1:15 am, Friday – Slayer Base HQ

"Man, I'm beat," Sara said as she yawned. "I'm calling it a night. Gonna get a shower and some rest before work. Hopefully, it'll be enough."

Giles looked at Willow expectedly, hoping that she would show some courtesy and invite Sara to stay for the night. He knew Buffy would protest, but if they were going to be fighting Amy in the near future, they would need to have their wits about them. Catching on, Willow asked, "Sara, why don't you stay here for the night?"

"Well, I want to get my clothes washed. I'd rather not sleep in blood and dirt," she replied.

"Giles probably has some clothes for sleep. I'll just throw your stuff in the washer with mine."

"Huh... alright, I'll stay."

"Great," said Buffy, obviously displeased.

"I'll take the couch," Sara said.

"Nonsense," Buffy replied. "Since you are a guest here, you might as well take Giles' room, right Giles?" If she was going to put up with the cop, someone was going to pay for it. And that someone would be Giles.

"Wha... uh..."

"See, showing us that famous British hospitality." Buffy beamed a wily smile. If Giles wanted her here, then she got his room. It was only fair.

"Thanks, Giles," Sara replied. She knew she had been played against him for Buffy's amusement/revenge. But she was too tired and too busted up to gripe about it. Let the girl work through her issues, she thought.

"I'm going to take a shower," Sara said.

"There are some towels in the bathroom. Just help yourself," Willow said.

"Thanks." Sara then went into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving the Scoobies to themselves.

"Must you be so rough with her, Buffy?" Giles asked. "We're all on the same side."

"Giles, she doesn't even know everything she's capable of with that thing. And now Amy's got one. I think that the subject deserves a little bit of scrutiny."

"I seem to recall a time when you came asking me to help you understand your own power when Dracula nearly seduced you."

Buffy was shocked. She never thought that Giles would bring that subject up and smack her in the face with it. If she wasn't mad before, she was now. "That's a low blow, Giles, and you know it."

"Maybe, but it does illustrate something. We're privy to one of the most fabled weapons in history. Even the Watchers' Council thought it to be myth. Not much is known about it and even less is known what it's capable of. She said the Witchblade 'chooses' its wearer, and I am certain that she didn't ask for it. Maybe the reason you have a hard time getting along is because you see a lot of yourself in her."

"What?! That's ridiculous! She's completely different from me." Buffy replied.

"Really? Both chosen when you did not have the choice, both dealing with powers that are still somewhat a mystery to many, both fighting to make sure that power doesn't overwhelm you, and both fighting things that are mostly hidden from the world. Perhaps you two are much more alike than you think."

As Giles left to prepare the room, Buffy sat on the couch, thinking about what Giles had said. Was it true? Were they so alike it made it tough to be around each other? Faith had once said, back when she was bad, that she was Buffy's dark side, the one that she always held underneath but never let out. But with Sara, it was different. When it came down to it, they were just two women coping with things most didn't understand. Sure Sara could be blunt, condescending, and a control freak, but wasn't she the same thing in Sunnydale? As she recalled, she was kicked out of her own house based on those grounds! If Sara was just like her, maybe they could find a way to get along.

"Hey, Blondie... got any shampoo?" Sara said sticking her head out of the door.

Then again, she thought, rolling her eyes.

Sara had taken her time in the shower, to let all the grime, grit, and blood wash away. To be honest, she started to fear for the city. She had no idea what to expect and no idea how to go about planning for what Amy had in store. Amy was rolling sevens and all they seemed to be getting were snake-eyes. Exiting the shower and grabbing a towel, she started to gently pat herself down when she heard a knock. Sticking her head out, her hair soaked, she saw Giles standing with a robe in hand.

"I thought you could use this," he said.

"Thanks." Closing the door, Sara put on the robe, which was actually quite comfortable. Opening the door once more, she followed Giles to his bedroom as he started to gather a pillow and blanket for his date with the couch.

"So..." Sara asked, looking for a conversation piece. "Is Buffy always...?"

"Yes, always. No, I'm being facetious. She can be somewhat difficult to deal with, Sara, but understand that she has been doing this for eight years. While she can be a handful, she is also the most capable Slayer I have ever heard of. I would dare say that she is the greatest Slayer on record."

"Must be a pretty unimpressive record," Sara sneered. Seeing Giles' expression, she quickly amended her words, saying, "I'm sorry, Giles, I didn't mean that. I've just been dealing with a lot for awhile now. It's been so hard lately, you know?. I've got an evil gauntlet on my wrist halfway ready take over at a moment's notice. I've got creatures of the night and who-knows-what-else to contend with just itching to tear innocents apart. I've got Nottingham either plotting against me or trying to manipulate me as we speak, just like his boss was, and I've got a crazy witch with a much-more evil duplicate of said gauntlet planning on doing something that's going to make us all wish we'd stayed in bed. On top of all that, I've got a little blond girl pretty much telling me it's all my fault and a captain ready to have my badge for lunch the minute I screw up. I'm tired, Giles. I'm tired of this thing, I'm tired of the responsibility, I'm tired of all the death, and I am sick and tired of fighting only to wake and do it again the next day!" Tears started to form in her eyes, welling up like they had been waiting for this moment.

Giles looked at the young woman who had dealt with so much. If anything, he had much experience in helping them cope with what they have been given, to cope with the extraordinary burden they carried. He had suspected before that she and Buffy were more alike than they'd cared to admit. Now he knew it was a fact.

"I'm sorry, Giles," she said, wiping her eyes and sitting on the bed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have blown up like that."

"No, no, believe me I'm used to it. Carrying a burden such as yours is not a easy thing," he said as he sat down on the bed next to Sara. "Buffy reacted the same way many times before, especially when she found out she was supposed to die at the hands of a master vampire. A sixteen year-old girl finding out that she's prophesied to die is not exactly a ball of sunshine."

"Wow, that's pretty harsh," she said, sniffling.

"Yes, and so is dealing with this," he replied, lifting up her arm. "For years Buffy carried the burden of Slayer alone, until now. However, she has always had the support of her friends to see her through, something most Slayers didn't even have. Before I met her I would have told you that someone like yourself was destined to walk alone because that was the way it was done. But now I see that the only way for someone to survive is with the help of those close to them, to help them pull through. Unfortunately, you don't have anyone looking out for you, to be there when you need them the most. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"Maybe Bladewielders should come with Watchers attached."

"Oh, you probably would have killed us on general principle. I was the only one Buffy ever cared for."

"I can see why. She had a good teacher."

"Sometimes I doubt that, especially lately."

"Don't. She's lucky. If I had someone like you I'd probably be better off, or least be able to cope. You shouldn't doubt yourself."

"Thank you," he said. Smiling at Sara, Giles saw past the detective with the bulletproof skin and directly into the woman on the inside, a woman who kept herself at a distance from others, who walked alone because she felt she had to. She was a woman who had seen too much and had been disillusioned by it all, but still had a spark of hope left in her. For the first time since their encounter, he thought he began to see the Sara Pezzini that few ever saw.

Breaking out of his thoughts, he immediately noticed they were staring at each other and stood up, saying, "Well, I'll, uh, see you in the morning, Sara. No doubt I'd better get to sleep soon if I expect to make it off of that rough couch."

"Actually, I'll be the one up tonight. I just remembered I've got to have that report in on my captain's desk. Could you hand the papers to me? They're on the table." Sara said as he turned to leave.

"Of course."

Coming back from the table he handed the papers to her. Smiling, he merely said, "Well, good night, Sara."

"Good night, Giles."

Closing the door he just smiled, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he helped fan that spark of hope left in her. Turning around, he saw Willow standing there.

"Tucking her in, Giles?"

"I... I was just... I... she..."

"I'm just kidding. You think hanging around us for so long would help you grow a funny bone."

"Good night, Willow," he said, annoyed.

"Good night, Giles," she replied playfully as she entered the bathroom and closed the door.

"Got any suggestions for tomorrow?" Buffy said from the darkness, startling Giles.

"Buffy! Uh, well... quite honestly... I have no idea what to do next. Amy is no doubt more powerful than we ever imagined and she seems to be in league with organized crime, for some odd reason. I must admit I'm at a bit of a loss." He looked at her curiously. "What are you thinking?"

Looking back at him with determination in her eyes and wet hair partially obscuring her face, Buffy said, "I think I'll make a visit out to that Vitelli residence and see an old friend."

"Do you really think that's wise?"

"No, but it'll make me happier. Amy just ran rings around us, Giles, and she thinks she's going to get away with it. Once we find more Slayers we'll make sure she gets the point."

"Which reminds me, I need to call Faith and tell her not to come. Best get to it before she comes finding you alive and well. Good night, Buffy."

"Sleep tight, Giles. Oh, and uh, don't forget to kiss Sara goodnight."

"Very funny."