AN: I just wanted to say thank you to all of you here at "the-site-which-cannot-be-named" for all of the wonderful reviews you've been leaving! They are very much appreciated! I hope you'll like this chapter. It's a bit different than all the others :)

Chapter 25

Angel stood in the doorway to the guest room that had become Buffy's room and smiled. Buffy was awake and lying on her back with Shadow perched on her stomach. The two seemed to be having an intense conversation with their eyes only. He wondered what they were talking about. At least there was a small smile on Buffy's face. He'd been afraid the meeting with Gunn the day before had been too much for her. This just further showed how strong she was.

Still, Angel wished that he could have done something more for her yesterday. She'd been hit hard with the frank talk of the murders, which was understandable. After Gunn had left, she'd slept the remainder of the morning and a portion of the afternoon. Throughout their early dinner, she'd stayed quiet and pensive, and then gone up to her room afterwards. He'd left her alone, knowing she'd need some time to herself. If she'd needed him, he would have been there for her, but there hadn't been a peep from her room the entire night.

Today was a new day, though, and he had plans. He was going to give Buffy something he knew she wanted but thought she couldn't have. He had everything set up in his head. This was going to be a perfect day.

"Hey," he said, taking a step into the room.

Startled at the intrusion, Buffy jumped slightly but then smiled when she saw that it was only Angel. "Hi. You're up early."

"Yeah," he nodded, giving nothing away of his idea yet. "Spending some quality time with Shadow?"

Buffy laughed and scratched the kitten's back. "We were having a staring contest." She mock-frowned at the kitten. "I lost every time."

Chuckling, Angel walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He cocked his head and stared at the kitten, who eyed him back. The spur of the moment contest lasted a minute before Angel blinked. "Looks like I lose, too."

"Maybe her eyelids are glued open," Buffy mused out loud.

"Maybe," he shook his head at the odd little furball. Angel was quiet for a long thirty seconds before finally broaching the subject on his mind with Buffy. "Want to go out today? Away from the house?"

Out? A brilliant grin broke out on Buffy's face. Of course she wanted to go out! It'd been...

Her thoughts trailed off as reality set in. There was a reason she hadn't been anywhere in a really long time. For three years after the rape she'd avoided going places because of what had happened and the way people treated here, and then for the last four years she'd been secluded in the attic of her father's house. She hadn't really wanted to go anywhere during that time. Her thoughts hadn't been on having fun. But now that she was facing the world again, she'd wanted to do normal things. Angel knew that she couldn't. He knew people thought her dead and a murderer. How could he possibly suggest she could leave his house!

"You know I can't," she mumbled, disheartened at the realities of her life.

"No, not here in Sunnydale," he corrected what Buffy thought. "I want to take you up to LA. It's only a two hour drive. We could do anything you want once we got there."

A blossom of hope formed in Buffy. Go to LA? Could the really do something like that? It would be so nice to be just a girl for an afternoon and do whatever she wanted. They could go to a mall, eat in a restaurant, or just walk down a sidewalk. She'd give anything to do stuff like that. Ever since her life had taken yet another turn recently, she'd begun to crave normalcy. She wanted the freedom to do anything and everything. But...

"What if someone from here saw me? They could be in Los Angeles too," she voiced her hesitancy.

"I guess it's possible, but with all the people in LA it's not likely. Besides, I thought of that." Angel held up the bag he'd brought into the room with him. "I had Willow bring these over for me. There's a hat, and a pair of sunglasses to make your appearance less noticeable, and there's also a baggy t-shirt to be on the safe side."

Though she was starting to believe Angel's idea was possible, the need to essentially disguise herself hit Buffy hard. It was just another reminder that her life was an absolute mess. Not only couldn't she just go out anywhere in the town she'd grown up in, she had to go two hours away to the large city of Los Angeles. And even then, she had to dress herself up to make her appearance less obvious. Still, she understood the necessity of it. She'd likely be easily recognizable to certain people here in Sunnydale if they should happen to be in LA while she was there. If she was there.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" she again stated her fears.

"Everything will be fine. Trust me?" Angel held out a hand, asking in action instead of words to put her faith in him. He just hoped he'd never let her down. It took only a few seconds before Buffy placed her hand in his. Giving her a warm smile, he tugged her off the bed. "Why don't you go shower and get ready? I'll be waiting downstairs for you."

"Okay." Buffy took the plastic bag from Angel and walked out of the room. All the while, she found herself torn over the joy of being able to go someplace, and the heartbreak over how complicated that very simple action was in her life.

They had been traveling on the highway towards Los Angeles for over fifteen minutes before Angel felt his muscles begin to relax. He hadn't expected getting Buffy safely out of Sunnydale would make him so nervous. The whole way out of town, he'd kept expecting to see a car following, or for something else, anything else, to happen. So he'd taken absolutely no chances.

Before they left, he'd pulled his car into the garage so Buffy could get in without having to go outside. Once they were both in the car and ready to go, he had worried more. What if someone drove past them and saw him with someone in the car? There'd be no reason for one of the Mayor's or police chief's cronies to suspect it was Buffy, after all they thought she was dead, but he couldn't stop running through scenarios. To be on the safe side, he'd had Buffy lower the back of her seat as low as possible so that she wasn't visible to any car going past or following behind them. She'd done as he'd asked, but he could tell it bothered her.

To make sure no one was following him, though he could think of no reason someone would, he'd taken back roads out of Sunnydale. The less traveled, the better in his opinion. That wasn't because he wanted to limit who saw him. He'd done that because he had wanted to get on a road with no other traffic. If there were no cars in sight, then he could be reasonably sure that no one was following him. Luck was with him as they'd traveled two different roads without any cars behind them, and he hadn't seen any cars follow them up the on-ramp leading onto the highway.

Angel was taking all of that as a good sign that they made a clean getaway. "You can put your seat up now," he told Buffy who was still reclining next to him, trying to make herself as invisible as possible.

"You're sure?" she asked nervously, her hands gripping the side of the seat.

"Yeah." Angel reached over and clasped one of her hands. "Everything will be fine."

Buffy waited several long seconds before finally reaching down and grabbing the handle that would allow her to raise the seat. Slowly, her seat inclined, inch by inch. As it did so, Buffy's eyes were trained straight ahead, the world before her being revealed more and more as each second passed. She couldn't stop staring at the sights that greeted her eyes.

There wasn't anything particularly attractive about the stretch of highway. All it was, was a long slab of concrete dotted with a myriad of cars, but to Buffy it was like catching a glimpse of something rare and beautiful. The only things she'd seen for the last four years were her rooms, her house, the beach, and recently, Angel's house. Four years of the same thing day after day after day. Seeing a plain old highway with people whizzing past in cars was exciting in a way she couldn't describe. She leaned forward as far as her seat belt allowed, until her chin almost rested on the dashboard, taking in each and every little detail.

Next to her, Angel wondered what Buffy was thinking. He'd seen the emotions cross her face, amazement, wonder, and just a hint of sadness. Considering her restricted world the last few years, he could understand the reaction. She was seeing the world again for the first time in four years. Everything probably had a pretty sheen to it that otherwise wouldn't be there. He was glad that he could give her this, at least for a day.

"Glad you came?" he inquired, signaling to pass a slower vehicle.

"Yeah," she breathed out, eyes not leaving the sights around her.

Wanting to give her the most out of the experience, Angel reached for the CD he'd set in the console and popped it into the player. Willow had told him it was a band Buffy had loved years ago. From the giddy look on her face, he figured she still did. So he cranked up the volume to near ear busting level and then reached up to push the button to open the sunroof followed by the window controls. Soon, the car was flying down the highway, music blaring away, and wind blowing through their hair.

Just a little over an hour later, Angel saw the road sign he was looking for. Putting on his turn signal, he merged into the right lane. After another mile, he saw the off-ramp and signaled again, leaving the highway behind him.

"I thought we were going to LA?" Buffy questioned, turning her head to stare at the highway that was getting farther away on their left.

"A lot of people consider this LA," he informed her. "Have you ever been to Santa Monica?"

"No."

"You'll love it. I promise." At the end of the ramp, Angel had to decide which way to go. He was pretty family with Santa Monica. Fred loved to come here and they'd visited often after she'd moved in with him years ago. There were three areas he wanted to hit. But which one first? He decided quickly since the person behind him started honking their horn.

A few minutes later, he turned onto Lincoln Boulevard, and then Ocean Park Boulevard which he followed west toward the ocean. There was parking in that area, he knew. Once they parked, they would be able to walk to pretty much everywhere. He didn't think Buffy would mind hoofing it a bit. She'd probably enjoy the fresh air, the sights, and mostly, the freedom.

Throughout the entire drive to their destination, Buffy's eyes were glued to the window. So many people! They were everywhere. And so many places to see and go! It was more than a little intimidating. At one time, she would have shied away from such a place. Here and now, though, this was an entirely different world where she was just another person. A tourist at that. She itched to get out and do everything and anything.

After parking, Angel directed Buffy onto Barnard Way towards their first stop. They walked in silence, simply allowing themselves to absorb the experience. Angel had expected Buffy to be wary, to maybe shy away from such a populated area, but she was nothing of the sort. She seemed almost awed by it all. He knew by the expression on her face that he had done the right thing. This was exactly what they needed.

Finally, they reached the southern end of Main Street, one of the most popular shopping districts in Santa Monica. Angel saw Buffy's eyes light up. He wanted to laugh. Take a girl shopping, and you were virtually guaranteed to be her hero. Of course, Willow had also told him that Buffy loved to shop, but he would just keep that to himself.

Before Buffy could start down the street, Angel tugged on her hand. She gazed at him to see a semi-serious look on his face. Worried that something was wrong, she abruptly stopped. A question was on the tip of her tongue when Angel spoke.

"I want you to promise me something," he requested.

"Okay."

"Anything you want while we're here, all you have to do is ask," he said softly, giving a squeeze to her hand. She'd had four years of nothing, and he found himself wanting to give her anything.

"What do you mean?" she asked, though she thought she knew. He couldn't be suggesting that, though.

"I mean, anything you see in any of these shops is yours if you want it," he clarified for her.

"But, Angel." Buffy's eyes darted to all the stores. "You can't do that. And these places don't look like they are exactly cheap."

"I can afford it, Buffy. I've never been one to spend much, and I'm hardly poor," he relayed, knowing he was making an odd request. "Please, do it for me?"

Buffy nibbled on her lower lip. She shouldn't accept what he was saying. How could she let him spend the kind of money that would be required here on her? It wasn't right. She didn't want to offend him, though. Angel seemed to really want to do this. So she nodded her head, but promised herself silently that she'd show some restraint.

An hour and a half later, they finally neared the end of Main Street. Angel was enjoying himself quite a bit. Grant it, shopping wasn't exactly a favored activity of his, but he really was having fun. For the most part, they had just walked and window shopped, but he had managed to get Buffy into a few stores so he could buy her some presents. Her reluctance was obvious, but eventually she had relented. It also helped that they had decided to buy gifts for her friends. Well, Angel guessed, they were also his friends now too.

First stop had been The Bey's Garden where Buffy had wanted to get Willow a set of aromatherapy lotions since her friend loved nature-y kind of stuff. On Pier Street, just off Main, Buffy had insisted they go into Angel City Books because of it's name. They'd decided to get a rare book of old English poetry for Spike since he had a secret love of that kind of thing. At Indigo Flower, they'd picked out a more stylish hat for Buffy to wear for the day.

When they'd passed Paris 1900, Buffy had been mesmerized by the antique clothing and bridal gowns. Angel had to admit they'd been quite beautiful. He kept to himself the fact that he thought Buffy would have looked amazing in them.

At Monkie/Citygirl, Angel had coerced Buffy into trying on a pretty sundress in swirling shades of purple. The dress was a perfect match to the necklace he'd picked out for her at Accents Jewelry Design. The colors went nicely with the sterling silver and amethyst choker. As he'd expected, the dress had looked wonderful on Buffy, and if possible, even better when she put the necklace on. She'd done her best to convince him not to buy the dress, but he hadn't listened. He wanted her to have it. Someday, he would be able to take her out wearing the outfit.

Even though he had already purchased several things for Buffy, Angel wanted to do more. Everything she'd gotten had been more his doing. Sure, in the end, she'd had some say, but he had done the motivating. There had to be something she really wanted.

Luck seemed to be on his side once again, because out of the corner of his eye, he caught Buffy staring at a shop across the street. Her hand reached up to comb through her long hair and her teeth caught her lower lip, gnawing on it lightly. Unobtrusively, he glanced at the shop. Ambiance. A hair salon. Angel held back a smile. Buffy wanted to get her hair done. Given that her hair was quite long, it wasn't a large leap to guess that she hadn't had it cut in four years. Would she ask him if they could go in there though?

Buffy slid a glance at Angel. He was idly perusing the things in the window of the store next to them. Her eyes flicked back to the salon across the street. She fingered a strand of her hair. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had it cut. Well, that is if you didn't count the two times she'd taken scissors to it herself just to keep it manageable. It would be so nice to have it done by someone else.

She couldn't ask Angel to take her there, could she? He'd already bought so much today. The dress hadn't been cheap, or any of the other stuff. He hadn't had a single qualm, though. In actuality, he'd seemed more than happy to make the purchases. Even so, she didn't want to take advantage of his generosity. Then again, he had told her to ask for anything.

Debating for several more minutes, Buffy finally faced Angel. "Angel?"

"Hmm?" He tried to hide his smile. Sooner or later, he'd known she'd ask.

"Could we...could, um, we go over there," she pointed to the salon.

Angel was tempted to tease her, but she was already uneasy so he refrained. "Sure," he answered, as if the request was nothing. Taking her hand, he led her across the busy street and into the salon. "Why don't you look at the magazine's while I see if they can fit you in."

A woman with elaborately styled black hair greeted him at the front desk. He spoke quietly to her, and ten minutes later, after having slipped a few extra bills into the woman's hand to get Buffy an immediate appointment despite their busy schedule, Buffy was being led into the back to the back. The stylist also had orders to give Buffy the works. If he'd left the decision completely up to her, Buffy probably would have only gotten a cut, but he wanted her to have the works. She deserved to be pampered a bit, and other than his sister, Angel had never had the opportunity to spoil anyone before.

The hour and a half he waited doing mostly nothing should have annoyed him, but it didn't. Well, only a little, but just because he was bored. The magazines in the reception area occupied some of the time. He also made some calls to his office to do some follow-ups on some work. Thankfully, by the time he was about to get up and start pacing around, he could hear Buffy's voice drifting closer and closer as if she were walking toward the front.

Staring at the entranceway, Angel's jaw dropped when Buffy walked through. She looked absolutely amazing! Her hair had been trimmed to shoulder length with layers of different lengths added to give it some body. The blonde color was toned down just a bit and Angel thought the stylist must have also done highlights because there seemed to be variations in the color. Overall, the look was stunning. It transformed Buffy's previous girlish look and made her seem more like the young woman she really was.

"You look great," Angel managed to say after he wrapped his mind around the change.

Buffy's hand fluttered to her shortened locks. "You don't think it's too much?"

"No, I think it's perfect," he reiterated. Sensing Buffy's concern, Angel was suddenly worried that he had pushed her too much. "You don't like it?"

"No! I do. It...it's just different. I was kind of used to it being long," she quickly explained. "But I do like it."

"Good," Angel gave her a smile as he went over to the counter to pay the bill.

Once they were back outside, Angel glanced up and down the street and considered what they should do next. "Why don't we get some lunch? We've still got a lot of stuff do today, but I know I'm hungry. Are you?"

"Yeah. Where should we eat?" She remembered that they had passed a bunch of restaurants on their walk down what Angel called Main Street.

"We can catch the Tide Shuttle and take it over to the next area and find someplace," he pondered aloud as he saw the bus coming toward them on the opposite side of the street. "Come on, we can catch that one if we hurry."

They rushed over toward the bus stop and waited as the turquoise colored bus approached. "The Tide Shuttle runs on a loop around certain areas of Santa Monica," Angel relayed the information he knew, thinking Buffy would find it interesting. "The buses are electrical so they are completely non-polluting."

"Really? That's pretty cool," Buffy agreed and then followed Angel on board once the bus had stopped.

Finding an empty seat, Angel let Buffy sit on the inside so that she could be by the window. He'd seen all of this before, but she hadn't. "We're heading over to the Third Street Promenade," he explained. "It's sort of like Main Street. There are places to eat and more shops."

The Third Street Promenade offered much of the same as Main Street so they didn't spend much time there in the end. They had a quick lunch at Cafe Crepe and wandered the walkway, browsing the windows of the shops. Only Tower Records had enticed Buffy to enter. Both of them found a few CD's they wanted, and also picked out a DVD for Xander since they had gotten things for Willow and Spike.

Before too long, they were back on the Tide Shuttle headed to Angel's last planned destination of the day. Angel worried that Buffy may be getting tired. She wasn't used to so much activity, but one look at her face showed that she was clearly wide-awake. He was glad she was enjoying herself.

When the bus stopped at the next location, Angel guided Buffy off and then directed her west, towards their last stop. He saw her eyes widen instantly at the sight that greeted her. He couldn't blame her, it was quite a visual, with the carnival atmosphere of the roller coast, ferris wheel and other amusements. This had always been Fred's favorite part of Santa Monica, and if he was guessing right, Buffy would love it as well.

"Where are we?" she asked in wonder.

"The Santa Monica Pier," he answered as they both stood staring at the entertainment area before them. "The original pier was built in 1909, and then in 1916 Looff's Pier, the shorter southern part, was constructed to hold more rides along with the Hippodrome building. When the La Monica Ballroom was added in 1924, some of the earliest radio and TV broadcasts were hosted there."

"How do you know all this?" she gazed at him curiously.

"I like to read," he answered with a shrug, then continued to tell her more. "The city voted to tear the pier down in 1973 because it had deteriorated so much, but the people fought back and eventually a massive reconstruction and stabilization effort followed. It helped that the Hippodrome and the carousel became National Historic Landmarks. So the pier stayed and now it gets somewhere around three million visitor's a year."

"Wow." Buffy grinned at Angel, anxious to go check out everything. She couldn't remember the last time she had been to an amusement park type place. That thought brought a wave a sadness. Her family had used to go to such things together. She forced the bad thoughts away. She didn't want today over shadowed by her past. Today was for fun. "Come on," she tugged on Angel's arm. "Let's go."

Hours passed in a flash as Buffy and Angel toured the pier. They rode the fully restored, antique carousel housed in the Hippodrome, wandered around the Santa Monica Bay Aquarium where they played in the three touch tanks, and rode each and every one of the six adult rides at Pacific Park, Santa Monica Pier's amusement park. Angel couldn't remember a time when he'd had more fun, and Buffy hadn't stopped smiling the entire time.

As they made their way off the Pacific Plunge, a nine-story tower drop, Angel swayed a little bit. He hadn't been on a ride like that in a long time and his stomach was revolting slightly. "I think I'm glad that's the last ride," he muttered to himself, but Buffy heard.

"Oh come on, Angel! That was fun!" she chirped, skipping down the exit line, completely unaffected by the vertical drop she'd just experienced.

"I'm just glad we didn't eat right before riding," he yelled after her, shaking his head. At the end of the line, he grabbed their bags back from one of the ride operators who'd been nice enough to offer to watch them. "Ready to go hit the arcade?"

"That's all we have left, right?" Buffy tried to remember all the things Angel had told her there were to do on the pier. She thought the arcade was all that remained.

"Yeah, it's right over there," he pointed in the direction of Playland Arcade.

Angel held open the door for Buffy as they entered and was assaulted by all the beeps and chimes of the over two-hundred plus games housed in the building. A pair of little kids, followed by two weary adults, dashed past him just inside the door. He laughed and stepped out of the way, hopping he'd survive this latest activity.

"We have to check out the prizes first," Buffy told him, already making her way to the section of the building that housed all the items a person could win by playing the games.

"Shouldn't we get some prize tickets first?" he asked, diligently following behind.

"No, silly! You should always check out what you can win before you play. That way you know what you need to win," she relayed, exasperated at Angel's apparent cluelessness.

Buffy stood at the counter and scanned the rows and rows of toys and favors that were available as prizes. A lot of them were cheesy little things like rubber bracelets and gaudy plastic rings, but there was also some high end stuff. Those were a bit out of reach, though. Suddenly, her eyes landed on the perfect target.

"Oh, Angel! Look!" she gestured excitedly to something on a shelf against the wall.

"What?" he looked, but didn't see anything special.

"The pig! It'd be a perfect match for Mr. Gordo!" she explained, referring to a small, stuffed pink pig that had a purple bow on its head. "It's only a hundred and fifteen tickets! We can get that many!"

As it happened, it took them over an hour and a half to win enough prize tickets. At least, Angel thought, there had been a wide variety of games that offered tickets. If he'd had to play skeeball the whole time, he probably would have gone insane. He'd had much better luck at the basketball game.

By the time they finished, Buffy was clutching the pig, which she'd already named Mrs. Gordo. He would have thought it silly, but anything that put a smile on Buffy's face, including a stuffed pig, was fine with him. He was just glad to get back outside and away from all the noise inside the arcade.

When his stomach growled, Angel glanced down at his watch. He was shocked to see that it was already after seven at night. The day had just flown by. Seeing a food vendor nearby, he pulled a few bills from his wallet. "Why don't you go grab us some food?"

"Sure." Buffy took the money and trotted off to the food stand, not even thinking to ask Angel what he wanted.

She had only been gone a minute when Angel felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Yanking it out, he looked at the display and felt his good mood deflate. He contemplated ignoring it, but knew he couldn't. With much trepidation, he answered and exchanged a short conversation with the caller. He finished quickly and had the phone back in his pocket before Buffy returned. He didn't want to ruin her day just yet.

They found a quieter section of the pier to eat on. Angel was unexpectedly silent while they sat on the bench, munching on hot dogs and fries. His silence worried Buffy. Throughout the day he'd been light-hearted and chatty, but now he seemed distracted. Something had happened while she'd been getting food. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that something had changed.

Buffy waited until they had finished eating and were sitting, staring out at the ocean, before asking. "What's wrong?"

The urge to keep the phone call to himself was strong, but Angel had to tell her. He hated it. They'd had such a perfect day, and now he was going to bring the past back to the forefront. There wasn't anything he could do about it, unfortunately.

"Gunn called," he finally answered after much contemplation.

Instantly on alert, Buffy's eyes darted all around them, expecting some sort of danger. "Did...did something happen?"

"Not exactly," he sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I told you that he wanted to gather the team investigating Wilkins. He wasn't able to do it yesterday after he got back to LA, but they met today. Gunn gave them the information on your rape and the murders of your family."

"And?" Buffy felt the breath backing up in her lungs. Angel had told her the night before what his friend planned to do, how he planned to bring in others of the FBI. Now it all came down to what they thought of the information.

Angel took her hand, held it in his. "They saw the truth, Buffy. They saw what I saw, what Gunn saw."

"They...they...," she couldn't finish the sentence. Did that mean...

"They believe you're innocent," he completed her thoughts. "They're going to try to help you."

"Oh, God," she choked out, feeling tears well. This was what they'd hoped for. With the FBI behind her, she had a better chance of clearing her name, but hearing it said out loud was a shock to her system.

"The team wants to talk to you, though," Angel added the final caveat. "They want to hear everything from you. So they've asked us to be at their office at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

"We...we have to...go there?" she stuttered, feeling overwhelmed, and more than a little worried.

"Just to talk. They want to get as much accurate information as possible so they can build an air tight case against Wilkins and Walker." Buffy still seemed worried, not that Angel could blame her, so he tried to soothe her fears. "They're not going to arrest you. Gunn assured me of that. They just need to know everything."

Buffy closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She'd known this possibility existed. When Angel brought up the option of bringing in his friend Gunn from the FBI, she'd known that she'd have to talk about everything. Now that the time had come, she wasn't sure she could do it. Everything was just moving so fast. One minute, she'd been holed up in her rooms at her house, and the next, she was staying at Angel's and pursuing the truth of what had happened to her. It was so much to take in.

Could she really do it? And could she really take the chance that the FBI would be able to do what no one else had? Buffy weighed the pros and cons. What she knew in the end was that she wanted to be free of all of this. Today had been so much fun. She wanted to be able to do things like this whenever she chose. She wanted to be free to come and go anytime without having to disguise herself or wait until the cover of night. She wanted a normal life. So if that meant having to put her trust in Angel's friend and the FBI, could she do it?

Allowing Buffy the time to think it over, Angel remained quiet. This couldn't be an easy choice for her. The whole thing worried him as well. Still, he knew this was their best chance of bringing the truth to light.

Finally, Buffy seemed to come to a decision. "I'll go on one condition. Well, two. I want you there, and I want Willow, Spike and Xander as well. They were part of it all and know just as much as I do."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'll call them in a few minutes," he offered, then picked up her hand again. "You're doing the right thing."

Buffy's eyes roamed around the pier, seeing everything and nothing. "I hope so," she whispered.

Author's Note: I have to give credit the city of Santa Monica's website, without which I would not have been able to write this chapter. All the places, street names, stores, and such mentioned in this part actually exist. I tried to be as accurate as possible given that I've never been there.

TBC