"Connor get down!" Angel's voice was urgent, alerting his son to the Brillcrall demon's very deadly axe swing that would have successfully decapitated the boy had he not headed his father's warning. Recovering, he managed to trip the demon with a swift leg sweep, with which the demon countered by rolling into a crouching position and leaping backwards to avoid the swish of Angel's sword as he swung it.

"How did he know we were coming?" Buffy heard Gunn yell out to Angel as he leapt into the fray, against one of the Brillcrall's minions, fists flying. He was batted aside quite easily, losing his weapon in the process.

"I was worried about this," Angel yelled in return. "Lilah must have tipped off Adamson."

Buffy watched Gunn's axe clatter to the floor across from where he had been thrown. Diving for it, she managed to avoid the path of the Brillcrall's blade, executing a perfect flip over top of it.

"Buffy!" She heard him call. Whipping around to where he sat against the wall, she tossed the axe to him. Gunn caught it easily and smiled, grateful to have the weapon back in his hands. Jumping up, he resumed his battle with the demon. Angel fought with a sword, but she and Connor were weaponless, preferring hand to hand combat in a capture mission such as this. She had tried to convince Angel and Gunn that blades would be too risky when killing the demon was not the ultimate goal, but boys like their toys and they refuse to be parted with their weapons. In retrospect, Buffy was beginning to regret her decision, as was Connor.

"His minions won't last for long." Connor stated grimly as he advanced on one of the demons once more and attempted to back it into a corner. Gunn and Buffy were each battling demons to the right, while Angel's sword clashed violently with the Brillcrall's blade.

Their original plan was to surprise the demon in his sleep and shoot him with the tranquilizer gun before he had a chance to react. Unfortunately the Brillcrall had been waiting behind the door for them and had managed to wrest the gun from them the moment they stepped cautiously through the door. He had then ordered the four or five miscellaneous demons under his apparent command to dispose of the Angel, Buffy, Gunn and Connor, then thrown the gun into a corner of the room. He and his minions had been blocking the tranquilizer gun in an attempt to ensure that the fight was to the death. Angel had hoped his and Connor's weapons would be unnecessary. Now it looked as if they would be integral if they were ever to get past the demon's minions and get to the gun.

"Buffy, Gunn, Connor! The tranquilizer gun! Now!" Realizing Angel's little sword battle was meant as a distraction, Buffy took action first and dove for the corner where the Brillcrall had thrown the gun. She wasn't prepared for the sharp kick to the head, that she received in the process from one of the tougher minions. Connor had already killed two, leaving three left, not including the Brillcrall. She groaned and rolled to the side of the wall, spots forming before her eyes.

"Buffy you OK?" Gunn asked, rushing to where she had landed.

"The gun, get the gun, don't worry about me!"

But Connor was already heading for it, oblivious to the fact that one of the three demons left was now aiming an arrow right for his neck and was about to shoot.

"Connor!" Angel yelled, abandoning the fight with the Brillcrall in favour of diving in front of the arrow in order to keep his son safe. He took it in the chest, dangerously close to the heart, and fell to the ground with a painful crash.

"Angel!" Buffy cried out, scrambling from her position to where he was in a blind attempt to make sure the arrow hadn't been lethal.

Gunn had now launched himself against the demon that had shot the arrow and soon was fighting two, as the one standing next to it decided to join in. Their battle was joined in a flurry of rapid clashes of axes to swords.

Connor had recovered, grabbed Angel's abandoned sword, sparing no thought for his father's welfare and attacked the Brillcrall demon himself with renewed vigor. From the other side of the room, the third demon began to stalk towards Buffy and Angel, who was still lying on the floor, arrow protruding from his chest.

"Oh God, are you OK?" Buffy's voice was frantic and held a slight edge of hysteria in it. It was so close to the heart....so close...

"We don't have time for this," Angel said urgently, "quick, get this thing out of me."

"What if I get the heart?" Buffy said, terrified that one wrong move on her part would mean the end of him. Angel looked at her, his dark eyes strong and intense in their certainty.

"I trust you. Hurry, Connor can't keep that thing at bay for very much longer."

Buffy nodded and with one swift tug, yanked the arrow from his chest in what she preyed to God was a swift, straight stroke. Angel's cry of pain tore into her, but was soon succeeded by relief when she realized he was otherwise unharmed.

Leaping up, he met the demon that had been about to attack him and Buffy in flurry of punches and kicks. As soon as he saw Buffy get to her feet out of the corner of his eye, he yelled her name.

Instinctively, she turned, to receive the demon that Angel had thrown her way, grabbing it by the collar and slamming it mercilessly against the wall. She used it's disorientation to her advantage and before the demon realized what had happened, she had managed to snap its neck. Turning, she looked to where Connor had fallen to the ground. The Brillcrall was advancing on him, now holding both his axe and Angel's sword.

It didn't get very far however, as Angel quickly tackled it, and wrested his sword out of the demon's hands. Their blades met once again with startling ferocity.

"Angel be careful!" Buffy called out, unable to help herself. It had been so long since they had fought side by side, she couldn't help but worry for his safety. She was so concerned with the battle he was fighting that she didn't even hear Connor call her name in warning until the other demon Gunn had been fighting had thrown her across the room and smack into the wall, with mind numbing force. Looking up, she barely had time to react at all before its fist connected painfully with her face.

"Buffy I'm coming!" Gunn cried as he managed to cleave the head off the demon he fought.

Regaining her composure, she kicked the beast full force in the groin, before rolling between its legs, coming up behind it, and decapitating it with the axe Gunn had managed to throw to her.

"Thanks," she said with a smile to him. He gave her a half salute, impressed by her skill and sheer agility.

Looking to the side, Buffy felt her heart stop almost entirely as she watched the Brillcrall swing his sword right towards Angel's neck, about to take his head.

The blow never connected however, because Connor who had managed to make it into the corner where the Brillcrall had tossed the tranquilizer gun, had retrieved it and shot the Brillcrall in the back of the neck just in the nick of time. Angel rolled out of the pathway of the sword which still came flying towards him, but at an offbeat, no longer lethal angel, and stood up next to his son, relieved that Connor had gotten to the gun in time.

"I got it." Connor said proudly.

"You did." Angel agreed, inwardly swelling with pride at his son's abilities. "And you saved my life."

Connor's pride in taking the demon down was quickly succeeded by defensiveness as he suddenly realized that Angel might take that particular rescue as a sign that Connor was willing to attempt to develop a relationship of some sort. He turned away, not meeting Angel's eyes.

"You saved mine." He murmured. "Fair trade."

"Let's get this thing back to the hotel." Buffy said, still trying to catch her breath.

"Good idea." Angel replied, a little disappointed that Connor had reacted in such a way to his praise and thanks. "Gunn could you dispose of these demon's bodies? Dump them in the ocean or something?"

"How come I always gotta dispose of the bodies?" Gunn complained. Angel gave him a look that pleaded for little argument. Gunn surprisingly complied, and began to drag the bodies into a corner. "How 'bout I burn 'em? Less grunt work that way."

"Works for me." Connor said with a shrug. He grabbed one end of the Brillcrall demon and looked to Angel challengingly. "You gonna help me carry him?"

"Buffy are you OK?" Angel asked, trying not to sound as worried as he felt. She had taken some pretty nasty hits. They all had.

"I'm good. A couple of bruises. Nothing that won't heal with the help of some rubbing alcohol and a bed entirely made of fluffy pillow-y goodness." She looked the location of his arrow wound as he hefted the other end of the Brillcrall's unconscious body and began to carry it towards the car. "You sure you're OK with carrying that? The last thing you need is for that arrow wound to tear. I could..."

"I can handle it." Angel said, his mouth forming that sexy half smile she remembered so clearly. "Although did you really have to rip it out so hard? I think you took a few organs with you!"

"It's not like you need them to live." Connor muttered to himself. Buffy followed Angel, slightly annoyed by his words.

"You asked me to pull it out, I didn't want to." She reminded him. "You're lucky I didn't accidentally dust you."

"What a tragedy that would have been." Connor muttered.

"You know, I did save your life back there," Angel reminded him, quickly becoming annoyed.

"See you guys back at the hotel." Gunn called out, as an attempt to end the bickering. Buffy gave a halfhearted wave backwards and the three of them loaded the demon in Angel's car and headed back to the hotel as fast as they could.