"Morning, folks," Xander said the next day when he arrived at the Hyperion.

"Man, don't you have a job or something?" Gunn asked.

"Sure," he said. "But they give me time off to bug you. Willow around?"

Gunn nodded and pointed to Angel's office.

Xander entered the office to find Willow, Dawn, Angel, Faith and Giles talking in fairly hushed tones.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?"

"Xander, good, I was hoping you would show up," Giles said.

"Oh?" he asked, tossing a file to Angel, who nodded his thanks.

"We ah, appear to be missing a slayer."

"Yeah?" he asked. "Who?"

"Buffy," said Willow. "Xander, what did you say to her?"

Xander regarded his oldest friend. "You think it was something I said that caused her to leave?" he asked.

"Well, after you left yesterday, she was just kind of walking around in a stupor," Willow said. Angel and Giles were nodding, Faith was leaning against the wall and Dawn was sitting in a chair, her arms crossed, and not looking at anybody.

"And nobody thinks that maybe, after battling the First, almost dying, losing... Spike... and all that other stuff, she maybe just wanted some time alone? She's a slayer. I think she can take care of herself for one night in LA. She did it for a few months, remember?"

"Xander, we're not blaming you," Giles said. "And we know she can take care of herself, we're merely trying to ascertain why she seemed so upset before she left."

"I just told her what I thought," Xander said. "That she needs to calm down, let other people do things, not try to keep Dawn so much under her thumb. And before you say it, I know, I haven't been around to see everything that went on in Sunnydale, but if even half of what Dawnie told me is true, then she's being unreasonable."

"Xander," Giles said, carefully choosing his words, "Buffy... is in a delicate place right now. She has just lost her hometown, and is certainly in no condition to be lectured."

Xander tilted his head sideways. "And Dawn didn't just lose her hometown? It's okay for Buffy to berate her in front of everybody, to humiliate her, but it's not okay for me to have a quiet word with Buffy in private? And it's also okay for Buffy to try to force me to quit my job?"

"She what?" Angel asked.

"She doesn't want me to be a cop," he said simply. "Told me not to go yesterday when my pager went off."

"Xander, I'm sure she didn't mean—"Willow started.

"Yeah, she did, Will. She told me outright she doesn't want me in my job."

"B's got problems," Faith said, speaking up for the first time. "We all knew that. Doesn't excuse the way she treats people."

"We're not saying it excuses it. I think we all know that Buffy has had, and is having problems," Giles said. "We are merely trying to determine the best way of dealing with it, while trying not to step on too many people's feelings."

Angel sighed. "She still thinks she's alone."

"Pardon?" Giles asked.

"She still thinks she's alone," he repeated. "She hasn't accepted the fact that there are now a lot of other people who can help with the fight. She let all of you guys in, but it wasn't enough. She still felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. She hasn't realized that there are twenty-five other girls in this hotel that are just as strong as she is. She doesn't know that there are lots of other people to help her hold the world up."

"How do you—" Giles started.

"I know what it's like to be alone," Angel said.

Nobody responded for a minute.

"Well," Xander said, checking his watch. "I'm glad I came over for the depress-a-thon, but we're running through some exercises in about half an hour. I'll keep an eye out for Buffy, and I'll drop by again later."

Xander's exit precipitated a mass exodus from Angel's office.

"When do you and Robin leave?" Xander asked Giles.

"Our flight is in a few hours," Giles said.

Xander nodded. "And you come back"

"A few days at the most," Giles said.

Xander stuck his hand out and Giles took it.

"I really did not mean to sound like I was blaming you," Giles said.

"I know, Giles," Xander said. "It's okay."

A quick pat on the back and Xander left the hotel.

"Xander!" Dawn called, chasing him outside.

"Yeah, Dawn?" he asked.

Dawn caught up to him looking a little worried. "I just... um. It's not your fault, that Buffy's not here."

Xander smiled softly. "I know. It's not yours either."

"No, I know, but, you know, if maybe I hadn't run off or something, then she might—"

"Dawn," he said. "Your sister is fine. She can take care of herself. Nothing that you did caused her to run off. I'm sure she'll be back in no time, okay?"

"I know. I just... if anything happened to her"

"It won't," Xander said. He pulled Dawn to him and gave her a hug. "I promise."

Dawn nodded, and Xander kissed the top of her head.

"I have to go now, but I'll be back later, okay?"

"Okay," Dawn said.

Xander hopped into his truck, and Dawn appeared at his window.

"Xander?" she said.

"Yeah, Dawnie?"

"I love you."

Xander smiled warmly at the young girl. "I love you, too, Dawn. Bye."

"Something's been bugging me."

Xander looked up from the table where he was cleaning his gun. "And that would be?"

Jim Street sat down across from Xander, his arms folded on the table. "What's with all those girls there?"

"What's with all what girls where?" Xander asked.

"At the hotel, your friend's place. If it's a PI's joint, and not a hotel, why are there all those girls there?"

Hondo, who was talking to Boxer in the corner, held up his hand to quiet Boxer, so he could hear Xander's reply.

"It's a favor for an old girlfriend," Xander said, his eyes flicking up to meet Hondo's. "They're all from Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?" Jim asked. "The town that collapsed?"

"That's the one."

"How many of them do you know?"

Xander leaned back. "Well, of the girls who are visiting, I know four of them fairly well."

"Because of Angel?"

"No," Xander said. "I went to high school with two of them. Another one is the younger sister of one of those, and the last" Xander smiled, and let out a short chuckle. "Well, Faith is just in a category by herself."

Jim snapped his fingers. "Faith! That's where I know that girl from."

A quick look of horror shot across Xander's face.

Street jumped up and went over to a board plastered with wanted posters. He searched around for a minute, then ripped one down, and slammed it on the table.

"Her," he said. "She's the girl I recognized the other day."

"Jim, I don't know any—"

"Why haven't you brought her in?" he asked. "She's a fugitive, I know you know that. You're too good a cop not to."

Xander rubbed his face. "She's not anything like –"

"Hondo!" Street yelled. The entire team came over to see what the commotion was.

"Yeah?" Hondo asked.

"He's been harboring a fugitive."

"No I haven't!" Xander said, panicking a little. "I haven't been harboring anybody."

"But you've kept her a secret, when you knew there was a warrant out for her," Street said.

Xander looked in Street's eyes and knew he had lost. "Yeah," he said. "But, only in the literal sense. Look, she's not a threat."

"She broke out of prison and put two guards in the hospital," Street said, having quickly re-read the sheet. "That's not dangerous?"

Xander groaned. "Hondo, you know what we were talking about last night?"

"I'm not likely to forget something like that, now, am I?"

"She's one of the other things," he said. "One who fights."

"Hondo," Street said. "She's a fugitive."

"Yeah," Hondo said. "She is. Harris, we're going to go have a little chat with your friends."

Xander's shoulders sagged.

"All of us," Hondo said.

"All right. But I need to make one thing clear," Xander said.

"What?" Street asked. "That you're harboring other criminals, too?"

"No," Xander said. "I am telling you, not asking you, not suggesting, telling. She is not going back to prison."

"Well, we'll just see about that, then, won't we?" Street said.

"All right, now calm down," Hondo said.

"Also," Xander said, turning to his sergeant, "they're going to have to be told. And shown."

"Well, I think your friend Angel can take care of that, can't he?" Hondo said.

"She wouldn't run," Xander said to Street as the team sped through the streets of LA. "I just think that it's a volatile situation, and I should be allowed to give my friends some warning."

"Maybe she wouldn't run, but I'm not willing to take that chance." He held Xander's cell phone up. "And you can have this back when we get there. And how do you know she wouldn't run?"

Xander chuckled. "Because she wouldn't have to."

Street was unsure of what he meant by that. Jim pulled his car up outside of the Hyperion Hotel, and was followed quickly by Hondo's and Deke's. All six SWAT members got out and walked towards the entrance. Street tossed Xander his phone.

"Thanks," Xander muttered.

They walked into the hotel, and the other team members immediately spread out to cover the entire area. The girls in the lobby were a little confused.

"Xander?" Fred asked. "What's going on?"

Xander sighed. "Are Angel and Faith here?"

"Yeah," she said. "Faith's in her room, I think, and Angel's in the office."

"Call Faith down, please" he said. "I need to talk to Angel for a second." He turned to the team. "You guys stay here one second. Trust me, okay?"

Everyone except Hondo looked skeptical. Xander knocked on the door to Angel's office.

"Xander," he said. "Didn't expect you back this early."

"Yeah," Xander said. "We have a kind of a situation. Could you come out here?"

The two men walked back into the lobby. Angel immediately recognized the stance of the men and woman in his lobby.

"Xander, what the hell is going on?" Angel asked.

"They know who Faith is."

Angel turned to him and growled.

"I didn't tell them!" Xander protested. "I said her name, and Jim remembered the poster. They're cops, and she's a fugitive. What was I supposed to do?"

"Xander?" Faith called down from the balcony. "What's going on here?"

"Faith, could you come down here a minute?" he asked.

She considered the others standing in the lobby.

"It'll be okay, Faith," he said. "Just come down for a minute."

She looked to Angel, who nodded, and walked down the stairs.

Xander and Angel met Faith halfway. Xander took her hand and looked her directly in the eyes. "Trust me," he said. "They're not going to take you back. We won't let them."

Faith nodded at him, then glanced at the girls in the room. They all stood up, making Xander's teammates a little nervous.

Xander turned around. "Okay," he said. "This is Faith. She escaped from prison with the help of an associate of Angel's. She helped out with some stuff around here, then went to Sunnydale, and helped out with some stuff there. She is now back, and will be staying in LA. And she won't be going to prison again. Ever."

"Now, look," Street said. "I understand that she's your friend, but she's a fugitive, and it is our job to take her in."

"I agree," Xander said. "That's our job. But I wouldn't advise trying it."

"Why not?" Deke asked.

"Yeah," Sanchez said. "These little girls going to do something about it?"

"Yes," Xander said, his voice completely serious and calm.

"Okay, okay," Hondo said. "Let's drop all the testosterone, even you, Sanchez, and calm down. And Street, I'd take my hand off my weapon if I were you."

Street maintained eye contact with Xander, not moving his hand. "Why?" he asked.

Hondo tapped him on the shoulder and pointed up to the balcony. Street looked up and saw three girls with crossbows, one of which was obviously pointed in Street's direction.

"Because you might lose it."

Street moved his hand. The girl aiming the crossbow at him smiled and nodded her head, but kept the crossbow trained on him.

"Okay," Xander said. "Let's everybody just calm down." He turned around. "Put the weapons down. They're not taking Faith."

The girls paused, then complied.

"Okay," Xander said. "Now, I'm going to tell you guys a story that you're not going to believe. And then I'm going to prove it to you. Please. Sit down."

Hondo was the first to sit, and the rest took their cue from him.

"Okay," Xander said. "It's too bad Giles left, he loves doing this."

Angel cleared his throat.

"Oh, all right," Xander said. He then had a quick thought. "Hey, one of you go get Willow, would you?" As a girl ran off, he turned to his teammates. Gunn walked in the room from Angel's office, an odd grin on his face.

"What?" Xander asked.

"Nothin'," Gunn said. "I just love to see the newbies hear it for the first time, that's all."

Xander chuckled, and began.

"The world did not begin as you have been told. At first, there were the demons. They ruled this world, and it was a dangerous and vile place. Demons were the ultimate rulers here. And then came the age of man.

"People, humans, came about, and fought back the demon forces. They banished the most powerful of them using magic, and warriors of such strength as you have never seen.. In time, the humans won, and this planet became theirs. Ours. In time, the magic, the power, was all but lost. Only a few wielded it, and the most noble of these used it to protect the world from the few demons that were left. Of those, the most common demon is the vampire."

"Vampires?" Deke asked. "Please tell me you're joking. Man, the last guy turned on us, and you're insane. Hondo, your SWAT teams are cursed."

"No," Willow said from the balcony. "But they can be."

Xander smiled at his friend. "Guys, this is Willow. I've known Willow since pre-school. And she's a witch."

Willow waved shyly as she walked down the stairs.

"A witch," Sanchez said. "As in abracadabra and hocus pocus shit?"

Willow smiled. "Well, most of the incantations are actually in Latin, but yeah, like that."

They were intrigued. "Well can you show us some stuff?" Deke asked.

"Well, I don't really like to, you know, mess around with it or do magic for no reason, because I kind of had an addiction problem last year, but... something small couldn't really hurt, I guess." Willow looked around for something to levitate.

The other SWAT members looked to Hondo, who seemed to be listening with interest.

"Hondo, you can't really be seriously considering this," Street said. "This is a group of lunatics."

"Xander," Hondo said. "You're losing 'em, man."

Xander sighed. "Okay. Here's the part where I prove it. Jim, could you come up here a second?"

Street looked to Hondo, who nodded to him.

Street stood up and walked over to the group. Xander shook his head. "Angel," he said, waving a hand at Street.

Angel vamped out and in a split second had Street by the throat. The rest of the team, excluding Hondo, jumped out of their seats and pulled their weapons. A moment later, all of the previously-standing SWAT members were on the ground as Slayers about the room took them down and wrested their guns away from them.

"Now this is why Faith isn't going back to prison," Xander said. "In a fair fight, and I'm talking hand to hand here, any one of these girls could defeat all of you, without breaking a sweat. They fight the demons. They fight the vampires. They are stronger than anybody you have ever met. And they will all, to a woman, protect Faith."

Street looked into Angel's yellow eyes, knowing real fear for the first time in his life. Angel shook his head and rid himself of his vampire features, releasing Street's neck.

"Sorry," Angel said. "Had to be a little rough. For the effect. You understand."

Street, who was rubbing his neck and breathing hard, choked out a question. "Wha... what are you?" he asked.

"I'm a vampire," Angel said, smiling. "Nice to meet you."

The Slayers were helping the SWAT members up and returning their weapons to them. "If you're a vampire," Sanchez said, "And they fight vampires, why aren't they killing you?"

"I'm a good vampire. I know," he said holding his hands up. "Sounds ludicrous, and it is. But about a hundred years ago a tribe of gypsy's blah blah and now I have my soul."

"Blah blah?" Gunn asked. "Man that's no way of telling people how you killed their favorite daughter and were cursed to suffer torment until the time when you save the world from the apocalypse and regain your humanity."

"I know," Angel said. "But I just get so tired of explaining that."

"Anyway," Xander said. "Faith is the second most experienced Slayer in the world."

"Slayer?" Boxer asked.

Xander groaned.

"The Slayer," came a British voice from the balcony, "is a warrior for good."

Xander grinned at Willow, who was at that point levitating a pen she found. Nobody was paying any attention, though, so she stopped, and looked at Wesley.

"One is born into each generation. She is the one girl in all the world, with the strength and skill to defeat the vampires, demons, and forces of evil, and stop the swell of their numbers."

Willow and Xander applauded. "Very Gilesish, Wes," Willow said, forcing her face into a look of seriousness.

"Thank you," Wesley said, performing a mock bow. "I do try."

"Englishman up there said one girl," Hondo said. "But you talk like there's a lot of them."

"Well, there are, now," Angel said. "For thousands of years, there was only one Slayer, ever. Then, about six years ago, a second one was called. That was pretty much Xander's fault."

"Hey!" Xander yelled. Then he remembered that it was a good thing. "Oh. Yeah. That was me."

"Harris broke a tradition that was thousands of years old?" Street asked. "How?"

"By saving my life."

Everyone turned to see the petite blonde woman standing in the doorway. "Having a party, Xand?" she asked. She strolled towards him. "Forgot to invite me?"

"Hi, Buffy," he said, calmly. "Have a nice walk?"

"It was educational," she said, standing next to him. "But let's talk about the here and now. What's going on?"

"The guys here found out about Faith, and I felt the need to educate them as to why she would, in fact, not be going back to prison."

"Despite your job," she said.

"Despite my job."

"I see," she said, a small amount of hurt working its way into her voice. "Are they convinced?"

"I'm not really sure. It might help if somebody did something more... Slayerly," Xander said. "Like when you bent that guy Cain's rifle. That was fun."

"Do you have anything for me to bend?" Buffy asked.

Xander thought for a second, then pulled a combat knife out of his boot and handed it to Buffy, who flipped it around and held it in both her hands. She smiled coyly at the SWAT team, then snapped it in half.

"Dammit!" She said, frowning. Xander leaned over.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She showed him her hand. "I broke a nail."

Sanchez rolled her eyes.

"We need to talk," Buffy whispered to Xander. He nodded very slightly, then turned around.

"Okay, so. Who's convinced?"

Nobody raised their hands.

"Tough crowd, man," Gunn said.

"Oh!" Willow said. "I know! Hold on!"

Everyone watched her run up the stairs and off to one side. A minute later, she came back.

"Okay," she said. "So... this is near Hollywood, so you're probably going to think he's an actor, but he's not, okay?"

Willow walked away from the wall, waved her hands, and Lorne came out. Andrew and Dawn followed as well, having decided to see what was going on.

"Holy shit!" Deke yelled. "What the hell is that thing?"

"That thing" Angel said, "happens to be a very good friend of mine."

"Lady and gentlemen of SWAT," Xander said, "allow me to introduce to you Krevlornswath of the Deathwok clan. He's an anagogic demon from the hell dimension Pylea, where humans are called cows and music does not exist."

"Thank you, kids," Lorne said, placing his hand on his chest. "I just love the welcome. Really, it warms my heart."

"Lorne, that isn't where your heart is," Gunn said.

Lorne glared at the young man, then obliged and patted himself on his left butt cheek. "Happy?" Lorne asked.

Sanchez stared at him, then approached him slowly. A Slayer moved to intercept her, but Angel held up his hand to stop the girl. Sanchez walked up to Lorne, and inspected his face closely. She touched his cheeks, his horns and his hair. She then turned back, and walked to Angel. She looked in his eyes, then nodded.

"I believe you," she said to Xander. "I don't know how these things happen, and I don't know why. But I believe that there are vampires, and demons, and people who fight them. And if your girly-friend here fights them, then she doesn't belong in prison."

"Who you callin' girly?" Faith asked indignantly.

"Faith," Angel said, warningly.

"Sorry," she said.

"So?" Xander asked. "What do the rest of you think?"

"That's some weird shit, man," Deke said, shaking his head. "But... I guess I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

"A girl who can't be more than fifteen just dropped me without breaking a sweat," Boxer said. "I don't know if I believe you, but with girls like that around, I'm not volunteering for any mission to bring one of them in."

Everyone looked at Street, who in turn looked to Hondo.

"Oh, I've been behind him since before we got here," Hondo said. "I just wanted to see how well he could handle things."

The attention turned back to Street again, who looked at Xander.

"I don't like it," Street said. "We're basically saying that some people are above the law, that they are better than the rest of us, and I don't agree. But I recognize that there are things out there that need defending against. It uh... it actually explains some things."

Xander nodded.

"But if I think for one second that there's something fishy going on here, I won't hesitate to bring her in as well as you," Street said. "Do we understand each other?"

"You won't get her," Xander said.

"Him either," said Buffy, stepping up next to her friend.

"You may be able to stop me from arresting her, but I can take him, I guarantee it."

"That may be so," Buffy said. "But if you do, we'll break him out and hide him somewhere you'll never find him. I guarantee it." She stepped up into Street's face to show her seriousness. "Do we understand each other?"

"Buff," Xander said. "Thank you, but please don't antagonize him any more than necessary. Our lives depend on trusting each other. I think you know how important trust is in that kind of situation."

Buffy stared at Street for a second or two more, then backed off.

"Look, guys," Xander said. "I know that we have a job to do. It's to protect people. But the world is safer with these people out here, doing what they do. They aren't above the law, but they do have... special circumstances. They're more... just to the left of the law," he said, holding his hands in front of him and shifting them left.

Everyone, even Street, chuckled at that.

"Okay," Hondo said. "I think we've all had enough stress for the day, unless a call comes in. Why don't you guys take the rest of the day off, and we'll meet up tomorrow for some training."

"You need a ride back to get your truck?" Deke asked.

"Nah, Angel will take me later," Xander said.

"I will?" Angel asked.

"Did you look at the folder I gave you?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"My truck's about five blocks from there."

"Oh," Angel said. "I'll give you a ride later."

Deke nodded. "Okay man. Keep up with the scary shit."

Xander nodded and his teammates left. Xander's shoulders sagged as Angel turned on him.

"What the hell was that?" Angel demanded. "I thought we had an understanding."

"We did. We do," Xander said. "I can't control Street, and he recognized her. I did my best to convince him that it wasn't her, which, granted, wasn't very good, but he wouldn't believe me, so I thought it best just show them why Faith shouldn't be in prison. Besides, Hondo already knew about vampires."

"How?" Angel asked.

"He got bit about six years ago. Fought it off and ducked into his house."

"How did you come by this information?" Wesley asked.

"We took some bank robbers yesterday, over at First National on Wilcox. You remember that one, Angel?" Angel nodded. "Anyway, I told them about the grate in the count room you showed me, and Deke asked where I learned about it from. I told him a vampire with a soul told me. You know, cuz he wouldn't believe me."

"But he did," Angel said.

"No," Xander said. "But Hondo overheard, and he believed me. He's kind of had a... taste for the occult happenings around here since he got bit. He'd heard rumors about you. About what happened to Kate, and her dad. Kind of put two and two together, and boom. Belief. Then when Street figured out who Faith was, I figured the easiest way to keep her out of prison was to show them what goes bump in the night."

"And this Honcho guy was aware the whole time?" Buffy asked.

Xander nodded. "Hondo. And yeah. As soon as I told him that Faith was a warrior for the good side, he was behind her."

Everyone seemed fairly satisfied.

"Can we talk?" Buffy asked.

"Sure," he said. "Let me get some water, and I'll meet you outside, okay?"

Buffy nodded and headed off. Xander went to the kitchen, but was stopped on his way by Faith.

"Xander," she said. "I just wanna... um... thanks. For sticking up for me."

Xander smiled. "You're welcome, Faith. You've earned it."

Faith smiled weakly at him, then let him pass.

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End Chapter 6