Disclaimer: see chapter one
A/N Thank-you for all the reviews. I've never gotten that many for one chapter. Also, the chapters should start getting longer soon.
"So why are you wearing that?" Buffy asked when they were settled at Willow's kitchen table with the hot cocoa.
Willow considered reminding her that the question was just a tad off subject, but something told her not to.
"It's well, um, um," Willow struggled to explain.
"You're blushing," Buffy accused.
"Oz was here okay!"
"You two aren't? Are you?"
"Oh, no,no, no,no,no. It's just that when my parents are out of town he stops by sometimes after a gig. I wanted to look pretty."
"I don't know if pretty is the word," Buffy smirked.
"You don't like it?" Willow questioned crestfallen.
"It's fine, Will."
"Really?"
"Really," Buffy nodded.
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Oh, my gosh," Willow jumped up, "stall him. I have to go change."
"Stall who?" Buffy asked but Willow was already up the stairs.
It turned out to be Oz who as at the door. Buffy just shook her head. Only Willow would be too shy to let her boyfriend see in daylight what he'd seen her in the night before.
"Hey," Oz nodded in his usual noncommittal fashion.
"Hey," Buffy replied, "Did you and Willow have plans or something?"
"We're going to the beach," Willow said coming around the corner in long shorts and a t-shirt.
"I'm sorry," Buffy said, "I didn't realize you guys had a date. I'll see you on Monday."
"Come with us," Willow replied, "I mean I don't know I'm kinda of thinking you haven't had much fun lately."
"It's cool. You and Oz have a good time."
"Naw, you should come with," Oz said when Willow gave him a "help me out" look from behind the blond's back.
"Are you sure?"
"Very," Willow said taking the slayer by the arm, "Now come on. Oz promised to buy me ice-cream."
It was close to mid-night when Buffy fell into bed. After a few hours at the beach she'd had to leave for work. It was only a part time job, but Buffy was determined to make enough money to pay her own rent, to buy her own groceries. Ugh! She hated that restaurant smell that always seemed to follow her home.
As she did every night she let her eyes wander over her apartment, his apartment, she still couldn't keep it straight in her head. For some reason after the battle with Angelus, after she'd sent Angel to hell, she'd run here. To the last place she'd really been happy. The sheets on the bed hadn't even been changed. She'd torn them off and fell to the bed sobbing uncontrollably. In the morning the landlord had knocked on the door and informed her the pre-payments on the rent ran out at the end of the month. He hadn't seemed to noticed she wasn't the apartment's rightful inhabitant, or that she'd obviously been crying just moments before.
Just as she was falling asleep the phone rang. She considered not answering, but it refused to stop.
"What?" she grumbled putting the receiver to her ear.
"Giles is in jail," a feminine voice answered, panicked, "Giles is in jail!"
"What? Willow?" Buffy questioned, but it was Oz who replied.
"Can we come over?" he asked sounding much calmer than his girlfriend.
"Yeah, what's going on?"
"We'll explain when we get there," he said and the phone went dead.
Buffy spent the next fifteen minutes dusting dustless surfaces and resisting the urge to start rearranging furniture. She hated waiting, hated not being able to do something.
"What happened!" she demanded the minute Willow and Oz were inside the apartment, "Why does Willow have a shiner!"
"Giles hit her," Oz informed her, and Buffy swore she could feel the anger simmering under the surface of his monotone voice.
"He hit Willow?" Buffy was horrified.
"He didn't mean to," Willow mumbled.
"Ice," Buffy said suddenly and dashed to the freezer, "You need to put ice on that." Taking one of her well worn ice-packs out, she wrapped it in paper towels, and handed it to the red-head.
"He didn't mean to," Willow repeated, "He didn't even know we were there."
"Know you were where?"
"Oz was playing with this band at this bar, and they kind of told the owner I was with them so I could get in. I didn't even know Giles was there until the fight started. I got in the way when I tried to help. The bouncer pushed me into the middle of it by accident, and I got in the way."
"Gile was in a bar-fight?"
"He was really scary," Willow nodded, "and I think he was drunk. Then the cops came."
"I talked to a buddy of mine," Oz added, "He's going to spot me the money when they assign bail."
"This is all a joke right?" Buffy asked, "Tell me this is a joke, or a dream. It's a dream right?"
"Dreams aren't supposed to hurt," Willow winced as she pulled the ice away from her eye.
"I'm gonna take Willow home," Oz said, "We'll call you in the morning."
Buffy fell into bed wondering what in the hell her Watcher was thinking. Or not thinking for that matter.
