Regroup & Repair

"Cordy, would you get that?"

"Yeah, yeah. You better feel lucky, Soul-boy. I don't do this for many people."

"Cordelia, I'm only asking you to answer the door because someone's knocking, and I can't seem to find an end to this paperwork."

"I know, and I get it." Cordelia Chase walked toward the door, purposely swinging her hips and dark brown hair for Gunn's benefit. The two had been dating steadily for the past few months, and were still enamored of each other.

Angel shook his head and fought a smile. It was good to see those two so happy, even if there was another impending apocalypse. Cordelia had NOT been happy when Angel returned before the apocalypse had been taken care of, but had calmed down when he relayed Buffy's order of being the second front.

"Buffy? What are you doing here? The First didn't win, did it?"

Angel's head snapped up when he heard the Seer question the person at the door. If the First was defeated, Buffy would have just called to say they were fine. If not, it's doubtful Buffy would still be alive. The vampire stood up and headed to the door, where Buffy stood with a blonde woman in her arms. Angel reached out and smacked Buffy's arm.

"No, Angel; I'm not the First. We defeated it, but it took Sunnydale with it."

"What do you mean?"

"Sunnydale is now no more than California's largest crater. That's kind of why we're here."

"We?"

"Yeah… The Scoobies, the honorary Scoobies, and the Slayers."

"So only you and Faith survived?"

"No. We only lost about ten girls, but in order to survive we made it so that every girl who could possibly become a Slayer is a slayer. There are no potentials."

"And who is this?"

"This is Tara Maclay. She, Anya, and Spike were brought back to life as a reward for saving the world."

"Wait… what about Spike?" Cordelia broke in.

"That amulet I gave him… It killed all of the Uber-vamps, but it also killed him. It's really thanks to Spike that The First lost."

"And he came back?"

"Sort of, but like Tara and Anya, he still hasn't woken up. I was wondering if you knew of a place where we could all stay."

"How many of you are there?"

"Let me think for a minute… there's nine originals, plus the fifteen girls and Faith… There's twenty-five of us."

"There isn't a place that would hold all of you, so why don't you all just stay here?"

"Are you sure, Angel?"

"This is a hotel. It was made to give people a place to stay, and Cordelia and I are the only ones who live here. Lorne, Gunn, Wes, and Fred have their own places."

"Hey! I mainly live at Gunn's now, too. Admit it, you're letting them stay because you're getting lonely."

"There's that."

"Wait, why'd you admit it?"

"Because I haven't slept in nearly a week, I've been too nervous to eat anything, and my emotions are havoc right now… evidenced by the fact that I'm talking about them…"

"Well, if you would hold her," Buffy dropped Tara into Angel's arms, "I need to tell the others that we have a place to stay and get them inside."

"Buffy!" Cordelia called as the blonde turned away.

"Yes?"

"You're bleeding… from a hole in your side."

"I was stabbed by one of the uber-vamps. Don't worry about it. We just need to get everyone inside."

After everyone was inside and relatively settled in a meeting was called. All of the Slayers, the Scoobies, and the AI Team met in the lobby of the hotel. Angel stood in the center of the room, pressing his fingers against his temples. Once everyone had arrived, he began to speak.

"All of you can stay as long as you like. I realize that very few of you new Slayers lived in Sunnydale, so you may want to return to your own homes, and that is fine. However, if you want to stay here, that is fine as well. We have enough rooms to house all of you and give you privacy. There are some rules while you are here, though. The first is that I would like all of you to stay on the fourth floor or higher during the day. Most of our work takes place on the first three floors, and there are some clients who would not hesitate to kill you on sight. They still have to be convinced that it is a bad idea to kill the employees. The second is that there is no running in the hotel. I know that's a lame rule, but running only causes disaster in this place. Be kind to the employees, usually distinguishable by the fact that they look human, with the exception of Lorne." The green demon waved at all of the newcomers happily. "I can't think of any other rules at the moment, but if I come up with any more, I will tell Buffy and she can tell all of you. And just for your information, I am a vampire, Lorne is a demon, Cordelia was merged with a demon to make her a seer, and Wesley was a watcher. If you get any slayer vibes from any of us, that's why. Please don't try to kill us."

"Has that been a problem?" Buffy asked, looking at Angel curiously.

"Only for a few weeks." Faith coughed and looked anywhere but at the AI Team.

"In my defense, I was still kinda wiggy at that time."

… … …

"Rona? Kennedy? Are you two leaving, too?"

"Yeah, sorry Willow. It's not that we don't like this place, it's just that it's been so long since we've seen our families, and there's bound to be demon activity we can help with at our homes."

"I understand. I'll really miss you guys. I mean, all of the others have left already, I thought that… you know, since you stayed this long it meant that you were staying for good."

"Willow, we only stayed for a week."

"But everyone else left within the first three days."

"I wanted to stay and see if Spike and Anya would wake up."

"It is taking them a long time to wake up…"

"I'll miss you Willow, but I know that you'll find someone better for you. Maybe Tara, maybe not, but it's not me. I can see that now."

"Goodbye."

"'Bye…"

… … …

"Hey Willow, what's wrong?"

"Kennedy and Rona left."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not that I think Kennedy left me, it's just that… I don't know. I got used to being surrounded by the Potentials, and then they were Slayers, and now they're gone."

"I guess it's kinda like being a parent, huh? You watch them grow and get stronger and more independent, and the next thing you know, they're gone. They've left you to become the adults they're meant to be. They don't need you anymore and you're left in a big, empty house with memories of the 'children' running through the halls…"

"Yeah… Oh! What did you need? You looked like you were Mission Buffy when you found me."

"Right! Fred and Cordelia think that Tara will be waking up soon."

"But not the other two?"

"Tara died first, maybe it's a seniority thing?"

"If it is, Anya will wake up next."

"That would make sense. Anya always believed that beds were made for activities more strenuous than sleeping."

"That's true. Come on, I want to be there when Tara wakes up!"

"Willow?"

"Hey Baby, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty… okay. Where are we?"

"We're at Angel's hotel. Sunnydale went kerplooey, and we all moved in with Angel."

"I thought I was… dead."

"The Powers That Be gave you back to us. I think it had something to do with needing your abilities for something that's coming."

"No, they told us that it was a reward for saving the world so much."

"They always have an ulterior motive. I bet they gave us our friends back for some other reason."

… … …

"You mean I've spent the past week and a half in a bed sleeping? I could have been having sex."

"Anya, you were dead. It takes some time to come back from the dead."

"I want to have sex. Is there anyone who will volunteer? I need an orgasm friend. Giles, you were always nice to me. You stay; everyone else leave."

… … …

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

"Can I help you with something?"

"Willow! Shouldn't you be in Sunnydale?"

"It blew up. Can I help you?"

"I had this… dream…"

"A dream?"

"Not a dream."

"Not a dream?"

"Yeah… I had a not a dream telling me to come here."

"You look and sound familiar, but I can't place you."

"I… um… talk more than you would remember. I spent a lot of time lately in New York. They talk a lot there."

"Oh my… Oz?"

"Yeah… Um… surprise?"

… … …

"Have you finished… baking yet?"

"I don't know… but I think I'm ready to check."

"And who…"

"You, Angel. Always you."

"Buffy! Angel! Get upstairs quick! Spike's waking up!" Wesley ran back up the stairs, followed closely by Angel and Buffy.

"Spike? Can you hear me?"

"Xander?"

"Yeah, I'm right here. Just open your eyes."

"What…"

"You were given back to us."

"I… where…"

"We're at Angel's. Come on, Baby, just open your eyes and look around," Xander coaxed, placing a kiss on Spike's forehead. The vampire's fingers curled weakly around a fold in the fabric of Xander's shirt. He opened bright blue eyes to the world and immediately sought out warm brown ones. Xander smiled at Spike when their eyes met.

"Why is he so weak?" Gunn asked. "The others woke up and were their usual selves."

"Spike's body was destroyed when they died. It will take awhile for him to return to normal," Fred answered shyly.

… … …

"Now that everyone is here and mostly returned to normal, we can discuss what we're going to do."

"Buffy, no offense here, but what are you talking about?"

"If we're going to be living here, then we need to figure out who has which room. And Angel, Spike, and Lorne are going to need last names."

Everyone exchanged glances with each other. Spike leaned back on Xander, in whose lap he was sitting. Anya cuddled against Giles, staring at the golden band on her ring finger. Fred and Wesley whispered together, their faces less than an inch apart. Cordelia sat in Gunn's lap, and Tara sat too close to Andrew for a platonic relationship. Willow leaned slightly against Oz, feeling completed for the first time since Tara's death. Of the group, only Angel, Lorne, Buffy, and Faith remained outside of a romance.

"I guess it won't be too hard, will it?" Faith joked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, obviously each of the couples will be sharing a room, especially Giles and Anya, since they're married. Sir Broods-a-lot has his top floor suite, and you and I can just keep our old rooms."

"That's a good nickname for Peaches. Thanks Faith."

"Anytime."

"Now, about the last names…"

"Spike and I can just take our last names from when we were human. Lorne, sorry, but you're going to have to make one up."

"Krevswath will be my last name."

"Where did you come up with that one?"

"My full name is Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan. I just combined the beginning and end of my full name. Your turn, Angelcakes."

"My name as a human was Liam O'Conner. I guess I could be Angel O'Conner." ()()

"Or you could go back to Liam," Spike mumbled into Xander's shirt.

"Okay, Sunshine. You're the only one left who has to come up with a last name."

"Lystra."

"What?"

"My name. I was William Blaine Lystra."

"That's fitting," Fred murmured.

"What's that?"

"Your name. It suits you perfectly."

"How do you figure?"

"William means 'resolute protector', and Blaine means 'thin or lean'. You don't seem to be able to get larger around than healthy, and you are willing to protect people with your life. You and Angel both."

"Oi, what's Peaches got to do with it?"

"Liam is an Irish form of William."

"B?" Faith spoke up.

"Yes?"

"Can I change my last name? I'd really rather not remember it."

"Sure. What do you want to change it to?"

"I don't know. Why don't you and your Scoobies decide what you think is fitting?"

"Summers."

"What?"

"You could be our cousin. No one would know the difference, and it would give you a definite family."

"Faith Summers… I guess that's pretty five-by-five."

"Good. So everyone has a name and a place to sleep. I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"I'll come with you," Angel offered.

"I'd like that," Buffy smiled at him.

… … … … …

A/N: What did you think of this chapter? It's a little longer than I had anticipated, but I couldn't shorten it and still say what I wanted to. And since I didn't say it earlier or in the last chapter, this is a MAJOR AU; I'm changing and tweaking some things, and completely redoing other things. Xander only has one eye right now, and Willow and Tara are over each other and with Oz and Andrew respectively. I know some people may not like that, but I felt like that would be fun.

()() - I thought it would be kind of ironic considering the fact that in this story Conner does not exist. This is my way of including him for all Conner fans. Spike's last name will make sense later in the story. Yes, there is a reason for that particular last name, and it can be found in Comforts From the Unexpected by Firestar038.

Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter and/or story!