Buffy held the sobbing redhead as she cried, but her eyes were locked on the silent Elf. He was still on his knees looking defeated. She was glad he'd been left behind, but she felt sad for him. He obviously wanted to return to his own world to save it from the threat Faith posed, but instead, Xander had been taken. Her eyes caught his when he looked up and caught her staring at him. He had the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. His pain was written in them, making him look even more beautiful, if that could be said about a male.

He reminded her of Angel. His pain had also been written all over his face. Every emotion, every feeling he had, was in his eyes. She'd been able to read him like a book. But Angel's pain made him seem dark and brooding, something Xander and others commented on frequently. The pain on Legolas' face made him look more human. She wanted to wrap herself around him, holding him close and to kiss his pain away.

She smiled softly at him and she noticed a flash of something in his eyes. Hope? Buffy wanted to fall apart with everyone else, but she knew she had to be strong. She had to hold everything together or they'd never find a way to bring Xander back, and send Legolas home. That last thought hurt more than she thought it could. She'd only known the Elf for a few days, and she was already terrified he'd leave her. The realist in her knew it would happen, that there could never be anything between them. But the fantasy she had wrapped herself up in was winning.

She used to dream about Angel in the same way. Imagine a life together, without all the Slaying and Vampire parts. She had been thinking about it less and less these days. The pain she'd been through when he'd turned, after she thought she'd killed him, was still too fresh and loomed large in her memory. It was not something she thought she could go through again. And now, she was doing it again, with Legolas. Was she ever destined to have a normal relationship? Not that she and Legolas had a relationship. Hope springs eternal, she thought to herself as she left Willow and went in search of Giles.

Legolas watched Buffy walk away and disappear behind the bookcases. Her strength and determination flowed throughout the library and he felt it. He also felt the pain she was hiding from everyone. It screamed to him as did the pain flowing through everyone else. His joined it. Would he ever see Middle Earth again? Would Aragorn realise what was coming in time to stop it happening? Would there even be a Middle Earth for him to go back to? Questions swam through his mind along with the pain. Buffy was right. He couldn't just kneel there and accept this fate. He had to find a way back. He had to help. So much was unknown about the Ring and its powers. Maybe he would be returned at some point to help out in the fight against Faith. Nothing was certain. He slowly stood up, brushing his hair back from his eyes, as he walked towards where Buffy had gone.



Sweet Sunnydale, Angelus thought to himself as he walked the streets again. He didn't know how or why he was back, and he didn't care. All he knew was he had a lot of lost time to make up. And this time, that Slayer was his. But first, Boromir. After all, the more, the merrier when dealing with Buffy.

His alliance with Spike and Dru had failed him last time. He'd underestimated Spike's jealousy and possessiveness of Dru, and the extremes he'd go to to keep her. Not that Angelus had had any real intentions towards her. He'd gotten over his obsession with her many generations ago. Dru had been a fun diversion, nothing more. But Spike had never been one for playing with the team, except with Buffy. Spike betrayed him and everything he'd thought they stood for all for Dru. If he'd been patient just a little longer, the interest Dru held for him would have passed and he'd have moved on to someone else. But Spike had never been known for his patience.

Boromir interested him though. A Demon more ancient than he'd heard of, here, in Sunnydale. What little he'd learned of him had intrigued him. The knowledge that this Boromir was also on Buffy's 'hit list' made him want to get to know him better. At least he knew where Boromir was holed up. Angelus smiled as he made his way towards the warehouse.

But first, a snack. It had been a long long time between nice fresh meals.



"Anything?"

Giles jumped at the sound of Buffy's voice. He'd been concentrating so hard on reading and deciphering the ancient texts he hadn't heard her approach.

"Nothing substantial," he said quietly so as not be heard by the others. "But there is brief mention of the Diaries of Belegdagnirion. From what I understand, he was a friend of the Elves and he wrote down a lot of their history and encounters with the Ring."

"Belegdagnirion?" Legolas said softly to himself as he joined them. "I do not know that name."

Buffy turned to face him. He was so gorgeous it was hard to concentrate when she looked at him, but she forced all other thoughts from her mind and did her best.

"Should you know it?" she asked.

"My people didn't write our history down," he explained. "It is passed from parent to child. Some texts were written and sent for safe keeping, for the time when we would leave Middle Earth. It was coming close to that day when we set out on our quest. Belegdagnirion?"

The confusion was clear on his face as he searched for any memory of that name. Then it came to him.

"The boy," he exclaimed. "What is his name? His full name."

"Xander...err...Alexander Harris," Giles replied.

The light dawned in Legolas' eyes as he looked from Giles back to Buffy.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, a feeling of dread slowly flowing through her veins.

"Belegdagnirion is Elvish for Alexander Harris."