Buffy ran as fast as her legs would carry her and then jumped. She landed on top of the mausoleum and crouched down. The vampire that had been chasing her ran past the crypt and then stopped. He sniffed the air and looked around. Buffy dove off the crypt and tackled the vamp, rolling to her feet and facing the vamp in a slight crouch. She slipped the stake out of her sleeve and into her hand.
"You're one tough chick to kill." The vamp hissed.
"I try." With that, Buffy threw herself at the vamp and within minutes the vamp was dust in the wind and the Slayer brushed herself off.
Xander came jogging up, clearly out of breath. "Next time….. you decide to take off like that….. give a guy some warning….. will ya?"
"Sorry." Buffy put the stake back in her sleeve.
Xander groaned and straightened up, holding the hitch in his side. "Where'd Angel and Connor go?"
"Dunno. I lost em."
"Man, Buff, you've been chasing vamps and demons non-stop like this for the past week. What's up with you?"
"What do mean? I'm just doing my job."
"Yeah, and when was the last time you actually gave a chase like that? Never mind. Let's just find Angel and Connor, get the others, and get out….."
Buffy held up her hand. "Did you hear something?"
"Apart from my lungs collapsing?" She looked at him. "No."
"I swear there was another one….." Buffy moved towards a large headstone and peered around it. Another vampire sprung up from the grave and flew at her. She ducked and rolled, coming up behind the vampire. It turned and came at her again, fangs bared. "Not today slappy." She whacked the thing in the face a couple of times and kneed it in the stomach. As it was doubled over she slipped the stake out again and the vampire was dust.
"And that makes vamp number what for you? I lost count even before this night started."
"Buffy." Angel walked up behind Xander with Connor following close behind. "What the hell was that?"
"What?" She asked innocently.
"Running off like that. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"You were letting them get away."
"You were the one that led us into that nest."
"I didn't know it was a nest. I just thought that there were a couple of them in there."
"Well, there was twelve, not two, and you almost got us all killed. You're starting to get reckless, Buffy."
"Reckless? I know what I'm doing. I've been the Slayer for a decade now."
"That doesn't matter….."
Buffy's phone rang and she turned away from Angel. "Yeah?"
"All clear on this side." Spike said.
"You got nothing?"
"Sorry luv."
"I was sure there were more over that way."
"How many did you get?"
"Twelve."
"Nicely done."
"Not just me. I myself got seven of them. The others got the last five."
"Still, you're the best."
"I know. Meet you in five." Buffy hung up and started walking.
"Where're you going now?" Angel asked.
"To meet Spike and Faith. It's still early."
"Buffy….."
It was too late. She had already disappeared behind a row of crypts. Xander looked at Angel. "What's with her lately? She hasn't been the same since she was possessed by that cat-demon."
"No. She hasn't been the same since we got to Wolfram and Hart."
"You think she's worried about them coming back and she wants to take out as many threats as possible in a marathon-slaying kinda way?"
"No. I just think she's….. I don't know."
"Well, I think she's overdoing it."
"You're not the only one." Angel looked around. "Where's Connor?"
Buffy, Connor, Faith, and Spike walked into the dark Hyperion lobby. Connor had gone to catch up with his mother and the others. They had managed to find five more vamps before they had returned home. "I'm starving." Connor said.
"Me too." Buffy said.
"I told you we should have stopped at Tony Romas." Spike said.
"We could always go back." Faith offered.
"Nah. It's too late now. They're closing." Buffy said.
"Waffle House?" Connor asked.
"Their pancakes are too thin." Spike said.
"How 'bout Denny's?" Faith asked.
"That sounds good." Buffy said. "I could go for a French Toast Slam right about now. Lemme grab my purse."
"You left it in the living room upstairs." Connor said.
"Damn, you're right. I'll have to face Angel."
"What's wrong with that?" Spike asked.
"He's not exactly in a good mood. He's been extra broody lately."
"Oh well. Ponce goes into those downer moods every now and then. I've had to put up with it for a century."
"Be right back."
"Hurry up. I think I'm getting weak from the hunger." Faith said, her stomach growling loud enough for them to hear.
Buffy took the steps two or three at a time and was at the door to her apartment in no time. Angel was watching TV on the other side of the door. It still struck her as odd that a 252 year old vampire like Angel could sit down and watch things like E! News Live and SNL and actually enjoy it. She shook her head and walked in. She headed straight for the end table where her purse sat and grabbed it.
"Where're you going?" Angel asked.
"Out. We're hungry."
"Who's we?"
"Faith, Spike, Connor, and me."
"You just got back."
"And?"
"Buffy, what's up with you lately? Everyone's noticed this change in you and….."
"Change? I've changed? Last time I looked I'm still the same Buffy."
"You haven't really been the same since Wolfram and Hart."
"It didn't change me. I'm fine. And I've got to go."
"Buffy, please talk to me."
"There's really nothing to talk about. My friends are waiting."
"Buffy….."
"Bye Angel." Buffy shut the door and then leaned against it. She knew on some subconscious level that Angel was right. She was acting slightly irrational. But can you blame an immortal gal? She had all the time in the world and there was really nothing she couldn't do. Come on, she survived injuries that would have killed even the strongest demon. How much more proof did someone need to show them that she really was going to live forever?
Angel walked up to Willow sitting at the computer and leaned against the counter. "Hey Angel." She said, not looking up.
"Hey Willow." Angel said, peering at the screen.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"You have that look."
"What lo….. You haven't even looked up from the screen."
"I can sense these kind of things." Willow stopped typing and looked up. "See. I knew it."
"It's Buffy."
"Xander's already talked to me about it."
"He has?"
"He said that Buffy's been all crazy with the Slaying the last few days and that you two are worried about her."
"Count on Xander to steal my thunder."
"Angel, whatever's wrong with Buffy, she'll get over it. It's Buffy. She always gets over it."
"Yeah, but her friends usually get hurt in the process."
"Not always. I'm worried about her too, but she's going through a hard time. It's her first few months of being the head Slayer of the Watcher's Council. It's stressful. Just give her some time."
"I wish I could, but she's not even giving me any time."
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't noticed the brush-offs she's been giving me?" Willow shook her head. "She comes in, says maybe, and this if I'm lucky, five words to me and then heads off to God only knows where. She rarely answers her cell phone, so no one can find her….."
"Angel, like I said, she's just stressed. Whenever she gets stressed, she slays. Giles told me that she said Slaying is like comfort food for her."
"You haven't seen the way she's been out there. She chases them down like a dog and then runs them into the ground with the stake pinning them there."
"Comfort food."
"And I want to talk to her, but I can't even do that. I tried last night, but she gave me yet another brush-off. It's so frustrating!" The coffee cup full of pencils that Angel had been fiddling with suddenly burst in his hand, sending pencils, pens, and shards of the cup flying.
Willow shook her head. "Angel, you really should try to relax. I think you're just as stressed as Buffy is. Maybe that's why she's been avoiding you. She senses that pent up stress and figures you need time." Willow brushed the broken pencils and shards of the cup into a trashcan. "Don't worry about the cup. I'll finish cleaning it up."
Angel looked at Buffy across the lobby chatting with Faith and Spike. She didn't seem stressed to him at all. But maybe Willow was right. Maybe they were both stressed and they just needed some time to adjust.
Buffy and Spike walked along the front side of the cemetery while Faith and Connor patrolled the back. There were four new vampires that had been made and were going to rise tonight and the Fantastic Four were going to take them out.
"Don't know why you brought in the heavy artillery." Spike said.
Buffy hefted her scythe. "You never know."
"I think you like the tinglys it gives you."
"Those aren't bad either."
"So, what's up with you and Angel?"
"Oh, don't even get me started."
"Come on. There's something wrong, I'd like to find out and poke fun at Peaches with it."
"Spike….."
"I'm kidding. Sort of." She raised her eyebrow at him. "All right, in all seriousness, what's wrong?"
"I don't know. He's been so….. controlling lately. He wants to coddle me when there's no coddling required."
"Go on."
"That was pretty much the it. I don't want to be coddled. I don't NEED to be coddled. I'm the Slayer. The original Slayer. I know what I'm doing and he acts like I just started yesterday!"
"Maybe he's just worried that you're going after the bad guys a little too feverishly and he wants you to slow down."
"If I slow down, the bad guys start to multiply. Isn't that what I was chosen for? To kill the bad guys?"
"Well, there was that time you were in a coma for two weeks after you fought said bad guys….."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"Well, I bet Angel's worried that if you get too into this Slay-a-thon, something incredibly bad is going to happen. Something that could land you in the hospital longer or even in the morgue."
Buffy sighed. "Maybe you're right. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm the Slayer and this is what I do. If I get in trouble, I'll have you or Faith or Connor backing me up."
"Like now?"
"What?" Buffy looked around to find that she and Spike were suddenly surrounded by not only vampires, but also demons. "Yeah. Like now."