Giles stood in the library, suddenly wishing that he had a nice big bottle of brandy with him. He looked almost longingly to the door, contemplating how far he could make it before his colleague caught up. Standing before him was a tall, younger trainer, who over the last few years Giles had made a point to avoid. He was dressed more-or-less casually, with a light-brown tweed sweater and a red plaid shirt underneath. He had dark, short hair, and glasses. Although he had long given up the suits he wore when Giles had first met him, he was still far from "laid back".

Giles and Wesley had known each other for several years, and had never exactly been "friends". They had met just after Buffy and Faith had begun training together, and since Wes was Faith's trainer, they had seen all-too much of each other before Faith had been put on duty. They didn't hate each other, but Wesley had always been pretty firm believer in the council's regulations and what it stood for. Not too many years ago, he had almost had Buffy re-assigned to another trainer, after informing the council about the leniency Giles showed towards her. Ever since, Giles was wary around the younger man, and had done his best to avoid any kind of confrontations with him.

Tonight, however, he didn't have much of a choice.

Ever since Faith had been put on duty, Wesley hadn't had to train her as much, which meant that he performed more of the council's "chores" now. He had arrived an hour ago to discuss Buffy's punishments (and to ensure that she was fallowing them accordingly), only to find Giles buried in books that he wasn't supposed to be reading, and Buffy nowhere in sight. The two of them had been bickering about what to do, and Wesley was currently drowning on about how "inappropriate" his actions were.

"Mr. Giles, I honestly don't know what to do. You were told that these resources are off-limits yet you insisted on disobeying orders. What do you expect me to tell the council?"

"Well I was hoping that you'd tell them I was doing a splendid job and that the world's all merry and grand." Giles said dryly.

"This is no laughing matter Rupert! You know as well as I do how unforgiving the council can be. They'd have you behind bars before you knew what hit you."

Giles rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and I'm sure you would be so heart-broken by that. Imagine you, telling the council something just to get me fired? Besides, I'd love to see how they worm their way out of that headline 'council locks up trainer for looking at big-bad books'."

Wesley sighed,

"I suppose I deserved that. But despite what you may think I don't wish to 'have you fired'. I have to insist, however, that you stop what you are doing immediately!"

"I can't do that. You know something is going to happen Wesley, and I plan to find out what it is so-"

"So what? You can stop it? Forgive me, but I can't see any of us stopping whatever this is. No one even knows if it's going to be a bad thing or not."

"Are you that much of a nit? We didn't prepare last time and look what happened, I honestly can't think of anything that could even begin to end this war anymore."

"Well putting your pessimism aside, I doubt getting thrown behind bars is going to do much good for either you or Buffy. Not only that, but you have a substantially greater chance of doing something productive without your hands cuffed together."

Giles sighed and fell into a nearby chair, knowing that Wesley was right. The amount of sleep he'd achieved since Buffy brought him Lindsay's warnings was slim to none, and as a result his patience and manners were suffering. He took a deep breath, before turning to the other trainer once again.

"It's obvious that we have a problem here, so how about we both stop this pointless bickering and start working on a solution?"

"Agreed." Wesley replied in a firm voice. Members of the council were trained for much of their lives, as were their warriors, and one of the top things they were taught was how to solve a situation in the most logical and efficient way possible. "What do you suggest?"

"Buffy, for the most part, has done extremely well at obeying the punishments shown by the council. As for my research, it is a breach of protocol however it is hurting no one. And perhaps it would be much better if no one found it, given the council's state at the moment."

Wesley considered his words for a moment,

"I will agree to overlook Buffy's recent escapades, but I can not simply ignore something like this. It is a direct violation of the rules."

"Rules that have no purpose in being there in the first place!" Giles shot back.

"That is not for you or I to decide!"

"Says the idiots who've never staked a vampire before in their life!"

"That doesn't matter!"

Before Giles had a chance to retaliate, the loud bang of the front door being kicked open rang through the room. Fallowed quickly by a loud, almost fear-filled yell.

"GILES!"

The two trainers exchanged a quick glance before racing in the front hall. Giles' eyes widened in both horror and shock at the sight that greeted him. Angel was standing in the entrance, injuries plainly visible on his body, a limp Buffy in his arms. His face revealed the vampire that he was, his face now rigid and fanged, and his eyes glowing amber. He heard Wesley take in a gasp behind him, undoubtedly suppressing a scream.

"What in god's name happened?" Giles said loudly, leading the vampire to a nearby couch to lay Buffy on.

"We were attacked…. there were so many, they were too strong- I don't know how, she just lashed out… I couldn't help her-" Angel ranted, a thousand emotions playing through his mind at once.

"Angel calm down! I need to know if she was poisoned." Giles said, barley managing to remain calm himself.

"No- I... maybe, I don't know! I didn't see but that doesn't mean…"

"She's breathing and has a pulse, that's a good sign." Giles muttered, taking his attention off the raving vampire to quickly look over Buffy's injuries.

"Is she alright?" Angel asked more harshly than he meant.

"Yes, I believe so. Was she knocked out by one of your attackers?"

"No, she got rid of most of them, we started walking and she passed out. I don't know what happened, I've never seen anyone move like that. She was so strong, it doesn't make sense!"

Wesley watched in shock as the scene in front of him unfolded. He had heard of the ensouled vampire being seen training Buffy, but he couldn't have expected behaviour like this. He hadn't ever seen anyone react this strongly to a warrior getting harmed, especially not when it's technically her job to kill you. The vampire seemed distraught, and so focused on Buffy that he was either unaware or ignoring his own injuries.

"Wesley!" Giles called, pulling the trainer from his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Up the stairs and to the right there's a closet with a first aid kit. I'm going to need a few cloths, bandages, and a bowl of cold water."

Wesley nodded and headed off. Giles turned to Angel.

"Angel sit down. Buffy is going to be fine, I need you to try and calm down."

Taking a deep breath, Angel nodded and knelt down next to Buffy. He could hardly believe how much this was affecting him, but despite his rational side, the inner conflicts of emotions were raging. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't going to be near "calm" anytime soon.

Faith smiled as she walked through the familiar streets of the colony. She and Buffy had trained together for years now, and although they had never been 'pyjama-party best friends', she'd picked up a few things here and there. One of them being, Buffy's love life- or total lack thereof. She didn't understand why, but Buffy had always stayed away from guys, claiming that she didn't 'have time for a boyfriend', and was completely oblivious if/when any guy liked her. Riley, for instance, had liked Buffy for years now but she had always brushed off his attempts at asking her out. Well 'brushed off' maybe wasn't the word, she had always thought he was just trying to be friends and had successfully ditched any of his efforts so far. Riley was an okay guy, not terrible-looking, but Buffy had always found him annoying, and as for Faith, she was much too into the 'sad puppy dog' thing he had going for him.

Needless to say, Buffy had never really had a boyfriend before. And Faith knew it. Which meant that Buffy had to expect an odd joke or two at her expense, now that she had a new "friend". The look on their faces when she brought up "boy-toy" made Faith laugh, Buffy's face had practically turned into a tomato and Mr. Gorgeous' expression was half-embarrassment, half-smirk. When she thought about it, she hadn't actually seen that guy before. It was rare for new people to come into the colony; it made her wonder where exactly he was from (and how Buffy of all people had managed to snag him). She was glad Buffy had found a guy (maybe now she'd loosen up a bit with the getting on duty thing), but Faith couldn't help her surprise at the tall stranger she had met. Buffy was her friend, and she didn't want to be mean or anything, but he seemed anything but her type. She always figured she'd end up with some nerdy, soldier guy, not a mysterious hunk like that.

Faith shrugged as she came up to her familiar compound, sometimes people can surprise you. She led herself through the halls until she reached her apartment, and speedily typed in her access code and walked in. Looking around, she noticed a low light coming from her kitchen, that wasn't there when she left. Picking up the nearest object (which turned out to be a huge textbook- thank you Wesley) she approached the entrance to hear a plate clanging on the table. Quickly, she leaped into the kitchen and tackled a figure by her fridge, knocking them to the ground. She lifted up the book, ready to knock whoever it was who broke in, but quickly stopped as the familiar face registered.

"Wow! Hey! I give up! Don't kill me or anything!" his voice said, half-joking.

Faith smirked and got off the man, throwing her book onto the counter.

"Jeez Charlie-Boy, what have I told you about breaking into my place?"

Holding his head, Gunn got up and pulled out a can of soda from the fridge.

"I was hungry, besides you gave me the code, so it's not like I broke down the door or anything."

Faith laughed and leaned against the counter. She and Gunn had been best friends for as long as she could remember. They'd grown up together, trained together, heck they'd even lost their teeth at the same time. He was the first guy who was willing to admit that she could kick his butt, and didn't try to make up flimsy excuses as to why a girl beat him. He'd always respected her skills like he would any other warrior's, and been there through all the tough times. She knew him almost as well as she knew herself, and could honestly say he knew her just as well. The one person in the world who she had ever opened up to completely…. Well, almost completely, after all, a girl's gotta have her secrets.

"See I knew I'd regret that last martini! Next time I get drunk, do me a favour and don't ask how to get into my apartment."

Gunn laughed,

"Yeah well I don't see why you're complaining, I'm the poor sucker you assaulted."

"Whatever, it serves you right for stealing my food! Besides, you're not the first one tonight."

"Seriously? What other innocent civilians did you beat up?"

Faith punched him lightly in the arm.

"You're a tough guy, you'll live. I actually jumped B and some guy in an alley, and hey get this, our little girl's got herself a guy."

"Buffy? I thought she wasn't supposed to be out on patrol? And w-hey! Did you just say Buffy has a boyfriend?"

Faith gave a triumphant smile.

"Yep. She says they're 'just friends' but the way they were looking at each other it was totally a bunch of crap."

"Wow, surprise of the century, who's the lucky guy?"

"Donno. Never seen him before. Not what I was expecting for B though, has the whole tall dark and handsome thing going for him. Real girlie name, like Angie, or something."

Gunn's eyes widened.

"Angel?"

"Ya! That's it! Like I said, real girlie name. Pretty fine though, seems like the cryptic, mysterious type."

Gunn sighed and sat down on a nearby stool, a sombre look on his face.

"Yo, Gunn what's wrong?"

Gunn glanced at her.

"This guy, was he tall? Dark spiky hair, wearin' black from head to toe?"

"Ya, I take it you've met?"

"Oh ya, me and my guys had the honour of escorting him to his apartment after he came. Donno why the council let him in, he freaks the crap outta me that's for sure. Buffy caught up with us when we were on our way, I've heard rumours that she was seeing him, but I never thought she was like that."

"Okay so this guy creeps you out? Why do I feel like I'm missing the main event here?"

Gunn rolled his eyes.

"He's a vamp, Faith."

"What?" Faith said, nearly chocking on the drink she'd just opened. "Buffy's banging the undead?"

Gunn's face distorted slightly,

"And thanks for the scary imagery there, haven't been mentally scarred near enough today."

"Seriously! What's her problem! He's a vamp, she's a warrior, we kill demons, we don't cuddle with 'em."

"Faith chill alright? I mean where are you getting that Buffy's sleeping with him? We're talking about BUFFY here. It's freaky and a bit disturbing but she obviously knows what he is. Besides she's a tough chick, she can handle herself."

"But still, come on! It's so 'eeleh'!"

Gunn laughed,

"Ya, and like that soldier guy you were with last month was much better."

"He was a perfectly okay guy, besides he had a pulse! I've gotta talk to B about this, it's just too weird."

Gunn gently grabbed his friend's arm.

"Faith leave it. He didn't seem overly hostile when I met him, and the council let him in so he can't be that bad. For now we can leave the blonde wonder on her own, and the next time we see her we'll mention it."

Faith sighed, giving her friend an annoyed look.

"Fine. I don't trust him though, and you can't ask me to like him either. I don't care if he's neutered, a vamps a vamp and if he hurts Buffy…"

"Come on, if I remember correctly we had a night of poker and drinking planned."

Faith gave him a weak smile and fallowed him into the living room, silently praying that Buffy knew what she was getting herself into.

Five hours had past since Angel had came racing in Giles' front door, and still Buffy hadn't woken up. Giles had assessed her injuries and concluded that she wasn't physically hurt (past a few bumps and bruises and a nasty cut on her shoulder), and she'd probably just passed out from exhaustion after- whatever it was that she did. They had moved her to the downstairs living room and laid her on a larger couch so that she would be more comfortable, and Angel had been by her side ever since. After about an hour, he had finally managed to get his game face under control and be properly introduced to Wesley. Both trainers had given up trying to pry him from Buffy hours ago.

He was sitting in a small chair that he had pulled next to the couch and held Buffy's hand in his, murmuring inaudible nonsense every now and again. She was going to be fine, he knew this, but seeing her collapse like that and be helpless to save her had scared him more than he would admit, and a part of him was afraid that if he left, she'd slip away completely.

The two trainers stood just outside the doorway, looking at the couple silently. Neither could ignore the obvious care Angel held for Buffy, and as they watched him they found themselves perplexed. What they were observing went against everything they had been taught, their beliefs, everything their modern-day society was based on was proved utterly false, by what was happening before their eyes. They couldn't help but question how many things the council may have been wrong about.

Pulling Giles into the main hall, Wesley turned to him and spoke.

"Don't worry about the council. They will not hear of your research from me."

Giles nodded,

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

"I have to admit, after seeing that display, it makes me wonder how superb the council really is."

"Yes, it would seem so."

There was a moment of silence before Wesley turned to the door.

"I'll see you soon."

"Yes, and thank you again."

Wesley gave him a polite nod before heading out the door, realising that for the first time in his life, he felt like he'd actually done something right.

Angel sat by Buffy, her hand clutched in his own. He placed a gentle kiss to her hand, staring at her calm face. When she slept, a look of almost peace crossed her features, as though it was a relief for her to get away from the world. There was a lot he didn't understand with her, why she held her feelings inside, or almost pretended to be someone else when others were around. She took on a shy, compliant demeanour, which slipped into place at lightning speed, as though it had become a reflex over the years. Now though, she didn't look like she was sleeping, her face was more one of exhaustion, like her body was fighting to regain the energy that had been used so quickly.

Carefully he reached up and gently caressed her face, brushing a stray piece of hair from her features. He gave her a gentle smile.

"Wake up soon Buffy, I miss you."

He sat by her side, oblivious to the world around him, praying that she would be all right.

"Am I in heaven here or am I in hell
At the crossroads I am standing
So now you're sleeping peaceful
I lie awake and pray
That you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll
See another day and we will praise it
And love the light that brings a smile
Across your face..."

-Sarah McLachlan

End of Chapter Fifteen.