A/N: Sorry it took so long folks. Here's the next chapter. Thanks for your reviews, glad you're liking it. Keep 'em comin'. Hehe

Chapter 4

"Buffy there's something else. I think…" Angel lowered his voice even more. "I think Oz walked in on us in the library. I'm not positive but I think we should be aware of it when he wakes up."

"Oh great. This day just gets better." Buffy stalked out of the kitchen feeling even guiltier. "How's he doing?"

"A few mutterings but not much more. Anything useful?" Giles said rubbing his eyes again. They had started to prickle and burn a little from tiredness.

"Only that it wasn't random. They left Angel with a message. Said I should keep my eyes open. Someone's planning something Giles and what they did to Oz was a warning."

"We don't know that Buffy." Angel interjected.

"Beating up a friend and telling me to keep my eyes open? I can't see how it can be taken any other way. They were out to get one of us you basically said so yourself."

"I also said that Oz could've just been unlucky."

"We all know Vampires don't hunt in packs." Two spots of anger rose high on Buffy's cheeks.

Angel winced as his words came back to bite him. He was trying to get her to stop; Willow was looking more frightened by the minute.

XxXxX

Oh great, here we go again. More arguing. Remember when life was simple when you could ignore things? Yeah but that life didn't have Willow in it. God I wish I could say something. Wait. Why can't I? I'm thinking about it and I'm doing what I normally do to talk and move but I can't. Crap. Something is seriously wrong here. Devon's been beaten plenty and he's always been able to talk and move. This is very wrong. WILLOW! BUFFY! GILES! ANYBODY! HEEEELLLLLPPPP!

XxXxX

Willow watched Oz as he stirred slightly. Suddenly his eyes snapped open. "Oz? Are you ok?"

Slowly his eyes met hers as if he was in slow motion. The fear she saw there shocked her so much she shivered but as suddenly as they opened his eyes closed again.

XxXxX

"Uh-uh-uh no you don't……. What did you say this boy's name was again?" The mayor called to Faith.

"Huh? Oh the werewolf? Uh…. They call him Oz." Faith was distracted by the video game she was beginning to lose.

"Oz? Now what sort of name was that for a young man? Parents these days will name their kids anything that's trendy. What ever happened to normal names like John or Arnold? Maximillion now that's a good strong name."

"Oz is him nickname. His real name is Daniel. What are you doing anyway?" Faith lost the battle she was fighting. Putting down the controller she walked over to the mayor and his box.

"He was trying to communicate through his eyes so I stopped him."

"The body snatcher thing works then? Cool." Faith sat on the corner of his desk.

"Now faith, what have we said about desks and chairs?"

"Oh right, sorry." She slid off the desk and moved to a chair.

XxXxX

"I should go out and see if I can find these vampires. Maybe I can find out who sent them or something."

"Buffy, those vamps are long gone." Xander said.

"I've gota at least try. There's nothing else I can do. I mean I'm useless at the nursing thing and we have nothing to research which again I'm useless at. It's the only thing I can do." Buffy felt so desperate to be useful mainly because of the guilt she felt for not being there tonight.

"Xander's right" Willow said quietly as she watched Oz's brow furrow in his sleep. "We can't do anything until Oz speaks to us. We just have to wait and be ready."

"Uh Giles?" Xander's voice came from the bookshelf. "Where exactly does Dimsie go back to? And why does the jungle doctor go west?"

"You ok Xand? You didn't get hit on the head while we weren't looking or anything did you?" Buffy queried.

"No. Giles has some really weird books up here and I don't mean in the paranormal sense. Ooooo Giles! 'Her Roman Lover'!" Xander teased. "I think I speak for all the guys in the greater Sunnydale area when I say 'welcome to the world of guy stuff. It's not Playboy but it's a step in the right direction."

"Ok another thing I didn't want to know about Giles." Buffy moaned as the thought of her mum and Giles came into her head again."

"Another?" Willow and Xander chorused.

"So dodgy books huh?" Buffy said and began running her finger over the spines. "Oooo gateways of the world. That sounds interesting. Uh Giles? 'The good housekeeping guide to basic cooking.'"

"And there we were thinking it all came naturally to you. Shame on you." Willow teased, feeling a little cheered by her friends' banter.


XxXxX

"Hey boss. The fang bros are back." Faith stalked into the Mayor's office.

"Great, send them on in! Gentlemen, welcome back. I hear from a very reliable source that you did your job well, but you did dawdle on your way home." The mayor chided. "I don't like it when my people dawdle. With the Slayer around it could lead to all sorts of trouble." He nodded to Faith. She plunged stakes into the vampire's backs before they knew what was happening. "Nice work." He praised the rogue Slayer.

"What can I say? It's a gift." Faith smiled evilly as the mayor cackled.

XxXxX

Buffy stirred at the sound of movement. It had been the early hours of the morning by the time they all had succumbed to sleep. Other than a few shifts in his sleep, Oz had been quiet. It bothered her a little. She knew it was probably nothing, Oz always kept things like that inside and he was probably to tired to react but for someone who had been beaten as badly as he had should moan or groan or something. Sitting up she looked over at the sofa, it was empty. Oz had gone. Careful not to wake anyone else yet she padded up Giles' stairs in case Oz had made his way to the bathroom. Other than Giles sleeping there was no one else there.

"Giles. Giles wake up." Buffy said softly.

"Buffy? What time is it?"

"I don't know but Oz is missing."

Giles sat up in bed abruptly. "What?"

"Something woke me. I looked over at the sofa and he wasn't there. I came up here in case he made it to the bathroom but he's not here. He's gone." Giles heard the worry in the Slayer's voice mirror his own.

"Do the others know?"

"No, I didn't wake anyone. But it won't be long until Will wakes up."

"We need to find him, make sure he's alright. I'm surprised he was able to stand up right let alone walk alone." Giles' brow creased. "I still don't understand why they picked Oz. He's one of the least vulnerable of the group."

"Wrong place wrong time?"

"Maybe."

"Giles? What are you thinking?" The Slayer dropped her voice even more. "Did they pick him out? Were they following him?"

"I honestly don't know Buffy. I just find it a little strange that they sent you a message without prior knowledge of who was where. Of course it could be a mere coincidence that Angel happened to walk past the park at the very time he was attacked." But Angel did tell me everything.

"If he hadn't we might have put it down to Oz being caught off guard."

"Right, but they gave Angel a message as they retreated."

"They were waiting for Angel?"

"It's just a theory, Buffy. Let's not panic unduly. Being a werewolf Oz heals quicker than most, he may well have gone to get some fresh air and stretch." Giles tried to sooth the Slayer but he wasn't sure everything was theory.

"We need to find Oz."

And I need to talk to that Vampire.

XxXxX

A/N: Oh dear, oh dear. Tut tut Buffy, taking your eye off the ball and now you might get caught! So where has Oz gone? Is he really just 'walking it off' and 'getting some air'? hehe think we all know the answer to that don't we?

As always Comments, suggestions and reviews all welcomed and put in a nice sparkley folder!

"Catch ya on the flip flop"