"Goddess, I thought that flight would never end," Willow said, rubbing her forehead. She and Buffy were just disembarking, and she was searching through her purse for a bottle of aspirin. "And I really don't want to deal with Andrew going on about the newest... whatever it is he's probably excited about. I don't know how Xander puts up with him. Do you think... could you look after our new recruits? I think I'm going to take a cab home."

"What, and miss my famous tour of Cleveland?" a voice asked.

Willow looked up, saw Xander and a grin broke out on her face.

"Xander!" she yelled. Willow skipped up to her long-time best friend, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Xander returned the redhead's embrace warmly.

"I missed you," Willow said, her headache forgotten.

"I missed you too, Will," replied Xander, an almost sad look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, instantly worried.

"Ask me again, sometime," he said, a soft smile on his face. "Hey, Buff."

"Hey yourself," Buffy said, moving in for a hug of her own.

"Got your message," Xander said.

"Obviously," said Buffy.

"You called him?" Willow asked.

"Well, you were all bad mood-y," Buffy said. "I thought that a Xander- shaped surprise might cheer you up." Willow grinned again, wrapping her arm around his waist, and causing his to move without thought around her shoulders.

A group of girls was rapidly gathering around the trio.

"This everyone?" Xander asked.

Buffy did a quick head count and nodded. "Yup. Five newbies today, a couple more who couldn't leave at the drop of a hat, and a half-dozen after that with contact info."

"Ladies, I would like you to meet Xander Harris," Buffy said, introducing him. "He's the guy you're going to go to when you need, well, anything. Need a new bookshelf, go to Xander. Boyfriend broke your heart, go to Xander. Life's in danger and there's no way out of the situation without dying, go to Xander. He fixes things. Trust him, and your life will be better and very likely longer."

Xander wrapped his arm around Buffy's neck and pulled her back to him, planting a sloppy kiss on the top of her head.

"Ew... boy germs," Buffy teased, sticking her tongue out despite the fact she was facing away from Xander.

"Good haul," Xander said as the group walked toward the baggage claim. "That'll almost fill up the third floor."

"Yeah," Willow said. "Good thing we've got another two after that."

Xander laughed. "Yeah. I really need to start working on finishing up the fifth," he said. "The floors are pretty much fixed up, but there's still some work to be done on some of the walls, and I think I'm going to need to call in a plumber."

The group continued to chit-chat as they gathered their luggage and headed out to the Suburban and back to the Slayer compound, during which Xander did give a funny and completely inaccurate history of the city of Cleveland.

"Ladies, feel free to leave your luggage here," Xander said, leaving the Suburban in the driveway. "We've got people who take care of such things for you."

"Uh, Xander," Willow said, looking over at him from the passenger seat.

"What? I'll get Andrew to do it."

"Not that," Willow said, pointing towards the steps up to the front of the former-hotel. "That."

Xander sighed. "Skipped out on a house meeting," he said, seeing Robin standing there, looking angry.

"You had to come pick us up," Willow said. "It wasn't your fault."

"The uh... meeting was before noon."

"Oh."

"Guess I better go face the music." Xander began to slip out of his seat, before getting back in and leaning over to give Willow a hug. "I'm glad you're back," he said.

"Me too," said Willow.

Xander smiled at her, hopped out of the car and approached Robin as the new recruits headed inside with Buffy and Willow for the tour.

"What's up?" Xander asked.

Robin glared at him, glanced over his shoulder to see that all the girls had gone inside. Once the door shut, Robin turned back around. Then he smiled.

"Did she actually wake you up with a kiss?" Robin asked with a chuckle, pulling out a cigarette and lighting up.

"They woke me up by shaking my bed like the world was breaking. Vi only kissed me after I covered up my uh... morning condition. When did you start smoking?" Xander mimicked some angry hand motions.

"Last night."

"Fight?"

Robin nodded, pointing his cigarette at Xander as though he were making some important point. "What's the pool up to?"

"What pool?" Xander asked innocently.

Robin rolled his eyes. "Can I put some money down?"

"What on?" Xander asked.

Robin grinned. "Marriage."

Xander's eyes went wide. "Are... have you?"

"God, no," Robin said. "Not even close. And if I'm wrong, I'm out, what, five bucks?"

Xander coughed. "Uh. Fifty."

"Jesus, you guys are running a scam," Robin said, reaching into his pocket for some cash. "How much of the house is in on this?"

"Everyone but you, Faith, Giles and Chao-Ahn," Xander said, taking the money. "Though I guess I have to cross you off that list now. So anyway, what's really up?"

"Just thought you might want a heads up on this morning's meeting, since you skipped it," Robin said, glaring at him.

"Hey, I have to keep up appearances. I mean, for whatever reason, everyone thinks we hate each other. Might as well let them think what they want."

Robin filled Xander in on the meeting, Xander looking impatient the whole time and occasionally gesticulating and yelling something incomprehensible. Robin then left to go for a walk, leaving Xander the acting job of walking inside looking pissed.

* * * * *

"Do they really think they're fooling anybody?" Willow asked, looking out the window at Robin and Xander pretending to have an argument.

"I presume they think they're being clever," Giles said, handing a cup of tea to Willow and one to Buffy before pouring one for himself.

"They're not doing a very good job of it," Buffy said from her seat.

"Yes, well, boys will be boys," Giles said. "How was your trip?"

"Exhausting," Willow said.

"But productive," Buffy said. "We picked up a total of eight girls, convinced five more. We're really doing well, I think."

"Yeah," Willow said. "But I'm ready to quit."

"Quit?" Giles asked, suddenly flustered. "Ah, but, I had thought that you wished to be involved in- in- in the training of these girls, and there are only so many people in the world with experience such as yours, and we really—"

"I meant quit looking, Giles," Willow said, reassuring the man. "Traveling around looking for them was fun for a while, but I'm tired now and I want to set my feet down."

"Oh," Giles said, visibly relieved. "Ah, yes, that shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure any number of people might wish to travel. Perhaps Xander might –"

"No!" Buffy said, a little too forcefully. Giles turned to her, surprised. Willow just looked back out the window. "It's just, the girls here rely on him so much," Buffy explained. "And, uh, there's the repairs, which, you know he'll be offended if you bring in outside help to do that."

"We've had many outside contractors in," Giles said.

"Uh huh," said Buffy, "but only after Xander looked and decided what was needed. He was a foreman on a construction crew, he knows what we need. Plus, I think the slayers might riot if we took away their eye candy."

"Yes, they do seem rather... affectionate towards him," Giles said, considering the idea of that many energetic, confident and by all accounts *horny* young women having their favorite 'eye candy' taken away. He shuddered involuntarily. "Well, I'm sure we can work something out. There is no need for you to continue these trips if you don't wish." He turned to the young woman. "Willow?"

"Huh?" Willow asked, turning to Giles. "I'm sorry, I'm just kinda out of it. I think I'm going to go take a nap."

"Very well," Giles said.

Willow waved a half-hearted goodbye and left Giles and Buffy to talk.

"Is she all right?" Giles asked. "She seems a little... sad."

"Oh, yeah," Buffy said. "She realized something about someone... or, well, herself, really, and isn't happy cuz she thinks..." Buffy sighed and decided to stop talking around the issue. "She likes someone and is pretty sure she has no chance."

"Well, at least she's moving on from Kennedy," Giles said, his hand clasped in front of him. "What about yourself? Are you... how are you, um..."

"Well, there's a guy I've got my eye on," Buffy said. "But you know, there's the inevitable fear, and worry and everything. I just... now is not the time."

"Ah," Giles said. "You know, you're not required to go on every search for new Slayers either, Buffy. There are others who could handle it."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "And I might take you up on that. I'm pretty tired myself."

Giles smiled at the young woman he thought of as daughter, and she smiled back.

The two continued to talk.

* * * * *

"Yeah," Willow said quietly. The door opened and a shaft of light came in from the corridor.

"Hey," Xander said. "You okay?"

"Sure," she said, sitting up in bed. "Come in."

Xander slipped inside, shutting the door behind himself. "What's up?" Xander asked. "You're goin to bed early."

"Oh you know, flying takes it out of me," she said, patting the bed beside her.

Xander smiled and sat down beside her. Willow leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her.

"The girls give you trouble?" Xander asked.

"Nah, you know. Just... worn out. Over all worn out."

"Why don't you take a break," Xander said, as the pair lay back as one on her bed, Willow snuggling up to Xander's warmth.

"That's what this whole nap thing was about," Willow said.

Xander chuckled. "I meant from the search for Slayers," he said. "You don't always need to be going out."

"Oh," Willow said, yawning. "I actually just told Giles I don't want to do that anymore."

"Oh," Xander said.

"Yeah. Great minds."

"And, somehow, you and me."

Willow smiled. "Well, for now, I just want to sleep."

"Okay," Xander said, extracting himself from her embrace gently. Xander pulled the covers of her bed up and tucked her in, kissing her softly on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Willow."

"You too, Xander," she said, as she passed out, not realizing he wasn't about to sleep. Xander smiled and quietly left her room.

"How come I don't get the tuck-in service?"

Xander jumped and turned around.

"Jeez, Buff, you startled me."

She stood there pouting. "I don't think it's fair you tuck in one best friend and not the other."

"Tell ya what, next time you want to go to sleep at 5 pm, I'll tuck you in, assuming I'm here."

"I want that, too."

Xander jumped again and turned around.

"Sorry, Vi, that's a best-friend only service."

"But Xander," she said, batting her eyelashes evilly and pressing herself up against him, "we could be such *good* friends."

"I ab, ah... duh hhu..."

"That's Xander-speak for 'Thank you, you're a wonderful girl, and sweet, for a girl who's trying to butt in on best-friend action, but no, and I don't know a way out of this without sounding like an ass,'" Buffy filled in, rather cattily.

Xander shot a sidelong glance at Buffy, then an apologetic shrug towards Vi.

"Just so you know, the offer's there," she said, before sauntering off, swaying her hips hypnotically.

"Everybody knows the offer's there," Buffy muttered.

Xander looked down at his friend.

"What?" Buffy asked, frowning at Vi's retreating figure. "Not like she's subtle."

"I guess," he said. "That was kinda... um. Bitchy."

"Hey! I'm not a bitch!"

"I didn't say that," Xander said, mentally chastising himself. "Uh. And I didn't mean that. Well, I did, but what I meant was, it was bitchy, which is normally very much the opposite of you, so I was surprised and found it worth mentioning."

Buffy frowned. "Good attempt at a save, but I can only give you a 6 on the execution."

"And if we were ice skating that would be good... oh, God, why do I know that?"

"I think that's my fault," Buffy said, looping her arm into his and leading him down the stairs. "The whole bad ice-skating movie obsession."

"The Cutting Edge shall forever be ingrained in my mind," said Xander.

"Now come on, take me to dinner."

"Work, work, work," Xander said, smiling down at her.

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him and they walked out to the car.

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End Chapter 2