London, late at night

Roger Ashford stands in front of Big Ben, looking up at it. He staggers a bit before taking another long drink from his wine bottle. He holds it in front of him, upside down, to see that it's empty. He curses and tosses it aside. It shatters nearby but he doesn't look at it.

"Dangerous to be out this later at night, gov'nor," a mean voice says. A man steps over the broken glass, crunching it beneath thick-soled boots as he approaches Ashford. "And bumbling about drunk in the dark is stupid at any time."

Ashford whips around, a cross in hand as he stares at the newcomer. The newcomer frowns. "What's that supposed to do, eh? You trying to convert me?"

"Stay back, demon," Ashford slurs. He steps back clumsily and falls backwards, landing gracelessly on his behind. He kicks out wildly as he tries to scoot back. "I'm warning you!"

The man kicks the cross from Ashford's hand. "It's no good, doc, I know too much for that to scare me."

"What do you want?' Ashford is shaking. He holds his hands over his face.

The man lifts Ashford off the ground and glares hard at him. "Acknowledge me, you sodding wanker. You know me!"

"I… Nickleby, it's you?" Ashford stammers fearfully.

Nickleby drops Ashford. "Good man. I'm glad you remembered your old pal."

"Pal?" Ashford has a sudden burst of courage. "You were nothing more than a cowardly crook last I saw you. Blackmail was your game, if I remember correctly. What do you want?"

Nickleby's amused grin falters. His face changes as he bares his sharp canines at Ashford. "I've got a whole new game, doc. You might want to be a mite more respectful to me."

"Damn you!" Ashford snarls.

"Too late for that, isn't it?" Nickleby says. He stands over Ashford, smiling again. "You're in, aren't you? Thought you might; Jack said he'd seen you."

Ashford's eyes widen. "So he was the man… no, I wasn't telling him anything!"

"You don't have to, mate," Nickleby says. "We know everything. And, whether you're trying to or not, you're helping us quite a bit."

Ashford opens his mouth to respond when he hears a loud female voice shout: "Get him, Rona!"

Rona dashes down the street, stake in hand. Nickleby looks up at her, a bemused expression on his face, and watches her approach without moving. Ashford struggles to stand when a pink hand hoists him up by the shoulder. "Got you, sir."

"A demon!" Ashford looks at Clem in shock, hardly capable of holding himself up. Clem smiles apologetically and moves Ashford out of the way as Nickleby dashes past them. "Wait! The vampire!"

"Got him, gramps," Rona snaps as she races after the escaping vampire. She disappears into the gathering fog.

Dawn joins Clem and Ashford. "Are you okay? What are you doing out here?"

"I just found you," Clem says with a pout.

"Not you," Dawn rolls her eyes.

Ashford is quiet. He peers out into the fog, his eyes narrow. "That is no ordinary fog…"

Dawn follows Ashford's gaze. "Yeah, because it's never foggy in London. Let's just hope Rona gets that guy. Did he hurt you? Aren't you supposed to be with Buffy?"

Rona comes back angrily. "He got away. I couldn't see anything out there."

"Someone didn't want him to be seen," Ashford says quietly.

"Great, more ominous statements," Dawn grumbles. "You'll fit right in with this crowd."

Ray presses the up call button on the elevator and taps his foot against the potted plant nearby when he hears rapid foot steps approach from behind. Just as a hand touches his shoulder, he grips it with one hand and whirls its owner over his shoulder. Satisfied that he's gotten the upper hand, he's shocked to get pulled down on top of his attacker.

Ray is face to face with Buffy, who's actually grinning. "I never met a wannabe Watcher who could hold his own before."

"Did I actually try to take down a Slayer?" Ray's eyes are wide and he's forgotten that he's on top of Buffy. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to!"

Buffy laughs and pushes Ray off of her as she gets up. "No harm, Ray. How about you? You fell pretty hard."

"But I had you to break my fall," Ray replies, brushing himself off. The elevator arrives. "Going my way?"

Buffy shakes her head. "No, actually, I came to ask you one more question."

"One that couldn't be asked with Mr. Wells there?"

Buffy grimaces. "Andrew tends to be a little of a pest. And you can call him Andrew, if you have to call him anything. Anything else would go straight to his head anyway."

"So, what do you have to ask me?" Ray asks, cocking his head slightly.

Buffy suddenly flushes. She looks down at her feet. "Um, do you like coffee?"

Ray raises an eyebrow. "Coffee?"

"You know, dark and bitter, great with sugar and whipped cream?"

"I know what it is," Ray smiles. "And, yes, I've been known to enjoy a cup every once in a while."

Buffy grins. "Well, so do I. So, um…"

"Do you like coffee?" Ray asks.

"With sugar and whipped cream," Buffy says eagerly.

"Then maybe we could go sometime… you know, to get coffee," Ray reaches out to hold the elevator door to keep it from closing before he could get in. "You know, since we both like coffee so much."

Buffy nods. "That would be great!"

"All right," Ray says, stepping into the elevator. "So, see you around?"

"For coffee," Buffy agrees, watching the elevator close. She takes a deep breath and turns around. She gasps. "What are you doing here?"

"That's a nice how do you do, love," a smooth voice says somewhat cryptically.

The elevator stops and Ray steps out onto his floor. He is grinning and turns to walk down the hall, not paying attention, when someone crashes into him, knocking them both to the floor. Ray is on his back with a sea of red hair in his face. "Why do I keep ending up on the floor?"

"I'm sorry!" Willow leaps to her feet and reaches down to help ray up. "I didn't see you there!"

"Apparently," Ray accepts her help and stands. He stands inches from her face and widens his eyes. "But it's no trouble. Feel free to do it anytime."

Willow chuckles nervously and backs away. "Um, I think I'll just be more careful, thanks."

Ray shakes his head. "I'm sorry, that came out weird. Hi, I'm Ray."

"Willow," Willow shakes his hand briefly. "But I'm heading down to see my girlfriend now."

Ray smiles. "Girlfriend or girl friend?"

"We're dating," Willow says, her voice suddenly defiant.

Ray holds up his hands defensively. "Whoa, sheathe your sword, soldier, it was an innocent question. Just had to ask; it would be a damned shame to let a girl as pretty as you just leave without finding out."

"I… uh…" Willow stammers. She shakes her head. "I've got to go. Bye."

Willow disappears into the elevator. Ray watches her go, a wistful expression on his face. He shrugs and heads back to his room, rubbing the top of his short haircut as he does.