Chapter 6

The girls were sitting in the apartment, sprawled out over the floors and the sofas. It wasn't often that any of them got to do this. Fred and Willow made a list of all the things they had to do on a girl's night, and then they proceeded to go through all of them.

After a day of intense shopping (there was no other way with Cordelia as guide) and a whole lot of facials, manicures, pedicures, and fashion shows later, the result was six weary girls and 1 exhausted demon. They were all relaxing now, with Dennis floating in various drinks and clearing up the room.

"I want a ghost too," Dawn said to room.

"Me too," Buffy agreed, twirling a glass in her hand.

"You can't have mine," Cordelia retorted lazily from the sofa.

"Is it time yet?" Willow asked.

Fred nodded, and the two bent their heads together and whispered furiously.

"I'm not sure if the aim of girl's night is to plan everything, Will…I am pretty sure lists shouldn't be on the agenda," Buffy commented, a little belatedly.

"Never had a slumber party before," Fred answered, "We just wanted it all to be right."

"So what's next on the list, girls?" Anya asked.

"Girl talk," Willow announced.

"You planned for girl talk," Cordelia asked.

"Of course, how else do we find out all the juicy details, and the gossip," Willow replied. And Fred nodded her agreement.

"Got to agree with them there," Lorne put in his two cents.

"Okay, then," Dawn said, "Girl talk it is."

"I'm not sure if you should hear this, Dawnie," Buffy said consideringly, "You are only 16 years old."

"And what - you think I never talk about sex. That is what you are planning to talk about, right?"

"Dawnie," Buffy said warningly.

"Buffy," Dawn replied.

"Oh come on Buffy, let her stay. Its not like she doesn't know already?" Willow pleaded on Dawn's behalf.

Buffy considered it for a minute while Dawn looked beseechingly at her. It wasn't worth spoiling the day for. Not when everyone was getting along so well. "Okay, you can stay."

"Yay," Dawn jumped up and hugged her sister in excitement.

Cordelia watched them all for a minute and smiled. This was working out great. Her smile faded for a second, as a sharp pain ran through her head. She flinched. The headaches had been getting a lot worse recently. Ignoring them was becoming a problem.

She stood up slowly, not wanting to aggravate it any further, and walked calmly into her bedroom to swallow some tablets. They didn't help much, but it was better than nothing. 'And Angel thinks I can't act,' she thought ruefully to herself. Cordelia sat on the bed, and closed her eyes for a second, the mask falling of her face for just a little while, as she summoned the strength to continue to pretend nothing was wrong. She wasn't going to let anything spoil this night. A night long overdue, by over three years according to her calculation.

A glass of water and two tiny capsules floated towards her, as Dennis fluttered worriedly besides her.

"Thanks, Dennis," she said softly. Cordelia swallowed them, and then took a deep breathe and tried to work her way through the pain.

Another deep breathe, and slowly she stood back up and walked through the door, the mask firmly in place.

"Oh, good, you're here, princess," Lorne said as he spotted her. He frowned as he read her aura, the dark colors edging in on the brightness she always radiated. Then she smiled at him, and he let the worry go.

"We're going to start, Cordelia," Anya told her.

"Start what?" Cordy asked.

"The game, Cor. We planned it all out. We have a bunch of questions, and everyone has to answer truthfully," Fred said, excitement shining through.

"Ok, then. Who gets to go first?" Cordy asked them, before glancing at her front door.

The others followed her gaze.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Buffy asked.

"Doing what?" Cordy looked confused.

"Looking at the door. All night long," Willow replied, "Are you expecting someone?"

Cordelia smiled ruefully, "I didn't realize I was doing that," she said, "I guess I was expecting Angel to show up."

"Why would Angel show up for girls night?" Anya asked, "You told them they couldn't come."

Lorne answered for her, "Angelcakes doesn't really listen that well," he said.

"Yeah, plus he's all weird overprotective-guy since the whole hell incident," Fred added helpfully.

"Well, actually, he was weird over-protective guy before that. It just got worse after," Cordy clarified.

"You'll think he'll show up as well?" Buffy asked Lorne and Fred.

"No doubt about it," Lorne answered, "I'm surprised he isn't here yet."

"Wesley probably made him stay," Cordelia said, "Or he'd show up with some lame excuse like…Connor can't sleep or something."

At that second, the bell rang. Dawn jumped up and went to answer it. There stood their men, Angel in front with a baby's crib in his hands.

Cordelia walked to the door, and stared hard at them. They all flinched under her gaze, except Angel who smiled sheepishly at her, and with his puppy-dog eyes said in a pathetic tone, "Connor was missing you." He didn't really understand why his words had them all bursting out laughing, but he did appreciate it, especially since despite her struggle to contain her laugh and maintain her stern expression, he could see Cordy was weakening. Maybe he wouldn't get into that much trouble.

"Its girls night, Angel," Cordy said, trying to sound reproving, "Remember what I said on the phone." She was trying really hard to be mad at him, but much as she hated to admit it, she had missed him and Connor.

"But, Cordy…" he started, all set to begin begging. She held up her hand to stop him, and he silenced.

She turned to look at the rest of the men behind him, and raised an eyebrow in question.

"It was his idea," Gunn said immediately when her eye fell on him.

"Yeah, it was the poof's plan all along," Spike confirmed hurriedly when she looked at him. He didn't know Cordy that well yet, but he knew not to cross her, especially since she prepared his blood.

"We just came to make sure Connor was alright," Wesley added. That got another spate of giggles from the girls.

"Traitors," Angel's low voice accused them all.

"I can't believe how they keep using that poor baby as an excuse," Anya said.

"Angel groveling is really funny," Dawn whispered to Willow.

"They're all whipped, even Spike," Buffy added, not sure how she was supposed to feel about that.

"You can come in," Cordelia said finally, after keeping them in suspense long enough to have all their heads bowed in shame, and she moved away from the door. She thought about yelling or something, but her head hurt too much to even consider it.

They all rushed in before she changed her mind, and immediately Dawn commandeered Connor and took him to Cordy's bedroom to play, totally forgetting about the game she was so eager to participate in, just minutes ago. Within seconds she had joined Connor in sleep.

"Since you are here, this means you have to play the game with us," Fred said, an evil look in her eye, one she picked up from Cordelia.

"Game?" Spike asked curiously. Xander punched him, "Idiot, don't ask!" he told him, furiously, "This is going to go bad. I can just see it."

"Wesley and I are going to finish our chess game," Giles told Fred, while Spike was being chewed out by Xander.

"Okay," Buffy said before Fred could insist that they play. She really didn't want Giles to be part of this game. It was too weird. Like discussing your sex life with your father.

Fred nodded in agreement, and went to consult with Willow for a second, before making some more space for them all to sit. The rest waited, talking softly among themselves, and Wesley and Giles set up their chess game in the one corner, far enough to miss most of the game but close enough to eavesdrop if they really wanted to.

Angel stared at Cordy, something was wrong. She hadn't yelled yet, or said anything. She seemed relieved to see him. He watched her carefully, trying to spot what it was, but she seemed normal. Happy even. He saw her exchange a smile with Buffy, over Xander's protests to the game, and for a second it all seemed surreal.

How had they all got here? Yesterday everyone was barely talking, and today Fred and Willow were joined at the hip, Dawnie hung on to every word Cordy said and the weirdest thing of all, his ex-girlfriend and his…for a second there his mind struggled with a word that would describe his relationship with Cordy…his…best friend, former self-proclaimed enemies were carrying on like they were sisters. Could his life get any weirder?

"Don't tell me you wormed your way here only to brood?" Buffy's voice interrupted him.

He turned and smiled at her, "Nope, just thinking how weird it is that you and Cordy are friends now," he teased.

For a second there, the smile surprised her. She wasn't used to seeing it, or having him tease her, but when the shock passed, warmth filled her…this was right, this time they would be friends. "Strange, isn't it?" Buffy said to him, "I kind of like it. Don't tell her though."

"Oh, I won't. I am glad though, Buffy," he said, turning serious.

"Me, too, Angel," she said back to him.

There was a silence, a comfortable one, one between friends.

"So when are you going to tell her?" Buffy asked finally.

He looked at her curiously, and she looked back, forcing him to admit, to acknowledge that he knew what she was referring to.

"I'm not," he said softly, almost unsure.

"You should," Buffy replied. Oh her life was seriously bizarre – giving love advice to the ex-love-of-her-life.

Their conversation was interrupted by Fred's call. She made them all sit around in a circle, while they waited for the question.

"Okay, here are the rules," Willow said in best announcer voice, "One question. Everyone gets a turn to answer and you have to tell the truth."

"Alright," Spike said gleefully. He was the only one that didn't look slightly nervous. Truth was a scary business, "What's the question?"

Willow looked at Fred, before stating, "You have to say exactly how many people you have slept with, and name them. In order."

There was a variety of groans around the room.

"Who wants to start?" Fred asked.

"I think you two should. You came up with the plan," Xander said.

"I don't want to go first," Fred protested.

"Okay, I will. Its not like you'll don't know already," Willow said.

"Yeah, where's the fun in that?" Spike asked, "I say we have Buffy go first." He had a wicked look on his face. Buffy threw a pillow at him, and stuck out her tongue.

"Okay, that was weird. You have been spending too much time around Queen C," Xander said, when he saw that particular mannerism.

"Hey!" it came from both Cordelia and Buffy.

"Willow, start already, so we can get to the interesting ones," Anya cut in, "Xander, shut up."

"Hey!" This time it came from Xander. He didn't look happy about the game. He really didn't want them all to know his sexual history.

"Okay, I'm going. Two. And you'll already know who," Willow said, "Who's next?"

"I'll go," Buffy said. Everyone looked surprised. Spike most of all, "Four," she said, and watched as Willow and Xander calculated in their minds, "Angel," exchanging a look with him, a nostalgic one, and despite herself, an apologetic one with Cordy, who bent her head, hiding her eyes, "Parker," and she flinched at the memory. Xander looked mad, and even Willow got a look of anger in her eyes. Buffy smiled at them reassuringly, to tell them she was fine, and continued, "Riley," and then she paused, laughing inwardly as she saw the curiosity in their eyes, and the dare in Spike's, "And Spike." She waited for the reactions. They didn't disappoint.

Giles stood up angrily, and Wesley grabbed his arm and dragged him back down. Xander choked, spitting his drink out all over Anya, who looked distinctly unimpressed. "Spike!" He turned to glare at Spike, "What did you do?" Xander grabbed the front of Spike's shirt. He was in his protect-Buffy-mode.

"Hey, she wanted it. I didn't make her do anything, mate," Spike said.

"I am not your mate," Xander said furiously.

Willow was looking worriedly at Buffy. She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it, not knowing exactly what to say.

"You slept with Spike?" Cordy looked surprised. She needed clarification.

"Yeah," Buffy replied.

Cordelia looked worriedly at Angel, wondering how he was taking it. He didn't seemed upset. She looked closer, "You knew," it wasn't a question.

Angel smiled, "Yes. Spike's pretty obvious. And I have known William for years. He isn't hard to figure out."

"And you're not mad," Cordelia asked. This wasn't going right. No one was behaving the way they should.

"We talked," Angel replied, smiling reassuringly at his anxious seer. He didn't say who he talked to. The conversation was interrupted by yelling.

"You took advantage of her," Xander shouted, pushing Spike against the wall, "You knew she was vulnerable after we brought her back."

"I made her feel again," Spike yelled back.

Buffy moved to the middle of the two. She held Xander back, "It's okay, Xan. I'm fine. He didn't take advantage, I swear," she looked into his eyes, letting him see the truth. Xander let go of the front of Spike's shirt.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Willow asked.

"I didn't know how. Things were difficult there for a while," Buffy replied, as they all sat back down, "Hard to bring the subject up."

"You really okay?" Xander asked, wrapping his arms around Anya, taking comfort from her.

"Yes, I am. I'm much better now, Xander. Now that you'll know." Xander nodded, and looked at Willow for confirmation.

"Woah, Fred, girl. This game is really getting interesting," Gunn whispered into his girlfriend's ear.

"Whose next?" Anya asked, "Xander, you go. I want to know yours."

Xander blushed, and avoided his fiancé's probing eyes.

"Yes, Xander, you go," Cordelia said from next to Angel, smiling mischievously at his discomfort.

"Come on, Xander. We all know anyway," Buffy encouraged, glad to have the heat of her, and even gladder that she got to tell it before Spike spilled the beans.

"Fine. Two," Xander said sulkily.

"Two? You said you didn't sleep with Cordelia, Xander. You lied." Anya did not sound happy.

"Not Cordy. Faith," Xander said avoiding Anya's glare.

"Faith!" shouted both Anya and Cordy. Xander flinched.

"What the hell were you thinking, Xander?" Cordelia exclaimed furiously. Angel started to frown. In his opinion, Cordy was overreacting. A thought occurred to him, what if she still loved him. Nah, that couldn't be it…she, wait she cried, when he…no, she definitely couldn't. He growled. Cordelia stopped concentrating on Xander and turned to look at him.

"I'm sure Faith's fine, Angel. She couldn't have been too traumatized by Xander," Cordelia say comfortingly to him, patting him on the arm.

"Is she really that dense?" Spike asked in a loud whisper to Gunn, Fred and Lorne who were all sitting near him.

"You have no idea," Lorne whispered back.

"Cordy's not dense," Fred defended loyally, "She's just…just…"

"What? Stupid," Spike suggested.

"No!" Fred sounded horrified, "A little misguided. That's all."

"Please, Fred. Misguided? Jealousy, particular his, goes right over her head," Wesley commented, looking up from his chess game where he and Giles were shameless eavesdropping. "Sometimes I think it goes over his head as well."

"Yeah, remember Groo, that was funny," Gunn started to laugh softly, at the memory of Angel mumbling about love and co-workers.

"Personally I thought Lindsay was funnier," Lorne put in.

"I have to vote for Lindsay too," Wesley added, "Angel was totally freaked when she said he was cute."

"He did sing beautifully," Lorne said, in a faraway voice.

"Cordy certainly thought so," Gunn put in.

"I swear the two of them being so oblivious is beginning to wear me down. I want to hit them both over the head. Especially her, at the moment," Lorne snapped out of his day-dream. It was strange coming from Lorne who was usually the most patient person.

"It's not totally her fault. He didn't tell her, either," Fred said.

"That's true," Spike mused, "They're both idiots."

By this time, Anya and Xander had begun another fight, when Anya named her number and began naming names.

"I'm a thousand year old ex-demon, Xander. Of course I have had more boyfriends. You're being ridiculous."

"How am I being ridiculous. I just found out my girlfriend has slept with half the demon world. How exactly am I supposed to react?" he yelled back.

"Your, fiancé, Xander. Your fiancé who you are going to marry. And you knew what I was before I became human. You knew, that I was older. So you know what, you can go to hell." Anya said finally, her patience at its very end.

"How about we all take a short break," Cordelia suggested calmly, in a peacemaker tone.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Willow agreed.

"Anya, Anya, I want to talk to you," Xander called after his fiancé who was now walking away towards the kitchen.

"I don't want to talk to you," Anya replied stiffly.

"Fine. Let's not talk then," Xander agreed and stormed away in the other direction.

"Xander?" Buffy called, as we moved past her and Willow.

He stopped.

"You're being a little unreasonable, Xander ," Willow said to his back.

"That's funny coming from you, Will. You hate Anya," Xander returned, turning around to face his friends.

"That's not true, Xander," Willow said, "And even if it was, it wouldn't matter."

"Why wouldn't it?" Xander questioned.

"Because you love her," Buffy replied.

"And you are going to marry her," Willow added.

"She's not talking to me, right now. Don't see how that's going to happen."

"But she will. As soon as you stop being a jerk and apologise," Buffy said. Xander looked unsure.

"You're picking a fight, Xander," Willow said, "We know you, and you are running scared."

"I'm not. Its just that…I'm getting married, and I feel sometimes I don't even know her," Xander looked at his best friends desperately, "I'm getting married, guys."

"Yes. Yes, you are, Xander. And we both know you would have never asked her if you didn't totally love her," Buffy told him.

"You'll have the rest of your lives to get to know each other, Xander," Willow said reassuringly, "Go tell her you're sorry."

"Okay, you're right. I know you're right. Going now, " Xander said, and walked slowly towards Anya. The two of them watched as he spoke softly to her, and then pulled her into a hug.

"There. All fixed," Willow said to Buffy.

"Are we good or what?" Buffy smiled.

"So good! The best," Willow said, and paused for second before adding in a scandalized tone, "Spike? Buffy!"

"Wondering when you'd get round to that," Buffy replied.

"Okay, guys. We're starting again," Fred called excitedly. This was great. She was learning all sorts of stuff about her new friends.

TBC

A/N - Hi. THanks for all the feedback. THis part might not be exactly what you'll were expecting, but i hope you like it. Let me know what you think please.

Domino