Chapter 31.

Well, as you can probably tell my muse ran off to Vegas and hadn't called or even sent a letter til now. I expect things thrown at me for taking this long to update and I will graciously stand still for it. and now the too long awaited next chapter

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Buffy, Giles, and the rest of AI as well as the scoobies were gathered in the library of the council. Food had been brought out but barely touched as everyone sat in silence. Finally Fred asked

"So are we going to talk about what happened?"

The group looked at each other and then towards the ground. A few sighs were heard.

"I just wish.." Wesley started to say before letting the sentence hang

"Hey!" Xander said weakly "No wishing. Didn't we tell you the dangers of that?"

"Yes, indeed" Giles said with a ghost of a smile for Xander. "It does seem wrong how often we are in this situation though"

"All I ever wished for was a place of music" Lorne said thoughtfully "Some people want quiet and peaceful places where they can be alone"

"And tea cozy's" Buffy added reminiscently. When everyone looked at her strangely she asked "What?"

Wesley shook his head and continued

"What I meant is that just when you think it's done and you have all that you have wished for it comes back worse than ever"

"Why didn't we notice right off?" Gunn said angrily "We were her best friends and we didn't even notice."

"Charles we had other things going on too" Fred said quietly "We couldn't have known"

"Well we should have" Gunn exploded. "That's what friends do right?"

Willow reached over to take his hand

"And sometimes friends love you so much they don't see it" She said quietly "Take it from personal experience."

Gunn turned away from the group and asked in a calmer voice

"She saved me once you know. I didn't want her help but she hounded me until I needed it. Does that make us bad friends?"

"No" Buffy told him firmly "The fact that you care this much proves it. Sometimes you just can't help in time. And sometimes you are not meant to"

The group grew quiet again until Dawn spoke up

"Do you guys think I was wrong for not telling Angel?"

"No Dawn" Wesley said "I believe Spike was correct in his assessment of Angel. He wouldn't have allowed us to remove the demon from her if he knew she would go back into her coma. We would have slipped up because of our fondness of her human half and people would have died."

"We are not mad at you kiddo" Lorne assured her "I can't say I'd have had the backbone to not spill everything to Angel but I guess that's why Spike picked you"

"I guess so" Dawn said glumly "I really expected him to kill me when he figured it out"

"Yeah me too" Xander said "Nice moves G-man"

"Yes well Dawn wasn't the only one to get a visit from Spike" He said evenly

"Wow. This Spike guy gets around for being.. you know.... dead" Fred said in awe.

"Yes, well as much as I may have not approved of him for the most part" Giles said wearily "there is one thing he is rather consistent on."

"What's that Mr. Giles?" Wesley asked

"Protecting those he loves" Giles said almost proudly.

The group sat back reflecting on those words, Clem wiping a tear away, for several minutes.Finally Faith spoke

"So how long do we let Angel brood before someone talks to him? And who?"

"Good question" Fred said "Anyone got any idea's?"

"What about me" Dawn offered. "If he blames me shouldn't he be given the chance to tell me exactly that?"

"No way" Buffy said flatly "You are not going anywhere near him"

"I agree Dawn" Xander said quickly "Let's not forget he almost killed you just a few hours ago"

"But he didn't" Dawn pointed out

"Yeah thanks to Giles" Andrew said speaking up for the first time. "No way should you go anywhere near him."

"Perhaps a little later you should talk to him Dawn" Wesley said kindly "He is still rather upset"

"Exactly" Dawn said getting agitated "He's upset. At me, life, and darn near the world right now. You think it's just going to go away? It won't. The longer he is angry the worse it will be. I should go now"

The group sat quietly taking in her words.

"Perhaps you have a point" Wesley conceded "But you cannot go over there alone."

"I'll go" Emerald offered "He is angry at me too. He should be able to tell me exactly why he hates me face to face"

"so it's settled" Dawn said quickly as everyone was still thinking upon that."Lets go"

"Dawn wait" Buffy said stopping the girls from rushing out the door. She looked at Dawn and saw that she had what Willow always referred to as her resolve face. She sighed, admitting defeat

"If there is any trouble Angel has a bad habit of dropping his left shoulder." she said wearily "Just in case"

Dawn hugged her sister and whispered her thanks before walking out the door. As they headed towards the Hyperion she turned to Emerald

"I hope we know what we are doing"

Emerald smiled before replying

"If not I'm sure they will put how brave we are on our tombstones"

"That's comforting" Dawn said laughing as they headed off into the night in search of Angel.

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Okay 2 chapters left. Coming up.... The Talk. Featuring another visit from our lovely meddlesome vampire.