Buffy rolled with the punch she had just received and jumped back to her feet, kicking out at the demon that had attacked her on patrol. The demon stumbled back into Angel and he spun it around, punching just as hard as it had punched Buffy. He took over the fight while Buffy leaned on the headstone behind her. She hadn't been feeling well lately and now her head spun like she was going to throw up.
"Are you all right?" Angel asked, kicking the demon back a little ways.
"Getting there." Buffy said.
"Maybe you should wait in the car."
Buffy stood up and moved in front of Angel, blocking the demon's attack. "No, I'll be ok."
"Bad Chinese, luv?" Spike asked, running up with Faith. He smirked at Buffy, knowing that the last time she had used that excuse was when she had thought she was pregnant.
"No. I haven't had any Chinese food in the last…. Seven months. Did you kill yours already?"
"Dead as a doornail." Faith said.
"Goody for you." Angel said. "This one won't die. I've snapped its neck twice already."
"Don't you know anything?" Spike asked. "That's a Motralk demon. You have to stab it in the eye."
"That's the reason it only has one?" Buffy asked.
"Cause that's the only way to kill it, yeah."
"Oh." Buffy reached down and took the knife out of the hidden holster on Spike's boot. "Can I borrow this?"
"Anytime."
Buffy took over the fight and within seconds, she had buried the knife in the demon's eye. It keeled over, dead, and she turned around to look at Spike. "And for your information, I bet it's just a cold."
"That's what Dawn thinks anyway." Angel said, taking Buffy's hand.
"Could it be something else?" Spike asked.
Buffy shook her head. "You're not funny Spike."
"What am I missing?" Angel asked.
"You're not the only one that's out of the loop, big guy." Faith said.
"It's nothing." Buffy said. "It was stupid."
"It wasn't stupid." Spike argued.
"Can we just drop it?"
"All right, but don't be surprised if I'm right."
"How could you be right?"
"It'd be a mighty big distraction."
"Yeah, but it wouldn't stop me from kicking the Powers' asses."
"If no one's going to explain what you two are talking about, could we just drop it then?" Faith asked.
"Consider it dropped." Buffy said.
"I'm not going to consider it dropped, but I'll stop talking about it for now." Spike said.
"Stubborn ass."
"One could say the same for you, ducks."
"So, how about those demons?" Angel asked.
"Yeah, what was up with the tag team?" Faith asked.
"It's probably Shy sending them after us." Buffy said.
"I don't get it. He hasn't shown his face in over a week."
"But he has sent the minions he's been gathering." Buffy sighed.
"I just wonder what he and the Powers have up their sleeves." Angel said.
"Wouldn't it be nice if they would just send us a letter detailing their plans and the best ways to stop them?"
"Be pretty damn convenient." Faith said.
"We should head back home." Angel said.
"I'm with ya. I could use a long, hot bath." Buffy said.
"You could use a doctor." Spike said.
"Drop it."
"Listen, I want to stay out a little while longer." Faith said. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up later."
"I'll stick with the Dark Slayer here." Spike said.
"All right. Don't get killed." Angel said.
Faith held up her right hand. "On my honor." She and Spike turned and disappeared into the shadows.
Angel walked Buffy to the car and held open the door for her. He walked around and slipped into the driver's seat. "I think you're just exhausted." He said quietly.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"Well, you've been working almost non-stop since Shy came to town…. I think you need some rest. Why don't you let me take over for a while."
"I'm not exhausted. I'm just…. Working myself into the ground." Buffy sighed. "I don't have any other choice. I've got an army of Slayers all over the world that I have to make sure make it to the training camp and then back to where they came from. Then I have to make sure they're ok. And then I've got the ones stationed here that always have a problem…. And where are we going? This isn't the way to the Hyperion."
"I know."
"Where are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise." Buffy stared at him warily. "Just trust me. You'll love it." She sighed and leaned her head back on the seat, closing her eyes. Angel drove them to a quiet oasis on the edge of the city where a beautiful three story Victorian-style house stood behind a tall brick wall. Angel pressed a button and the iron gates in front of the house opened. "Buffy, we're here."
"We're where?" Buffy asked, opening her eyes. "What are we doing here?"
"Welcome home."
"Home? What…."
"The movers are coming tomorrow to move all the stuff from the Hyperion to here."
"I'm confused…. Why are the movers coming?"
"I bought us a house, Buffy. A nice quiet place away from the Hyperion and the hustle and bustle of the big city."
"Why?"
"Because you need to get away from all of that. You need to be able to leave work every night and come home to a place that's just ours."
"I can't believe this."
"It's got six bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a very large kitchen…." Angel parked the car in front of the house and helped Buffy slide over and get out. "Come on." He opened the front doors and allowed Buffy to walk into the parlor. "It's already got some furniture in here."
"How can we afford this?"
"I had a friend that owed me a favor. Plus it was actually a lot cheaper than it's market value."
"Oh my God. This place is huge."
"The upstairs is where the master bedroom is."
"This is amazing."
"Do you like it?"
Buffy was speechless. "Like I said, this is amazing."
"Come on. I wanna show you our bedroom. It's already got a bed in it."
"It does?" Angel led her up to the third floor and into the largest room of the house. It took up most of the third floor. On the wall opposite the door was a king sized, four-post bed with a beautiful red silk and chiffon canopy that enclosed the entire bed. "Oh my God!"
"Best thing about it is we don't have to change our sheets."
Buffy laughed. "Cause that's what we always look for in our beds."
"I figure Dawn and Connor can have the two larger rooms on the second floor and the other two down there we can turn into guest bedrooms or little offices for Connor and Dawn where they can work on homework."
"What about the sixth room?"
"That's right across the hall from us. We can turn that into a weapons room." Angel looked at Buffy and smiled. "So, what do you think?"
"I think…. Wow. And…. I think that bed is about to get some air time." Buffy wrapped her arms around Angel's neck and kissed him deeply.
"So, she liked it?" Faith asked.
"We're moving in, aren't we?" Angel said.
"What did you guys do up there all night? You didn't get home until just after sunrise." Connor said.
"We, uh, we…."
"We were deciding what should go where and who should get what room." Buffy said, walking down the stairs carrying two large suitcases. She set them down and looked at Connor. "Can you go help Dawnie get the rest?"
"Sure, mom." Connor headed upstairs.
"I can't believe that you guys are getting your own place." Willow said. She sniffled. "I'm gonna miss you."
"Ah, Will, we're not too far away." Buffy hugged her best friend.
"It's just…. We've been together for so long…."
"It was only a few months."
"I just meant that we were dorm mates and then house mates and then hotel mates…. But now…. Now you're going to be with your family all by yourself in that big old house…."
"Willow, it'll be ok. I promise. We've lived on entirely different continents before, I think we can handle a few miles in between us." Willow sniffled and Buffy hugged her again. "I promise you can come visit any time you want…. Just…. Not every night."
One of the movers came in behind them and said, "That's the last of it, right?"
Angel nodded. "Yeah. That's pretty much it." He looked at Buffy. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah." Buffy said.
"Wait you're leaving now?" Willow asked.
"Well, generally that's what you do when all your furniture gets moved into a different house. You follow it."
"O…. ok." Willow put on a half-hearted smile. "You guys…. Go on."
"House warming party next week, right?" Xander asked, coming in from loading the last box in the back of his car. He was helping them move in to their new house and also working on the stair banister. He had said that termites had eaten it to the point where it was almost too dangerous to use. "Health violation. No wonder you got it so cheap." He has said.
"House warming party?" Illyria asked. "Why would warm your house in this weather and then celebrate it?"
"No, it's just an expression, Big Blue." Spike said. "You're supposed to bring presents for the new house and in exchange, the people that just moved in are supposed to supply you with refreshments, drink, and food." He looked at Buffy. "Preferably a flowered onion."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I don't know guys. Let us get settled first, then we'll talk party."
"As long as there's a flowered onion."
"I'll remember to get Outback to cater." Buffy said sarcastically.
Connor and Dawn came down the stairs carrying the last of the suitcases. Pretty soon, they were headed to their new house.
Buffy and Angel plopped down on the sofa in the living room and stared at their handy work. The room looked nice, homey, and inviting. This was actually the second living room. The first one was the parlor where they would greet guests. This one was where the family would enjoy time. The entertainment center was directly across from the large, wrap-around couch. The end of the couch stopped at the side of the large fireplace. The rest of the house looked great. They had managed to get the furniture fully moved in and into place and most of the boxes had been unpacked and the contents put in their respective places.
Xander still had some work to do on the banister, but it was mostly finished. He had promised to take a look at the rest of the house and make sure it was up to code before he had headed back to the Hyperion. Dawn and Connor were upstairs working on putting their rooms together and getting them just the way the liked. Buffy and Angel had just finished their room and had decided that they could work on the weapons room tomorrow.
Just as Angel was about to turn on the TV, a scream sounded from upstairs. The two bolted up off the couch and ran up to the second floor. "Dawn!" Buffy burst into Dawn's room first.
"Oh my God! Buffy, there was a dead guy in my closet!" Dawn squealed, running into her sister's arms.
"What?"
"What's going on?" Connor asked, coming into the room. "I heard Dawn scream, but when I tried to get out of my room, the door wouldn't open. I couldn't even kick it down."
"You were trying to kick it?" Angel asked.
"Yeah. Didn't you hear me?"
"No. All we heard was Dawn screaming."
"Is he still in there, Buffy?" Dawn asked, near tears.
"I don't, honey. Just stay here, ok." Dawn nodded and watched Buffy walk over to the closet. Angel joined her and together they threw open the double doors to the walk-in closet. There was nothing. "Dawn…."
"He was in there, Buffy! I swear!" Dawn walked up behind Buffy and Angel. "He was just standing there staring at me! And he was all bloody and there was a hole in his head. He said, 'Welcome home.'"
"The Powers?" Buffy asked Angel.
"No. I don't know. Maybe." Angel said.
"I don't want to sleep in here." Dawn said.
"We can move you to a different room." Buffy said. "It'll be ok."
"No! I don't want to sleep in here alone. Please don't make me."
"Ok, Dawnie. You can sleep upstairs with me and Angel."
"Whoa, and leave me down here all by myself?" Connor said. "I don't think so."
Buffy looked at her son incredulously. "What?"
"No way am I staying here by myself with this freaky crap happening. Uh uh."
Buffy looked at Angel. "Ok, grab some pillows and blankets and get ready for bed." Angel said.
"Don't leave me." Dawn said, grabbing Buffy's hand.
"Hey, I'm not going by myself. What if I get stuck in my room again?" Connor said.
"Ok, I'll go with Connor." Angel said. "Buffy…."
"I'll stay with Dawn." Buffy said.