Wounds dressed, Angel and Spike took their bottle and disappeared to
Angel's bedroom, where they both hoped they could drink in silence. Illyria
returned mid-afternoon and joined them, standing in the corner looking out
the balcony doors. The three sat in companionable silence for hours, until
darkness fell, and then they sat some more, until there came a knock at the
door. By this time, the bottles were empty and whatever effect they had was
long gone. No one moved.
On the other side of the door, Caitlin waited nervously. As far as she could tell, the two vampires and the mysterious demon had been holed up here for hours, doing God knows what. No one else seemed concerned – apparently they were all "good" demons, if there was such a thing. Still, she noticed Giles sent her to retrieve the "good" demons rather than coming up himself. That wasn't a good sign. She rapped on the door a little harder. "Uh, I'm just gonna come in." She called out. She silently counted to ten, and opened the door.
She felt stupid when she saw they were just sitting there. Caitlin wasn't sure what she expected, but she didn't think they'd be sitting around like people. Actually, she knew what she expected. She'd had a mental picture of a science lab and a big chalkboard with their evil plans drawn on it, and bodies littering the room. She'd only been fighting demons for a few months and she had a hard time shaking the images that had driven into her head by movies and books. "Uh, Giles said he wants you guys to come down so we can all talk." She announced. "He ordered pizza." She froze, knowing she'd just said something stupid. "Um, not that you care about the pizza or anything. Cause, you know, you can't eat. Or, um, you don't eat. Food, I mean." Shut up! She told herself. Stop babbling at the monsters.
Angel and Spike stood. "Time for the inquisition, I guess." Angel said.
Spike chuckled. "Do you think he ordered chicken wings?"
They strode past her, amazingly calm. She wondered if they were really as casual about all this as they seemed. The other one, the female demon, wandered out of the room. She stopped in front of Caitlin and turned to face her, tipping her head at an angle and staring fixedly into Caitlin's eyes. "Don't be afraid." She ordered, and then followed the vampires.
Okay, that was strange, even in the bizarre world her life had turned into since she came into her new abilities. It had been a lot easier to take everything in stride when there were all of the other girls just as weirded out as herself. Suddenly, though, instead of hundreds of Slayers, there were five. And Caitlin knew, deep in her bones, that she and Tiffany would be the next Slayers to die. It was like the Universe didn't want there to be more than one Slayer, so it kept throwing things at them until they were down to one. Or maybe she was just being fanciful. After all, this last battle wasn't the fault of the Universe. It was Angel's fault. Buffy said so.
"It's your fault." Buffy said coldly.
The group was assembled around a large table in a dining room on the second floor. The room was a mess, broken furniture and debris everywhere, since it wasn't and room Angel had ever used before, but it had a large table and working lights and would suffice for this meeting.
Angel, Spike, and Illyria all sat together on one end of the round table. Somehow, it felt as though the Scoobies were closing ranks and leaving them out. Illyria didn't seem to care, but it bothered Angel more than he would ever admit. And he could tell Spike was feeling the rejection as well.
A space separated Illyria from Kennedy, then Willow, Xander, Buffy, Giles, Faith, Tiffany, and Caitlin, who sat next to Angel. He watched the little Slayer when she wasn't looking. She was nervous, new, but she didn't seem to be instantly against him. This oddly encouraged him, though he knew her opinion wouldn't matter much to the others. Tiffany, on the other hand, was glaring at him with open hostility. He wasn't sure if it was just your standard vampire hate, or if she too blamed him for last night's battle.
Let her blame him. Let Buffy blame him. It was his fault. He missed his friends, knew he was responsible for their deaths, but he would not regret the good they had done last night. He met Buffy's eyes levelly, and told her so.
On the other side of the door, Caitlin waited nervously. As far as she could tell, the two vampires and the mysterious demon had been holed up here for hours, doing God knows what. No one else seemed concerned – apparently they were all "good" demons, if there was such a thing. Still, she noticed Giles sent her to retrieve the "good" demons rather than coming up himself. That wasn't a good sign. She rapped on the door a little harder. "Uh, I'm just gonna come in." She called out. She silently counted to ten, and opened the door.
She felt stupid when she saw they were just sitting there. Caitlin wasn't sure what she expected, but she didn't think they'd be sitting around like people. Actually, she knew what she expected. She'd had a mental picture of a science lab and a big chalkboard with their evil plans drawn on it, and bodies littering the room. She'd only been fighting demons for a few months and she had a hard time shaking the images that had driven into her head by movies and books. "Uh, Giles said he wants you guys to come down so we can all talk." She announced. "He ordered pizza." She froze, knowing she'd just said something stupid. "Um, not that you care about the pizza or anything. Cause, you know, you can't eat. Or, um, you don't eat. Food, I mean." Shut up! She told herself. Stop babbling at the monsters.
Angel and Spike stood. "Time for the inquisition, I guess." Angel said.
Spike chuckled. "Do you think he ordered chicken wings?"
They strode past her, amazingly calm. She wondered if they were really as casual about all this as they seemed. The other one, the female demon, wandered out of the room. She stopped in front of Caitlin and turned to face her, tipping her head at an angle and staring fixedly into Caitlin's eyes. "Don't be afraid." She ordered, and then followed the vampires.
Okay, that was strange, even in the bizarre world her life had turned into since she came into her new abilities. It had been a lot easier to take everything in stride when there were all of the other girls just as weirded out as herself. Suddenly, though, instead of hundreds of Slayers, there were five. And Caitlin knew, deep in her bones, that she and Tiffany would be the next Slayers to die. It was like the Universe didn't want there to be more than one Slayer, so it kept throwing things at them until they were down to one. Or maybe she was just being fanciful. After all, this last battle wasn't the fault of the Universe. It was Angel's fault. Buffy said so.
"It's your fault." Buffy said coldly.
The group was assembled around a large table in a dining room on the second floor. The room was a mess, broken furniture and debris everywhere, since it wasn't and room Angel had ever used before, but it had a large table and working lights and would suffice for this meeting.
Angel, Spike, and Illyria all sat together on one end of the round table. Somehow, it felt as though the Scoobies were closing ranks and leaving them out. Illyria didn't seem to care, but it bothered Angel more than he would ever admit. And he could tell Spike was feeling the rejection as well.
A space separated Illyria from Kennedy, then Willow, Xander, Buffy, Giles, Faith, Tiffany, and Caitlin, who sat next to Angel. He watched the little Slayer when she wasn't looking. She was nervous, new, but she didn't seem to be instantly against him. This oddly encouraged him, though he knew her opinion wouldn't matter much to the others. Tiffany, on the other hand, was glaring at him with open hostility. He wasn't sure if it was just your standard vampire hate, or if she too blamed him for last night's battle.
Let her blame him. Let Buffy blame him. It was his fault. He missed his friends, knew he was responsible for their deaths, but he would not regret the good they had done last night. He met Buffy's eyes levelly, and told her so.