned for everyone to follow him into the kitchen, where they could talk about anything but demons. They'd had enough of them for the day. When everyone except Giles and Angel had left, they stopped talking.

"I wonder if they knew that was all bull?" Angel said, absentmindedly twirling the calldagh ring on his finger, which Giles noticed with interest was pointed inwards towards his heart.

"I doubt it. They don't know anything about demons, except which end of an axe kills them most effectively. So, in any case. What was it you wanted to ask me about?"

"My God are they dull! I think I fell asleep three times listening to them go on, and on, and on...." Xander made snoring noises, and Prue lightly smacked his shoulder.

Piper sat down in one of the chairs at the counter and stared out the window into the backyard. It was almost day, and the first rays of sunlight were starting to show. Phoebe walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders.

"It's ok, we're here for you."

"All of us." Tara said, smiling a little.

"Yea." Xander cut in, grinning lopsidedly. "Whether you like it or not, you've made some friends, and we're impossible to get rid of."

Amanda grinned as she orbed in front of the Summers house. She walked up the front steps and opened the door. She didn't see anyone right away, so she went a little bit farther into the house. She saw people in the kitchen, so she went in there.

"Hi." The Whitelighter said softly. "Piper, can I see you outside for a second?"

"Um, yea, sure." Piper stood up and followed her out of the house. As soon as she saw, she started crying. "Leo?"