DISCLAIMER: Okay, so I'll have to ask you to use your imagination and picture the crazy fight scene that happened at the end of the last chapter and prior to the beginning of this one. You know, something like a combination of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, with some snappy dialogue and spectacular stunt sequences, choreographed to some kicking house or trance music. Because I just don't have the budget for that kind of thing. Anyway, moving on…

A feeling of calm had settled on the once-chaotic scene. The vampires that hadn't escaped were now piles of dust on the warehouse floor, being swept up by Council staffers. Grayson was directing the removal of the UV lamps from the ceiling, and Yvonne and Declan were tending to the wounded partygoers.

After finally stepping away from the turntables, Shaun raided the bar and found some Heineken bottles still left in the fridge. He was on his way back across the room when Michael stopped him. "Ah, Shaun, very well done tonight."

"Thanks. Glad I could be of help."

"I suppose I should make you aware that I've ordered reinforcements from our offices abroad. They should be arriving in the next few hours. So I think you'll be relieved to know that we know longer need your services."

"You what?"

"Don't misunderstand, the Council is very grateful for your contribution. But as zero hour approaches, it's probably best to have only the most highly-trained and experienced operatives in the field."

"Uh, yeah. I understand."

"Good. Pleasure to have worked with you, Shaun. Oh, and best not to mention this to Sara. Not at the present moment, anyway."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed.

Michael smiled, patted him on the arm and walked away. Shaun wasn't quite sure what had just happened. He continued his walk across the ash-strewn warehouse floor and approached Sara as she sat on the edge of the DJ platform. He handed her a cold bottle of Heineken and sat down beside her. "I hate cleaning up after a party," he groaned.

"Me, too. It leaves you feeling so depressed and empty. Although we did kill a lot of vamps with little to no casualties on our side, so hooray for us." She held up her green bottle and Shaun clinked his own bottle against it.

"I trust I fulfilled my very important DJ duties to your satisfaction."

"Well, points off for not playing 'Come On, Eileen,' but otherwise consider me satisfied." She gave him a warm albeit weary smile.

Shaun scanned the room until his eyes came to rest on the man that Sara had been talking to earlier. He was tending to the wounded as well, offering an annoyingly white smile to go with his spiky hair and square jaw. "So who's the new guy?"

"That would be Logan Grayson. He's another slayer from the States. Michael called for reinforcements, and Grayson flew in just in time for the party."

"I saw you talking to him earlier. How do you know him?" Shaun inquired, making a concerted effort to sound casual and disinterested.

"Uh, well, Grayson and I have a bit of a history," she replied, after some careful thought. "All the way back to New Orleans. He was already a slayer when I joined up. He was sort of my mentor at first. We became friends, then we became more than friends, and things were really good for a while. I mean, really good. But as time went on, we started to grow apart, it became clear that we wanted different things out of life, and…"

"Skip to the end," he offered.

"…he slept with my roommate, so I dumped him," she summed up. "Not long after that, he was sent to India. Tonight is the first time I've seen him in years."

"How does that make you feel?"

"I dunno."

"Like breaking a bottle over his head?"

"No," she said with a slight laugh. "Why?"

"Oh, just wanted to see if I was the only one who felt like that."

"Shaun, please, do not waste your time thinking about Grayson. You're twice the man he is. I mean, sure, Grayson is handsome and smart and strong and daring…"

"Okay, not helping…"

"Sorry," she apologized. "Look, Grayson broke my heart. It took a really long time for me to get over it but I did."

"Oh. Well, that's okay then," he said with a shrug.

They both sat there, sipping their beers in silence. Sara glanced at him, hoping that she looked like she was sufficiently over her traumatic past relationship and ready to move on. Shaun glanced at her, hoping that he didn't look pale and skinny compared to the newly-arrived Brad Pitt of the vampire-hunting world.

"So," Shaun began, "have you had a chance to give any more thought to that question I asked you?"

"What question?"

"The one that I asked you before this whole melee started."

"Hmm…I don't recall any question," she said with a sly smile.

"I'm fairly sure that you remember the question," he insisted.

"Still, it's been a really tough night, Shaun. You might need to remind me." She began to lean in toward him.

"Have you always had such bad short-term memory?" he asked with a smile, leaning in as well.

"Mm-hmm," she responded, leaning closer.

"Sara!" a voice from the doorway interrupted.

They both froze. She exhaled in frustration and fell forward, placing her forehead on his shoulder and burying her face in his black shirt. "What?" she cried, barely audible.

"We need your help with these lights," Michael said.

"Fine," she sighed. "Two seconds." She left to help carry the UV lamps outside.

Yvonne came to sit beside Shaun. "Wow, that was exciting!"

"You're telling me."

"All this time, I had no idea there were vampires in this city."

"Well, that's the thing about creatures of darkness. They're not exactly known for being honest and outgoing."

"And this Sara girl—she's like the Emma Peel of demon-killing."

"Yeah, she's…she's great."

"I think she likes you."

Shaun huffed and shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"I think so. It must be really hard to be in a relationship with someone like that, though. It could never last. I mean, you'd always be worried about her, she'd always be worried about you. There'd be this constant, constant stress. Of course, you could always ask her to retire."

"No, no, I couldn't do that. Yvonne, this is her calling. She'd never turn her back on it."

"If she loved someone enough, I think she would. But then she'd start to miss it, y'know. Miss the adrenaline and the fighting evil and the whole justice thing. She wouldn't be happy with a 9 to 5 job, right? And then she'd start to resent you for making her give it up, for making her leave the life that she found so satisfying and full of purpose and—"

"Yvonne!" he interrupted. "For Christ's sake, I've only just met the girl. We work together, we have a laugh together. I'm not planning a wedding at sunset on a Caribbean beach followed by a honeymoon in New Zealand. I really haven't thought about it."

"All right, all right. I'm just saying you have to think these things through. Did she mention why she broke up with Grayson?"

"Other than the fact that he was a complete twat?"

"I'm just wondering because he seems so generous and handsome and strong and daring…"

"Not helping, Yvonne."

"Sorry. It just seems like they're so well-suited to one another, y'know," she suggested. And as he looked at Sara and Grayson working together to help the wounded, he reluctantly agreed. Sara needed someone better, someone higher on the hero scale than an appliance store manager. Someone who didn't take his girlfriend to the same pub night after night. Someone who could keep her safe.

"Anyway," Yvonne cheerily continued, "the important thing is that we all survived a potential massacre tonight. Isn't that great? I mean, doesn't the world now seem full of promise and hope?"

"Yeah, promise and hope." He downed the rest of his beer and hopped off the platform. "Look, can I get a ride home with you and Declan?"

"Sure, of course. Do you want to say goodbye to Sara?"

"No, she's busy. I'll talk to her later." Shaun grabbed his coat and followed Yvonne and Declan out the door.