"So, why don't you want us to know who it is?" Buffy asked Pike. "Are you embarrassed?"

"Nah, it's not like that," he said. "Actually, he's a lot like me, except he's reluctant to show himself. Don't worry, though, he still fights the good fight, even if it is for his own. . . odd reasons."

"Well, I don't care why he fights," Buffy said. "We can always use more help."

"Can I get that in writing?" Pike asked.

Buffy looked at him oddly. "Is it me or have you gotten weirder since Hemery?"

"No, it's not you."

"Didn't think so," Buffy said.

"So," he started. "That girl, Faith. She's hot."

"No," Buffy said.

"No what? No she's not hot? Because I think she is."

"Pike, don't do anything. Don't try to. . . be with Faith. Riley is a good man, and he's been really great for her. He loves her, and she's been through. . . stuff. She needs stability right now, and Riley gives her that."

"What stuff?"

"Heavy," said Buffy. "And bad. I'm not supposed to know this, but she still has nightmares about. . . her stuff. She's afraid she'll go back to it. When she's with Riley, the nightmares come less often, and are forgotten more easily."

"How do you know?" Pike asked.

"She tells my mom. Everyone talks to my mom, but Faith especially. Dawn overheard a conversation they had a couple days ago, and she can't keep a secret for anything."

"Wow. That is pretty intense."

"Very," Buffy said. "So please, don't try anything?"

"Consider me try-free."

"Thank you."

Pike looked down at the grave they'd been watching for almost an hour. "Man, is this guy ever gonna rise?"

* * * * *

"Have a nice patrol?" Xander asked when Buffy came in that night.

"Pretty dull," Buffy said. "Warned Pike off of Faith, though."

"Pike likes Faith?" Xander asked.

"Thinks she's hot, anyway," Buffy said as she got ready for bed.

Xander knew better than to comment on that, and so changed the subject.

"So," he said, a little awkwardly. "Willow. Gay. Whodathunk, huh?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, climbing into bed with her lover. "They're cute, though."

"Cute," Xander said with a sigh. "Yeah."

"What's up?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing," he said, a little too assertively. "Why does something have to be up? I can't just make random comments with. . . melodramatic sighs without something being up?"

Buffy kissed him on the forehead. "No," she said. "You can't. So spill."

Xander sighed again. "It's just. . . how come I didn't know?"

"Baby, she told you as soon as she really figured it out," Buffy said.

"No, not that," Xander said. "I'm pretty much fine, thinking-wise, with when she told me. Nothing bad about that. But. . . it's Willow."

"Yeah. . . and?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I should have known," he said.

"Without her telling you?"

"Yes!" he near-shouted. "Because it's Willow. I should have. . . I should have at least had some inkling that she was leaning towards that way. I mean, looking back, it's kind of obvious. They were spending all that time together, Willow was always going on about how great Tara was. . . and she is, I'm sure she is, but damn it, I didn't have a clue what was going on with her, and I'm supposed to be her best friend!"

"I thought you were okay with this," Buffy said, a little worried. "You. . . seemed fine yesterday."

"I know," he said, deflated a little. "But. . . I was just really shocked. And when that happened, I just kind of went into Support-o guy mode. In overdrive, I think."

"Sweetie, no matter how well you know someone, you're always gonna miss something," Buffy said.

"But something this big?" Xander said. "I don't know. Maybe it's a sexuality thing."

"I think that's a little obvious," Buffy said.

"No, I mean. It's Willow, you know? Willow and sex just don't go together. They're. . . opposites. Willow's Willow. She doesn't have sex. Not with men, certainly not with women. I mean, the thought of Willow and Tara having sex. . ." Xander trailed off.

"Xan?" Buffy asked after a few seconds. "You in there?"

"Hold on," Xander said. "I'm enjoying this part for a minute."

Buffy smacked Xander on the arm. "Quit it," she said, pouting slightly. "I thought you were being serious."

Xander shook his head. "Yeah. Sorry. I was. I don't know. I just think this whole thing is gonna take a little getting used to, that's all."

"Change always does," Buffy said, snuggling up to him. "But a lot of times, change is for the better. Like us. We changed, and this is better."

Xander smiled softly at her. "Very much better," he said.

"Just give it some time," Buffy said. "It'll be okay."

"It's already okay, really," Xander said. "I mean, I don't care if Willow's gay or not. I just. . . I feel like I should have known earlier. I mean, I'm supposed to know her better than anyone." He sighed. "I'm being irrational, aren't I?"

"Not really," Buffy said, yawning. "Things take time, you just gotta deal when you deal."

"Mmmm," Xander said, running his hands through Buffy's hair. "Girlfriend make man feel better. Goooood girlfriend."

Buffy leaned into his touch, snuggled up closer to him, and went to sleep.

* * * * *

"Giles, I'm going to kill your computer!" Willow yelled, pushing frustratedly away from his desk at the Magic Box.

"What did it do now?" he asked from his seat across the office where he had been reading.

"It didn't *do* anything," she said. "That's the problem, this thing is too slow."

"Too slow?"

"Yes!" Willow said. "Not enough RAM, your processor is ridiculously out of date, and you're using a 14.4 modem!"

"Ah," he said. "Is that bad?"

Willow just glared. "I'm going to bring my laptop over tomorrow," she said, "and I will do the search then."

"You can't just. . . do it from school?" he asked.

"Sure," she said. "If I want everybody to know exactly what I'm doing. I'm doing it from here, Giles, because I can tap into the switch box on the phone pole behind the store. It's a little bit of extra security."

"I see," Giles said.

Willow and Giles left the office and walked into the shop, to find Xander standing there grinning.

"What?" she asked. He just grinned. "Xander? Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"He's been standing there for about five minutes," Faith said. "Didn't say one damn word past 'Where's Willow?'"

Willow looked at him more closely. He was holding a piece of paper in his hand. Her eyes lit up and she looked him straight in the eye.

Xander grinned even wider, the she squealed in delight, wrapped her arms around his neck in a big hug, then they ran out of the store together.

"What was all that?" Giles asked.

"Damned if I know," said Faith. "I wish B were here. She could interpret."

"Interpret what?"

"Their eye convo. I picked up a little, where Red asked 'Really?' right at the beginning, but I don't have enough to read the whole thing yet."

"Um. . . eye conversation? Willow and Xander can speak to each other with their eyes?"

"Well," Faith said. "Yeah."

"Oh."

* * * * *

"You think she'll want to see me?" Pike asked as he, Buffy and Xander walked towards her house that night.

"I'm sure she will. Mom's cool with all the slaying stuff now. I mean, she doesn't LIKE it, but she's cool with it. Mostly. But trust me, she'll be freaked," Buffy said.

Pike looked to Xander for confirmation. He nodded, smiling.

"What's up with you, anyway, man?" Pike asked. "Smilin' all the time. Giving me the willies."

Xander laughed. "I just feel like smiling, that's all."

Buffy opened the door to her house and all three walked in. Buffy led them into the kitchen, where her mother was sitting at the counter, with a cup.

"Hey, mom," Buffy said.

Joyce jumped, and almost spilled her drink.

"Buffy don't do that to-" she froze. "Oliver! How nice to see you," she said, eyes wide.

"Hey, Mrs. Summers. Long time no see," he said.

"Oliver?" Xander asked.

"It's my first name," he said

"Pike it is, then," said Xander. Buffy was frowning.

"What is it, Buff?" he asked.

"It's weird. I'm feeling. . . something."

"Something?" Xander asked. "Way to be specific."

Faith walked in the back door.

"Hey, look at all the kiddies. It's a reg-" She stopped abruptly, then ticked her head to one side. "Vamp," she said. "Close."

Xander and Buffy were immediately on guard, whipping stakes out as Faith did.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing," Joyce said, too casually.

Xander looked around. "Uh, Mrs. S? Who's the second mug for?"

"Oh," Joyce said. "Um, that was for. . . me. Earlier."

"Mom, you never leave dishes out, and why is it still steaming?"

"No reason. I. . . heat things-"

"Where is he, Joyce?" Pike asked calmly.

"I'm sure I don't know -"

"This will go a lot easier for everybody if you just tell me where he is, and maybe I can defuse the situation."

"He's downstairs," Joyce said, defeated.

"Okay," Pike said. "I'm gonna stay here and explain everything. You go down and tell him to hold on."

Joyce nodded.

"No!" shouted Buffy. "If there's a vampire downstairs, I don't want mom anywhere near it."

Joyce sighed. "It's not like he hasn't been here before."

Something clicked in Buffy's head. "Oh, he is so completely dust," she said, charging for the basement door.

"Buffy, wait!" Pike yelled, grabbing her shoulder.

"Why? So he can kill some more people?"

"He's changed," Pike said. "He doesn't harm humans."

Buffy snorted. "Right," she said. "I'll believe that when *never*."

"B, who are we talking about here?" Faith asked.

The basement door swung open and a platinum blonde vampire in a leather duster, wearing a smirk on his face, stood in the doorframe.

"Me."

----------

End Chapter 6