Ahem *cough* ahem. Today's updates on WDWGFH.

Angel, Wesley, Spike and Lorne discuss Andrew.

Andrew sees Warren and Jonathan. The Trio have been given a second chance by the Powers. Andrew holds the visions and the sight (considering he's the only one who's alive) and Warren and Jonathan are his guides. He accepts a bit reluctantly.

He wakes up and tells his story to the gang. Angel is annoyed that Cordy's pregnant and they were the ones who held Andrew captive. Wesley is the one who Andrew keeps seeing in his visions…Then Buffy arrives!

The First comes to Cordelia, annoyed that its plan is falling apart. Karl had to be killed, his supporters are gone and their big threat, Andrew, is in the hands of Angle. Worse off, he has not got a sacrifice. Together, they believe the only way they can survive out of this, who would be powerful enough to satisfy both of them, would be to kill Conner.

So *cough* on with the story? The Scoobies!

Where do we go from here: WHAT'S WRONG WITH US?

Angel stared at the stairs for a moment. Buffy was there and she was staring right at him. Behind her were Xander, Anya, Giles, Dawn and some other girl that they had never seen before. An uncomfortable silence followed. Wesley looked towards Angel and Gunn simply looked around in confusion. Spike simply looked uncomfortable. No one wanted to say anything.

Andrew peered out from behind Lorne. "Hi Buffy," he said first.

Buffy looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "What happened to you?"

"Err…He had a problem," Angel said distractedly and quickly moved on. "What are you and everyone doing here?" He watched Buffy coming down the stairs. Xander, Anya Giles and Dawn stayed where they were.

"I'm here to come and collect my side of the battlefield. Willow's gone! Spike's gone and now Andrew's gone."

"Well, technically, I wasn't really that much help…" Lorne bent down and shook his head towards Andrew was instantly quiet and started sipping his drink again. Buffy looked at the boy wrapped in a blanket. He had a few cuts and looked rather ill but he was alive. Dawn would be happy about that.

Angel shook his head. "Yeah, about that."

Buffy stole a glance at Spike which he returned. "Where's Willow?"

"Err…Willow is in another dimension at the moment."

The atmosphere in the lobby, if possible, got even colder as Buffy's frown deepened. Angel wanted to look away from her but doing that would only make her stronger. He had his argument. "What?" Her voice was demanding a sharp with authority. Crisp with an edge of anger and disbelief. "Why the hell is she in another dimension when she should be here fighting the First."

Angel sighed. "That's what she's there for. She's looking for information on the First. Besides, she's not alone."

"Oh, and that makes everything better." She threw her hands up in the air in annoyance. "I can't believe this."

"Buffy, I don't think we should get too ahead of ourselves," Giles said, taking his glasses off and wiping them. "I'm sure whatever reason Angel has for Willow, Spike and Andrew is good. Maybe you should talk to him."

Angel nodded and followed Buffy into the office and the door closed.

Silence stayed in the lobby of the Hyperion until Xander broke the silence. "Well, this is awkward," he said. "Hey, Wesley, you look different." He shuffled slightly. "Faith."

"If you are here to mock," Wesley said, "then now is definitely not the…"

Xander lifted up his hands and waved them in front of his face.  "No, no, no mocking intended." He looked around the room. Faith, Gunn and Wesley were against the counter. Lindsey stayed in the corner, watching the proceedings again but having no intention of taking part in the group unless he had to. He was technically the outsider and unless someone spoke to him, he didn't need to take part. Spike stood by the banquet behind Andrew and next to Lorne.

Lorne stepped forward. "No, kiddos, I know the emotions are on high here. I've seen monsoons do less damage. But we're fighting the ultimate big bad-ass. We don't need all this shifting anger and aggression. All the anger and aggression is settled on those two love birds in there. We should be getting along."

Anya stepped forward and took his hand eagerly. "Hi, I'm Anya."

Lorne smiled. "Hey there, sweetie." He looked around at the others. "See?"

Gunn folded his arms across his chest and sighed. "Looks like we've all been fighting each other with sticks here. None of us can get our act together."

Xander lifted out his hands. "And you are…"

"Gunn. Charles Gunn."

"Catchy name." Xander looked over. "And Spike. Killed anyone lately?"

Spike looked up to where he was lighting his cigarette and glared at Xander. "No," he said calmly. "Except the odd demon. But I could start."

Lorne shook his head. "And my word goes unheeded. How could this get worse."

Faith shrugged and grinned. "I'm in love with Wesley." Everyone turned to look at them and Wesley cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Buffy and Angel were too preoccupied with their own problems to notice what was going in the lobby. As soon as the door closed behind them, Buffy whirled round on Angel. "What are you doing?" he cried at him. "I need these people, they are part of my battle. And you're taking them away from me with no reason whatsoever."

Angel frowned and then paused. "Is that really your whole argument?"

Buffy glared. "Yes. Yes, it is! That is my argument. It may sound stupid but we are dealing with the worst evil we have ever seen and at the moment, it's winning because our forces are weak. We need everyone it can." She glared up at Angel her fists clenched at her sides in anger.

"In Sunnydale? Because the First seems to be concentrating its energy very much in LA at the moment. And what's more, it's teamed up with another evil that my son accidentally brought through a hell dimension. And to top it all off, Cordelia's pregnant and evil as well because she's in leagues with the First."

Buffy paused and looked at Angel solidly. "I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry that Cordelia has gone evil, and that you lost your son and are trying to deal with everything. But I need my forces back."

"Oh, yeah, and when were you going to tell me about Spike."

Buffy opened her mouth to try and come up with an excuse. "You know, I don't think this is what we're supposed to be talking about."

"Really? You thought it would just slide?" Angel held up his hands. "But you know, I've gotten over it. Spike and I can get along enough and I'm just forgetting that you were screwing him because he was an available vampire." Buffy's eyes widened in disbelief. "And, as for Andrew, I don't see why you need him anyway because you never particularly cared about him and now he has a job here to do. He has to stay here."

Buffy didn't say anything for a few seconds. She put her hand to her mouth and turned around, walking to the desk. Finally, she looked up at Angel. The anger seemed to have disappeared from her face and was replaced by a look of sadness. "Angel, what's happening to us…to all of us. Look out there, we're all arguing and can't keep our heads because of our differences. It shouldn't be this way. We should be fighting together."

"I wasn't the one that came looking for the argument." Angel stopped. "But you're right. This shouldn't be happening. It's just…so much has been going on in this small amount of time. It's all twisting over each other. All of us, my group, Spike, Willow, Lindsey, Faith and now Andrew…we're not a form of resistance. Buffy, I need all of them if we're fighting two evils that have teamed together. We can push aside our differences to do that."

Buffy shook her head and looked down. She spoke quietly. "I didn't want any of this. I didn't want to come back and stir up trouble but I'm running low. I'm in Sunnydale trying to teach a bunch of young girls to be Slayers. Only one of them can be the Slayer if I die…"

"You're not going to die," Angel said, taking her shoulders.

"How do you know that? We're fighting ultimate evil here, Angel, not something stupid. These girls don't know what they're up against and neither do I. People are going to be dying here and I can't deal with that…not this vast scale." Tears formed in her eyes as she laid out what had been plaguing her mind every since this all started.

Angel pulled her closer and stroked her hair. "No one's going to die yet. We're here to fight and keep everyone safe. That's why we're the leaders."

"I can't be a leader anymore, Angel. It's killing me."

"You can. You've always been a leader, the stronger one out of all of us. And you have your friends…you have Xander and Giles, and Willow and Spike…they're all there for you and know you can do it because you've done it before and everyone knows that. Your job is to train these girls just like Giles trained you into the best Slayer. You can do it."

Buffy looked up at him. "Angel…I'm so tired of fighting."

Angel nodded. "I know. You should try it with deaths of thousands on your conscience and a soul." He leant forward and kissed Buffy lightly. It was only meant to be for comfort but it soon turned into something deeper and meaningful. Buffy had almost forgotten what it felt like and she held him close, remembering those times years ago when they were in love and it didn't seem that the vampire and the soul in him mattered.

Angel had forgotten as well and was glad to remember. Kissing Buffy had always been different from kissing anyone else. Out of all the loves he had, Buffy's was the kiss that meant anything close to love. Never Darla, never would be Cordelia or Drusilla…just Buffy.

Buffy smiled. "You kiss different to Spike."

Angel laughed slightly. "You know, I'd rather not be compared to him…especially his kisses."

"Sorry." She carried on holding Angel. "So…what do we do now?"

Outside, Xander's eyes flipped backwards and forwards from Faith to Wesley. He was confused. Then he turned to Giles as if he had some kind of explanation. But the ex-water looked just as confused as him. Finally, his gaze settled on Wesley and he spread his hands. "Are you insane," was all he could say.

Wesley smiled slightly. "Yes, I think I am now."

Spike smirked. "Better than your relationships, Harris. Watcher goes for psychopath murderers, you go for evil demons."

"Hey," Faith and Anya said at the same time, glaring at the vampire.

Gunn laughed. "At least my relationship was somewhat normal." He left out the part of having collaborated in a murder and his smile disappeared. Lindsey shifted uncomfortably from his corner but no one noticed.

Faith shrugged. "Better to have loved than never at all."

Giles looked towards the ceiling. "Oh dear, suddenly someone has some sense."

Anya walked into the middle of the room and held out her hands as if trying to separate a fight that was going to happen. "What is going on here? I mean, what's wrong with us? We're going to end up having those fights like on football fields. We need to all calm down and work out what's wrong with us."

Andrew wrapped his hands around himself as if he was cold. He looked around them. "We're scared," he said quietly and everyone turned to look at him. "All of us. But we're too afraid to say it…cause it makes us weak. I'm scared and so are all of us. Scared because we might die…or someone that we love might die and we want to someone to blame. We can't hurt the First and it's getting to us."

Xander looked at Andrew. "And when did you get smart."

Wesley walked forward. "Ever since he acquired the Power. Believe it or not, Xander, Andrew holds a very special kind of power, sent from forces above. And I think what's he's saying is true. Our fear is making our anger come out and we take it out on each other because we have nothing evil to fight. We are scared for each other but we don't want to show it."

There was silence. Giles nodded. "You're right. Absolutely. Nothing will be accomplished if we are fighting and bickering like small children. We need to overcome this fear and work together in order to fight the First." He looked towards the window where Buffy and Angel were still holding each other. He smiled slightly.

Xander sighed. "And suddenly the room is full of Ghandi's," he replied playfully.

Andrew stood up, dumping his blanket on the banquet and carrying his glass across the counter. He was half way there when he suddenly stopped and looked in front of him. He started to sway and suddenly the glass fell from his hand. "Help," he said as he started to topple to the ground and throw his head back.

"Vision," Wesley and Gunn said. Gunn managed to catch him before he hit his head on the ground and they laid him down and Andrew convulsed, putting his hands up to his head to try and rid the images. He cried out in pain and turned, trying to flap the evil away. "Help…" he moaned again. "Don't…" Flashes flowed through his mind again like fragmented clips of a movie.

Finally, though, it stopped and he opened his eyes. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were watered. He looked up. "Wesley," he said.

"It's all right," Wesley said, trying to comfort him. "It's over now."

Andrew let go of the man's sleeve and put his hand to his head. "It hurts."

Wesley nodded understandingly. "I know."

The door suddenly opened and Angel and Buffy ran out. Dawn ran down the stairs to join Andrew who was sitting up. Xander, Giles, Anya and Kennedy just watched in amazement. Xander pointed his fingers at Andrew. "Okay, what the hell was that."

"A vision," Spike muttered between his cigarette. "That's what Andrew has now. Mind numbing visions of what will happen in the future sent by the Powers that Be upstairs. He can see what's going to happen and it's up to us to stop it before it bloody well happens. And he can see it into people. How do you think he knew why we were fighting and were scared—he's a lot more valuable than he was."

Angel walked up to Andrew. "What did you see?" he asked gently.

Andrew shook his head. "Same thing again. Wesley being taken. Robed people from some kind of cult."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "You don't think it's the remainders of Karl do you?"

"Who?"

Wesley shrugged. "I don't. It could be. But I would imagine that any supporters he would have left would have dispersed by now. Nothing is keeping them hear since Karl was killed and his dark magic has gone. I have no idea what it is."

Andrew yawned. "You don't have aspirin do you. Or painkillers. And possibly a pillow."

Gunn took his arm. "C'mon, Vision-boy, you better get upstairs. I have a collection of Wonder Woman comics you might like."

Andrew's eyes widened. "You have Wonder woman."

"Hell yeah. Those comics rule."

They went upstairs, followed by Dawn who wanted to make sure that Andrew was all right. The rest of the lobby was in silence. Buffy, Giles, Xander and Anya simply watched in disbelief at what had happened. Spike flopped onto the banquet and Lindsey followed, sitting beside him. Faith sat on the counter with her hand on Wesley's shoulder. Gunn stood beside them.

Buffy looked at Angel. "So, that's what he does now."

"Yeah. Has he changed?"

Buffy stood a deep breath. "In some ways. I think he'll grow up, though, when he realizes what the responsibilities are. Having any kind of power has its consequences."

Suddenly, the door opened and a random vampire came in. His eyes sparkled. "Two Slayers." He pointed first at Buffy and then at Faith. "You shall die. The First has plans. He shall kill you, he shall make you watch your friends die so you can feel each other's pain."

Lindsey stood up and shot towards the vampire which screamed and exploded into dust. His hand calmed down instantly as he flexed it. "Some power gives you satisfaction and I'm fed up of loud mouthing vampires." He looked towards the ground where there was a pile of dust and then at Angel and Wesley. "Obviously there are some supporters left."

*  *  *  *  *

Andrew sat up in the bed. Gunn was right; he had a whole collection of Wonder Woman magazines. He thought he'd finally found a place where he could be somewhat respected and understood. He had a job to do here and felt useful to people. Okay, so his job hurt but it had the benefits of looking into people. He wasn't nosy but it was an occupational hazard to look at someone to see what their pain was, what they were feeling and how it affected them. The vibes given off in that room were like tsunamis. From look on Lorne's face, even he could tell.

"How's the head?" Dawn ask, sitting on the bed beside him.

"Head?" Andrew asked in confusion. "Oh, it's better now." They were silent for the moment. Andrew put the comic book down.

"What does it feel like?" she asked him. "When you have the vision? Was it scary? Cause it was scary for me. You were on the ground having some kind of epileptic fit."

Andrew put a hand to his mouth. "I wasn't drooling was I?"

Dawn smiled. "No, you weren't."

Andrew sighed with relief and then shrugged. "I don't know. It was weird. You just see all these images all broken down into itty bitty pieces. It was like that episode in Star Wars when they went through the portal and saw their lives flashing…Yeah, it was strange. And it hurts. I feel everything."

Dawn nodded. She didn't know if she understood or not but that wasn't her main concern. "Are you going to come back to Sunnydale?" she finally asked, the burning question now out. She felt slightly better but now her dread was all based on the answer that Andrew would give.

Andrew simply shrugged again. "I don't know. I mean, there's not really that much point, is there? I'm more useful here to Angel. I have the visions and they can't be used for Buffy…besides, I don't want to go back there. No one notices me there. They don't like me."

Dawn shook her head. "That's not true. I like you," she added quietly.

Andrew patted her hand. "Aww, that's sweet of you. But…it's not enough. I'm fed up of being somewhere I hated. In Sunnydale, everyone judges me when I was evil and when I killed Jonathan. No one knows how sorry I am for that but everyone here understands. They've done something wrong. I can feel it in them, even if they can't say it. But they've been forgiven and they're working through it to try and get past it. They don't judge them on their past actions." He took a deep breath. "This is my redemption. They told me so."

"Who told you? Angel."

Andrew looked into Dawn's eyes earnestly. "If I said, would you promise not to laugh…or…or tell anyone."

"I promise."

Andrew sighed. "It was Warren and Jonathan. They…they're also working for the Powers that Be. It's their redemption too. We're being given a second chance to be good and fight against the First…only they do it while they're dead and I get to have the visions…It makes sense." He laughed nervously. "Better than dying."

Dawn put her hand over Andrew's. "You're not going to die," she said firmly. "You're protected. Angel said so. Technically, nothing can harm you, you're that special to these high and mighty powers. You're not going to die. I'll make sure Angel looks out for you."

Andrew laughed shyly. "Thanks."

"You won't come back with us."

Andrew shook his head sadly. "I can't, Dawn. I'm sorry."

Dawn remained silent for a moment, her hand still in Andrew's. The boy hadn't even noticed. Dawn crawled up on the bed and lay down beside him. "Don't be sorry," she said. "It was kind of our fault as well. All of ours. But you've found some kind of place here. You might be happier." She leaned up and kissed Andrew lightly on the lips. The blond boy froze and for a second kissed back before pulling away.

"I—I don't know if it's such a good idea." Dawn raised a quizzical eyebrow. "I don't want your sister killing me after I've just come out alive."

Dawn shrugged. "My life." She put her arms around Andrew and the boy did the same, in a slightly more nervous fashion as they kissed on the bed.

Outside the door, they didn't hear anyone standing or making a noise. Buffy was good at keeping quiet. She stood outside the door with her arms cross but didn't go in. She wasn't so much annoyed at her little sister having feelings for Andrew as much as how it would affect them when they split up. She was amazed that she hadn't noticed how much Dawn cared for Andrew enough to like him when she was concerned. Sighing, Buffy walked back down to the lobby.

*  *  *  *  *

Faith couldn't stop fidgeting. She bounced around in the basement looking around her. Finally, she let a massive bunch into the punch bag, wanting to send it sprawling across the room. "God, I hate this," she said, shouting out loud. "Why can't the Powers be less cryptic. Why is all snap visions and we're expected to what—chase ourselves round the block with it's puzzle."

Wesley sat calmly on the table. "I do not think hitting a punch bag will do you any good."

"I think differently."

Wesley sighed. "The Powers that Be have never been exact in their descriptions of the future. It would probably be too easy. And besides, Andrew is very new to all this. He's only a boy—scared. He has no idea how to cope with the visions. He has no idea what the visions will result in."

Faith waited. "What? Are we playing twenty questions?"

"His death, Faith. The visions slowly wear down the brain. He will die as a result of it. That's why Cordelia was given the option of being part demon."

Faith sighed dramatically. "And what about you, Wes? What about your death which would come way before his. These—robed psychos are coming to get you. It keeps playing over and over in Andrew's mind. The Powers are obviously insistent on it."

Wesley paused. "Is this what you're worried about? That I will be taken by the robed psychos and possibly die."

"Yes! I have a right to worry, Wes. I—I just found you, I can't afford to lose you already. You're what's keeping me here. You're like those rock things—Gosh, this is sounding like a bad movie." Faith put a hand to her head. "Fuck, I can't believe this is happening to me."

Wesley got down from the table and held Faith closely. "Shh…it's all right. Nothing's going to happen to me." Wesley had never recalled Faith being this stressed in a long time. A few years ago, she had crumpled down in front of Angel and started crying after she had tortured him. That was the only time he had seen her break down. Back then, it was a satisfying sight if it were not for Angel comforting her. Now, he didn't want to see Faith suffering at all…not after what she'd been through.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "We have too many people with us and now Buffy is here."

"Buffy's not staying for long. She said she's got to head back for the potentials."

"Well, we still have Angel. And Lindsey, who is by far one of the strongest. Then there's Andrew and the Powers have given him more than Cordelia ever had. They're trying to make us win."

Faith nodded. "I know. But I'm still scared."

"So am I."

*  *  *  *  *

Lorne was outside the club again. He hated this particular club. It was for the younger generation of demons that spawned awful noise and dance rackets. Unfortunately, you had to have a pass to get in but Lorne had no intention of getting inside the club anyway. His interest was outside, one of the heavy demon bouncers that stood guard on the back entrance to the club. He was well built and dressed in leather, like someone out of a biker gang.

He sighed and rolled his eyes when he saw Lorne. His voice was deep. "Not again," he said when he saw the green demon. "Lorne, you know I can't do this anymore. The club manager—he saw me talking to you a few days ago when I gave information. He'd kill me if he knew I was accepting money from someone else."

"Well, how bout just an IOU then, beef-boy," Lorne said happily, patting him on the back. "But this information here is crucial."

"It was last time, too."

"Yeah, well every bit is crucial when you're trying to save the world. So if I don't get this information, you won't have a life let alone a job and believe me, everyone's aura looks pretty dismal without it. Now, come and tell Lorne his info."

The demon sighed. "All right. I'm fed up of this job. You know, I'd still be a security guard for Caritas if it weren't for you and your demon detective buddies."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry too. More than you can ever imagine but they're the ones saving our sorry behinds. Listen, badness, I'm trying to find out about a bunch of robed people. I don't think they're vampires."

"Oh, so not the remainders of Karl's lot." Lorne shook his head. "Good, I was getting fed up of those pesky young vampires trying to get in here. They'll bribe you anything for a good time."

"Any idea who they are? There's a stick involved."

The demon nodded. "I know exactly who you're talking about. They came here only two days ago asking for information. There were three of them, human, and one of them was carrying a stick with this glowy jewel at the end of it. They wanted to know where Angel Investigations was. And I told them, so sue me. They didn't look pretty bad to me. Just look like a bunch of sect people. But they were English. Overseas."

"This is important. Do you know who they were?"

The demon looked down at Lorne and saw how desperate he was. Finally he sighed and leant against the door of the club. "Suppose there's no harm in telling. Especially if it's to do with saving the world."

Funny? No? Awful? All right? *makes a so-so motion with her hand.* Do tell, review are useful!