Chapter 8.

Before I post this chapter I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed. I tried to send emails to thank everyone and give them little previews but unfortunately when I opened my mail today a good number of them got returned to me.I could just be a moron though.:) Anyway on with the story!

.........................................................

Preview: In this chapter the group has some malltime fun. What happens in the mall? Why bonding of course.

Still Morning Wesley's apartment.

Buffy wakes up and quietly walks down the hallway. She looks in the living room and sees Wesley asleep on the pull out couch surrounded by papers and books. She smiles as she notices he has his glasses on. She backtracks down the hallway to a slightly open door and peers in. She sees Giles asleep on a bed that's been set up in an office of sorts. She glances at the weapons on the walls and starts to enter the room with the intention of getting a better look at them but hesitates to wake Giles up. With a fond look for the man who has been her father figure for the last 7 years she heads back towards the kitchen to find Wesley's coffee. After opening a few drawers and cupboards she finds what she needs. She snickers a little when she notices that Wesley has a set of Snoopy cups.Xander would love those. Hearing someone fumbling around his kitchen Wesley slowly opens his eyes and sits up.

"Good morning." Buffy says quietly."I'm making coffee. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." Wesley says fully awake now."Please feel free to treat this as your home."

Buffy shot him a grateful look,"I didn't get a chance to thank you for taking me and Giles in last night."

"Think nothing of it. Or rather, I'll consider us even if you pour me a cup of that coffee." Wesley said with a smile.

"Done. Two cuppa joes coming up." Buffy grinned.

"How about making that three?"Giles called walking down the hallway."After the long night we had it smell like ambrosia."

"Sure thing. What were you two doing all night?" Buffy asked taking in their rumpled clothes and papers scattered everywhere.

Wesley looked at Giles before responding "We have some plans we are working on now that Slayers everywhere have been activated."

Buffy looked thoughtful."Yeah I guess that's a good idea. With everything else going on I hadn't even thought of what those girls may be going through."

"It's perfectly understandable." Wesley said reassuringly.

"We do have some ideas we would like to discuss with you a little later." Giles said before adding."If you are up to it of course."

Buffy's answer was cut off by a knock at the door. Wesley opened it to reveal Gunn with the others standing behind him.

"Sorry we didn't call." Gunn apologized."But I figured you would all be up by now. And we have doughnuts." He added.

"Of course, please everyone come in." Wesley said politely.

Xander whistled at a few of the statues and paintings in the apartment."Nice place man! See now THIS is a good look. I tried to convince Anya we needed something like this once but she refused."

"Ohhh, you have a rose summoning crystal!" Willow explained."They are really hard to get" she explained to the group who were staring at her blankly before she turned to Buffy,"How you feeling Buff? Better?"

"Yeah. A lot." Buffy replied as she went to hug Xander and Willow. "Where's Dawn?"

"Oh I didn't think you'd mind." Willow rushed to say."She called your Dad and he was supposed to call her back this morning so she stayed at the hotel."

"No, it's fine." Buffy said "It's good she called him."

"So what's on the agenda today?" Faith asked.

"Well, I promised to take Buffy shopping" Wesley said. "Though that shirt looks better on her than it ever did on me I believe you all might want some of your own things."

"That's true" Xander said "But man! Are you sure you know what your getting yourself into shopping with Buffy?"

When Buffy shot Xander a dirty look and Giles chuckled remembering his own shopping with Buffy experiences. Faith cut in.

"Sounds like a plan. And hey, I think we all need some fun time."

"Exactly." Buffy said before adding "And shoe time. So is everyone in? Gunn? Fred?"

Fred nodded with a shy smile which made Buffy want to hug the girl before turning to Gunn.

"So? You game?"

"That depends." Gunn said with a wicked grin."Are you girls trying on bikinis?"

They all laughed and started to head out to the cars.

"Meet you all there!" Buffy yelled to the group as she, Wesley,Giles, and Faith got in Wesley's car." Do you think we will be able to find them?" she asked worriedly.

"Not to worry B." Faith said. "Willows with them. If we see a glowing ball we know to follow it. So how did you three sleep?" she asked suddenly.

"Well, Wesley and I didn't sleep much actually." Giles said turning to look at both the Slayes."Faith, Wesley and I have some things to discuss with both you and Buffy later. Will that be OK?"

Faith looked at Buffy before shrugging."Yeah fine. That works for me. Is it something dire we should discuss now?"

"No not at all." Giles said quickly."Lets just enjoy our day first."

........................................................

"So? What do you all think?" Buffy asked the guys, who, to the amusement of the women, were taking the shopping extremely seriously.

They looked at her clad in hip hugging jeans and a white halter top for a minute before Gunn answered. "Very nice." all the men nodded.

"Perhaps you want to also get that blue belt over there." Wesley suggested."the one with the beads all over it."

"OK it's official." Faith said preening in her new outfit as she looked through a nearby rack of clothes, "Wesley has the man of good taste title."

"I'll second that." Willow declared."He saved me from getting that horrible skirt that made me look like I was coming down with the flu."

As everyone laughed and Wes blushed,Giles looked around and made the comment, "I missed this."

"What? Shopping?" Xander joked "I never pegged you for a mallrat Giles."

When everyone laughed Buffy jumped in "No." she said still smiling,"This. The laughing, joking, just enjoying each other."

"It is a nice feeling." Fred observed."I almost feel free." She smiled at the Scoobies. "Thank you for coming to LA.I didn't realize how much I needed this. We all needed this."She corrected looking at Gunn and Wesley.

At that comment everyone smiled and stepped a little closer to each other.

"Well, the funs not over yet!" Buffy declared."We haven't even LOOKED at shoes yet." As she marched determinedly towards the shoe store the men groaned as the girls squealed and ran to catch up.

"I'm so glad I held on to my credit cards." Giles muttered good naturedly to Wesley. "They made it through an apocalypse but they don't stand a chance when it comes to a Buffy shopping spree."

Wesley laughed."And your loving every second of it."

"I am." Giles confirmed happily."I never could deny any of them what they wanted. I've watched them grow from teenaged children to lovely young adults and I can't help but take pride that perhaps I may have influenced them to be the wonderful people they are now."

As Giles looked with pride at his group he wasn't the only pair of eyes on them. Angel was standing in the shadows observing Buffy.He was amazed to see the woman he once only suspected she might turn into on her face for everyone to see. His eyes narrowed a bit as he saw her turn and speak to Wesley the way she used to talk to him.This was before she grabbed his hand and pulled him,protesting,towards the shoe store. Angel was bewildered.

"Why isn't she talking to me in that voice she has that makes you feel like your the only person in the world? Why is Wesley hearing it? How did Spike inspire such loyalty? And not just from Buffy.From the whole Sunnydale group. Maybe I should ask them what all happened since he left that made Spike so important to them all. How he ended up the champion in the last battle. Maybe they can tell me why he got his soul in the first place. Tonight." Angel promised himself."Tonight I'll ask them tonight. Maybe then I can understand."

.........................................................

So any questions or comments? In the next chapter Angel does indeed ask them about the past couple years and Willow gives him, the rest of AI, and even the Scoobies, a little more than just stories with the help of a spell.