Angel was just finished gathering a few weapons into a bag ready to leave the Hyperion at sunset to follow what he hoped would prove to be a lead about Doyle when Buffy staggered through the door laden with a terrific amount of what seemed to be largely designer shopping bags. A very different Buffy to the one from earlier, she was every inch a cute, popular schoolgirl now in a small white dress trimmed in pink, with shoes, purse and lipstick in the same bubble gum shades. The severely slicked and clipped hair of earlier now swirled around her shoulders in thick blonde waves.

She beamed at him and tried to wave dropping half the shopping in the process. "Hi Angel!" she chirped happily as she deliberately dropped the rest and stepped over it to flop onto the corner of the desk he had sat down at hoping to hide his reaction to her dangerously short skirt.

"So how's the case going?" she asked, innocently leaning towards him unwittingly giving him another reason to be unable to move away.

He tore his eyes away from enticing golden skin and the shadow between her breasts and focused on her conversation, reminding himself that she was only being friendly and would run screaming if she knew what he truly was, "Uh, okay. I may finally have a decent lead to follow."

"So I could get my big brother back to torment sooner rather than later?" she grinned mischievously.

Angel smiled back, not wanting to raise her hopes too much, "Could be."

"Cool." She hopped off the desk and bent to begin scooping her haphazardly scattered heap of purchases off the steps and into some kind of order. "Just so no potential clients walk in and break their necks on my shopping," she explained not seeming to hear his strangled moan as her skirt all but vanished when she bent over. "Y' know," she muttered "I spent and spent on the most expensive shoes imaginable, had a completely over- priced but delicious lunch and I still have over eighty percent of the guilt money Dad gave me this morning. Plus the allowance mom gave me I could probably shop like this once a week for the rest of the summer."

"Guilt money?" Angel questioned with interest, her dad had sounded pretty selfish when Doyle had briefly described him and he was curious to know more about how it might relate to this cute girl being driven to burn buildings and trash cars.

Apparently satisfied with her piling of bags she bounded back to her seat on the corner of his desk and began rummaging in her tiny purse, she paused and eyed him cautiously, "I'm not unsettling and distracting you am I?" she asked him seriously, "If you're busy I can go away."

Was she ever distracting! But she looked so hopeful he couldn't tell her to push off and truthfully he didn't actually have anything to do. Even if she would only ever be a fantasy he liked being around her, soaking up her innocence and sweetness. "No, there's not much I can do for a little while, you're okay. What did you mean by guilt money?"

She found what she had been looking for and offered it, "Lollipop?"

He shook his head and cringed as she unwrapped one for herself with a shrug and began delicately licking it with a very pink tongue. He gritted his teeth as she sucked it into her mouth with a cute pout; he was thinking thoughts that he really should not be thinking.

She considered, "well, he hands out money and goodies whenever he thinks he's done something wrong and feels bad, hence, guilt money for Buffy to compensate."

"What did he do this time to merit so much money? I mean, I'm counting quite a few designer labels and I know some of those really don't come cheap thanks to shopping sprees I've gone on with Cordelia - that's Doyle's girlfriend by the way. A bossy, well-dressed brunette who I expect you'll meet at some point."

Buffy grunted, "He feels bad this time because he promised I could stay with him for the summer but changed his mind at the last minute because his new girlfriend wanted to be boinked in Spain for a change."

Angel blinked in surprise.

Buffy grinned wickedly, "He didn't say that of course but I can read between the lines."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Buffy slid off the desk feeling dumb for crawling about on Angel's desk sounding like a shoppaholic bimbo resentful of her dad's girlfriend, probably disrupting his important case. "Anyway, I expect you have better things to do than listen to me whinge, I'm gonna go, take my shopping out of the way and let you get on."

Angel was about to protest when he realized the sun had almost completely set, "Actually I should be getting on now, but it was good to talk to you. Do you need a hand with the bags?"

Buffy was about to accept and repeat the pleasurable experience of the morning when she recalled the contents of a few of the bags and remembered the books she had left dumped on her bed, he'd be sure to think she was nuts if he saw them and she'd ruin her probably already non-existent chance with him for sure.

"I think I can manage thanks Angel, talk to you tomorrow maybe?"

"Sure."

"Angel, are you still there?" called Wesley from his office before appearing in the doorway.

"Was just on my way out, what's up Wes?"

Wesley's eyes rotated from the book he held to Angel, to Buffy and her heap of bags and back to Angel. "Uh, hello, Ms Summers I presume?"

Buffy sauntered over with a smile, she held out a hand, "Pleased to meet you Wes, call me Buffy please."

Wesley shook hands a little awkwardly seemingly trying to hide the cover of the old book he held, Buffy's sharp eyes caught most of the title anyway 'Rites and rituals of the Quaaz- something' Buffy released his hand and stepped away smiling, "Nice to meet any friend or colleague of Doyle's, I'm sure you're all really busy, and I know I'm delaying Angel so I'll get my shopping and be out of the way. I might even get an early night and do a bit of reading. See you tomorrow I expect."

With that she gathered her bags with difficulty and trotted upstairs as fast as her high heels would carry her.

When they heard the slam of Buffy's door Wesley turned to Angel, "Hmm, she doesn't seem so bad, and politely going to bed to read to be out of the way too."

Angel resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, but then if he hadn't seen the sleeker, leather clad version earlier he would've unquestioningly believed that Buffy really was one hundred percent sweet and innocent. "What's with the book?" he asked moving towards Wesley's office.

Wes followed and seated himself at the desk, "Nothing much yet, just an idea. I think it is very likely that Doyle is being held hostage until a certain alignment of stars at which time the Quaazberoon demons will make a certain number of half-blood sacrifices to give them some great power. I haven't yet finished my research but that is the gist of it."

"So Doyle is safe until this particular alignment takes place?"

"It seems very likely. Though I wouldn't really like to say for sure."

"It's all we have so we'll have to believe it, will you concentrate on finding when this will take place?"

"I thought I would yes, do you agree?"

Angel grinned feeling more hopeful now, "Absolutely Wes, great work." He swept out snatching up his weapons bag missing Wesley's proud flush as he settled back with his books.