Most people hated hospitals, but not Cordelia. In fact, she felt rather ambivalent about them. Over the past few years, Cordelia had spent a good bit of time visiting her mother in hospitals much nicer than Sunnydale General. When she was much younger, and her mother was first admitted following one of her 'attacks', Cordelia was frightened by the doctors and the cold, sterile environment. Eventually, hospitals became commonplace to Cordelia, and being in them had no effect on her whatsoever, and she looked on the people who worked there as just another branch of wait staff, ready to be at her side should she need them.

Cordelia was at Sunnydale General today, meaning that the staff here was too busy dealing with Hellmouth-related emergencies to notice her as she walked in the hospital lobby. She walked to the reception desk and sighed heavily when she saw that no one was there to assist her. Cordelia looked around to make sure she was still unnoticed, reached over the top of the desk and retrieved the list of patient room numbers. She quickly found Mitch's name and placed the list where she had found it, and started for the elevator, laughing.

"Serves Mitch right that he's in the children's ward. Maybe he'll think before yelling at me again," she said to herself.

She stepped off the elevator and into the bright, cheerful hall. She smiled as she made her way down the hall and to Mitch's room, enjoying the obvious humiliation that he was suffering.

"It's all about karma, baby," she said with a smile as she knocked on the door.

Receiving no response, she saw no harm in opening the door slightly, just to get a peek. When she saw that he was alone and sleeping, Cordelia slid in the door quietly.

Mitch didn't look at all like himself lying there in the hospital bed. He looked like a kid, not the popular and athletic baseball star people saw on campus. He had an IV dripping some clear liquid into his veins, but Cordelia had no idea what for.

"Pretty empty place for the most popular guy at school," Cordelia said as she surveyed the room. She didn't see so much as a toothbrush or comb or any clothes at all. Cordelia sat in a chair nearby and decided to wait until someone came in to tell her what was going on, or until Mitch himself woke up, whichever came first.

Somewhere in between waiting and complete boredom without so much as a magazine to read, Cordelia fell asleep in the chair. The sound of a door opening woke her up, and she wiped her eyes and stood up to see who was entering.

"Hello…" said the figure in the doorway. Cordelia's eyes were still a little bleary from her nap, but she could tell from the voice that whoever was in the room was female.

"Hi, I'm Cordelia. A friend of Mitch's." Cordelia blinked hard and looked at her watch. She had been asleep for almost an hour. "I must have fallen asleep waiting."

"And who were you waiting for, exactly?" Now that Cordelia's eyes had found their focus, she could see the figure that had been talking. Definitely female, bearing a slight resemblance to Mitch, and holding what looked like an overnight bag.

"Well, actually, anyone who could tell me what's going on with him. No one's talking at school, and I was really worried about him." Cordelia put on her sweetest smile for the woman.

The woman returned her smile. "How sweet. You're the first of his friends to come by." She looked over at the boy lying in the bed and back at Cordelia. She had tears in her eyes. "How rude of me to not introduce myself. I'm Sylvia, Mitch's mother."

"It's great to meet you, Sylvia." Cordelia paused as the woman nodded her head in acceptance of her, then added, "So, what have the doctors said?"

Sylvia closed the door behind her and sat the bag she had been carrying on the counter by the sink. She looked very tired. "The doctors haven't pinpointed why he bled, exactly. They can't find the source, but they think it might be related to stress. They were able to get him to sleep by injecting him with a rather large dose of a sedative. Now they've got him on a steady diet of it." She nodded toward the bag hooked up to his arm, and continued. "I was told that you called the ambulance."

"Mitch is my lab partner in Chemistry. It was really scary to see him that way, you know? I've never seen him mad, ever."

Sylvia sighed again. "That sounds like him. Always concerned about what others thought about him."

"I don't mean to pry, but was he acting strangely at home last night? I saw him at the Bronze, and he was just fine."

"I didn't see him last night," she said mournfully. "He told me yesterday morning that after baseball practice yesterday, he was going to the Bronze and then staying over at Jared's."

"Well, maybe Jared will stop by soon and give the doctors something to work with." Cordelia looked out the window and saw that the sun had set. She would need to patrol soon. She turned back to Mitch's mother. "It was nice meeting you, Sylvia, but I have to go. Maybe I'll see you soon, OK?"

Sylvia nodded and Cordelia left the hospital room, heading for the nearest cemetery.

Cordelia was antsy from meeting Mitch's mother. She didn't like that Jared didn't mention that Mitch stayed with him last night. She was beginning to dislike Jared completely. In fact, ever since she'd become the Slayer, she found herself disliking most of her crowd. She guessed it was the constant exposure to death that did it to her.

The cemetery was cool and the breeze was light as she walked through, stake in hand, ready for the first vampire that dared cross her path. Cordelia's ears picked up a slight sound and she stopped.

"You know, if you're going to try and bite me, there's really no point in hiding. Just come on out and do it, already," she said with an air of annoyance in her voice as she turned around.

Then, from behind one of the many crypts, he stepped out. He was her height and looked her age, and though he looked human, Cordelia could feel the demon inside him, and he was hungry. He didn't look familiar to her, so she knew he had to have been vamped for a few years.

"You're quite a brave girl."

"Well, what can I say? I like to take chances."

The vampire walked closer to her, but Cordelia didn't move. She was ready for him, ready for the fight. But he wasn't aggressive in his walk toward her; it was almost friendly.

"Well, what can I say? I've always had a thing for strong women," he said with a smirk. "And you've got strength all over you. I can smell it."

Cordelia shot him a look full of ice. "I'm not impressed by guys who skulk around in graveyards."

Again, he smiled at her. "That's because you haven't given me the chance to impress you. Tell me, what's your name?"

She arched one of her eyebrows. "You don't already know who I am?"

"How can I when you won't tell me?" He inched closer to her, and whispered, "If you let me, I can make you even stronger."

Cordelia whispered back, "I highly doubt that," and punched him in the face, sending him falling backward.

"What the…" the look of shock on his face was priceless.

"Please don't tell me you still don't know who I am." She squared off, ready to fight, to really fight. She didn't understand why these vampires liked to banter so much.

His face morphed into the demon as he jumped off of the ground and charged her.

"Slayer," he growled as he grabbed her and forced her to the ground, knocking the stake out of her hand. He had her arms pinned down, and when he tried to bite her, she delivered a quick knee to his groin and he fell over with pain. Cordelia jumped to her feet and walked over to where the vampire was laying on the ground and roughly pulled him to his feet by the collar of his jacket.

"Oh, you think you're so tough, don't you?" Cordelia asked, her hand still grasping his collar. She punched him in the face and it felt good. Better than it had ever felt before. So she kept punching him. "Just looking for some chick to come strolling through the cemetery."

His lips and nose were bleeding, and one of his eyes had begun to swell. "Or maybe you thought you'd get lucky and find a nice couple to molest. Well guess what buddy? You got me instead!"

She let go of his collar and he fell to the ground. She scanned the nearby area and picked up her stake.

"Don't tell me you don't have any fight left in you." She put a hand on her hip to emphasize her disgust.

But the vampire just sat on the ground, staring at Cordelia, who sighed heavily.

"Well, if you're done for tonight, I'll just finish this." She snatched him up by his collar again and pulled her arm back to stake him when the vampire punched her in the stomach.

"Oh, I think I've got a little fight left in me," he said as he grabbed the arm that was holding his collar and began to twist and push her back, forcing her to let go of his jacket. "I've had quite enough of your abuse of my jacket."

"I've had quite enough of you," Cordelia said, delivering a kick to his stomach and sending him back a few feet. As he attempted to gain his balance, she plunged the wooden stake into his heart, and he exploded into dust. Cordelia shook his remains off her shirt and went home to change. She had to get to the Bronze.

The Bronze was crowded. Students, on overload from the onslaught of tests, had apparently decided, en masse, that this was the place to be tonight. Cordelia, in no mood for flirting, but in every mood for getting answers, decided that wearing something that said 'I'm not a nice girl' was the way to get the answers she wanted. After squeezing in the door, she made her way to the bar and ordered a diet soda. While waiting, she began to look for Jared. As the bartender handed her the glass, she spotted him.

Jared was in a booth with Harmony, Aura, and some of their friends. Cordelia caught his eye and he gave her a rather lascivious look as she walked toward them. She just arched her eyebrow and kept her pace until she was in front of them.

"Hey, beautiful," Jared said as he slid over to make room for Cordelia. "I wondered where you were."

Cordelia sat down beside him, with Harmony and Aura glaring at her as if she had just told them their credit cards were maxed out.

"What? Have I grown a third eye?" Cordelia asked with a smile.

"No," Harmony said with a disgusted, know-it-all sigh to cover her lie. "We just didn't know where you were, either."

"I didn't realize that you two had such a yen for keeping tabs," Cordy said dryly.

Aura took a sip from her drink and smiled. "As if. I know how much you like to make an entrance."

"And what an entrance it was." Jared said as he draped his arm around Cordelia's shoulder.

"I'm certainly glad to see some people still appreciate hard work," she said pointedly at Harmony and Aura, then turned to Jared and smiled.

He smiled back at her, and his hand that had been draped over her began making small circles on her bare shoulder. "You're being modest. It doesn't take much to make you look gorgeous."

"I thought I'd try it on for size. See how it feels to be humble," Cordelia said with a flirtatious smile. He was making her sick, but she wouldn't let on for a moment. She sat and looked at him for a moment, listening to the music. "Oh—I love this song. You wanna dance?"

"I'd love to."

Cordelia slid out of the booth, stood up and smiled at the others at the table, and extended her hands to Jared. He took them and she led him to the dance floor. As they danced, he placed his hands on her hips and she began lightly brushing the back of his neck with her fingers. Harmony and Aura looked on with disgust as the others stared at Cordelia's every movement.

"I hate her so much," Aura stated.

"Me, too," Harmony added, and then turned to Aura. "Why do we hate her?"

Aura rolled her eyes and sighed. "Because she does stuff like this," she made furious hand movements at Cordelia, "all the time."

"Oh," Harmony said, faking understanding. "Cause I was kinda thinking that we hang out with her because she attracts all the guys. And she throws great parties."

"Shut up, Harmony."

Back at the dance floor, Cordelia had begun dancing closely to Jared, neither of them speaking. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I'm glad you came tonight," he said softly.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to. I think my teachers are out to get me, with all the tests they've been giving," she said with a slight laugh.

"They have been piling it on lately, haven't they?" He paused, kissing her on the forehead. "Let's not talk about school. We spend enough time there in the daytime. We shouldn't let it take over our nights, too."

Cordelia sighed. "You're right. I'm just so stressed out, I can't seem to think of anything else."

"I know just the thing to take your mind off things. Let's go." Jared stopped dancing, took Cordelia's hand and led her out of the club.

Aura and Harmony witnessed this, and Aura said, "I really hate her."

"Me, too," Harmony said, and added, "But mostly, I'm just jealous."

Aura sighed. "Me, too," and took a long sip from her drink.

Wesley sat at Willy's Bar drinking his second glass of scotch, wishing there were more places to drink than this particular pub. The Bronze was full of students, most notably Cordelia, who was probably there dancing the night away with her friends. There was also a bar near the college campus, but it was too far to drive just to drink, and he didn't want to be anyplace where there would be frivolity of any kind. Willy's was depressing enough, so it would have to do.

He certainly couldn't drink at home, mainly because he didn't want anything to remind him of Cordelia. He had been at the apartment briefly, but only long enough to change out of the shirt and pants that she had bought him, and into one of his suits. It was time to go back to being her Watcher, instead of pretending that he was one of her suitors.

An ache began to creep its way into the back of Wesley's head as he thought about the predicament he had gotten himself into, diving headfirst again into emotions that aren't reciprocated. He was sure his father would be so proud.

He drank the rest of his glass to dull the pain and removed his eyeglasses as he motioned for Willy to bring him another scotch. He sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes, wishing that Cordelia had kept up the charade. But he knew better than anyone that she despised games.

Willy sat the glass down in front of Wesley, who began to nurse it immediately. He had closed his eyes for a moment when a vaguely familiar voice began speaking to him.

"Wow. Time certainly changes people, doesn't it? Never marked you for a drinker."

He turned to his left to see the rather blurred outline of a woman.

"Do I know you?" He was in absolutely no mood for pleasantries.

"I would hope so," the blurry outline of a woman said, touching his arm. "Because I remember everything about you. The way your eyes twinkle when you know you're right, every scar from those horrible field exercises. Everything."

Wesley squinted as he put his drink down and placed his glasses back on his face. When the figure came into focus, the familiarity of her voice finally jogged his memory.

"Miranda?"

"Bravo, Wesley," she said, leaning on the bar beside him.

"What are you doing in Sunnydale?"

Miranda tilted her head sideways and squinted at Wesley. "This is no way to talk to an ex-girlfriend."

Wesley took another drink, looking at Miranda through the corner of his eye. "Please forgive me for not sweeping you off your feet. I've had a rough day."

She shrugged. "I'm sorry about that. Listen, I'll go and let you stew over whatever it is that's got you in such a twist. Besides, I'll see you soon enough, and I'll see Cordelia on Monday." She stood up straight again and took a step towards walking away, but Wesley had reached out and touched her arm.

"What do you mean 'you'll see Cordelia Monday'?"

"I'm the new librarian at the high school. I'm sure Cordelia will be in there sometime."

Wesley smirked drunkenly. "You don't know Cordelia very well."

"No, I guess I don't. But I hope to soon." Miranda smiled again.

"I don't understand—I'm her Watcher. Did the Council send you to check up on me?"

Miranda laughed. "Heavens, no. I got so twitchy in England. I had no idea how bored I could be at Council Headquarters. Do you realize they placed me in the Hall of Records? I did nothing all day but wait for Quentin or some other bigwig Watcher to call and ask for some obscure something."

Wesley smiled at her. "And what do you think you'll be doing at Sunnydale High School?"

"Well, I don't know, but I'm sure it's got to be more interesting than Quentin calling me and asking me to look up the anniversary for the Feast of St. Vigeous. Besides, I think you and I could have lots of good times together, like we did before you graduated the Academy."

Wesley sat quietly for a moment, thinking. He looked at his drink, and then looked at Miranda again.

"Have you found a place to stay?"

"I'm still in the market," she paused for effect, then continued. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

Wesley nodded and out of nowhere, Willy was placing his keys in Miranda's hand.