Los Angles

Whistler was sitting at a table in the back of Caritas. It was near the pay phones and a little too close to the rest rooms for his liking. It had been over two hours or more since he left Buffy to find her own way to the bar and he was beginning to worry. Sure she was the Slayer but this was LA.

The streets here were filled with all sorts of crazies'. At any given moment you could be assaulted by some random freak of nature and that is of the human variety. Besides the nutty thieves, rapists, and gangs, La was loaded full of demons who would love to take a bite out a beautiful girl like Buffy.

He was pulled out of his deep thoughts by the sound of the phone ringing and he jumped up to answer it. Finally it was the call he had been waiting for. His conversation was brief and as he sat back down at his dark corner table, he began to think of Buffy again.

Now that he had the information he needed they should get going. He decided to wait for another half hour and then he would try and find her.

A half hour longer was all he would be able to take of this place anyway. His head hurt from the horrible singing he had endured over the past few hours and the place reeked of stale booze and cigarettes not to mention some of the demons passing by were so unsavory it almost made him vomit. He thought after several beers the singing wouldn't bother him anymore but that was until a Burdock demon got up on stage and began to butcher a country western song.

The screeching sound coming out of that thing was not music and it made the hair on his body stand on end. His ears were aching and that thing was so ugly the sight of it almost made your skin crawl. He was so relieved when he saw The Host go up on stage before the song was finished and escort the ugly beast off. He then decided not to wait the half hour for Buffy; he would leave as soon as he finished his beer.

Buffy and Gunn walked into the bar laughing and talking until they reached the bottom of the steps and noticed all the demons sitting around. "Great, just what I need another demon bar to hang in?" Buffy said with distain in her voice. "Damn, I never knew this place existed. I have lived here all my life and I aint never seen shit like this before." Gunn retorted.

They walked in at the same time as the Burdock demon was beginning to sing or rather screech. Buffy started to scan the crowd looking for Whistler. "Look, help me find my friend so we can get out of this place. He's not hard to miss, short little guy with old looking clothes and a stupid hat." Buffy turned to Gunn with a grin. "Sure, ugly hat got it." Gunn said back to her as he scanned the crowd.

Gunn thought he spotted him towards the back and pointed him out to Buffy. "Yep, that's him, see what did I say, ugly hat am I right?" Buffy began to giggle.

They walked towards Whistler as The Host escorted the horrible demon off stage. When Whistler looked up from his drink he saw Buffy heading his way and began to relax a little. He didn't realize how tense he had been until she walked in and his body began to melt into the chair.

Normally it wouldn't bother him to be sitting in a bar having a few beers, actually it was his idea of a good time but not tonight. Tonight was about work, doing his job, there was time for a good beer bender after this was over and after putting up with this place he thought he deserved it.

"About time you got here Slayer. I was starting to think you stood me up." He tried to be light but she saw the worried look in his eyes the moment she spotted him. It made her think that maybe he was on her side.

"Yea, sorry about that, I ran into a welcoming committee earlier. Oh, and hey, made a new friend." She pointed to the man next to her, "This is Gunn, with two N's. Gunn this is Whistler." She introduced them and they shook hands. "So…..what's the what?"

Whistler was hesitant to discuss anything in front of this new guy but one look on Buffy's face told him he better talk fast. He told her about the call he received and they were to meet a friend in two hours on the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Buffy rolled her eyes at that but sat down and motioned her new friend to sit.

After several minutes telling Whistler the whole story of how she met Gunn, they filled him in on why they were in LA. He never spoke a word, and sat stone faced listening to every word spoken.

Buffy shuffled in her seat now feeling very uncomfortable. She felt that Gunn may think she was nuts falling for a vamp or coming on a quest to find him.

Gunn leaned back in his chair and started to rub his chin. "Ok, that was some story. So tell me Buffy, do you think this vamp….. I mean guy…no I think I do mean vamp, is still here in LA?"

Buffy didn't know how to answer this question. She didn't know if he wanted to know so he could stake Angel or help her find him. She liked Gunn but she had to admit she didn't really know him that well. He gave her a good feeling about him so she went with her gut. "Yes, I believe he is here…somewhere. I need to find him, I need to make sure he is ok, I at least owe him that."

Gunn just stared at her in awe. She really loved this guy. He looked at her eyes and saw the horrible pain there. He was intrigued, now he wanted to meet this vampire with a soul who was able to capture the heart of this beautiful girl trained to kill his kind.

"Ok then, I want to help. If he's here in town my people should be able to find out where he is. I have informants all over this city and they don't miss much. I'll see what we can dig up."

Buffy didn't reply but tried to convey how she felt with a smile and a nod. Whistler gave him a photo of Angel and he left the two to head back to his place. Buffy gave him her pager number and he assured her if he found anything he would call her.

"Well Slayer, you never seem to stop amazing me. What a resourceful girl you are. You make friends after being here for less than a day. This guy acts like he would dive into battle for you at the drop of a hat. Yep, very impressed."

Buffy leaned back in her chair placing her arms over her chest and giving him a harsh glare. "You just better go thru with your end of this little adventure of ours or you will see just how resourceful I can be."

Whistler laughed and took off his hat. "Well, I guess we better get going then, we have someone to meet."

Just as they got up from the table and headed for the door they were approached by a green demon in a bright blue suit. Buffy backed away; not from fear but from curiosity. She had never seen a demon of his kind before, he didn't give her that evil tingling feeling but he was a demon and she put up her guard automatically. Whistler saw her hesitation and laid a hand on her shoulder for support. "It's ok Buffy, this is The Host, he runs this place."

Lorne offered his hand to Buffy and she reluctantly shook it. "It's a great pleasure to meet you. Well if you aren't a peach. Pretty as a picture."

Buffy giggled at his statement and felt her face blush. She never reacted like this before but this demon seemed to put her at ease. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Host."

"Well if you aren't the cutest thing I have ever seen and please call me Lorne. I was hoping I would be able to meet you. Ever since Mr. Broody pants came in I have been itching to meet his beloved." He smiled the biggest grin Buffy had ever seen.

At the last statement he had made her heart skipped a beat and then began to race. "You mean Angel……..was here, in this bar…..when?"

"Well sure sugar plum. He was in here a few nights ago, graced us with a number although grace was not what he gave us. I gave him some sound advice and he left. Haven't seen him since though….I'm guessing since you are here he didn't take it." Lorne motioned for them to take a seat at a near by booth.

Buffy didn't want to sit. She just found out that Angel had been in this very bar just a few days ago and it made her heart pound even harder. It felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest and she began to feel light headed.

"Wow girly, calm down……please-take a seat." Lorne motioned again for Buffy to sit down; this time she took the seat before she hit the floor.

"Please tell me what you said." Buffy implored to him.

"Before I tell you, you need to take a few deep breaths and slow down. You're overwhelming me right now. I can't even think strait with the waves coming off you." Lorne looked flushed for a green guy.

"Look Slayerkins I can't reveal some ones reading but I can tell you this; your boy is very conflicted. He feels a connection to you but he is scared to do anything about it. Right now, he is exactly were he is supposed to be. He has a guide and that guide should help him back on his path. Now, I can't tell you that his path leads directly back to you but I do know that he has feelings for you that he doesn't understand right now. Let him follow through with the mission he has chosen, it may be the only way to get him back. I don't know if that makes sense right now but someday it will. Now sweetness, can we please discuss you?"

Buffy was shocked into silence and a tear slipped down her cheek. What was this demon trying to tell her? Should she back off and let Angel do his own thing? What's that old saying if you love something set it free, screw that, no way she was letting him go, ever. She straitened herself and whipped the tears that had fallen.

"No thanks. Whistler and I have someone to meet. Thank you for the….information, and the advice." Buffy stood from the table and extended her hand to Lorne.

"It was very nice to meet you. Please if you see Angel again would you tell him that I……feel the same?" Buffy said sadly. Lorne took her hand and tenderly moved closer to catch her in a small hug. Buffy stiffened at first then melted into the embrace for a brief moment.

Lorne whispered in her ear before she pulled away, "Don't fret sweetness; he will come back to you some day. He loves you very much; he just isn't sure why at the moment."

Buffy pulled away and smiled at the funny looking green demon that made her feel just a small bit better. She turned to Whistler who put his hat on and they both made their way out the door.